Northern Pilots
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 3,077
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From: Oop North, UK
Northern Pilots
Having recently moved just North of Manchester I wanted to join a group, ideally round an RV 7 or 8, unable to find an existing one I thought there has to be interest in setting one up - just about there now fingers crossed but I am surprised by the lack of interest, one of my prospective members did comment "most Northern pilots seem to prefer spam cans for a quick cup of tea at Sleap rather than anything with decent performance ! All the shares in RVs seem to be down South." whilst there are one or two interesting aircraft around there does not seem to be anything like the number that I saw down South, is there a reason for this?
Joined: Jan 2008
Aviation Qualifications: CPL
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From: Canada
rather than anything with decent performance !
Or.... be innovative, and take up there the aircraft of your choice!
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 3,077
Likes: 1
From: Oop North, UK
Step,
I think most will understand what the remark about performance (not my remark BTW) is meant to mean here and in context the RV fits pretty well, even taking your comments it fits many of them!
This is not so much a discussion about performance though but more about why there is such a N/S split - in Canada for instance there is a reason you see more float planes than in the UK, but my question is about different types being less common in one area of a Country than another - it is not as if the airfields/airspace/weather is that different up North than down South!
As far as being innovative and taking up the aircraft of my choice goes, if you read my post that is exactly what I am doing!
I think most will understand what the remark about performance (not my remark BTW) is meant to mean here and in context the RV fits pretty well, even taking your comments it fits many of them!
This is not so much a discussion about performance though but more about why there is such a N/S split - in Canada for instance there is a reason you see more float planes than in the UK, but my question is about different types being less common in one area of a Country than another - it is not as if the airfields/airspace/weather is that different up North than down South!
As far as being innovative and taking up the aircraft of my choice goes, if you read my post that is exactly what I am doing!
Last edited by foxmoth; 1st July 2015 at 10:23.
Joined: Jan 2008
Aviation Qualifications: CPL
Posts: 649
Likes: 39
From: Canada
As far as being innovative and taking up the aircraft of my choice goes, if you read my post that is exactly what I am doing!
whilst there are one or two interesting aircraft around there does not seem to be anything like the number that I saw down South, is there a reason for this?
I'll travel to other parts of the world and see greater numbers of certain types of aircraft there, perhaps because they thrive there, which they might not in another locale. I see lots of PA-28 types in the UK, where you just don't see so many of those in other areas, they don't work as well... (just an example).
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 3,325
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From: UK
I noticed this in many decades flying from Barton. Most local pilots were well wedded to spammy stuff and were fully signed up members of the Flat Earth society; with a handful of exceptions.
We even had a Citabria on the LAC Club fleet for a while at less per hour than a C150! Only a few of us flew it! Most shied away from tail wheels and aeros despite having one of the very instructors in both arts on site! Tailwheels and aeros or, at more cost, a boring C150 straight and level wheelbarrow? I'd have thought "no contest", but the Citab didn't pay through lack of use and got sold off.
If the Tiger Club had been based up north it would have sold off its Stampes, Tiger Moths, etc and bought C150s and PA38s!
No, I don't begin to understand it!
We even had a Citabria on the LAC Club fleet for a while at less per hour than a C150! Only a few of us flew it! Most shied away from tail wheels and aeros despite having one of the very instructors in both arts on site! Tailwheels and aeros or, at more cost, a boring C150 straight and level wheelbarrow? I'd have thought "no contest", but the Citab didn't pay through lack of use and got sold off.
If the Tiger Club had been based up north it would have sold off its Stampes, Tiger Moths, etc and bought C150s and PA38s!
No, I don't begin to understand it!
Joined: Sep 2006
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From: 23, Railway Cuttings, East Cheam
Might be peculiar to Manchester and northwards. I fly from Lincs and there's a variety of stuff at the clubs around here (including an RV8 literally down the road from me on a private strip). We have a well used Firefly at our club and one of the lads has a Cap10. There are other tail draggy type aircraft owned by members as well. I Also frequent the Yorkshire clubs quite a bit and there's a similar variety of craft. You ought to drop into Breighton some time!
Joined: Oct 1999
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From: UK
Yes, the few of us Bartonites who were not flat earthers were drawn to Breighton frequently!
Perhaps the excess of flat earthers in the Manchester area is due to the presence of that bleedin big airport encouraging 'hours builders' and airline wannabes? But hey, there's two even bigger airports in the SE!
Perhaps the excess of flat earthers in the Manchester area is due to the presence of that bleedin big airport encouraging 'hours builders' and airline wannabes? But hey, there's two even bigger airports in the SE!
Joined: Sep 2006
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From: 23, Railway Cuttings, East Cheam
Could also be down to pure statistics. More people, more airfields darn sarf. There's not much north from here in terms of GA until you get to Scotland where it seems to pick up again. If I flew north from where I am I would pass reasonably close to Sherburn, Breighton, Beverley and than nothing until Eshott. Then nothing again until Dundee. If I fly south there are more airfields than you can shake a stick at.
Of course there are other strips but I'm talking about places where you could a least get a bacon butty and a cuppa.
Edit: Forgot Full Sutton and Bagby in my northwards trek before I get my head nailed to the ground.
Of course there are other strips but I'm talking about places where you could a least get a bacon butty and a cuppa.
Edit: Forgot Full Sutton and Bagby in my northwards trek before I get my head nailed to the ground.
Joined: Apr 1999
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
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From: In front of a computer
foxmoth
By some strange coincidence there is an RV-7 group forming at Barton at the moment.
You may be the chap I've been in contact with about joining but are hidden behind your Pprune ID...........
By some strange coincidence there is an RV-7 group forming at Barton at the moment.
You may be the chap I've been in contact with about joining but are hidden behind your Pprune ID...........
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 3,077
Likes: 1
From: Oop North, UK
You may be the chap I've been in contact with about joining but are hidden behind your Pprune ID...........
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 780
Likes: 13
From: East Anglia
foxmoth,
If you have any interest in a quarter share of a Jodel DR100A based on a farm strip NW of Manchester pm me.
The Jodel may not have the performance of an RV, but it's fun flying - and cheap too! (Oh and it feels more comfortable than flying over unlandable areas around Barton).
If you have any interest in a quarter share of a Jodel DR100A based on a farm strip NW of Manchester pm me.
The Jodel may not have the performance of an RV, but it's fun flying - and cheap too! (Oh and it feels more comfortable than flying over unlandable areas around Barton).
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,581
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From: England
Spam cans and boring Cessna 150's.
One of our female residents takes her 150 regularly around europe and beyond.
Romania and the edge of the Sahara (Ouarzazate in Morroco) being a couple of the many oversea destinations visited.
Seems to me that it is a case of not how big it is but what you do with it!!!!!!!
The 150 might get you there slowly(and cheaply) but you still have to go in the first place.
Ambition is more important then aircraft type.
Plenty of aircraft around with decent performance and attendent poseurs both up North and down South.
One of our female residents takes her 150 regularly around europe and beyond.
Romania and the edge of the Sahara (Ouarzazate in Morroco) being a couple of the many oversea destinations visited.
Seems to me that it is a case of not how big it is but what you do with it!!!!!!!
The 150 might get you there slowly(and cheaply) but you still have to go in the first place.
Ambition is more important then aircraft type.
Plenty of aircraft around with decent performance and attendent poseurs both up North and down South.