Sunset chaser

What started your interest in aviation?

My mum made a career working in the airlines as both cabin crew and working on the ground in the terminal. She flew for companies such as Saudia, Lufthansa and Virgin and we would frequently fly to Austria and Sri Lanka to see family. My first ever flight in an airliner was when I was just a few months old! Growing up, I have fond memories of my dad taking me to pick up my mum from Heathrow. We would often make our way to the top level of the car park (before the advent of wire mesh) where we would watch aircraft taking off and landing.

I remember the model Concorde that used to sit on the roundabout at Heathrow. I would shout ‘Concorde!’ every time we passed it. I told my dad I wanted to ‘be’ Concorde when I grew up, but as I got older I realised one could not ‘be’ an aircraft, and so I decided that to pilot it would be the next best option. Unfortunately, Concorde was retired long before I would qualify.

What was your path to flying?

From an early age I always wanted to be a commercial pilot, however the cost of training seemed too much. To me, the next best thing was space and I decided this would be my chosen career path, which led me to studying astronomy at university. I had a strong passion for studying our universe and I was (and still am) particularly interested in galaxies and their evolution throughout time. It was an incredibly fun degree and led me to visiting and using a number of telescopes around the world. My plan was to continue to do a PhD in the subject and to eventually become a researcher at a university, however life had other plans.

My obsession with astronomy did not see me forgetting aviation, and I took a few trial lessons at RAF Halton along with some glider flights. My father bought me my first trial lesson in a C152 and I remember meeting my instructor for a flight close to sunset. I asked whether we would still be able to go flying so close to dark, to which my instructor said ‘of course!’. Little did I know that this flight would spark a sincere love of sunset flying within me for many years to come, and it was a flight I will never forget.

Following university, I ended up indefinitely postponing my decision to do a PhD and I found a job at a research council, which allowed me to save some money to put towards flight training, and the flexibility to fly a few times a week. My thought had been to do it as a hobby, but that the sunset flight had stuck with me and aviation became a passion of mine that I would have to end up maxing out bank loans and credit cards in order to become a commercial pilot. My hobby would end up doubling as my career – one of the best decisions I have made.

Flight training is expensive. For me, the only feasible way to afford to do it was through the ‘modular’ route. I gained my PPL at 27, a few years before continuing with my commercial flying. Very soon after completing my PPL, a friend of mine recommended an instructor at Enstone Airfield (the airfield that has become my second home ever since!) and a few months after I received my licence, I went on to complete my tailwheel training, night and aerobatic rating. I have always been someone who likes to run before they can walk!

I was lucky because I had use of a delightful Citabria where I just paid for fuel, and I kept current while flying it on adventures all around the UK. I used this to complete my night rating which was really fun. Being a grass strip, Enstone does not have any runway lights. The only lights available are adequately sized battery powered lights, which you set up yourself before heading off for your night flight. Set them up too close and it becomes difficult to land as visual cues do not make sense, as I found out later on in my flying! I am incredibly grateful for the flying I have been able to do from the grass strip at Enstone.

I went on to fly other tailwheel types including a Pitts, Stearman, Maule and Emeraude, and in 2018, bought my beautiful open cockpit single-seat EAA Biplane. This was partly as a cost-effective way to build hours for the commercial pilots’ licence (CPL), but also because I wanted to learn more about the aircraft I flew and how to maintain them. It has taken me on some incredible adventures around the UK, from farm strips to cloud surfing, and lots of sunset flights. The biplane is also capable of basic aerobatics and so has been a great, and relatively inexpensive, way for me to practice. There is just something marvellous about flying with your head in the clouds!

Above A little snow doesn’t stop Tamara. Below Taxying at the LAA Rally.

I began the dreaded ATPL exams in the spring of 2018. Being modular, I studied from home with Bristol Groundschool. It took me 15 months of a severe hermit-like lifestyle to complete all 14 exams. Once I had completed them, I went on to undertake my CPL and Instrument Rating (IR) on a Duchess, at Bournemouth Commercial Flight Training (BCFT). For me, this too, was a difficult process because as much as I had gained a lot of experience flying from grass strips, flying aerobatics and other tailwheel types, it was quite different flying a nosewheel with a glass cockpit display with a speed tape, and no lovely old-fashioned instruments and gauges. I had also become accustomed to the joys of SkyDemon, so the CPL meant going back to re-learn those basic navigating skills. Nonetheless, I completed my commercial flight training at the beginning of 2020 and began the hunt for a job.

I was incredibly fortunate to be offered a job as a First Officer with Draken Europe flying a Falcon 20 jet from Bournemouth Airport. I completed the Type Rating at the end of 2020, and I’m now living on the beautiful south coast of England. As any other commercial pilot would likely agree with, it can be a difficult journey financially as well as the arduous nature of the process, but it is one that has allowed me to achieve my dream of flying.

How did you get involved with the LAA?

I joined the Association in 2018 when I purchased my EAA Biplane. As I don’t have a background in engineering, the LAA has helped me learn a lot about my own aircraft through being able to maintain it myself with the help of others and an Inspector. It is a great community and provides many opportunities to meet and to fly with other members. I have made a lot of good friends through the LAA community.

I have attended every LAA Rally since passing my PPL, and it’s always a great way to meet other people with similar interests. I have also featured in a few LAA videos promoting aircraft ownership.

How many types and hours in your logbook?

16 types – C152, 172, 182, Pa28, EAA Biplane, Piel Emeraude, Stearman, Pitts Special, Citabria, Aviat Husky, Maule, DA40, DA42, Piper Navajo, Duchess, Falcon 20. I have a total of around 750 hours.

Has one particular type been a favourite?

A difficult question! I fell in love with the Pitts because I really enjoy aerobatics and I am desperate to get into competition flying when finances permit. Plus, biplanes are the best! My EAA Biplane is a close contender as it is perhaps a ‘wannabe’ Pitts but, being low powered, taught me a lot about aerobatics. For touring, the Husky was delightful, very comfortable, huge bush tyres and capable of getting into tiny strips. The Emeraude has possibly the nicest handling out of all the aircraft I have flown, but then the Falcon 20, while an old girl, flies beautifully too. She is the exception, as tailwheels are of course, always best...

Tell us more about the EAA Biplane. It was kit built in the 1980s with a Lycoming O-235 engine. It was one of the first tailwheel aircraft I flew. Having a fairly heavy tail, it has no bad habits in crosswinds and has been a great trainer, although it has made me mindful of flying other tailwheel types that are much lighter, so as not to get caught out. I clearly remember my first flight in it, as it was the first single-seat and open cockpit aircraft I had flown. I was oddly nervous at first, but once on that take-off roll, excitement and enjoyment immediately set in. I flew for about 30 minutes over the beautiful bright yellow rapeseed fields that cover our landscape in spring. It has taken me on many adventures around the UK, over the Welsh hills, to small farm strips, and to check out random landmarks that take my fancy all around the country.

Regrettably, she is for sale, as it’s time to pay off some flight training loans.

Your favourite moment in aviation?

There are too many to choose from, but my most memorable flight was when I flew with my partner to Glenforsa Airfield for their annual fly-in. What a weekend!

Spread across a long bank holiday, we took our red and yellow Emeraude, which I call ‘Noddy’s aircraft’ for those colours. It was one of our first adventures in it since my partner had spent over a year making it airworthy after importing it from Denmark! Life jackets on, we flew up on a Friday with unfavourable, but flyable, weather. With only a short break at Kirkbride Airfield for tea, biscuits and a top-up of fuel, we continued our journey past the Isle of Arran and then on to Glenforsa making sure we flew over the famous Corryvreckan whirlpool which lies between the islands of Jura and Scarba off the west coast of Scotland – what a cool sight! We were glad to be in the cockpit rather than on a boat in the swirling waters down below us.

Top left Nothing beats flying with friends… with a few streamers tied on for good measure!

Top right The EAA Biplane and Emeraude share some grass at Charlton Park.

Above left Tamara with Noddy, the Emeraude.

Above right Fingal’s Cave, while flying from Glenforsa.

Right Emeraude on the beach at Barra.

Arriving at Glenforsa, we were met by dozens of RVs, which had been the first to arrive. We stayed at the fantastic Glenforsa Hotel for the weekend and the hotel terrace was a great place to share a beer with friends, both old and new, who arrived after us.

While we were there, we went to Skye to do some exploring (I am a keen climber so Skye is somewhere I have wanted to land at for a long time!), did some low-level sight-seeing via the Cuillin Hills and went to Plockton for a spot of lunch at the Plockton Inn (more delightful seafood!).

On another day’s adventure with a friend in a Super Cub, we made our way to Barra over the isles of Coll and Tiree. It seemed a surprisingly long way in a small aircraft especially when the hazy horizon made it impossible to see both the land of departure and the land we were headed for. Finally, sunny and beachy Barra appeared ahead of us, which posed the question of where exactly we would land. The advice we had received was that we would see the runway markers as we approached on final, but also that the airfield had large puddles covering it in places which made it very difficult to judge where we would land. Being an airfield covered entirely in beach, we could not make out where the runway was and so proceeded to carefully choose a patch that looked the least wet. We, of course, in gentlemanly fashion allowed our Super Cub friend the first landing. Having slightly larger tyres than us, it was a non-event for him.

We went around after the first approach and, having gauged where its tyres touched down, estimated that the ‘splash factor’ was at a minimum here and landed in the same place. Excited was an understatement as we taxied to somewhere on the beach that looked like a parking spot.

It was very windy as we ventured into the tower to pay our dues and to find tea.

After departure, we made sure to orbit around the impressive basalt formations of Fingal’s Cave on our way back, which really is an impressive sight!

We spent the night in a lovely B&B in Rothesay, venturing into the town to enjoy a fish and chips with the local seagulls by the sea and an impressively pink sunset.

Our final day was our transit home, stopping at Prestwick for fuel. Drinking tea with the friendly bunch there, we completely forgot the time, so we were chasing the sunset as we arrived back at home.

It was an amazing weekend with wonderful company and great aeroplanes, and will stick with me forever. I will certainly head back to Glenforsa for another one of its fly-ins, but I’m not sure it will ever be able to top this trip.

Do you prefer touring or farm strip flying?

This is an impossible choice to make! I have had some incredible adventures both abroad and around the UK, however I love farm strip flying in the biplane. One of my favourite things to do is to pick a farm strip that I haven’t visited before and head over on a sunny day. I love to see who I will get to meet – everyone has a different story.

I’ll make an early start and head down to the airfield with a flask of tea. Getting the aircraft ready is a challenge as there is no luggage space, so you’re fitting as many items and snacks as you can into secure spots around the tiny cockpit. Enstone is often unmanned and accepts non-radio aircraft, so it is a breath of fresh air to be able to just hop into an aircraft and go flying without the faff of having to talk to anyone.

Once airborne and en route, if you choose the correct day, you can find some low level marshmallow clouds to surf through on the way there. The joy with farm strip flying is that it can often be a challenge to get in and out as they are often shorter strips with sloping ground and other obstacles and so requires some thought beforehand. Once on the ground, I have often been greeted with tea in a hangar and the opportunity to talk aviation with anyone who happens to be around.

Sometimes, depending on the location of the strip, a walk around the local area can be nice. It’s the perfect way to spend a whole day, and a sunset flight back with some aerobatics is the perfect ending.

Do you have any aviation heroes?

Betty Skelton! She was a three-time aerobatic champion who set many aviation and racing records. She had a big influence in paving the way for women to have equal opportunities in sports. She flew her first public performance in a Fairchild PT-19 at her dad’s airshow, and her first aircraft was a Great Lakes 2T1A biplane. She went on to win her first aerobatic championship in her Great Lakes before progressing on to a red and white Pitts S-1C named Little Stinker – a similar paint scheme adorns my biplane! Her skill in successfully winning competitions in her Pitts certainly influenced its ability to become a top aerobatic aircraft. Betty set other records in aviation and sport such as the women’s altitude record and many women’s land speed records. With a competitive and charming personality, she apparently holds the most combined aircraft and automotive records than anyone else in history.

She once said, “You must have the courage to bear pain, disappointment, and heartbreak. You must learn how to face danger and understand fear, yet not be afraid. You establish your goal, and no matter what deters you along the way, in your every waking moment you must say to yourself, ‘I could do it’.” If you are determined enough to make your dream a reality you will find a way to do it as long as you don’t give up. I have thought about her statement throughout my flying career so far, and will continue to do so in the things that I would like to achieve with it in the future.

Do you have any favourite aviation books?

We often talk about the well known and brilliant famous flying books such as Fate is the Hunter and West with the

Night, but one I would wholeheartedly recommend which is perhaps less known in the literature is called The Moth and the Mountain by Ed Caesar.

It tells a story of Maurice Wilson, a WWI veteran who had no ability to fly, who decided that he would fly an aircraft from England to Mt. Everest, land on its slopes before becoming the first person to reach its summit on his own. His impromptu decision required him to learn to fly which was done at the West London Aero Club, in his Gipsy Moth biplane.

This was happening at a time when the quest to conquer Everest was in full force and, in 1933, through an extraordinary journey over many months, he eventually flew his way across the continents, inadequately dressed, plus a map and a compass in an open cockpit aircraft, trying to escape government officials as they tried to stop him in his quest along the way. This isn’t just a story of aviation as the book talks about his life in the war, the race to conquer Everest, the family he left behind in Bradford and the relationships both of love and heartbreak that he experiences along the way.

I loved this book as it combines two of my favourite things, aviation and climbing. It is the story of a simple man who was told he would never achieve the things he dreamed of, but he ignored this, believed in himself and set out on his adventure to conquer his mission. It is a reminder to all of us to never give up on our dreams and to ignore those who tell us that something we dream of cannot be achieved.

Do you have any other hobbies?

If I am not flying, I am mostly found climbing either indoors or outdoors. In particular, I love alpine climbing and have spent a lot of time in the Alps and around Chamonix. Living down on the south coast also has its perks as it’s near to Portland and Swanage which are both great for outdoor rock climbing. Other activities include cycling, reading and playing my violin and piano, but I also have a very large passion for polar and climate research. If I could do another degree it would be in this. I am incredibly interested in the work that the British Antarctic Survey does in Antarctica and it would be a dream to visit the continent. With all the outdoor activities that I enjoy, I am really passionate about looking after our planet and I take an active interest in ways to do so such as promoting less waste and recycling – it’s more interesting than people think!

Any ‘interesting’ aviation moments?

Not long after I purchased my biplane, I decided to see what it was like taking-off from tarmac rather than the grass. I taxied to the end of the runway and was so excited to go flying, increased the throttle, stick forward to raise the tail and off I went. Before I knew it, I was in the field next door having veered completely off the runway wondering why I hadn’t gone the way I had planned, which happened to be forwards and up! Luckily there was grass either side and no obstacles. I gave myself a severe slap on the wrist and, assessing there was no damage to myself nor the aircraft, taxied my way back to the edge of the runway to consider what had happened, and what I would do differently on my next take-off.

It was a reminder to myself to always think about my actions. What was the runway surface and how did this differ from grass? Should I have added power so quickly? What was the wind doing? Did I raise the tail too early? Or did I need to raise the tail at all? It is easy to look at things with hindsight once a potentially dangerous event has occurred, but it is even easier to be prepared and think about your actions beforehand to prevent such an event happening altogether. Aeroplanes can be repaired but humans often cannot.

What’s on your aeroplane wish-list?

If money grew on trees… to own a Pitts S-2A, or an S1, an Extra 330SC and a Murphy Rebel. To fly – an F4U Corsair, Sea Fury, Mustang, Hurricane and Fokker Triplane. Oh, and a Jaguar E-Type for the hangar too…

Do you have any advice to share with other LAA members?

Make every flight count! Make a plan, even if it’s just to go for a quick local sightseeing trip. I hear too many people say they are bored of simply flying straight and level around our countryside, something I find difficult to understand. Practice a different skill (PFL’s are a good starting point), or check out a new landmark, say hello to a hot air balloon on its frequency or follow a train to the next village. There never needs to be a dull moment in aviation. ■