Flying (3 Viewers)

[Jim]

I had a half share in a little aerobatic Victor Airtourer, I also owned a TB10. Flew out of BigginHill in the early 80s, got bored flying to Le touquet for lunch or the greasy spoon for tea at Elstree.

So I started jumping out of them again which is much more exciting than flying them and eventually the licence lapsed, I have never since had the urge to get into a small plane unless I had my rig with me.

Flying was alway boring, unless I was lost, which was most of the time.:Blush: I even got lost on my first solo cross country, I gave up trying to find Lydd airport in the end and headed home

 

[Stephen & Jeannie]

I had a half share in a little aerobatic Victor Airtourer, I also owned a TB10. Flew out of BigginHill in the early 80s, got bored flying to Le touquet for lunch or the greasy spoon for tea at Elstree.

So I started jumping out of them again which is much more exciting than flying them and eventually the licence lapsed, I have never since had the urge to get into a small plane unless I had my rig with me.

Flying was alway boring, unless I was lost, which was most of the time.:Blush: I even got lost on my first solo cross country, I gave up trying to find Lydd airport in the end and headed home

what canopy did you use ? I had most fun with a para-commander and after that a cloud, happy days ...being in Hereford we had a lot of manic jumpers with us including a Fijian who was so strong that when he exited the plane he caused it to yaw !! the pilot thought it was a fault and he ordered us all out PDQ !!! :Cool:

 

[hilldweller]

Flying was alway boring, unless I was lost, which was most of the time.:Blush: I even got lost on my first solo cross country, I gave up trying to find Lydd airport in the end and headed home

[FONT=georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif]A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Lao Tzu[/FONT]

Ah, a pattern emerges.

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[Jim]

what canopy did you use ? I had most fun with a para-commander and after that a cloud, happy days ...being in Hereford we had a lot of manic jumpers with us including a Fijian who was so strong that when he exited the plane he caused it to yaw !! the pilot thought it was a fault and he ordered us all out PDQ !!! :Cool:

Yes I have jumped the Paracommander and the similar Pappilon but never really had that much "fun" with them, they always sat me down a bit hard, and anyway, just as I was really getting into it, the "square" was taking over. The vast majority of my jumps were done on a zero porosity sabre 170 which in its day was a Ferrari , now it’s a monster sized steam engine compared to the superfast handkerchief size canopies the youngsters are jumping with these days. :Blush:

 

[Stephen & Jeannie]

Yes I have jumped the Paracommander and the similar Pappilon but never really had that much "fun" with them, they always sat me down a bit hard, and anyway, just as I was really getting into it, the "square" was taking over. The vast majority of my jumps were done on a zero porosity sabre 170 which in its day was a Ferrari , now it’s a monster sized steam engine compared to the superfast handkerchief size canopies the youngsters are jumping with these days. :Blush:

I bet you can remember your 2nd. jump and did you ever have to dump your reserve ? Not an enjoyable experience !

 

[Jim]

I bet you can remember your 2nd. jump and did you ever have to dump your reserve ? Not an enjoyable experience !

I can't really recall my 2nd, but then I can't particularly remember my 1002nd either. I had three reserve rides all pretty scary but I still get sweaty palms if I think about the first one. My boy (14) is pestering me to let him jump this year, he only wants to skydive, so that he can BASE jump, he is mad for it, and i haven't got long to talk him out of it. I might sit him down tonight and tell him the story of my first reserve ride, that should slow him up a bit

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[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Those were the days, I always loved parachute flying, best part of flying were take offs and landings!

Used to be able to drop 4 students in four minutes flat from take off to landing with four passes and drops.

Got done for low flying over the GEC sports ground at Wembley in the Navajo when we aborted the display and did a low pass with smoke pouring out the tail of the aircraft, one canister tied to the tail cone which I set off by pulling a cord and one jumper with his foot out of the door!

All the jumoers were going to swear that I never went below 1500 ft on their altimeters but some had taken a photigraph of the aircraft! so I didnt have much choice and ended up pleading guilty.

When I got to Harrow Court I asked where I had to go and the chap said 'Oh your the pilot, you were the star turn in N0 1 court but now you are plaeding guilty your in No3!

What a waste of time prosecuting you''

So I said, ''who are you and the guy said I am the magistrates court clerk'' (handy man to have on ones side I thought)

Anyway the copper who was in charge then arrived and I said ''what you doing here. I am pleading guilty'' and he said the guy who took the photo refuses to come to court!!

Si i asked him to show me the photo and he said he couldnt in case the CAA barister (a woman) saw hi dhow me, so I said lets got in the gents, she camt come in there, and he did.

If the camera had been a bit lower you could have seen the tops of the floodlight towers!

Anyway cut a long story short, the CAA barister said I was a very exsperienced and safe pilot who took exceptional safety measure with the approach path and departure, there was no risk to anybody etc etc, I thought wow she is on my side!

After due deliberation with the magistrates clerk I got fined £40

Just one of my many hundreds of flying experiences, got plenty more, I could write a book

Peter

 

[hilldweller]

Just one of my many hundreds of flying experiences, got plenty more, I could write a book Peter

That's old fashioned, this is just the time of year for some good yarns, get typing.

Were you doing this professionally ? You got a load of hours in.

 

[Autoquest]

You sure did get a lot of hours in... I have just got past 6000 but probably won't see seven. Best time I ever had was as Eagle lead in the Army Air Corps 'Eagles' helicopter display team flipping the Lynx upside down - I must have been as mad as hatter Can't see the police letting me do that in their shiny 135 (although I can get quite close)

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[Tiderus]

Hi Brian,

Had the same attitude all my business life, only time I am ever a bastard is if a supplier upsets me and then its 'how much do I owe you, heres a cheque, now bugger off'

Always paid my bills on time, then I can shout if I am upset.

Made my money in the electronics trade, never made any money in the motor trade, so far always lost it!

Johns Cross is a challenge, fortunately I have very good staff who look after all the customers and its not rocket science at the end of the day when one realises how much it costs to get a customer in the first place, so why lose them once them have done business with you by poor service.

So many business's fail to realise this.

Peter

Hi Peter, You sound very much my type of man. From the way you've replied to several members Iv'e already decided to look you up at the shows. Not many are so helpfull. After six months wait to get two rear window supports that needed to be changed according to their mechanics. The Brownhills manager arrived and said push them back in that will do. So Iv'e voted with my cheque book twice since and wouldn't go back. Customers only want a fair deal. He may have won the battle, but not the war. ( Remember nothing nice happens till you meet a salesman).

 

[Douglas]

Two years later I climbed back in a glider, for ten years.

When it works there just is nothing like gliding, when it doesn't, well you can guess.

The withdrawal symptoms from gliding are severe. I've now distorted the situation by buying a MH. One of it's first sites was Deeside Gliding Club

Brian.

Brian, Do we know each other? I was a founding member of the North Wales Gliding Club which is on Deeside North Wales and you may have flown from The Derbyshire Gliding Club that is based near Hucklow.

Doug

 

[hilldweller]

Brian, Do we know each other? Doug

I am ex-Camphill.

Is yours the outfit running out of a load of Portakabins and vandalised by the locals after an heroic effort getting established ?

If so I did visit one day. Usual gliding club welcome.

Well as you have already read, I gave up the battle. One year on the decision seems even better. Gliding is one hell of an adrenaline rush but the hours of one life that pays the bill is not good value in my opinion with the weather we keep getting. It goes without saying, I am forever looking at the clouds but more often than not I'm thinking "thank goodness I'm not stuck on that hill in this".

For the retired experts like Mike Armstrong who could launch into a blizzard and knock off 500K it's a different matter but I don't fit that description.

I still want the sport to prosper and believe everyone should try it at least once so I hope you are still going.

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[Douglas]

I am ex-Camphill.

Is yours the outfit running out of a load of Portakabins and vandalised by the locals after an heroic effort getting establish.

It might have been after I moved to Derbyshire (camp hill) there were road changes to the A5 making the club move to another field, this was a little to short so they moved again to another farm on the ridge about 4 miles away, as to camp hill I flew there for about 10 years and in part was in a K6 syndicate.

Without my log books I can't be sure of the dates but I finished flying and went into sailing about 1989.

I feel sure that we have met.

Doug...

 

[hilldweller]

Without my log books I can't be sure of the dates but I finished flying and went into sailing about 1989.

I feel sure that we have met. Doug...

At that time I was flying at Barton. Though I really caught the bug on a holiday course at Camphill in 1980 but gliding was far too time consuming so I went for power. Gliding to sailing, sort of out of the frying pan into the fire bucket.

Camphill has, in my opinion, gone way down the hill because of all the crashes and deaths which not only brought them to the brink of not being able to insure but also instilled a culture of paranoia so first breath of wind and anyone less than Silver was grounded. It is without doubt a dangerous field which makes it such a buzz.

I was landing a Junior there one day when I tangled with something really nasty at about 200 feet, I stuck the nose down and got some extra speed but I wasn't in control, it was going up and down like a road drill. Even after I flown it onto the ground, somehow safely, it was trying to take off again. I watched Dave Martin ( Ex-CFI ) follow me in in a Puchacz and the wings were flapping like a bird. Great fun but by any measure not safe.

I enjoyed a couple of years at HusBos but at 100 miles each way it got to expensive and tiresome travelling.

>> road changes to the A5

That sounds like Bryn Gwyn Bach - I flew into there training in a Piper Cub, not a field for the faint hearted.

>> I feel sure that we have met.
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I've just thrown a picture on here - I used to have a beard - ring any bells ?