Penguina, are Elstree still "instructing" people to remain north of the M25? Serious question.

PS: the north of England chart is the colour of lard and is printed on pig bladders. The VRPs are all called "t'mill" or "t'big 'ouse on t'ill" and so forth.

The plan for this years worth of flying?

Well I've flown around twenty hours this year already in a new Piper Warrior and other aeroplanes but only half an hour in the groups Beagle Pup. (Its been on maintenance for a few months!)

Anyway my plan is:

Obtain a Multi Engine Rating. This will be added to both my FAA CPL/IR and my CAA PPL/IMC/NIGHT. I'm going to Naples, Florida to do these courses - I'll be there in seven weeks time, can't wait!

When I get home a friend is putting me on his Seminole insurance and giving me a checkout so I'll have a nice multi aeroplane to fly!!!

Get the Beagle Pup back (probably before the USA trip) and do some flying!

Going to Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and a few destinations in Ireland (definately Dublin as I have friends who live ten minute walk from the temple bar area... heehehe). Oh these will be in the twin as I don't like going over water in a single... I have been known to do it though.

Take and hopefully pass all 7 module 1 ATPL exams in October's sitting (fingers crossed). This requires anothe trip to Naples for a couple of weeks for the brush up course.... ooh what a hard life this is! :O

Oh and one last thing to do this year (in eight weeks time)... to fly over to the Bahamas for a couple of nights (in an Arrow probably). Hopefully the Multi rating will only take a week thus giving me a week spare to do some pleasure flying. I know the arrow is a single and there is lots of water but I probably won't have enough multi hours by then to rent the seminole solo in Florida.

Anyway I've got to go as I've got to get back to the "Forces in a turn" section of the performance manual... :confused:

Best wishes,

Charlie Zulu.

Flash git!

;) ;) ;) ;)

FD

Have fun and keep us posted!

And that would be? ;)

That and a distinct lack of airfields! Spent almost 10 minutes look for one on mine :}

I think I'll do some more flying in the Rallye this year (did not fly it much last year), and a week camping in Scotland at some very small airstrips and a few farmer's fields.

On my own without a cell phone.

Tony

My northern chums tell me that

"Airfields is for soft southerners. We lands us crates on t'rugby league pitch, 'appen".

What I want to achieve this summer is passing those four exams and passing my skills test!
(I've been at this so long my Air Law expired and I need to do that again, and I've done Aircraft General twice and narrowly failed each time).

Hopefully I will :

Complete my ATPL exams

Complete IMC (nearly there)

Do a 300 NM trip - probably to Scotland (I would head South but can't find a rugby league pitch to land on :} )

Complete the CPL/ME

Here's hoping !

Islands, Islands, Islands!

I have decided I like flying to/from and near to islands... ever since that first jaunt over to IoW I have loved the feeling of arriving somewhere that "mere mortals" couldn't have gotten to in the same time and without houyrse of driving, ferries etc. Islands are picturesque and easy to navigate too! The downsides are coastal weather and - on smaller islands - sometimes scary at worst, or unhelpful at best, cross winds: but I think this just adds to the fun :ok:

Last year we flew along the Dutch / German Fresian chain of islands. It was great. On the list this year are all three channel islands, because I am starting to feel like the only PPL in southern England who hasn't been there(!), and maybe - just maybe - Ile d'Yeu, LFEY, just north of La Rochelle where friends have a holiday house... :O

Oh, and do the IMC: this time for sure!

Have a great summer everyone!

Andy

Love islands - but I'm biased because I am based on.

Isle of Wight seems a little unadventurous. Why not try some of the Scottish Isles? Spectacular views, uncluttered airspace and friendly welcome.

FNG

Serious answer, yes they are, excpet when it's very quiet and/or it's nearly night, when I have known them to take pity. Only safe place to be at 5pm on a Saturday, come to think of it (ref. my earlier post).

Gosh, the North of England Chart sounds awfully intriguing. I don't wish to be a bother to anyone, but would they be so terribly kind to supply me with a vegetarian chart if such a thing exists?
Much obliged,
Southern Pansy Bird in't daft penguin suit.

AirBabe,

Cas Smith has moved from sherburn to a grass airfield nearby called full sutton, unfortunately, the cap 10 didnt move with him, but there is a firefly (fast ex mil one) and a pitts s2a available for aeros training there.

The pitts is £199/hr dual, which seems to be not much more that the going rate for a cap10 down south

NB

boomerangben: IoW is not what I am proposing for something new... have been there many times, and will continue to do so, esp Bembridge... the plan is CI's and some French Atlantic coast islands. Definitely keen on the Scottish islands - and Ireland of course - probably next year, when I have my IMC..!

Penguina: I think what FNG may be driving at is the significance of the word instructing, given that Elstree is not an ATC unit but an AFIS servcie...

Andy

That was indeed my point Andy. I haven't been to Elstree for well over a year, but was under the impression that they had received, ahem, "guidance" about the meaning and limits of a Flight Information Service (with perhaps a reminder of the right-hand traffic rule in the open FIR). I wouldn't call being north of the M25 but heading east (ie "downwind" for 26, but outside the ATZ) particularly safe.

PS: I do appreciate that Elstree has a severe nimby problem. I was once accused of performing aerobatics at five hundred feet, in the days when they still had a circuit (this was whilst chugging downwind in that noted low-level aeros beast, the Pup 100, and a very clapped-out one at that). All credit to the FISO, who backed me up.

Penguina, I believe that you tried to PM me yesterday but it bounced back. I have cleared out my inbox, if you would like to try again . Or try my email address, which I have sent to you by PM. Thanks.

Yes, I understand that. It's a regularly voiced argument here and I agree with it. The rest of my post was a bit of a sarcastic aside and didn't imply that I sympathise with the way things are run there.

FNG - reading you 5 now!

Well I've started my Aero's training at Full Sutton (see a little bit further up the page). Hope to reach a standard such that I can enter a competition later this year.

I believe myself and NijaBill are both going for "last" ;)

They have two fireflys now. The Pitts S2A is drawing me in.... but that might have to wait until next year. As always dependant on funds.