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Tracey Curtis-Taylor (Merged threads)

Private Flying LAA/BMAA/BGA/BPA The sheer pleasure of flight.

Tracey Curtis-Taylor (Merged threads)

Old 18th Apr 2016, 12:35
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Wow RT, you stopped by my hometown (Patna) on the way. I reckon it must be quieter in those days at and around the airport, but not much has changed since in terms the attitude towards GA, bewilderment and resistance.
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Old 18th Apr 2016, 13:34
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I can say that everyone was friendly and helpful there. There was lots of paperwork and calculation that produced a landing fee equivalent to something less than £1.
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Old 18th Apr 2016, 14:28
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Was there any reason you chose to route Calcutta to Yangon (Rangoon) direct?

Probably around five hours around the coast but you could have stopped at Chittagong?

Yangon has changed a lot. I was there a few weeks ago and still like the city. Some wonderful old dilapidated colonial buildings soon to be restored with the return to semi democracy.

How many days did you allocate at each stop? The sightseeing must have been an important part of the journey?
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Old 18th Apr 2016, 14:41
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I could not go everywhere, I went in as straight a line as reasonably possible (with the odd exception). Chittagong would have been another country, paperwork and clearances.

Stay time varied. Sometimes only a night and straight on it the morning. A week of tourism in a couple of places. We stayed a couple of nights in Rangoon, kind people but almost zero in the way of manufactured goods, no glass in the windows, biros and whisky were hard currency.

The ATC chief did a deal with me - he turned on the VOR in exchange for some spare maps.
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Old 18th Apr 2016, 17:34
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Yangon has changed a lot. New enlarged airport just opened and building work everywhere.

I guess you did a circuit of Australia with Yulara and Alice included.

Interesting to look at your route and compare it to this...

How difficult is that old kangaroo route today? I understand Maurice Kirk did it in a Piper Cub just sleeping under the aircraft wing?
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Old 18th Apr 2016, 18:06
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In reply to Ghenghis, Eve Jackson certainly achieved so much on her solo microlight journey from the UK to Australia in 1986. No GPS or mobile phones in those days and she did it alone. Dave Cook who designed the Shadow deserves some credit. Very much in the shadow of Amy Johnson if you pardon the pun.
I found this old cutting.

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Old 19th Apr 2016, 08:24
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Nice map .... those were the days .....
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Old 20th Apr 2016, 22:54
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If the route can be done with a microlight then a normal fixed wing should present no problems? What are the longest legs?
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Old 21st Apr 2016, 07:50
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The problem is avgas availability. If you have a diesel/turbine then it's easy.
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Old 21st Apr 2016, 18:54
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Was there more avgas availability in the past than now? Was it easier 75 years ago?

What puzzles me is how Amy Johnson and Bert Hinkler managed to fly all that way in under three weeks in basic open aircraft but modern pilots with GPS etc cannot. Has anyone emulated them in the same aircraft without using modern technology?

The London to Sydney air race was a bit of a sham as the winner,Spirit of Kai Tak, was a remanufactured Piper Aerostar where the pilots did little more than sit down and watch the scenary go by as the autopilot did the flying.

Meanwhile the whacky races character Maurice Kirk was lurching from self imposed disaster to disaster and later managed to get his Cub to Japan before a mechanical problem saw him land on a dual carriageway.
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Old 22nd Apr 2016, 08:16
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75 years ago AIUI light aircraft engines would run on the same stuff as commercial flights. So, since Amy Johnson etc were flying between existing airfields (mostly) there was fuel.

When I went to Australia in 1985 there were still DC3s around so there was avgas in many places though even then there was none at Jeddah and Rangoon.

The difficult bit with flying outside Europe today with a petrol light aircraft is fuel availability, it makes life much easier if you have a ferry tank and/or a range greater than 1000nm.

Flight clearance agents and ferry pilots often know the latest situation.

Sometimes there is a flying club and/or you need to know someone with some drums in a shed.
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Old 22nd Apr 2016, 09:42
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75 years ago AIUI light aircraft engines would run on the same stuff as commercial flights.
I think it was even easier than that. AAUI, pre-WWII, most engines ran on automotive grade fuel, since (few) engines required higher than 87 octane at the time. Automotive gasoline was (and is - which would help microlights more than heavier metal) available everywhere. Especially for the pioneers, even if 'more modern' engines were available, staying on mogas seems a sensible choice to keep your options open.

I also think that there was a much lower administrative burden. You could fly the routes shown above whilst never straying away from the British Empire. I'd imagine that a call to the local consul would help with much of the paperwork and, especially as a British citizen and even without much corporate support, you would expect to be assisted.

As we all know, aircraft fly the same whether they are over Basra, Bengalore or Bali, but getting to the bottom of and complying with the ANO in those places is a challenge. And those are just 3 examples out of how many?

It would be lovely if there were a more regular London-Sydney 'race' aimed at amateur participants. The 'race organiser' would assist with the administrative burden and planning and fuel could be procured on a bulk basis to enable interim stops to be used, putting more of the focus of the flights back on the flying itself. And doing that without it becoming a corporate circus... (dreams on)

BTW - If there is such a thing - please post a link!

B.
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Old 22nd Apr 2016, 09:54
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The admin burden does not have to be that bad. The info on who and what to ask for each country is in Jeppesen and (sometimes) the internet.

The problem comes when the relevant authorities do not answer your request for permission ..... this can be solved (at a cost) by using a flight clearance agent who knows more people to ask and who's palm to grease.

On occasion I have simply gone anyway without permission and sorted it when I got there, one can get unstuck doing that of course.

It was easier in the days of the Empire though .....
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Old 23rd Apr 2016, 05:56
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Have a read here England Australia by Tiger Moth


I havn't seen David for a while, but NRF was with the McAully group back in the early 70s. I was briefly a member, while spannering at Shipdham. When NRF came in for her C of A, I found some un-authorised repairs to the spar roots and new spars were outside the budget ( on finding this I was not the most popular member in the group :o) ). She was sold on as a project a couple of times, then David bought her and had her rebuilt. He still flies her out of Scotland and does a few shows.
DW

Little bit more:
David did another flight in a DH86a Dragon Rapide to S. Africa. Bit less successful with a few probs.
He and his delightful wife flew over to us for lunch in around 74. Landed in the field behind our house. My father, who had flown with 32 Sqd in the BoB went up for a quick buzz and showed David a few bits that were not in the normal books, like falling leafs. Not bad after last flying one in 39.
David is a truly nice guy, the article sounds like him.


I was at Shipdham from the start in 70 to the end of 74. We did a lot of fabric stuff, including two 82a s for David before NRF. He was flying Lightnings out of Suffolk at that time.
Must write him a note.

This will make you grin... Back in the 70s, we bought a Dragon Rapide for around £200 quid. It was littering up a field and had not paid it's dues. We looked carefully at the fuel filters and oïl stuff. Ran the engines for a bit, then flew it back to our base. Gave it a quick C of A an then rented it to Peterborough for parachute drops. With the door off and seats out, it would take ten. The Gypsy Sixes didnt like the quick climbs and décents, so I was often over there replacing cylinder heads because the exhaust stud bolts worked out.
The dead stick in our Mooney on the other thread was one of those trips.
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Old 25th Apr 2016, 17:47
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Is it still flying?
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Old 26th Apr 2016, 06:11
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Dunno


I was back in UK and visited Shipdham, they were giving it an overhaul prior to flying out to Israel. IIRR the IDF had bought it for parachute work.


It had figured in a drama while with the British Army, when a squaddie's chute had opened in the door, then caught on the tailplane, towing the poor guy behind. The jump master lashed some static lines together and was trailed back to him, where he cut the lines and they both went down on the JM's chute. Think he got a GM for that. I remembered seeing it in the papers, so when I noticed that a repair had been made to the tailplane, I found a note in the Log Book, that refered to it.
It was built as a Dominie, not a civilian a/c, so had the radio shack behind the pilot.
DW


BTW, thanks for that link to the Scotsman.
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Old 27th Apr 2016, 19:07
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Just trying to defend the real pilots who have flown the route.

So sad there are Walter Mitty reality tv people out there sailing on the back of the true pilots.

How long before we get a reality tv show on the back of Maurice Kirk who did it in a Cub during the London Sydney Air Race.
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Old 27th Apr 2016, 20:16
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I'm with Jay on this one. If the guy in the front is NOT a pilot, he deserves a bigger
gong !
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Old 27th Apr 2016, 21:07
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Friends in high places ? Throw big money at it and the strings get pulled.
Degrades all the achievements of the early pioneers . The block on comments
could have been instigated by the South Yorkshire Police. It stinks !
I am a fan of Maurice Kirk . Maybe the South Wales Police have been giving lessons !

Last edited by NearlyStol; 27th Apr 2016 at 21:18. Reason: Possible conspiracy ?
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Old 29th Apr 2016, 16:12
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Jay Sata


I agree with you that any suggestion that it was a solo flight is very misleading.

Sadly it appears that money and publicity count much more these days than the sheer spirit of adventure that inspired the sort of trips that have appeared on this thread.
Unfortunately, people with a spirit of adventure are as frequently criticised as admired in our risk averse nanny state world.
They are sometimes criticised on PPRuNe – particularly in this forum.


On this occasion the Honourable Guild Of Air Pilots awarded the Masters Medal for what was in effect a dual flight reality tv programme.
She has been awarded the Master's Medal (which will be presented in October) for highlighting women in aviation and encouraging girls/young women to pursue their aspirations even if they seem to be beyond reach. I don't remember the precise words but that is the gist.

The Honourable Guild of Air Pilots are just a lot of high society UK pilots who clap each other on the back and wear gowns at their meetings.
You clearly know nothing about the Honourable Company of Air Pilots. (Formerly the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators. See here: http://www.pprune.org/military-aviat...ir-pilots.html )
Apart from one aspect (gowns) which is partially correct, what you say is nonsense.
Gowns are worn in only two circumstances. Members wear them if/when they become a Liveryman, and only on that one occasion. Officers of the Company wear the company’s livery (gowns) at formal meetings and on ceremonial occasions only. That is a livery company tradition - and why they become known as ‘livery’ companies.

We have Royal members but the overall membership is not "high society". About two thirds of our members are current or former professional pilots. PPLs (like me) are made very welcome.
We do not "clap each other on the back." We honour aviators from around the world regardless of whether they are members. The overwhelming majority of recipients are not.
If you were to attend or read about our magnificent annual Trophies & Awards banquets held at Guildhall in the City of London you could not fail (unless you are very odd) to be impressed and inspired by the various accounts of professionalism, dedication, skill, courage, determination and service to others exhibited by the recipients.
The exceptional achievements of some recipients during their careers were previously known only to those in their field; others are more well-known.
Other aviators are honoured for their outstanding skill and professionalism (and often breath-taking bravery) on a single occasion.

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