THAT WORST DAY ? (FLYER)
 

There is a very private grass strip in Essex which is operated under a low profile to avoid any possibility of disturbing the neighbours.
On Sunday 11 March, a red and white YAK-18 landed on this strip without prior permission and totally unanounced.
Had the pilot the courtesy to contact the strip owner prior to departure, he would have been infofmed that, in common with the rest of the country, the surface of the grass strip resembled a paddy-field!
The visitor is bogged down on the strip, and is likely to stay there for some considerable time, causing great inconvenience to the owner from whom the a/c had been hired, and clearly signalling the existence of the strip to all and sundry who drive by. The "low-profile" operation is now a "high profile" operation.
And all because some inconsiderate B******* could not be bothered to make a 10p phone call.
Could this be HIS WORST DAY?

Sounds a more realistic scenario, with a better message to the GA community, than the TWD drivel in this months Flyer, with one of the questions being "why did the Hurricane pilot use a long burst insteand of short ones?"

I thought that TWD was aimed at making GA pilots think about their flying experience?

This was a bout as relevant as my @rse!

In defence of Flyer, until you've tried writing 800 words, reasonably readable, every month to a deadline, without fail, take care of your right to criticise.

No I don't write for Flyer, but I do write a column of the same length every month for another flying magazine. It amazes me that after one or two of my more desperate efforts I'm still writing for them. (That said, the piece that got me the most praise from readers was a desperate last-minute rehash of something I'd written for another magazine 2 years before!).

G

OK Finals, so you didn't like TWD this month. Taken over time the vast majority of scenarios presented are relevant to GA.
That said, a little variety from time to time doesn't do any harm, and many of the readers are interested in a wide range of aviation questions.
Ian

TWD is always good, some of the best have nothing to do with GA - I never knew they were supposed to. Bit easy this month though.

TWD in Flyer, and ILAFFT in Pilot, are what keeps me coughing up my easily earned dosh for both magazines each month.

Pilot has the practical advantage in that it can't be too difficult to find a stream of pilots who have buggered up and wish to write about it.

However, I'm filled with admiration for Richard Boswell's ability to churn out TWD every month, year after year, without repeating himself or becoming boring.

Great stuff, both magazines.

I love both TWD and ILAFFT, but they're definitely better in small doses. I made the mistake of buying myself a compilation book for Christmas, flew to France for the holidays, and read it from cover to cover in two afternoons before I was scheduled to fly home.

I'm afraid that my head was so full of all the things that can go wrong, and how clever and resourceful every other pilot is, that my return flight was distinctly tainted by it.

...And don't forget Bob Davey used to write TWD before Mr Boswell took it on. His were pretty good, too.

SSD

IanSeager,

<Apologies for slightly off Topic>

Just a small request - When you publish your touring articles like the superb "Supercub to Meribel" is there any chance you can insert a small route map with leg distances of some-sorts - (I know space is probably at a premium) but it just puts it all into perspective for the virgin/inexperienced european tourers?

Many thanks

GV.

BTW - Good mag - keep it up!

GulfStream - thanks for the feedback, good idea. If we run out of space I guess we could always add a route map on the web. Tricky, I'll pass on your comments to Richard, although he normally only has to go for a quick flight with me to experience a 'Worst Day' :-)
Ian