Flying Tykes

Belly of the Beast

2012-01-30T21:10:00.000Z

Bruntingthorpe, a huge airfield that until Sunday appeared completely off limits. Apparently its not, especially on Sundays when they like people to fly in! So with a bit of sweet talking from G, off we went into a light mist and the odd thin cloud.

Flying on Gin clear days is good, but I like clouds. I particularly like thin wispy stuff that you can wipe out with some sporting tight turns. I don't like fog and I really don't like poor vis for flying. Sunday appeared to be a good day for some interesting VFR flying...

Arriving overhead the airfield is dauntingly big. Very little mist and no wind at all. So an easy join, downwind and curving turn to final. Eeeeek! thin wispy mist turns into a thick soup and obscures everything! Luckily this is fleetingly brief, a quick glance at the altitude and back to the field, and all is well again!

Bruntingthorpe made us very very welcome. If they had somewhere for a nice cuppa it would be perfect, but on a very cold January day even die-hard 'enthusiasts' wane. So we meandered around decaying relics of the RAF; Buccaneers, JP's, Hunters, etc. Great to see but dwarfed by a Super Guppy! Turns out they have a website so check it all out here http://www.superguppy.co.uk/

The Guppy was one of the iconic planes of my childhood so being up close was pretty exciting. Being invited on-board was very exciting! This plane is insane; its made from other old planes coaxed together so that over sized cargo could be transported around the world. Inside it is a cathedral, and in the cockpit it is 50+ years old! What a privilege to get to experience her fully, thank you Bruntingthorpe!

We had been in the cold too long so it was time to go. But not before the volunteers had treated us to one more gift. At the far end of runway were some recently retired RAF aircraft being scrapped that G really would like to see. So a small detour in the van took us up to see them quickly, no photos though ;-)

Bruntingthorpe,like many old airfields, seems to be the haunt of racing cars. Today was a closed run day and there was a single car taking advantage of the 2 miles of concrete, a supercharged white Jaguar XF with the biggest wing. We watched him a little as we started up the RV for the flight back. We lined up, opened the throttle and he roared passed us on the taxiway. Game on! From our standing start we hadn't a chance but it felt a bit Top Gear so why not. We got to the crew for the XF about the same time he did. A quick wing rock and sharp pull up announced our aerial supremacy and departure. Ahhhh! victory and straight back into the mist. Doh!

The flight back was to take us for a cuppa at Leicester but following a short radio chat we all agreed that home was the prudent choice. For a few minutes we picked our way through the thickening mist and clouds as we headed north. 'Press-on-itis' is the danger here, is it safe or should we go back? There are lots of holes up and down and back. Forward is bright and the kettle is on...

It was a fabulous day, with great friends and a bit of a weather challenge - testing the envelope and knowing ones limits.

all pictures

... been a while!

2012-01-30T21:03:00.000Z

So, its been a while!

I used this blog to record a fantastic trip that I did to Switzerland in 2006. It was meant for the group I ended up with due to weather, stand alone. So now, 6 years on I'm back! No big trip this time, just felt like it...

What has happened since 2006? Lots I guess, mostly flying! I've moved on from the Tecnam to an RV6. I had to re-do my license from a UK PPL D to a JAR PPL A. Jo has learnt to fly. We have done loads of trips including Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Spain... and we've taken up Air Racing with the Royal Aero Club 3R's

I'll be back from time to time, mostly after a good weekends flying!

Swiss Ecolight Fly-in, Mollis - Pictures

2006-06-29T22:28:00.000+01:00

I've uploaded all the passable photos I took on the Switzerland trip. If you want to look you can find them here

Swiss Ecolight Fly-in, Mollis - Day 5 Abbeville to Home!

2006-06-27T23:32:00.000+01:00

We planned to set of early again but the weather still looked a bit poor so we settled for breakfast instead!

Hitting the net with kind permission of the fuel guy, it soon became clear that there was an acceptable window in the weather for the channel around lunchtime. We were on!

We took off heading to pass over Le Touquet. The fresh morning air was calm and the cloud rising and clearing. Ed activated the flight plan with Lille on the wing and pressed on the Le Touquet. Here there was a hint of concern for the weather as we heard Chris landing. As we passed north and caught sight of our crossing the cloud gave way CAVOK conditions over the channel. Excellent. Ed relayed to all via Le Touquet that the crossing would be good and we shot off heading for Dover and home.

As we coasted in Ed needed to stop and tape up his radiator so we dropped in to Stoke Medway at lunchtime. From Stoke we passed Waits Farm and said goodbye to Nic. Ed and I continued to Chatteris where we split and I was alone again for the first time since Friday night. A quick splash & dash at Fenland to be comfortable for fuel and then home to Sturgate. The weather got better and better up north. By the time I landed there was no wind beautiful blue skies celebrating the end of an excellent trip.

I had a fantastic trip made all the better with brilliant company. Special thanks go to Ed, John and Nic for letting me tag along with them. I defiantly didn't end up as Billy-no-mates!

So 5 days flying.
13 Flights.
19 Hours.
1320 Nautical Miles.
12.1 Liters per hour!
My individual flights were;

From	To	Time
Sturgate	Lydd	2:10
Lydd	Le Touquet	0:55
Le Touquet	Reims Prunay	2:00
Reims Prunay	Mulhouse	2:25
Mulhouse	Mollis	1:25
Mollis	Mulhouse	1:10
Mulhouse	Equiry	1:50
Equiry	Laon	1:00
Laon	Laon	0:50
Laon	Abbeville	1:35
Abbeville	Stoke Medway	1:35
Stoke Medway	Fenland	1:20
Fenland	Sturgate	0:45

Swiss Ecolight Fly-in, Mollis - Day 4 Laon and almost home

2006-06-26T23:31:00.000+01:00

Monday, the standby day off from work just in case. Laon was looking better but still looking poor. We planned to try for St Omer, stop for fuel then shoot over the channel and home. Everyone took to the phone for Lydd, Le Touquet, home for a forecast and work to let the boss know not to expect an appearance.

Hope and positive thought were defiantly making the sun come out so a plan was hatched. This time Chris T could go first (we had tried yesterday) and he can tell us what it's doing. We would rout via airfields so if the weather deteriorated we would be near somewhere to stop. Off we set in our groups with a few minutes gap, we really didn't want to be bumping into each other.

We routed St Quentin, Perone, Albert then St Omer with Abbeville and Le Touquet as alternatives if it was bad up north. Everything started well but the cloud was lingering the further north we went. Chris found it first and was forced to descend, we followed 10 miles behind and soon found we couldn't get through. We passed Albert and it was getting uncomfortable as the darkness loomed to the north preceded by wispy low cloud.

It was no good, we had to stop and sit it out, so one by one we headed to Abbeville. Nic charged on enjoying playing in the low cloud. Chris in the Eurostar arrived at Abbeville first, being in front, but sounding like he arrived before setting off? Ed & I headed along the Somme valley enjoying the scenery of the small villages with their tall churches as we passed them by.

Safely at Abbeville gradually everyone arrived. By mid afternoon 14 of the 18 UK microlights that traveled to Switzerland were at Abbeville! By 6 o'clock many had gone into town with the promise of a fine day on Tuesday. Ed, John, Nic & I stayed at the motel on the airfield and enjoyed a fantastic meal in the restaurant.

That evening as we checked in the weather was clearing which prompted the first intrepid pilots to press on for home. Two Eurostars from Manchester left first followed by a group of 3 more Eurostars and a Skyranger. By 7:30 we were enjoying our starters when the first group called from Southend where they had found an open customs field. Everyone was safe and the crossing was fine.

Swiss Ecolight Fly-in, Mollis - Day 3 Mollis to... Laon?

2006-06-25T23:17:00.000+01:00

Another early start, packed the tent into the plane and off we went.
The early morning in Switzerland was very clear as the thunderstorms of the previous night had blown everything away. The view along the valley & lake to Zurich was marvelous, better than the day before. I really enjoyed the flight back through Switzerland to Mulhouse, we were in no rush so enjoyed the scenery.

Lots of discussion in Mollis revolved around the forecast for the channel for midday. Everyone was expecting it to be worse than we had enjoyed so far so we wanted to press on and get as far north as possible from Mulhouse.

We got to Mulhouse before the locals so had to go self serve on the fuel ;-)

Quickly off again for a flight towards Reims and a stop at a small friendly place Ed recommended - Equiry. Again a brilliant flight, viz starting to go a bit but smooth and quiet without the ATC on Sundays.

At esquire a little old lady in a floral dress wondered out with her clipboard to serve l'essance. Very friendly and fantastically French, what a great place.

On our taxi out a Robin called "vent derrier" so we bolted together across the huge grass field and into the air. Great fun but a smoother bit with short grass would have been better.

Our next stop was to be St Omer for fuel and then on to the Channel if we could, but then came the rain...

Quickly after Equiry the cloud started to thicken and the sky darken from the west. As we passed west of Reims we got a little turbulence and a bit of drizzle. We were down to 1200' but the going was still good. As we were on the micro frequency we could hear the Jab boys behind us and Chris T with the Eurostar in front of us. Everyone was faced with the same front from the west and we were headed straight for it!

As we passed north of Reims we found ourselves in intermittent drizzle and occasional heavy rain. We decided enough was enough and headed for St Quentin. Which is what Chris had decided and already turned back! Ed had already mentioned Laon before setting off as a suitable place to get stuck. We let everyone know on the frequency and went in to Laon. Within a few minutes we were joined by Chris and the Swansea C42s and the waiting began...

Shortly before landing we had spoken to Clive and Kevin in the Jabs. They were the other side of Reims and facing the same weather. Choosing safety over courage they turned north for Charleville.

The last hour was quite a contrast to the previous legs of the journey, low cloud and rain forcing us low and blocking the route. Later in the day our 3 ship, Ed & John, Nic & myself tried to get through in the clearing weather but at St Quentin cloud was down to the deck. Back we went to Laon to log a local flight.

Into town we went. We had another good night in a passable motel made by the excellent company.

Swiss Ecolight Fly-in, Mollis - Day 2 Mulhouse to Mollis

2006-06-24T23:14:00.000+01:00

The previous day had been a long one and I had slept like a dog, literally from when my head hit the pillow. We made an early start from the hotel so that we avoided the heat of the day and possible strong winds.

At Mulhouse we found DTOY & MSKY had gone already and the Jabs were getting ready. We filed our flight plans and off we went as a 3 ship with Ed, his dad & Nic. The Jabs chose to route further south than we did and were taken over Bale by their ATC. We tracked to the east before turning to route along the bottom of Lake Zurich.

In the misty morning the hills and low mountains slowly came into view. The countryside spread rich and green, rolled & undulated as we passed through Germany, over the Rhine and into Switzerland. Gradually the undulations became more sharp until we could see the high craggy mountains in the distance covered in snow.

This fantastic flight just kept getting better, the mist was clearing and it was smooth. We picked up the main road out of Zurich towards Mollis along the lake. The contrast was incredible, the large dark lake surrounded by houses & green hills flanked by huge grey craggy mountains!

Our joining instructions led us to the north of the valley where we reported and joined downwind along the valley wall. What an airfield! The mountains either side rose to 6, 7 and 9k feet! The downwind leg was along the sheer wall of grey rocks and green trees towering massively above. I felt giddy with the excitement of such a fantastic arrival. Downwind went fast as we skirted along the mountain wall at what felt like inches, it also felt as if the mountain was pushing me into the airfield!
Most of the UK contingent seemed to have reached Mollis before Ed, Nic & myself and were enjoying finals with 4 others! Clive went round at least once but it could have been twice. I think he was enjoying it really. I turned in after Ed and followed him in over the town.

It looked busy on the field with quite a few planes there already as we taxied off the runway to the grass. Getting out the beauty of the location continued to assert itself. The narrow valley bathed in bright sunlight flanked by grey, green and a now clear blue sky.

Nic's shadow caused the biggest stir with people making b-lines straight to it! Apparently Shadow's are not common in Switzerland. With everyone down we booked in, stuck our flags in the map and relaxed in the midday sun to watch the world fly-in.

What a Relaxing day, good food, some beer & excellent company! Through the day we met with our fellow UK flyers. Eventually 18 planes turned up with Eurostars and C42 being by far the most numerous. The typical mouthwatering Euro-micros began to arrive after us; Pipistrel Sinus, Polaris, Fascinations and Dynamics with a few Tecnam's among them!

That evening I had plumped for the tent as is traditional. We had been warned of thunderstorms forecast and we certainly were not let down with a belter crashing into the mountain tops. We sat and watched over a beer before adjourning to the main hangar for some entertainment! Our gracious Swiss hosts presented a good show with the highlight a short educational film describing the dangers of microlight flying in Switzerland pre 2006!

On to the presentations, unfortunately no UK X-Air, Thruster or Spectrum had arrived during the day so that Â£1000 prize went un awarded. The longest flight competition was close with a few of us coming from the UK, Ed, Myself and the Eurostars from Manchester doing about 1000km. The winner was a pair of Danes from far north Denmark who had already gone on somewhere else.

Swiss Ecolight Fly-in, Mollis - Day 1 Sturgate to Mulhouse

2006-06-23T06:40:00.000+01:00

The day had come... I had decided to fly to Switzerland for the Swiss Microlight Federation's first fly-in for foreign microlights at Mollis AFB. I planned on heading to Mulhouse to meet up with Ed Cartwright and Nic Snow whom I had met the previous weekend at Spamfield.

I set off on my first leg of Sturgate to Lydd at 7:25. It was bright, clear and smooth - easy flying. After negotiating the complicated yet tiny terminal at Lydd I set off to Le Touquet via Folkestone and Cap Griz Nez. I left just before a C42 group, who went direct at 2000'. I chose 4000' and spoke to Manston with their reassuringly loud and strong voice. I landed 5 minutes behind them!

A quick stop and on to Reims Prunay. An hour and a half later I approached Reims where I contacted CTR traffic to be greeted by a clear sounding French lady. She sent me via VRPs N then W then NW, I'm sure I never found any of them but she seemed happy with my track. As I was approaching W I was asked to descend quickly from 3k to 2k because of jet traffic. I dashed down and turned towards NW. She asked me to look in my 1 o'clock and as I did two Mirage F1 passed by wheeling around each other. I'm sure they said something over the radio but really didn't understand.

At Prunay I battled through the odd fuelling ritual, with card & code. Whilst doing this I was entertained by an air display an ex-Patrouille de France Fouger Master, it was extremely noisy as it taxied to the park.

I had already flown 5 hours and it was getting on for 3:30 so I planned to have a few minutes rest. I opened a drink and pulled out the Mulhouse Habsheim info to read sat on the grass. Reading it I realised that it would be tight to get in by their published closing time of 5:40. Off I Dashed!

It was now getting well into the afternoon, It was hot and lumpy, I was getting tired and I had lots of restricted areas to get through before Mulhouse. All this didn't really help, and unlike previous transits, neither did the ATC. Nobody wanted to talk, everyone wanted to pass me on!

I approached the mountains before Mulhouse a little anxious of their height. As I threaded through I passed gliders and paragliders. Many paragliders seemed to be getting ready to go. Three had been going a while because they were well above me and I was almost at 5k! As the highest peaks passed me by the valley at Basel sprawled into the distance. This was very welcoming after the hills but it was almost 5:40 and I was expecting the airfield to close. I gave them a call expecting to hear nothing only to find that there was a UK contingent already in circuit! The tower gave no indication of closing so I routed south past the large aerial and on into the circuit.

As I pulled up there were already a number of planes from the UK, 2 Jabs, 3 C42 and a 912 Shadow. Here I met the Swansea boys, Colin L in DTOY and Rob in MSKY with another Colin. I had said hello to Colin L at Spanfield the previous week after my Billy-no-mates message on the e-group. I hitched a lift in their taxi into town to chance my arm at the Ibis, the Swansea boys had their accommodation set up before hand and there was no room left at the inn. After freshening up at the Ibis I struck out again to meet up with Ed, his dad John and Nic in the centre of Mulhouse.

After such a long day we didn't stay out long, but just long enough for a nightcap at the bar. Already enjoying the local hospitality we found Clive and Kevin the owners of the Jabirus. As talk turned away from the days flying and onto the next I took my leave and headed for bed.