LAA Strut News
H
aving, hopefully, recovered from the seasonal excesses, it’s time to look forward to a year of aviation. Doubtless Struts are now planning a diary of flying events in anticipation of a good year for aviators. This month we are looking at another of the LAA’s affiliated clubs, the Vintage Aircraft Club. The VAC is effectively the vintage wing of the LAA, and the beginnings of the club, 56 years ago, set the scene for a group of intrepid aviators who were intent on enjoying the eternal life of their machines. The group, involving Alan Chalkley, Rex Coates and Roy Mills, among others, had their humble beginnings at Hatch End, from where the remains of their deliberations are to be found on faded foolscap, type-written pages. However, it would appear little changes in our world and their ideas for attracting more members to the group and defining the aims of the club are the same as today! In those early days of 1964, it was decided that ‘vintage’, when it came to aircraft, meant pre-WWII. In practical terms that meant aircraft that exceeded the age of 35 years and excluded ‘modern’ types such as Tiger Moths! Now, with a lively club of nearly 350 members, we are regularly asked if a certain aircraft qualifies as suitable to grace our events. It’s not a question easily answered, but we would certainly say that any aircraft over the age of 50 is ‘getting on a bit’, so we would be happy to see it at our events! The 1970s and 1980s often found the club at weekend gatherings at Finmere Aerodrome, Oxfordshire, and fond memories are often shared of those days of barnstorming, picnics and camping. When Finmere was no longer available, the club based many events at Turweston as well as flying days to members’ strips and bases. We now live in a different world, and we are unable to be quite as free and easy with the regulations. However, we do organise regular fly-in events from Bodmin to Breighton, and accompany many with ground events so that the social side of the club continues despite inclement weather, which can sometime prevent flying. We have also been grateful to have LAA HQ accommodation for some of those days, including Halloween Spooky Stories, ‘I learnt about Flying from That’, Aviation Adventures, informal seminars, Aviation Art Fun for Grown-ups, Pure Nostalgia and, at White Waltham, an annual Aviation Poetry Evening in the depths of winter. Our Dinner and Awards Evening is enjoyed in the sumptuous surroundings of Shuttleworth House.
Struts 4U by Anne Hughes
Above de Havilland, Miles and Beagles at a VAC fly-in. The Club hosts and attends a number of events Below The 1913 Eastbourne Monoplane replica is an exciting new project to teach youngsters engineering skills
As a club, we receive many invitations throughout the year to bring our vintage aircraft to other venues.
Opportunity for the young
It is important to make certain that we offer young people an opportunity to make their way into the world of flying, and we are pleased to offer an annual scholarship, the Liz Inwood Taildragger Scholarship, to one young person under the age of 35 each year. Most recently the VAC has acquired a 1913 Eastbourne Monoplane, and Cornwall Aviation Heritage Trust’s Museum at Newquay has kindly agreed to host it for young people to try their hand at basic engineering skills, with particular reference to maintaining and rebuilding historic aircraft. With Pete White as project manager, we look forward to following this exciting project. The Vintage Aircraft Club has a wealth of talent among its members, a dedicated team steering the ‘ship’ and an enthusiasm for beautiful aircraft, from the delightful de Havilland Dragonfly to the humble Piper Cub, that we see at our fly-ins. Have a peep at our website and see for yourself! For details please visit: www.vintageaircraftclub.org.uk
38 | LIGHT AVIATION | February 2020
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