As I sit here writing this newsletter I can see rain running down the windows. I never thought I would be thinking thank goodness for some rain !!!
It certainly has been a hot and dry spell of weather and some good flying has been had by all. Yet again the breeze/wind has been ever present at times and blowing from the south.
With this spell of hot weather it has meant that the need for hydration has been upmost whilst at the field.
A couple of times over the last two weeks I have picked up empty water bottles from the pits area and around the hut area. Please take your litter home. I know it has been very hot but no excuse really
Annual Club Fly- In Sat 23rd July
In the last newsletter I mentioned that Jake had booked the sunshine especially for this event, well the sunshine made an appearance for sure however it came along with a 16mph southerly wind.
This did curtail the flying to be honest with a few brave soles (including myself) taking to the air. Interesting flights would best describe how it went.
The turnout was average with a couple of visitors attending although I did not see them fly, apologies if they did.
Due to the below par turnout there was a large amount of BBQ food to be consumed. Jason very kindly played chef for the day and kept us topped up with burgers, hot dog sausages and chicken drumsticks.
True to form farmer Tom’s BBQ radar was in action and within twenty minutes of the BBQ being fired up his car was spotted approaching via the farm track.
With gusto in his stride Tom marched onto the decking area and was heard saying his trademark statement ‘Oh a BBQ is any of that going spare’
Michel Roux in action
Will Sparrow
Anybody who was at the field last Wednesday/evening will have noticed Will Sparrow on his perch along with Mrs Will Sparrow for support.
His wings are getting stronger by the day and it was really nice to see him
To aid his recovery MrsV has made one of her high protein (high calorie actually) chocolate cakes which I dropped off at his nest box at weekend.
Hopefully we will see him flutter his wings before the year is out
The Missing Wing
Good news the crops have been cut and the ‘Missing wing’ has been recovered. An intrepid team set off and returned with the item. Now under international law the team have claimed salvage rights to the item. An un disclosed amount of money needs to be negotiated between the team and the return of the item. Good luck with that !!!
Foreign Visitors
It was nice to see Phil Leach at the field recently. Phil is visiting the UK to get away from the French summer heat, I think he actually brought their summer heat to us.
Phil has some planes stored in the UK and he turned up with a Dave Boddington plan built trainer from wayback. The trainer has been stored for many a year and is still on 35Mhz. Phil managed to find an OS25 glow engine in a box somewhere and fitted it to the plane, second flick and it started and flew all afternoon without missing a beat. Nice to see you Phil
Now I am not sure what kind of fuel they use in France but Phil was spotted filling a fuel container up at the field. I will let you draw your own conclusions
Trainers
Below is the list of current trainers for the club. Get to know these people if you are learning to fly. Ask them for their phone numbers so that you can ring them to check availability. This save’s wasted journeys which can lead to frustration for trainees.
Jason Reid, Mark Conlin, John Higgins, Brian Holdsworth, Chris Vernon, Andy Harrison, Jim Sheldon, Paul Cusworth, Justin Goldstone and Kevin Watson.
The vast majority of these trainers are in employment so their availability is governed by their work. Please bear this in mind when arranging a flying session
Don’t forget the main training session during the summer is Wednesday nights, weather dependant of course
Reminder of up and coming events this summer:
Please support these events if you can even if you just visit the field for an hour to show support to Jake and the work he puts in to organize these events
Aero Show Trophy Sat 17th September
Our annual club aero show competition. Fly a simple scale schedule.
As ‘Columbo’ would say just one more thing
Jake turned up at the field recently with his new ‘flying toy’ a huge and I mean huge airplane with a 195cc flat twin engine in it. The carbon fibre workmanship in it is fantastic along with the colour scheme. The plane has a real presence in the air. I had a chuckle with Jake when I told him my first motor bike was a 125cc Yamaha and I thought the engine was enormous. How things have moved on
Stay Safe
Chris V