Microlight life

Oh its Cold @ the field

2012-02-02T06:41:00.000-08:00

Quick trip over to the field on Wednesday with a view to flying over to Goodwood or possibly Rochester but as soon as I arrived I could see that this was unlikely.

The forecasters had predicted that the wind would pick up as the day progressed and for once they were spot one....bugger.

Although the wind was pretty much straight down 06 it was averaging 10 knts plus with gusts almost up to 20knts. One brave sole who had arrived early and gone up for a quick local reported that although it had been OK on the ground (at that time) the winds were 090/35+ @ 1000.

After a good long chat with Keith and David I decided to call it a day after quickly checking over the planes security etc and quick check in the trailer.

Oh well you can't win them all.

2012 - Another Year of Blue Sky Thinking

2012-01-17T05:07:00.000-08:00

Well the weather over the Christmas period was pretty poor so no flying there but within a week of the New Year (after some of the strongest winds for a decade or two) things had started to improve.

With all the various service works and inspections completed & with a little bit of arm twisting Les agreed to G-CEDI coming out of hibination a little earlier than normal. By the 8th of Jan I'd managed to take her for her maiden flight of 2012 and since then have manged to get out and play on a couple of further occasions including a lovely circuit bashing trip to Headcorn (sorry for overusing the radio Mr controller).

In addition to the above I've also managed to squeeze in another flight in Rob Grimwoods Eurostar (G - CGZY) up at Plaistows in preparation for my Assistant Instructors training course which I'm due to start in Feb. Please check out my other blogs for the story on this one.

2010 - Mainly in pictures - Part 3

2011-01-18T14:03:00.000-08:00

One of the flying highlights of 2010 was undoubtedly my first and so far only trip across to France.

This had been in the offing for some time and it was great to eventually get it ticked off.

G-BSOR approaching Cap Gris Nez

Lovely French beach and not a soul in sight!

G-BSOR flying low over the French countryside to the south of Le Touquet airspace

G-CEDI on final approach to 02 @ Abbeville airfield

G-CEDI & G-BSOR on the ground @ Abbeville

2010 - Mainly in Pictures - Part 2

2011-01-14T00:24:00.001-08:00

2010 was a great year and on occasion I even took the pictures to prove it.

G-CEDI & G-BSOR on the ground at Compton Abbas after the first leg of the day's intended route

Now that's a nice looking aircraft.

How says roads don't have an impact on the environment.

After leaving Compton Abbas we headed off to Spamfield @ on the IOW. Spamfield usually takes place on the same weekend as the IOW music festival.

Newport & the festival site Festival site in close up

On to the Spamfield event @ Sandown airfield (now almost closed) on the IOW. This is pretty much the biggest gathering of microlights in the UK.

Spotty or what....................................................................Very colourful

Its a Shadow with attitude, you have got to appreciate the irony!

On the other hand this shiny aluminum offering really does have attitude!

Coming back across the water to the mainland you get the chance to fly over am amazing selection of bays, coves and inlets around Hayling Island, Thorny Island, and Chichester Harbour

2010 - Mainly in pictures - Part 1

2011-01-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

Thought you might like to see some of things we did and saw while puttering about in G-CEDI in 2010.

Flex wing on the ground at Colemore Common on a very cold January morning in Jan 2010.

Mount Caburn fort - just to the East of Lewes

G-CEDI reflected in a rainbow ring - I believe this is called a Brocken Spectre

Les & I had the great privilege this year of being able to take part in the first ever Wootton Bassett microlight flypast. We were in the 2nd wave of about 48 aircraft. It was a great privilege and a worthy cause...well done to the organisers and everyone who took part. The rally point was Kemble airfield which has a massive tarmac runway with a eastern threshold that was long enough to easily accommodate nearly 50 machines!

Aircraft moving out to start lining up for the departure of the 2nd wave

You realise just how small our machines are when you see them up close and personnel to the likes of this 747.

With nearly 50 aircraft flying in quite close proximity there was plenty of opportunity to get some air to air shots

End of part 1, lots more to follow.

G-CEDI - 2011 The plan so far

2011-01-12T07:33:00.000-08:00

Well what a start to the New Year, to say it didn't quite go to plan would be a major understatement.

The idea had been to take her out for a quick buzz around the block on Monday 3rd Jan before putting her away in order to carry out some routine maintenance and a number of mods i.e.

External fuel filler capability
Split doors
New (comfortable seats) from the Nynja

Well she started up OK after only a little persuasion. Warm up seemed fine, all the dials reading normal etc. Nothing in the circuit so we lined up on 06 and hit the throttles. Everything seemed absolutely fine till we had just crossed the airfield boundary at about 300 feet when the engine started spluttering and losing power. I throttled off and reapplied power. Although the engine didn't stop there wasn't a lot of power there so checking my height again, 300ft still I performed as tight a 180 as I could and headed back to the field this time coming in on runway 24. Although it was tight I'd managed to get on the centre line, cut the throttles and glided in. Once on the ground the engine ran smooth and clear, strange. OK time to return to the hanger and have a good look round to see what had happened!

Unfortunately this was were commonsense deserted us. After taking the covers off and test running the engine for a good 30 mins and not being able to find any specific problem we decided the problem was probably caused by carb icing. Not wishing to risk all quite so soon we decided to carry out a number of test runs down the runway to see if the problem returned.

After two uneventful runs and much debate we decided to give it another go, big mistake. After further warming up and additional checks and a plan of what we would do if the problem reoccurred we lined up on runway 06. Full throttle everything fine, wheels off and still looking good. Unfortunately at around 150 - 200ft the problem reoccurred. We had drifted slightly to the left on take-off so our initial plan to land straight ahead had to be dumped. Once again I put the plane into a sharp left hand turn putting us right on the edge of a stall. The engine was still delivering some power and I was able level out and head back towards runway 24. After a quick assessment of the situation I decided that we weren't going to reach the field this time so I put her down pararell to the runway about 50m to the west of the strip in a ploughed field.

Although I would certainly have rather made the runway under the circumstances I couldn't have wished for a better landing. Straight in on little power holding off for as long as possible, main wheels first quickly followed by the nose wheel, full stop in less than 30m.

Of course on the ground the engine seemed fine again....bloody typical. From what we could see there was no damage to the aircraft, not even a bent front wheel, amazing considering the state of the soft ground.

Now we had the fun prospect of getting the plane out of a very muddy field and back to the airfield. Bearing in mind that the flight was less than a minute it took over 3 hours to move the plane 50m across a ploughed field , though a barbed wire fence and over a couple of ditches. I would like to say it was a fantastic bonding exercise and great fun but basically it was very hard, dirty work but we managed it.

After a quick wash down we were even able to fold the wings and get her back in the trailer before the light eventually failed on us.

G-CEDI - 2010 The Year that was!

2011-01-12T00:58:00.000-08:00

Well 2010 was a great year but unfortunately I was so busy I didn't have time to tell anyone about it.

In brief:

Still Flying G-CEDI
Sold G-MVCC
Started competition flying, 3 events
Held a open day at the airfield for friends and family
Took part in the Wootton Bassett fly past
First flight across to France

Obviously lots more besides but hopefully I'll get the chance to post a few more items in 2011.

The Blue Box has landed – The arrival of G-CEDI’s new home @ Deanland.

2010-02-22T14:47:00.000-08:00

So there we were Les & I, the proud new owners of G-CEDI.

The next problem was where to hanger it. Hanger space at Deanland is rarer then hen’s teeth or rocking horse poo combined so we knew that was pretty much out of the question. We didn’t want to leave it outside all year round even with a good set of covers on.

So we needed a truck body or a trailer but unfortunately we had managed to choose a plane that even with the wings folded and everything stored was too big to fit into any standard sized unit especially a trailer. So the search was on for a non standard truck body that was big enough to take DI but could still be made to look like a trailer. E-bay, auto trader, Gumtree, we tried them all and bid on a few as well.

Les came up trumps after a couple of missed offers when we eventually managed to win an auction on eBay. OK so along with a lovely Skyranger Microlight we now owned a very large (27ft x 8ft x 8ft) blue truck body. OK problem number two. The truck body was in Essex and we needed it in Deanland. Now you wouldn’t have thought that it would be that difficult to get a big box from Essex to East Sussex, wrong. After much haggling and persuading and drawing up of plans and promises of assistance I found a company willing and most importantly able to transport something this big on something that would be able to get down the lanes to our airfield.

OK the big day arrived and the weather was great. We were told that we wouldn’t be required at the Essex end so we waited back in Sussex hoping that the driver was able to find the pick up site OK and that it fitted on his truck OK. We had hoped that it would be with us by 1200 but in the end it was gone 1400 by the time it arrived at the entrance to the airfield. I was rather shocked by the size of the truck that delivered our container but very impressed with the skill of the driver being able to manoeuvre it through the gates and into the airfield without removing too much of the overhead foliage. The next challenge was to drop our container in between two existing units preferably without causing too much damage!

Well it took at least another hour to get it on the ground but in the end we managed it. For now it was balanced on bricks, breeze blocks and blocks of wood but at least it was down.

Bearing in mind that the container had cost us £300 quid and more again to get it transported this was the first time we had seen it so it was a great relief to find that it matched all the descriptions and pictures we had been sent.

Of course this wasn’t the end of things as the trailer now had to be made fit for receiving our aircraft.

Alterations and amendments required included:

Construction of a lower tail gate
Fitment of a tow bar
Fitment of a set of axels and wheels
Cutting out a section of the front supports to fit side tunnels to allow the passing of the rear tail-plane and elevators
Fitting of a side door
Painting of the floor
Construction of a work bench and cupboards

By late September all the above work and much more was complete and G-CEDI was ready to be put away for the winter….yippee.

G-CEDI – Plans for 2010

2010-02-16T01:24:00.000-08:00

Well it’s been a while since I last posted, over a year I think. Going to try better in 2010, that’s as close to a New Years Resolution as I’m going to get!

Well lots of changes to report, the key ones being:

Bought a 50% share in a Skyranger – G-CEDI with Les C.
G-MVCC is about but about to go up for sales having now sat in a corner of Lew’s field for a few months – anyone want to buy a 30yr old Shadow?
The Skyranger boys now have the biggest trailer on the field, even surpassing Tony’s monster!

The Skyranger is a side by side two seater powered by a Rotax 912u engine. The weight limit is a full 450kg which now means I have the option of carrying a few slightly heavier friends than had previously been the case and lots and lots of fuel, especially with Aaron riding shot gun.

Memorable trips in 2009 included:

Numerous jaunts over to Sandown on the IOW
Popham
Andrewsfield and
Maypole

Since purchase we have carried out lots of cleaning and tidying up work with the main undertaking being the modification of the front cowling to include an oil inspection flap, just a minor mod! We have also just completed the painting of the spinner and spats in a really fetching bright red!

Plans for DI in 2010:

Extend the repainting to the bottom cowling and door edges
More draft sealing, endless project of Les’s
Get the GPS officially mod’ed
Carry out the mod for fitting an external fuel filler system, no more nasty smelly accidents hopefully
Fitment of split doors, a possibility

As for flying plans for 2010 we do have some quite ambitious ideas but alas neither the time nor money to probably bring them all to fruition. Basic target to include:

1st flight across the channel
1st flight to France from IOW
Take part in at least a couple of rounds of the BMAA National Microlight comp
Try to take in a few more BMAA events this year i.e. Popham and Spamfield!

Well those are the ideas for this year; we will as ever just have to see what happens!!

Let’s hope for lots of BLUE SKY days in 2010

Grey Old Days - Late post but interesting story

2009-01-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

After the fun and games of last summer the reality of Microlight flying in the British winter has really set in.

For various reasons (time, weather, broken plane, lack of sufficient brownie points etc) I wasn't able to get out and play between the end of Sept and the close of 2008. Unfortunately I lost a lot of time trying to sort out the problems with my leaking fuel tank..what a pain that has turned out to be!

The main problem now seems to be getting my timings right. Either I'm busy and the weather is crap or the weather is fine and I'm busy. The other gauling issue is trying to find someone available to take up the offer of the dog kennel. If the Shadow has one major drawback its the "two" person build requirement. Fine if you can afford or find space in a hanger not so good if you can't!

What all the above means is that for the first time since I qualified is that I managed to fall foul of the 90 day rule. This basically states that if you haven't flown for 90 days you must complete three take off and landings before you can take a passenger again.

That is why I found myself on a dull, damp grey afternoon in Dec at Deanland airfield. Under normally circumstances I don't think I would have bothered but with the need to requalify and the prospect of decent weather forecast for the weekend I'd dragged myself and my reluctant helper (wife Karen) down to the airfield to see what could be achieved.

To Lydd and beyond - 21st Sept 2008

2008-10-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

Deanland – Lydd – Headcorn – Deanland

2nd good weekend in a row, god were being spoilt. Always difficult to plan exactly what you are going to do with regards to going microlight flying in the UK as the weather dominates your decisions so much. With a bit of luck it looks like the planned trip might actually be doable on this occasion!

Up nice and early and across to the airfield by 0900. Carl due to join us @ around 0930. Pretty straightforward build this week although time seems to fly for some reason and its 1045 before we eventually get away. The numerous cups of tea and chats probably didn’t help.

When I take passengers they are often surprised at how easy it is to go flying i.e. many think you need to submit a flight plan for all flights and that you must “check” in with someone before going off. Thankfully this is not the case for most “light aircraft and microlight flying in the UK….at the moment. As long as we keep out of restricted airspace….highly recommended for all sorts of reasons, you can fly around the UK without having to contact anyone. Most but not all aircraft these days carry radio’s so we normally at least talk to our departure and arrival airfields but other than that you can pretty much keep to yourself. Before anyone out there starts panicking all pilots carry maps (and in most cases GPS’s) that show were and at what heights we can or can not fly. No sane pilot wants a close encounter with 747 or similar monster on a low approach to Gatwick etc.

OK so were wheels up and heading towards Lydd. This will be a first which is always exciting and worrying in equal measure. Although you have checked the maps, called ahead for clearance to visit (microlights often require PPR at some of the bigger airfields) and programmed your GPS you always worry about actually finding the place, not cocking up the join, circuit, approach etc etc. Its always the radio bit that I get apprehensive about, I’m always fingers and thumbs and inevitability end up tripping myself up at some point. Oh well on the whole most airfield operators I’ve encountered so far have been very helpful and patient. Hi, we all have to learn some time!

I decided to head in a pretty much straight-line for the coast to the east of Hastings (Pett Levels) and then head east along the coast. All going well, engine running smoothly although still not holding the cruise point very positivity, not a major problem just not that relaxing. Crossed the coast above the big white house (Grand Designs) @ PL and headed east. Quick listen into to the Lydd information service (ACIS) tells us which runway is in use, what approach to use, QNH etc. It also reassuringly informs us that the two MOD ranges in the vicinity of the airfield are not operating…yippee. Don’t really want any bored squadies or army cadets taking pot shots at us….Shadows would make a lovely slow moving target. Over Camber Sands at 1700ft, looks lovely down there. Quite a few kit flyers out and about today although at the moment the wind is coming pretty much from the north rather than coming in off the sea.
OK about 5 miles out and I can see Lydd airfield up ahead, always reassuring once you have spotted your intended destination. All initial radio calls now complete and a 1500ft overhead join requested. Slightly strange at Lydd is that you go straight from the overhead to make a downwind join rather than initially descending on the deadside before coming back across to commence your downwind leg. Oh well I’ll just do as I’m told on this occasion as Lydd has a full air traffic control service (ATC) i.e. just like Shoreham & Gatwick et al. You don’t get to do your own thing (within strict guidelines obviously) as you would at airfields that just supply an airfield information service (very good and welcome through it is) i.e. Headcorn, Goodwood etc.

As Lydd is situated very close to the Dungeness Peninsula when in the circuit you do get to see just how bleak and isolated this area is. OK so it’s a right hand circuit for runway 03. Nice to see the windsock blowing pretty much straight down the runway so onto finals. I have a habit of cutting in too soon which makes my finals run very short and thus makes me high on approach. Managed to judge it much better this time and have a slightly extended final approach which gives me plenty of time to loose height and set up the landing. The pretty good headwind obviously helps as well; at least it stops CC floating like a feather which is its want on occasion! What a massive runway (1500m), I could pretty much take off across it never mind along it!

OK we are down. They spoil you here as they send out the fuel truck to your parking position which considering I only need about 10 litres seems a bit of a cheek; that said those are the rules!! Decide to use the chocks on this occasion as there is quite a stiff breeze blowing across the apron.

Well after a couple of false starts Carl and I manage to find are way into the terminal building, not as easy as you might first assume. Very posh and much bigger than any other airport I’ve flown into so far. It has the feel that it has the capability and capacity to be a much bigger airport than it is at the moment. Although I’ve referred to it as Lydd Airport its proper name is actually: London Ashford Airport…yep seriously. This is despite the fact that it’s neither in London or Ashford. Oh well that said it does have a big canteen and bar although today it looks like its catering for the local WI out on a field trip. Turns out that the airport runs a series of lunch and pleasure flights on a Sunday, very popular it looks too.

OK lunch over, time for the next leg. Head off into a definitely stiffening headwind with a not insignificant crosswind component….Carl certainly felt it in the back! Straight climb out to the North East and then continue out to the North in order to avoid someone practising some form of ILS approach. It sounded like an interesting conversation between pilot and ATC but far too many three letter acronyms being thrown about for my liking. The wind had definitely picked up now reducing our ground speed to just over 40 mph. Had originally thought we might head for the North East coast of Kent but with this wind decided to head directly across towards Headcorn. Overheard a very interesting conversation between Headcorn information service and a Red Arrows pilot informing all local pilots that they were in the vicinity. That sort of info certainly makes you concentrate as you certainly wouldn’t want to stray into there path. Fortunately for me they were to the West of Headcorn so I could relax again. Pretty straightforward flight across to Headcorn keeping to the South of Ashford. We had had a quick look for a small strip called Pent Farm and although we appeared to be in the right area we couldn’t locate it.

Headcorn appeared to be its usual busy self so a little care required when joining the circuit which was left hand onto runway 11. From the look of things this was going to be a pretty interesting x-wind landing which is exactly what it turned out to be. In WWII circles I think this was generally called a bomber approach i.e. all over the bloody place. Certainly needed a bit of opposite rudder and a last second burst of power to keep things in line. Quick splash of fuel and time for another coffee.

As we had saved a bit of time in the East Kent area we decided to extend our return to Deanland via Bewl Water. The take off from HC was pretty exciting although nothing compared to the landing. Once clear of HC airspace we plotted a straight-line for Bewl water which was tinkling brightly in the distance. Not surprisingly bearing in mind the windy conditions the lake was pretty busy with a mix of boats and what looked like a couple of small dinghy races going on. Always nice to fly around Bewl taking a sneaky peak at the various properties dotted around the lake shore, jealous me, what gives you that idea! After a quick circuit we were back on course for Deanland. With the wind now mainly behind us progress was interestingly rapid with a ground speed of around 85mph even through the ASI was still showing around 60kts.

As always it was nice to spot DL in the distance and with the wind pretty much straight down 06 we set ourselves up for a left-hand circuit over Glyndebourne and Middle Farm. With such a positive and gusty head wind (slight x-wind from the east) a powered approach was definitely the preferred option. After such an “interesting” arrival at Headcorn I was definitely on my guard this time round. It always plays on your mind when you have had a bit of a moment. You have to analyse what happened and why and then look for ways of avoiding or controlling similar situations better in the future.

The final approach on 06 is always a long one especially so with a positive headwind. The gusty x-wind component certainly made its presence felt as we descended from the circuit height of 1000 although once below 300ft things did at least get a little more stable. I decide to come in quite low but keep the power on just in-case the gusty x-wind should intervene. Ah wheels down once again.

It’s hard not to think after each flight what a great privilege it is to be able to go off flying like this. Even in the so called crowded south there is still plenty of relatively unrestricted airspace out there to play in. As for the green belt you certainly get a much better idea of how rural the South East still is when you flying around at 2000ft. Obviously there are large built up areas but overall its not usually difficult to spot a way through or around most of them without having to go too far out of your way.

Another great days flying, time to pack up and rejoin the real world once again.

The Doctors Have it!!

2008-10-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

Deanland to Headcorn 13th Sept 2008

Morning broke far to quickly on this occasion but at least it looked like the forecasters had got it right this time. Clear blue skies and little i.e. no wind!

OK need to get my s..t in order and get going. Quick txt to Doc John to confirm that all seems OK. Quick bit of body fuel and we are off.

As always it’s into the petrol station on the A27 towards Lewes and yep that certainly looks like Doc John stood at the pumps. Quick introduction to Doc Duncan (today’s genie pig) and it’s on with the job of mixing 40litres of 2 stroke fuel.

Once at the airfield its time to get CC out of its trailer and put together. Quick check of the fuel tank to make sure all has held together OK (which it has) and it’s on with the rigging process.

Tony has just turned up so John helps him and Duncan assist me. Slight alarm when I discovery that I’m missing a locking pin but thankfully Melvin comes to the rescue.

All now together and PFI’d so quick briefing for Duncan, agree route and procedures with Tony and its time to go. I’m going to head off first as Tony will be quicker.

Take off was a little longer than I would have expected but there was hardly any wind and the runway was still a little sticky from the rain earlier in the week. Climb out was normal although there was definitely slight x-wind above 300ft. Tony was quickly on the radio confirming switchover to the microlight radio frequency. Quick confirmation that all was OK, direction set and away we went.

Initially we were at 1750-1800ft but very quickly the clouds came in forcing us steadily lower. By ½ way we were down to 1300ft and with a little under 8 miles to go we were down to 1100ft. I’d been monitoring my fuel burn so I was happy that if required I could either return to Deanland or an alternative such as Rochester or Shoreham. As we got closer to Headcorn the cloud started to break-up and the cloud base steady rose back up to around 1800ft +.

With the skies much clearer it was time to join the Headcorn circuit. All radio calls completed and joining information confirmed (runway in use 29 left hand, QNH 1017). As Headcorn is a pretty busy GA airfield care is always required when first joining the circuit as there are normally at least a few others doing the same. Once safely established in the circuit its time to make those final checks, take careful stock of the wind direction on the downwind leg. With very little in the way of headwind I was a little high on the approach which was quickly sorted out with the application of ½ flaps. Pretty fast roll out as you would expect given the conditions.

Excellent, time for a quick coffee, splash of fuel and a chat.. Headcorn was its usual busy self what with lots of GA movements including a small band of hardy flex wing micolighters (they must be starting to feel the cold even with today’s bit of sun). The skydivers were also out in force, can’t blame them for making the most of the weather window.

Although Duncan’s ears were still ringing he seemed to have enjoyed his first outing in a microlight, now all I have to do is get him back safe and sound and in time to get to Dover for a party…lucky bugger!

Trials and Tribulations of Owning a Microlight

2008-10-05T05:03:00.000-07:00

The trials and tribulations of owning a 20 year old microlight...the storey begins!

This is going to sound very strange to the un-insinuated but I pretty much love my Shadow.

Bearing in mind that it is 20 years old this year and has been flying most of those years it is an absolute thing of beauty and is in pretty good condition, mechanically sound but to be honest now requiring a bit of cosmetic TLC.

I started learning to fly a 3 axis microlight (which my Shadow is) back in the summer of 2006 and was fortunate enough to pass my general flying test (GFT), think driving test but in 3 dimensions and with lots of serious exams to go along with it in July 2007.

As my learning period was staring to come to an end I needed to think what to do next. Unlike in general aviation circles under the present rules you are not allowed to hire a microlight. You either have to buy your own machine or take shares in another. That had been the option I was going to go down until Keith my instructor mentioned that he had heard that his old Shadow (G-MVCC – CC for short) might be up for sale.

After a number of telephone calls and a bit of routing out CC was exposed to daylight for the first time in about 18 months.

No one really knew what we were going to find and I think we were all presently surprised when CC came out in pretty good condition. No mould, no funny stains and everything looking pretty OK. What was even more impressive was that it started on about the 5th pull.

Well to cut a potentially very long story short I ended up buying CC and starting the long and laborious job of getting her permitted (permit to fly). A very long winded version of the MOT for aircraft. Well eventually it all got sorted. The engine was partly rebuilt, various bits and pieces replaced and the check flight safely completed. The next was my conversion from the Thruster Sprint to CC. I’m not sure who was looking forward to this the least me because obviously I wanted to get cleared to fly my “own plane” but was worried by the whole process and Keith because he had to squeeze in the rear…its not called the “dog kennel” for no reason! Fortunately the test flight went well and after only about an hour Keith jumped out and I was off on my own.

Those first few flights were very scary and a massive learning curve. As luck would have it all my mistakes were pretty minor (thanks to Keith’s great teaching) and with lots of luck and I suppose some reasonable judgement I was able to survive my first month or so off on my own.

Most of us have flown in one spam can or another these days so are use’t to seeing the earth from above. That said cursing along at 35,000 feet in isolated air conditioned luxury is far removed from circulating the skyies of southern England at 1750 feet in a microlight. You are far more connected to and aware of your environment. The overall level of visibility is high, you can feel the air rushing passed (and into) the aircraft and you can certainly hear the engine working away behind you.

Flying in a Shadow microlight is definitely involving. Unless your lucky enough to be able to keep it fully rigged in a hanger then each time before you go flying you will need to complete the assembly i.e. wings & tail-plane. This usually takes about an hour but can take much longer by the time you have stopped for a cup of tea and a quick chat with whoever is about etc friendly people micolighters. Microlights and 20 year old Shadows in particular need quite a bit of loving care and maintenance i.e. at least 30 – 45 minutes on the ground for every hour you get in the air which is great for the engineers and mechanics out there but a bloody pain for the rest of us!

After you have put everything together, fuelled up and carried out your pre flight inspection (PFI) and had a quick PFP (work it out for yourselves) you then have the fun of getting into the thing. If your lucky enough to be the pilot it’s not too bad (as long as your comfortable dislocating your shoulders to get the harness on) but if your in the dog kennel it’s a whole different ball game. Ladies be warned if you’re offered a ride in the back seat of a Shadow never ever be tempted to wear a skirt no matter how long it is!

OK your in and its time to go flying…well almost. Early model Shadows like CC have a manual pull start system…think lawn mower but with a much longer and heavier pull. The passenger usually gets asked for assistance at this stage by covering the heel brakes, it is very possible to run yourself over if you’re not careful!

Well after that we are pretty much ready to go off flying. Quick call on the radio to let people know your initial intentions i.e. taxi to the designated runway holding point. At the holding point another slight delay as you carry out your pre-flight checks. All OK so final call on the radio to let the traffic know that you’re lining up.

All lined up, final, final checks all OK, full power and your away on another “mini” adventure!!!

Thorney Island Fly-in Part 2

2008-09-08T01:41:00.000-07:00

What no food left, damn I had been so looking forward to a bacon butty or a burger. Oh well at least I’ll fit more easily into the cockpit on the way back.

Its Sat 30th Aug and the powers that be had decided to open up the disused airfield on Thorney Island for the weekend in order to raise money for the “Help for Heroes” charity. I’d just flown in from Deanland, parked up and managed to locate Paul and David (who had left Deanland slightly before me).

The wind on the Island was starting to get up but was fortunately still straight down the runway. That said the reports indicated that it would really slow things down on the eastward bound return leg.

Of to sign in proper and a quick walk round the parking area, lots of nice machinery on view. A few spam cans, LAA’s and groups A’s as well as a nice selection of both three axis and flex-wing microlights. The Escapade boys looked to be out in full force with quite a few lovely examples as well as a red and white C42 which looked very different in this colour configuration.

Well after this short bout of drooling it was back to CC, load in as much fuel as possible (this was going to be tighter than I would like what with the headwind), quick PFI and listen to David get clearance to taxi. Quick hold at the runway threshold and then taxi down to the road intersection to wait with David. Oh bugger they have put us on hold to allow a Yak to carry out a fly past and peel off (only thinking about the fuel) it was impressive through!

Ok David’s rolling and I’m next. There’s another plane on finals so no time to wait around on this occasion. Quick check to ensure that David was climbing out OK, apply full power and we are off. Taking off from a concrete runway into a positive headwind doesn’t half shorten my take-off roll! I’m up and climbing out towards the East. I can hear that the two group A’s that had been holding with me had also got off before the landing aircraft so I would have to be on my guard as things were getting busy around here.

The radio crackled again, “large aircraft approaching low from the East”, 15 seconds later another radio call, large aircraft possibly a Lancaster approaching from the East”. I could just imagine all the pairs of eyes in the four departing aircraft all swivelling rapidly to try and locate this historic beast of the air. Unfortunately at this point I was starting a climbing turn to the North East and couldn’t quite pick it out. That said I swear I heard it a few minutes later as I climbed up over the coast. David was about 500m ahead and slightly below, the two group A’s had just overtaken me, one either side above and below, hell its getting like the M25 up here!

OK trying to keep David in sight, up and around Chichester, keeping Goodwood airfield to my right I climb up to 2300 ft and listen in to their frequency. All sounding pretty busy, check out which runway is in operation. OK I’m flying downwind of there approach but with plenty of height separation. I can easily see aircraft in the circuit, visibility is much better now than it was earlier. Oh what’s that a Spitfire calling up Goodwood for a priority straight-in approach. Now where is he, must be well below me and off to the left. Got him, now that is impressive. Can’t be that many people (in peacetime at any rate) who have been able to say that they had looked down on a Spitfire as it cruised below them over the patchwork quilt of the English countryside – bit clichéd I know but god it looked cool!

Oh well dream time over time to concentrate. Quick check of the GPS showed that the wind wasn’t as bad as predicted and that I was able to cruise at about 50-55mph, 2000ft seemed to be the optimum height as far as the wind is concerned. David has now disappeared off to the north in order to give Littlehampton and Shoreham a wide berth. I’m going to stay in a little closer in as this is the shortest route and fuel conservation is going to be the order of the day.

Try to reach David on the microlight frequency but no luck so quick listen in to Shoreham, not a lot doing. Vis is so much better now, alongside Shoreham I can see 4 blue piston aircraft (no idea what they were) in pretty tight formation showing off to the crowds. Quick glance at the fuel gauge and the timer and all looks well. Decide to go for a straight-line approach to Deanland and look for a left base join on 06. David had kindly radioed up in advance to confirm runway in use…thanks David!

Oh that cross wind is a bit feisty. The approach to 06 always seems to take forever especially with a stiff crosswind. Lots of adjustment required, where’s that bloody centre line. I can just hear Keith voice asking me I’m I on the centre line and the answer was……no but not for the want of trying.

Over the hedge at 50 feet still fighting to hold the centre line. The hump in the runway is approaching fast, throttle off, hold it off, hold it off and I’m down. Rolling slightly faster than I would have expected given the wind, on the brakes and just managed to pull off at the centre point.

David and Paul had arrived back just before me and even had the kettle on.

The strength of the crosswind was ably demonstrated about 5 mins later when one of our colleagues had to abort his landing after a rather high bounce and an untimely gust…….it shouldn’t take him too long to clear the brambles from his tail skid!!

What a great days flying, CC put to bed, home for tea and crumpets (I wish).

Thorney Island Open for Business

2008-09-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

I was really looking forward to taking part in my first official "Fly-in", Thorney Island East of Portsmouth on Sat 30th Augt.

I'd got my entry in, made a charity donation "Help for Heroes" and then disaster the main fuel tank on G-MVCC a Shadow C-D decided to delaminate. A frantic week followed, spare tank located (thanks David), lots of spares ordered and copious amounts fuel resistant filler applied!

I left it a bit late but by mid-morning on Sat 30th everything was back together and seemingly working perfectly. That said I wasn't going to head off West without carrying out a quick check flight. 20 minutes later and I was back and feeling greatly relieved to find that everything had held together well and no leaks had appeared.

As Thorney Island was going to be fueless and my little Charlie Charlie (CC) doesn't have the worlds greatest range an extra 20 litres of fuel was strapped into the rear compartment, final checks carried out and I was off.

It was a busy day in the skies of the South East what with the Shoreham and Bournemouth Air Shows and a sea front festival at Littlehampton all requiring their own allotted space and of course lots of traffic moving between the venues (more of that in part two).

A rather dog legged route was planned to keep me clear of all the temporary and standard danger areas and within 45 mins I could see the coast South of Chichester with Thorney Island sandwiched between the Witterings and Hayling Island. A quick call to Thorney Island radio on the microlight frequency produced...silence, bugger. Two more tries and nothing. I knew they were out there as I heard others calling in and clear responses. Nothing for it by but to check all the connections and fly a little closer. 5 mins later success, contact made and I'm heading for the overhead that sounded like it was a little busy.

For any low hours pilot, which I am, this is always the most scary part having to locate and establish a circuit at a new location especially one like Thorney Island which is going to be pretty unknown to nearly everyone taking part.

Called overhead at 2000ft and headed for the downwind side. A couple of other aircraft were in the circuit but with plenty of separation. Nice easy decent to circuit height at 1000 ft and quick call to confirm position.

Flying downwind alongside the runway showed plenty of arrivals already on site and a nice long concrete runway although the displaced threshold looked a little chopped up to say the least, will need to watch for that.

Right base established over Emsworth Channel and then onto finals for runway 12. Wind straight down the runway so just need to concentrate on my height and the centre line. I could see lots of people lined up alongside the runway so no pressure there then. I was a little low so power on, over the threshold clear of the markings, power off and round out. Nice landing for once, what a relief no embarrassing Kangarooing on this occasion. Quick check on where they want me to park and after a short cross country section I manage to squeeze CC into the line...aah that wasn't too bad.

OK so I had made it to Thorney Island without too much trouble and it looked like a damn good turn out. It certainly looked like as many people as possible had gone for the Saturday rather than risk being blown or rained out on the Sunday.

Well time to go and see who else had made it and check out the refreshments situation, oh yes and sign in and locate the designated bushes, no expense spared at these fly-ins you know!

That's part one, close encounters to follow in part two!