Light Aviation July 2021

July 2021

RAPID RACER

Clive Davidson flies the classic Cassutt IIIM

A win for common sense…

CEO STEPHEN SLATER

Chief Engineer FRANCIS DONALDSON B.Tech c eng FRAeS

Chief Inspector KEN CRAIGIE

President ROGER HOPKINSON MBE

If, like me, you were more than a little dismayed by the negative effects of Brexit on our ability to operate our aircraft in mainland Europe, then you will undoubtedly be delighted by the outbreak of bonhomie from our friends in France. The DGAC (the French CAA) was immediately keen to seek a solution for a return to the status quo of our UK Permit types being allowed to fly in their airspace and theirs to fly in ours – we reported progress on that some months ago.

However, now that the agreement has been finalised, the fact that the usefulness of the LAPL Medical had been dealt a severe blow because we Brits could no longer use it to fly in the EU has also been nullified… we can now use our NPPLs and PPLs with a Medical Declaration. What a common sense solution, thank you DGAC, CAA and, of course, LAA for your efforts on our behalf.

Looking forward to the day when Covid does finally wain and we can once again venture into France, Duncan Campbell reminisces about bygone trips to Abbeville in his group-operated Luscombe, using the airfield as a base from which to explore the region of Picardy. It’s an airfield I and many UK pilots know well, we used it for many years as our in and out Customs airfield, although sadly it lost its Customs facility a few years back. In many ways it represented all that is good about flying in France – gliding, microlights and aeroplanes operating harmoniously without undue hassle, a friendly, helpful welcome, a good restaurant, camping by your aircraft or a perfectly usable motel, and the town not too far away. Plus a minimal landing fee to boot!

En route to Paris years ago, one of our group groundlooped as we departed and bent one of his main gear legs. They made space

for us in a hangar and lent us trestles and tools so we could get the leg off, and we flew back home with the leg in the back of the Jodel. Fortunately, there was no other damage, even the sacrificial blocks on the spar were still sound. The next weekend we returned with a replacement, fitted it, and brought the aircraft back home, and the guys at Abbeville refused to take any payment in cash or kind for the loan of their tools and hangarage.

This month we have another interesting article from Ruth Kelly, who used lockdown to investigate why she had a cylinder with a lower compression than the three others on her 200hp Lycoming powered RV-8. The article raises questions about the effectiveness of the leak-down compression tester, which many still consider to be the zenith of deciding whether a pot needs to be pulled. Over the years I have been to a couple of seminars on this subject at Sun ‘n Fun, one by the head of engineering for Continental Motors, the other by a guy from Superior Air Parts. Both cautioned that the leak-down test on its own does not tell an accurate story, if it shows a drop in compression, even down to the mid-40s, it should be backed up by a borescope inspection before pulling the cylinder. It’s an interesting subject for future articles and maybe a Rally Speakers Corner seminar. Any offers?

Fly safe, Brian

By Brian Hope

Darren Weston’s Zenair CH750 Cruzer is the first of type to fly in the UK.

Cuts both ways…

By Tim Hardy

Ihope that this finds you well and keeping yourselves amused, aviation-wise. As we slowly emerge from the past 16 months of restrictions, the world we took for granted will have undoubtedly changed, in some ways for the better and maybe quite a lot for the worse. Our expectations are, of course, that normal life will return and there is understandably some impatience for when that will be. The truth is though, that many areas of life may never return to how it was pre-Covid at all.

The Association’s staff have been putting up with significant disruption to their routines, working from home and grappling with the inadequacies of technology and those dreaded zoom calls. Let’s be grateful to Steve and the team for keeping things going under very trying circumstances. I fear though, that these measures made necessary by the pandemic may not end quite as promptly as we might like to believe, not for the Association, nor for many suppliers of goods and services, both in our area of activity and elsewhere. It’s certainly going to take a while for the intricate web of supply chains to be firing on all cylinders once more. In the meantime, I’m sure your Association will be doing everything it can in our day-to-day operations and also the work up to the LAA Rally in September. Doesn’t our last Rally in 2019 seem such a long time ago?

Changing tack somewhat, but keeping relevant I hope, I had responsibility for introducing a change to the way a business worked in another life. This change would have had an impact on certain members of the general public but was actually quite limited, both in terms of the numbers affected and the degree of impact.

This change would also have had very positive implications for the business and its customers and would have generated efficiencies all round for all of the most significant stakeholders and, not always the case with this particular business, received unanimous support from all of those customers and every employee in the business. All that prevented the change from being implemented was the need to consult with those most affected by the change. So far, so normal.

A wide-ranging consultation was launched, targeting local communities, councils and special interest groups. Presentations were conducted at events notified to all and sundry; very detailed explanations being given as the nature of the change was quite technical, and a compilation of questions and answers was put together to keep everyone informed.

Ignoring consultee feedback was not an option as the regulator concerned was particularly exercised about community relations.

I was also required to provide a response to each and every concern raised by the affected communities and to demonstrate how each and every one of those concerns had been taken into account in finalising how this operation would be run.

After what seemed to be an eon of delay, permission was finally granted by the regulator to proceed with the change, but only on a trial basis and with comprehensive reporting required on impacts, complaints and the general conduct of the change.

So, what was this change? A change to aircraft departure routing. The regulator? The CAA of course. I like to believe that life cuts both ways…

Fly safe.

09 LETTERS

Feedback from the 75th Anniversary book

10 PROJECT NEWS

KFA Safari, Zenair CH 750 Cruzer, Van’s RV-7, Cleared to Fly and New Projects

16 STRINGFELLOW PORTRAIT

A whole new dimension to aviation art as Stringfellow meets SkyDemon…

18 FLYING ADVENTURE

Martin Ferid remembers his aviational ‘coming of age’ on farm strip runways…

24 CYLINDER CHANGE

Ruth Kelly investigates a low compression on her RV-8’s Lycoming engine…

30 COACHING CORNER

David Cockburn is hoping for a spell of sunny weather, but warns that it can come with risks when flying…

33 WHERE TO GO

Put these dates in your 2021 diary…

34 MEET THE STAFF

LAA graduate engineer Mike Roberts. What makes him tick?

38 FLIGHT TEST

Clive Davidson gets to know his new Cassutt IIIM Racer…

46 FAST JET FLIGHT

Eddie Barnes reveals all about his ‘bucket list’ fast jet flight…

49 EUROPA MOTOR GLIDER

An update from Alan Twigg on test flying his Europa motor glider…

50 FRENCH CONNECTIONS

Meanderings and musings from Picardy…

54 STRUTS4U

Anne Hughes profiles the activities of the Struts…

56 MEET THE MEMBERS

Meet Kath Burnham, top charter pilot, and passionate about her Piper Super Cub…

60 LANDING VOUCHERS

Check out the August vouchers on offer…

62 CEO THOUGHTS

Steve looks forward to the spirit of collaboration…

Cassutt IIM Racer 38

News

Plenty more news is available on the LAA website at www.laa.uk.com check it out every day!

Vive la France!

The DGAC has updated, following Brexit, their specific rulings on the overflight of French territory by amateur-built and certain historic aircraft registered in the UK. In general, the terms are: Pilots may fly amateur-built aircraft for private activity, VFR only, for up to 28 consecutive days subject to them having a valid UK Certificate of Airworthiness (or Permit to Fly).

Historic aircraft are permitted on the same basis. In general, this means factory built former CofA aircraft, whose initial design was established before 1 January 1955, and production had ceased before 1 January 1975, now operating on an LAA Permit to Fly (certain

LAA-overseen former military types are also covered within this definition).

The DGAC require and accept pilots of the above aircraft overflying France: … provided they hold a current pilots licence and associated medical as required and issued in the state of registration of the aircraft. This means that as well as ICAO compliant licences & medicals, UK NPPL and UK LAPL licences and Pilot Medical Declarations will be accepted by DGAC. The principle applied is that if the licence and associated

medical is valid to fly such aircraft in the country of registration, it is accepted in France.

Please note, this does not necessarily apply to Part-21 Certificated aircraft or in other EASA states. Many thanks to LAA and EFLEVA President Roger Hopkinson, Neil Williams of the CAA and Thomas Iacono at DGAC for their help in developing these clarifications.

There is also further information on flights outside the UK in LAA Technical Leaflet TL 2.08.

For more information, please check this link to the News item on the LAA website https://tinyurl.com/56sctvbr

Above Cap Gris Nez and the delights of France. Permit aircraft and Medical Declarations welcome.

Flying Part-21 aeroplanes on National Licences

On 16 June the CAA announced a change to the UK (EU) Aircrew Regulations. Holders of National Licences (UKPPL, UKCPL, UKATPL and NPPL) with valid SEP, SLMG, SSEA or TMG Class Rating(s) ratings can now fly UK (G) registered, Part-21 aeroplanes

below 2,000kg MTMA on non-commercial operations within UK airspace with a maximum of four persons on board. Additional ratings on a UK licence, such as the IMC rating, will also be valid on Part-21 aircraft. The exemption under ORS4 No 1471 is no

longer required, and the restrictions contained within that are withdrawn.

Full details are contained in https:// tinyurl.com/yfue8tkh , which also allows the CAA to continue to issue Restricted Instrument Ratings on Part-FCL licences.

RAeS 2021/22 Light Aircraft Design Competition

The latest in a series of RAeS design competitions, ran in association with the LAA and BMAA and aimed at promoting major innovation and new companies in the GA aircraft sector, has recently been announced.

The design brief is for an aid-related, relatively simple design for a piloted electric aircraft that will deliver a passenger or 100kg of essential supplies in equatorial countries from remote, short dirt airstrips. The objective is to provide the best possible combination of productivity and utility in an electrically powered 600kg package. Recharging will be

accomplished via solar farms, batteries and chargers at the airstrips.

Entrants are invited to undertake the conceptual design and to demonstrate this design using X-Plane flight simulation tools.

Entries are invited from under- and postgraduate engineering students, amateur aircraft designers and professionals, either as individuals or a team. Teams of engineering students are particularly encouraged. The competition is based around the academic year, so entries are open until 31 August 2022 and winners will be announced, and awards made, at the

RAeS Light Aircraft Design Conference in November 2022 at No.4 Hamilton Place, London, W1J 7BQ.

Competition Rules and Guidance, as well as details on registering for the competition, can be found at https://tinyurl.com/y5t9be2w

Ofcom Revised Guidance on EMF Compliance

As you probably know, we were taken rather by surprise earlier in the year when Ofcom sent emails to radio licence holders advising them of an imminent change to licence conditions following two previous rounds of consultation of which we were unaware! Keen to make up for this previous lack of engagement, Ofcom has been working closely with us to produce guidance and mitigations specifically for aeronautical users.

The new licence condition, published 18 May 2021 but effectively coming into force 18 November 2021, is aimed at preventing third parties from excessive exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF), which may have a negative health impact. In this context, third parties include passengers in aircraft and not just those on the ground.

A person’s exposure to EMF is related to the power of the radio equipment, the

Airspace changes

Recent UK aeronautical chart amendments include:

Raymill House, Lacock, Wiltshire, added a new restricted area, EG R106, from surface to 1,600ft and 1nm diameter

gain of the antenna, the frequency of the radio waves, how often the equipment is transmitting and how near a person is to the antenna – which of course can be pretty close on a light aircraft.

Fortunately, we’ve been able to demonstrate that radios on light aircraft are of a sufficiently low power output and used in sufficiently short bursts that no action is likely to be required.

Similarly, we’ve been able to show that transponders and DME (distance measuring equipment), while sometimes of quite high power, transmit in such short bursts that even if the antenna is very close to an occupant, the exposure levels are satisfactory provided a ground plane is installed – a requirement of most antenna installations in any case.

Ofcom has now published a compliance guidance document on their

website for aeronautical users, which has been written in conjunction with LAA Engineering and gives more information on the above. We hope that most licence holders/aircraft owners will find that they needn’t do anything more than read that guidance and confirm to themselves there are no further actions required.

It’s possible that a few installations may need to move an antenna – this should be done in conjunction with your LAA Inspector, and in most cases only requires their sign off to confirm that this has been done in accordance with standard aviation practice. If you find that you have more significant difficulties, please let Engineering know and, if necessary, we can take it up with Ofcom. The simplified guidance for aeronautical radio users can be downloaded from https://tinyurl. com/3w3ajkdv

centred on 512523N 0020646W. Effective from 09/09/21.

Little Rissington (EGVL) amend elevation to 731ft AMSL and add an Aerodrome Traffic Zone (ATZ), with radius

2NM at 515201.52N 0014139.08W. Effective from 12/08/21.

Cardiff (EGFF) change frequencies: APP 119.150 to 119.155 and TWR 133.100 to 133.105. Effective from 12/08/21.

Museum volunteers sought

The Museum of Berkshire Aviation, based at Woodley (Nr Reading) is an entirely volunteer run museum open to the public from 1030-1700 on Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays throughout the year.

The museum is seeking additional volunteers who might be able to help

with manning the museum at weekends and bank holidays, for whole or half days to suit requirements.

No specialist skills are needed, they are simply seeking individuals who ideally have an interest in aviation and enjoy meeting and chatting to visitors.

Ideally you might also like to assist

with occasional maintenance, such as grass cutting.

The museum is on a bus route with a bus stop very close to the museum.

If you are interested, please contact the Curator, Ken Fostekew at kenfostekew@gmail.com , or simply call in at the museum during opening times.

Balado Fly-in

The East of Scotland Strut is having a fly-in at Balado, a former military airfield opened in March 1942 as RAF Balado Bridge, as a satellite to RAF Grangemouth. In more recent times it was the home of the T in the Park music festival and was also once the home of

the Scottish Gliding Club. The airfield is located two miles West of Kinross. The fly-in is planned for 28/29 August (Covid permitting) and a fly-in webpage will be available at www.eos-strut.org . Details also available from Iain Gibson at inrgibson001@btinternet.com

Feet Off the Ground volunteers

Saturday, 21 August will once again see many disadvantaged but happy youngsters at Bodmin Airfield for their Bader Braves event, which provides the opportunity for them to take to the air.

Organiser Pete White has put out a request for volunteers to help on the day. “We know from past experience that we are able to bring a lot of joy and laughter to their lives enabling them to experience the wonderment of flight in a light aircraft,” said Pete. “If you are able to assist as either a

pilot or ground crew at this event, would you please contact me.”

Bader Braves events are held around the UK and this year are scheduled for

■ Saturday, 10 July, Manchester Barton

■ Saturday, 21 August, Bodmin, Cornwall

■ Saturday, 18 September, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire

■ Saturday, 9 October, Moray tbc.

Pete’s contact details (Bodmin event only) are: 01752 406660/ 07805 805679, email pete@aeronca.co.uk

Museum of Berkshire Aviation – An interesting array of aircraft, inside and out.

Letters

We are always pleased to receive your letters and feedback. Please email the editor at bfjjodel@talktalk.net

A spy in our midst

Thank you, Steve and Brian, for an excellent ‘75 years’ mag, which puts our great organisation in an historical context.

No reflection on current management, but I was dismayed to see that the chairman in 1955 to 1957 was The Lord Semphill (sic); better known as the Master of Sempill. A RNAS aviator in WWI, he admittedly did some noteworthy light aircraft flights, including a voyage in a float-equipped Moth from Scandinavia to England (not something I would wish to emulate!).

However, as I discovered when researching in the National Archives for my last book (A Passion for Speed, The History Press, 2017), he used his knowledge of naval aviation to become a spy for the Japanese government from the mid-1920s, and continued in this role even into WWII, when he had resumed a British naval career, having remained an officer in the RNVR. He had been a member of the protofascist Right Club, and was also involved in sustaining pro-German views in England in the build-up to WWII.

When notice of his wartime activities reached higher authorities his case went all the way up to Churchill – who would, in my opinion, have been justified in having him shot in the Tower. However, instead Sempill was banished to a sinecure in Scotland (still with the RN).

Quite why Churchill showed such extraordinary leniency is unlikely to ever be known, as the Government has seen fit to remove much material from his files.

What material is now available in the National Archives was not of course available when he held office in the PFA, but his appointment is not, in retrospect, a high point of our history!

Yours, Paul Smiddy.

Thank you, Paul. While we are today aware of Sempill’s pro-fascist views and his passing of information to the Japanese, of course this was not public knowledge at the time of his chairmanship of the PFA, indeed he was at various times president of the British Gliding Association and of the Institute of Advanced Motorists too.

It was not until the release of intelligence records by the Public Record Office in 1998 and 2002 that Sempill’s unseemly activities became common knowledge, long after his death in 1965. I think our predecessors at the PFA can rest easy in their innocence! Best regards, Steve Slater.

Of rotaries and rallies

Dear LAA, well done for a fantastic, summarised recollection of the last 75 years. Great, anecdotal reading! I have many happy personal memories of, particularly, Cranfield National Rallies, where we had a SkySport Engineering stand over quite a few years, the 1980s until the noughties.

There was reference to our Sopwith Dove, G-EAGA, being ‘the only’ rotary powered aeroplane to visit… very flattering, but not actually the case, surely there have been others?

Back in 1983, our first completed Sopwith Pup, G-BIAU, flew into the Cranfield PFA Rally with Dizzy Addicott as intrepid pilot. As with the Heath Parasol, Old Warden ‘occurrence’, the visit, again, involved Cathy O’Brien and Wally Berry, from Old Warden!

When the time came to fly back to Old Warden, the Bendix Magneto, converted to Le Rhone Rotary engine installation, would not work. Consequently, through some hasty (landline) phone calls, Wally came over to Cranfield with the Shuttleworth G-EBKY Pup’s mag to get us sorted out. Their Pup/Dove was on an overhaul at the time.

Cathy and Wally did the change (Cathy was a CAA ‘A’ licensed engineer). It fired up straight away and Dizzy, after buzzing us (airside at around 25ft / 90+mph IAS) flew back to Old Warden.

Soon after, the Pup went on display at ‘teezy-weezy’ Raymonds, ‘museum’ of war at the Whitehall Theatre, London, along with a genuine ex-Southend Museum Storch and one

of Rob Landplough’s NA Mustangs. It stayed until removed for permanent display at RNAS Yeovilton, where it is exhibited to this day.

SkySport Pup Sistership G-BIAT, is on display in New Zealand. Regards, Tim Moore.

Temporarily nostalgic of my position

Dear Brian and Steve, I just wanted to congratulate you on putting together both a great magazine and the 75th celebration edition.

For many of us who are getting a bit, ‘long in the tooth’, or should that be ‘old pilots, not bold pilots’, it was very interesting to recap on the history of our Association and realise just what great strides have been made in all aspects of our bit of aviation – from the aircraft we now have available to build and fly, the modern engines available to power them and the wonderful advances that have been made in avionics.

Thinking about it, for most of my flying career pondering on, ‘where am I’ has been one of the ever-present concerns I have had! Now, just like smallpox, ‘not knowing where you are’ has been eradicated from the face of the planet. SkyDemon alone has halved the pilot’s ‘workload’!

I cannot begin to imagine what we will be building and flying in another 70 years!

However, let us hope that our Association is still at the forefront of flying for education, fun, and adventure!

Kindest regards, Ivan Shaw. ■

Above Cathy O’Brien and Wally Berry with SkySport Engineering’s Sopwith Dove G-EAGA

Projects which inspire others to build their own aircraft

Compiled by Mike

Slaughter

Project News

Acommon thread behind many of the projects I hear about is how overwhelmed builders are by the kindness of strangers, people that they would normally never meet were it not for the common passion of building an aeroplane. Whether it is the loan of a piece of equipment, the passing on of some suitable instruments or the free issue of a quantity of leftover Tefzel, I’m convinced that in the main, our common hobby really does reveal the best in human nature.

Graham Smith, of Sprite Aviation, who originally introduced the very successful SportCruiser to the UK, has been in touch and reports that the first KFA Safari now has its Permit to Test, an d he hopes to camp out with the aircraft at a local airstrip and achieve as much of the extended test schedule as possible, while we have these long days and fair weather. KFA (Kitplanes for Africa) ty pes are new to the UK but follow the tried and trusted Avid / Kitfox formula. The Safari possibly has the largest cockpit of the genre, plus a very large baggage area. There are two more of the type under construction, plus one of the slightly smaller Explorer model. Light Aviation editorial staff will be bringing you an air test of the Safari as soon as they are able.

Darren Weston has completed the build and test flight of the first UK Zenair CH 750 Cruzer, again echoing that appreciation f or the help he has received along the way from so many different

people. As a first-time builder, he has produced an excellent looking aircraft in a little over 18 months, all while holding down a full-time job, which is very good going. I’m intrigued by his u se of the MGL MX1 instrument used in its original portrait configurati on, it maximises panel space and has allowed for a comprehensive mix of instrumentation in a relatively compact panel.

Michael Carter brings us the final in his trilogy of build repor ts on his Van’s RV-7. The first report we saw in Project News in mid-2015, so six years ago; with part two about a year later, w here he left us building the wings and wondering how he was going to manage to prime these large components himself as he had outsourced that task for the empennage.

Two particular things strike me about his report, firstly the unbelievably good nature of his wife, and secondly the excellent wiring of the aircraft’s instrument panel. I’ve seen many homebuilt aircraft with point-to-point spider’s web wiring behind the pan el; it’s such a shame to do this in an otherwise nicely completed airframe but, more importantly, it greatly reduces reliability and serviceability. If you’ve yet to reach the panel stage on your project, look at Mike’s approach and take inspiration.

Of course, huge thanks to all those who’ve supported Project News and those who are about to do so. Please do get in touch and tell your story, report a milestone or just to send a picture, email: projectnews@laa-archive.org.uk.

G-CLNO (LAA 402-15657) KFA Safari

By Graham Smith

My KFA Safari now has an LAA test Permit and is ready to go. The build has been a pleasure and very well supported by the factory in South Africa. This is also the first use in the UK of the Rotax engine with a VZ turbo.

The conversion from a 100hp ULS was very simple and good value, as the pistons, rings, inlet manifold, exhaust, engine mount etc. all come with the turbo upgrade.

The propeller fitted is a three blade Ivo Magnum 72 inch, with a constant speed controller rated at

150hp. The empty weight of the aircraft is 405kg with a useful load of 295kg.

In Africa the gross weight of the Safari is 750kg but we have restricted ourselves to 700kg, which is plenty when you look at the weight and balance.

The overall cost of building the aircraft has been under £40k including VAT and delivery cost.

Test flying will start in the next few days and all being well, we should be able to make the aircraft available for an LAA air test in the not too distant future.

G-DAZW (LAA 381A-15597) Zenair CH 750 Cruze

By Darren Weston

Ithought I would update you on my Zenith CH 750 Cruzer build, G-DAZW, as it’s the first Cruzer to be completed in the UK.

The kit was delivered to my door in February 2019 by Jonathan and Patricia Porter from Metal Seagulls, the UK importer for Zenith aircraft. They helped me take inventory and advised on storing certain parts together, all in a logical order as we unpacked, which saved me many hours when building, reducing time spent trying to find parts in my garage.

This is my first aircraft build, in fact I have never even built an Airfix model, although I have worked on motorcycles and cars in the past. One of the main issues I had to overcome was all the terminology used and I apologise to everyone for the number of times I asked about the ‘thingamajig’.

I worked most nights after work, even if it was only for a short time, so as to keep up momentum. I also put in the extra hours at the weekends. The quality of the kit is great, it consisted mostly of matched drilled parts, and the instructions were easy to follow.

The aircraft was ready for final rigging in September 2020, and Jonathan and Patricia came to oversee and help with the process. It was then straight to the paint shop, and once finished the next stop was the hangar by November 2020 for final assembly – with my final inspection just before lockdown in early January 2021. The paperwork was submitted, and Francis gave me the green light to test fly.

Jonathan had agreed to do the first flight, which took place on 18 April 2021, and he can be seen in the photo (p13) enjoying a glass of bubbly with me in celebration. He was extremely happy with how it flew.

It was hands off from the first flight, all we had to do

Above Finished, ground run and ready to commence an extended first of type test schedule, the KFA Safari is an attractive and capable newcomer to the UK. Photo: Graham Smith.

Right The very comfortable seats that came with the kit.

Photo: Darren Weston.

was adjust the prop pitch and make some slight cooling alterations.

LAA Coach, Alan Kilbride, put in the hours as test pilot throughout the initial flight testing. All of the test flying is now complete following a final visit by Dan Griffith, the LAA nominated test pilot, who drove a 540-mile round trip to give me the final thumbs up, along with passing on some great pieces of advice. As a fairly new pilot, this was all very much appreciated. Thank you, gents.

Many people gave me help and advice throughout the project and committed time with little or no reward, other than the love of aviation.

I would like to especially thank Jonathan and Patricia of Metal Seagulls, and Simon from Eccleston

Below The panel, all but complete. The vertical portrait format of the MGL MX1 suited the space I had available Photo: Darren Weston.

Bottom Jonathan and Patricia made full use of my driveway when they came to finalise the rigging of the aircraft. Photo: Darren Weston.

Aviation who have both provided a five star service and support. Parts4Aircraft and Mendelssohn Aviation have also been really supportive, again very much appreciated.

I can’t close without saying a big thank you to my two children, Carmen and Craig, who also helped out. Carmen was in charge of the interior, including carbon wrapping of the panel, and Craig was involved in the build throughout, especially when I needed that extra pair of hands.

And of course, I must thank my wife Michelle for putting up with aircraft parts in every room of the house, and not seeing much of me for the last two years while I was busy building. An enormous thank you, one and all.

G-CLAO (LAA 323-15307) Van’s RV-7

By Michael Carter

With the wings safely tucked away in the shed it was time to move onto the fuselage. Space was always going to be at a premium with the majority of the build taking place in a single width garage. I had managed to assemble the empennage, wings and the major parts of the fuselage OK. Although, I did have to commandeer the dining room table for six months to store the rear fuselage section while assembling the centre section.

The problem came when it was time to join the two bits together, as the garage was just not long enough.

After much head scratching, I opted to buy a 10ft x 8ft shed and bolt it to the front of our house. I made one of the panels removable so I could still get large items, the engine etc., in and out, but the rest of the airframe was now cocooned until time for the big move to the airfield.

Progress moved at a modest pace and I managed to get the fuselage finished with canopy and windscreen completed, engine and propeller installed and even the wiring and avionics in place before finally removing the shed and moving the whole show to Thruxton for rigging, painting and final assembly.

When I set out on this adventure, I had the view that it was going to be just a big Meccano set, how hard can it be! Had I known then what I was taking on, I am not sure if I would have gone ahead with the challenge but, on reflection, I would like to think I would have.

Overall, it has been a very enjoyable and rewarding project, with perhaps one or two exceptions, which will no doubt give me nightmares for years to come.

Left All the test flying went exactly to plan, fantastic! Photo: Andy Wood.

Below left Looking great at Breighton and all ready for the test flight. Photo: Andy Wood.

Below There is only one way to celebrate a successful first flight. Photo: Darren Weston.

Right Aft fuselage was stored on the dining table for six months! Photo: Mike Carter.

I found the canopy a particular challenge. Not just the cutting of the Perspex bubble, which truly was nerve racking enough, but bending all the bits so they fitted together. This took both brute force and the ‘gentle touch’. During this part I had to walk away from it several times, sometimes for several days, while I worked up enough enthusiasm to carry on.

And fibreglass. As Van’s say “There is just enough of it to make you realise why you wanted to build a

metal aeroplane.” For me there was way more than enough, I found it a dreadful medium to work with. Smelly, dusty, itchy and if I forgot to shut the workshop door into the house, I was very soon reminded!

In reality, working through those challenging, frustrating, boring, dirty tasks just enhanced the feeling of satisfaction when the canopy finally closed with that satisfying thunk, or the gaps around the cowlings at last lined up.

Anyway, after six years and 20,000 rivets (quite a few more if you count the ones I had to drill out!) I have an aircraft ready to fly, and I just cannot wait!

No closing article would be complete without a thank you to those that have helped along the way. Ben Faulkner, my Inspector, mentor, and sometime tormentor as nothing seemed to get passed his eagle eye. Fellow builders and friends, always there with help, encouragement and the loan of the odd tool or two. And Simon Edmondson of Edmondson Aviation Ltd for the superb paint job.

But most of all my wife Suzanne. Always there to help when called for, she allowed me to scatter bits of aircraft in every room in the house, tolerated aluminium swarf and fibreglass dust finding its way into every nook and cranny, green primer all over the garden fence and put up with an ugly great wooden shed bolted to the front of the house for three years.

Right The garage extension, a good solution to a lack of build space, here a panel is removed to allow getting the engine in. Photo: Mike Carter.

Middle right It’s all growing bigger but when space is limited, keeping it tidy helps. Photo: Mike Carter.

Below left Building the avionic loom on the bench, this really is the only way to do it. Photo: Mike Carter

Below right All finished and ready to go. Careful masking really paid off in the paint finish. Photo: Mike Carter.

New Projects

Cleared To Fly

Aircraft liability coverage - what protection do you need?

By Chrystelle Launai.

When it comes to insuring your aircraft, comparing the offers from different providers can be challenging, as although they are all based on the same pattern (Lloyd’s standard wording), some features and options can make the difference. Today we will focus on the only one compulsory insurance to fly, which is the pilot’s legal liability coverage for passengers and third parties.

Minimum liability limits legally required in Europe are mainly defined according to the 785/2004EC regulation (which remains in force in the UK after Brexit), taking into account the aircraft MTOW and the number of passenger seats, and a couple of ancillary criteria irrelevant for private aviation. The minimum limits are expressed in Special Drawing Rights (SDR - which are basically a supplementary international reserve asset created by the International Monetary Fund, consisting of a basket of currencies). As an example, for an aircraft with a MTOW between 1,100 pounds and 2,200 pounds, you need to buy Third-party liability coverage of at least 1.5 million SDRs, which at the current exchange rate represents slightly more that £1.5 million.

Additionally, for non-commercial aviation, a reduced minimum amount of 100,000 SDRs per passenger carried is required in the UK. In other European countries, the minimum per passenger is 250,000 SDRs.

Beyond the legal requirement, there are some considerations you may want to take into account while choosing your liability coverage.

In theory, you can have separate limits for Third Party and Passenger Legal Liability. However, the legal requirement is only your minimum obligation, but it is surely not enough to protect your interests and own assets. In case of bodily injury of a passenger, 100,000 SDRs are way below the average indemnity in Western Europe, where the settlements in case of a severe injury would likely reach seven digits.

Although, unlike for passengers, a high limit is requested for third party insurance, our experience shows that the actual exposure is the other way around. There are indeed sporadically heavy indemnities for damage to third parties, some of them being quite unexpected, like for

instance a claim we are currently handling, involving an aircraft which crashed into a stock of straw which got burned, incurring a loss of several hundred thousand pounds. One could expect that there is not much third-party liability exposure while overflying a sparsely inhabited area! As far as I am concerned, I had never realized before that claim that straw could be that expensive. I thought vegetable gold was saffron…

Anyway, the main liability exposure for an aircraft insurer is definitely the passenger risk. This is the reason why you can find some quite competitive offers on the market with separate liability limit for third parties and for passengers, or a combined limit but with a sublimit per passenger, in both cases with rather insufficient passenger coverage. We appreciate that insurance premiums have gone up over the past couple of years, and that it is quite tempting to try and reduce the bill. However, we would certainly not recommend accepting any kind of passenger sub-limit as the insured will be exposed to the amount they are not covered for in the event of an accident, making it quite a risky option! All our policies are on a Combined Single Limit basis, meaning that there is no sublimit, therefore the pilot is covered against any combination of property damage or bodily injury to passengers or third parties for any one claim, up to the total amount insured.

One other interesting feature to have within a liability coverage is a passenger voluntary settlement clause. It consists of the insurer offering a swift settlement of a specified amount (up to SDR 100,000 under the LAA Member Insurance scheme) set forth in respect of bodily injury sustained by any passenger caused by an accident, regardless of any proved or alleged legal liability of the pilot, in exchange of a full legal release from all claims for damages against the insured. Such a clause aims to avoid the need for the pilot to enter into some unpleasant litigation with their passengers or their relatives. However, coverage to passengers is not sub-limited to the amount stated under the passenger voluntary settlement clause, as the passenger can choose between accepting this amount as a full and final settlement or go through the usual legal proceedings. As far as private aviation is concerned, such coverage extension has proved quite suitable, as many claims get closed on this basis.

We endeavour to design insurances which can provide peace of mind to enjoy pleasant and safe flights and would be delighted to answer any question you may have, either by phone (03306 845 108) or by e-mail (laa@air-assurances.com)

Portrait of John Stringfellow

Stringfellow meets SkyDemon as Amy Whitewick and Mervyn White bring a whole new dimension to aviation art…

Members may recall mention of a flight by Amy last year, when she ‘drew’ a picture of Picasso’s The Dove of Peace by flying a SkyDemon route in her 1972 Cessna 150 Aerobat, G-JHAC. Well, Amy and co-pilot Mervyn have been at it again, this time on a much grander scale. They have drawn a quite stunning portrait of John Stringfellow, who is credited with building the first successful powered (but unmanned) aeroplane, over 50 years before the Wright Brothers flew their Flyer

Amy, who has only been flying for three years, was driving her dad home one day when she spotted a hand-painted sign on the side of the road, while travelling back through Chard. It read ‘Chard – the birthplace of powered flight’, and immediately triggered her curiosity. When she got home, she researched via Google and discovered the story of John Stringfellow.

Named Bat, Stringfellow’s steam powered, 10ft wingspan aircraft was built and flown in a disused lace factory in Chard during 1848. It flew about 10ft before crashing, due to being unstable. The following year the repaired aircraft, having this time started its trajectory with a guide wire, flew freely in a stable condition for 90ft.

Amy, a graphic and web designer who runs her own company, Camelot Media Ltd., said, “Having discussed the idea with friend and co-pilot Mervyn we agreed that, as pilots, we should celebrate this incredible achievement and raise Stringfellow’s profile. We decided an aerial illustration of him would be an appropriate way to achieve this, as well as push ourselves, and the aircraft, to the absolute limits.”

Amy set about planning the flight, based on a photographic portrait of John Stringfellow. “After four hours and a great deal of caffeine, I plotted the route on SkyDemon and split it into three parts, knowing my Aerobat can only take a maximum of around two-and-a-half hours of fuel (with a little bit of reserve). Drawing the route was similar to my work, plotting with vector markers. I’m an artist in my spare time, and love painting and drawing human portraits, which also helped.

“Mervyn and I caught up over WhatsApp a couple of days before the flight, to discuss any final details. He has a great deal more flying experience than I do, and I greatly value his suggestions and opinions.

“We chose Henstridge for the fuel stops, as it is my home airfield and I have a fuel account with them, which

Above The quite incredible trace of the Stringfellow portrait flight on SkyDemon.

Right A tin-plate photograph of John Stringfellow.

made the refilling process faster and easier. It also meant each time we could land back and create a neat central piece of the final image, without straying outside of the illustration. The airfield owner, Geoff, was very kind and accommodating, keeping the fuel open late for us.

“The planning was approached much like any other flight, of course with a little more detail. Remembering which way round some of the turns needed to go was a bit of an issue, so I sketched out each leg on a piece of paper and taped it to the dash, mimicking an aerobatic pilot’s sequence, to aid recollection of which part of each leg needed to be done in what order.

“I called up Yeovilton Radar the day before and tried to explain what we were attempting to achieve. The woman who answered was extremely helpful and very kind. I mentioned to her we would need to nip in and out of the Eastern MATZ stub and would be cluttering up their airspace most of the day, and she took to it quite happily, asking us to contact her as soon as possible on each flight and that she would ‘look forward to speaking to us’.

“I also checked a Notam for a MET balloon which was due to be released in the area around Compton Abbas the next day but, hilariously, the phone number on it was wrong, it went through to a school in Tollard Royal. Another very nice woman answered who had no idea what was going on but was very excited at the prospect of balloons. We had a wonderful chat about her previous career as a flight attendant too.”

Multiple devices

Armed with multiple devices running SkyDemon, plus a SkyEcho, and without an autopilot in sight, they completed the flights on 27 May, flying over five-and-a-half hours during the course of the day and travelling over 439 nautical miles across the West Country.

“The concentration required in and around the busy Yeovilton LARS over the five hours was very demanding – it took several days to recover afterwards. Yeovilton Radar were extremely helpful and kind. We did wonder what they thought seeing us bimbling around in their airspace all day long – perhaps that we were mad!

“The most challenging part turned out to be constantly losing the GPS signal on my tablet during a steep turn and having to rely on remembering compass headings instead – thankfully, Mervyn’s tablet was also running with

Above Amy and her C150 Aerobat. Readers may recall her Picasso The Dove of Peace flight

Below left A pilot’s eye view of the flight!

Below right Co-pilot Mervyn White catches a snack between flights.

SkyDemon, which we were able to share when mine lost signal. At one point though, his SkyEcho crashed his tablet, which made the ‘moustache section’ a bit interesting!

“Mervyn, was absolutely essential to this mission, seconded only by the aircraft. Without him, it simply would not have been possible. It would have been unacceptably risky alone. Performing the many required steep turns needed a dedicated second pair of eyes and ears. He was also the main contact on the radio throughout, and also acted as ‘Chief Morale Officer’, despite putting up with my terrible taste in music in the cockpit and my ridiculous love of pulling 2G around every corner – he really needs a medal for that!”

Amy and Mervyn believe their flight, which will form part of their entry into this year’s Pooleys Dawn to Dusk competition, could also have achieved three world’s ‘firsts’:

■ The first portrait illustration ever drawn by aircraft.

■ The most detailed GPS image drawn by an aircraft in aviation history.

■ And the first GPS illustration drawn by an aircraft in three, separate flights.

More information about John Stringfellow can be found at the Wikipedia link below: ■ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stringfellow

DOWN ON THE FARM…

With flying abroad still off the cards, Martin Ferid visits East Sussex, and remembers his aviational ‘coming of age’ on the farm strip runways…

Our last little jaunt took us to the rugged west coast of Wales, with our previous one heading to the eastern coastline. For this edition I’d like to say we’re off to somewhere exotic on the Continent but, until the restrictions are lifted, our own south coast is going to have to do, making up three of the four points of the compass. To complete the set, both Northern England and Scotland, are earmarked and on the ‘to do’ list, notwithstanding another lockdown (see note at end).

In life, there are many significant firsts, with the first day at school and the first love among the most memorable. For the aviator however, there is an innumerable amount of them stretching back to long before the first solo and forming a labyrinthine route to the present day. Some are clearly apparent, with an immediate, dramatic or profound effect, whereas others can be distinctly subtle or subliminal.

With the benefit of hindsight, I’d say that my genie snuck out of the bottle with, aged seven, my first Airfix model. I spent ages on Baron von Richthofen’s Fokker DR-I Dreidecker, which I naturally painted red to match the picture on the box. Each of us has little pieces of the puzzle that led us to that nervy trip to the aeroclub, armed with a cheque book or credit card in hand. But like so many things that form life’s rich tapestry, the reality proved to be nothing like the perception, and the heady mix of gaining the licence came with… What now? What do I do with it?

Simply being able to operate the machinery and become guilty of bovarism was not enough and, for me, the reality was that apart from the initial euphoria, the rollercoaster ride of learning to fly was followed by something of an anti-climax. It was not the imagery I’d had in mind, as being airborne felt more like the leporine blinded by the headlights rather than Jonathan Livingston Seagull dancing freely among the clouds.

The plus side was that I wasn’t about to give up. The goal had been set, and more than anything, I wanted to feel like, and become, a true aviator. Something had to be done, but the answer was proving more than a tad elusive.

Some friends had treated me to a birthday lunch at a little restaurant tucked away in the rolling hills of the East Sussex countryside. Over the lengthy repast, mention was made of an airfield close by, that was an airfield, but not really an airfield. Now, as far as I knew, airfields were either airfields or they weren’t. More than a little confused, my lack of understanding was naturally attributed to, and no doubt exacerbated by, the wines that accompanied lunch. In a resolution akin to fighting fire with gasoline, more claret was called for in a search for clarity along with the cheese course.

And thus came about my inaugural trip to that bastion of grassroots aviation, the humble farm strip. Amazingly, aircraft flew from these tiny patches of land without the need for ATC, importunate bureaucracy or the restrictive measures regarded as the norm. My friends took me to Spilsted Farm and, after politely waiting for some time, decided to come back later while the owner and I engaged in lengthy conversation.

The owner/operator, Bill Cole, was an innovator and talked in riddles about a world I knew nothing about. He articulated about the freedom of flying, building aircraft, dragging them from barns and needing only a windsock for guidance. He had imported aircraft from France, built the UK’s first Jodel D9, and an example of Henri Mignet’s

Left Spilsted Farm is a ‘one way in, one way out airstrip’ so please PPR and use Safetycom.

Below The nearby village of Sedlescombe and surrounds offers good sustenance and accommodation.

Flying Adventure

much improved post-war variant of the Pou-du-Ciel (Flying Flea), the HM.293, despite substantial bureaucratic resistance (G-AXPG). For archive footage from a BBC Nationwide report of Bill and his Flea see twitter.com/ bbcarchive/status/896037868749115392).

The flame had touched the litmus paper and although the matter was adjourned sine die, within a few months it led to the next chapter, a share in a two-seat Jodel. For an inexperienced club pilot, what followed was some learning curve! The aircraft had a stick instead of a yoke, lived on a farm with trees at one end and a fence at the other and its third wheel was stuck on the tail instead of the nose.

Although I didn’t know it at the time, despite the new challenges, I had finally found that elusive itch that needed scratching – and taken the first steps in that Herculean task of becoming an ‘aviator’, as opposed to someone who just knew how to fly.

Looking back, the irony is that regardless of experience the goalposts are not fixed but in a constant state of flux, and the ever-changing parameters make it more about the journey and what it means to the individual, rather than a destination that is very likely to remain out of reach.

With the weather just about as good as it gets, there can be no better time to pick a destination a few hours away and take the plunge. You’ll come back pretty much drained but also on an indescribable high. In the immortal words of an ex-truck driver from Tupelo, Mississippi, ‘It’s now or never…’ or another year may just pass you by.

Sian and I dropped into Spilsted the other day and I spent some time reminiscing about all things past with Bill.

Below The local geese enjoy a wander on the village green, but have set up home behind the Queen’s Head pub.

Our paths cross from time to time when I’ve conducted the odd revalidation, or when at an airfield here and there. And I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but somehow, we’ve both become older… surprisingly though the passion for aviation can only be described as fresh and as youthful as ever. The major difference was, that all these years later, I didn’t feel like a ‘cap in hand’ schoolboy, but maybe, just maybe, even a small part of the fabric.

The sparkle in his eyes grew as we got into the nitty-gritty. Did he mind pilots flying in? Nope, they were welcome! Could they stay for a few days? Of course! What about camping under the wing? Why ever not? Was there a landing fee? To which, I detected the first touch of irritation; No, there was no landing fee, as he didn’t believe in them. If you decide to visit, he or his son Bob, a licenced engineer, may well be around, if not Ed from Cristal Air couldn’t be more enthusiastic or helpful.

A bite to eat…

Blackbrooks Garden Centre This establishment is clean and typical of cafés found at garden centres, with outdoor seating and quite popular with the locals for breakfast, lunch or just a cup of tea. Turn left out of the airfield onto Stream Lane and then left along the main A21. I tend to walk purposefully along the main road to get there and revert to a stroll and the much more pleasant route through Sedlescombe village for the return. Theoretically, in terms of time, whichever way you go, there should only be a

couple of minutes in it, at around 45 minutes or so. But with the pub, village shop and the famous roaming geese on the green forming a distraction, the village route always takes a lot longer. Blackbrooks, Sedlescombe TN33 0RJ 01424 870710 blackbrooks.co.uk

Royal Oak, Whatlington A good choice if you’re going for a day trip, particularly for lunch in the garden on a nice day. They specialise in Greek cuisine, although standard fayre is also available. On reaching the A21, turn to the right and the 15th century pub is about a 15-minute walk away on a fork in the road. (Closed Mondays and Tuesdays). Woodmans Green Road, Whatlington, TN33 0NN. 01424 870492 royaloakwhatlington.co.uk/dining

The Queens Head, Sedlescombe The 14th century inn is a 25-minute walk to the right of the airfield and then right again towards the village. Or for those in ‘the know’, walk parallel to the runway and take the second footpath on the left which brings you out in the middle of the village. Look for the wandering geese on the green, they won’t be far away as the pub behind is their home.

Between the years 1735-1749, the pub was a haunt of the renowned Hawkhurst gang, and the tunnel used for secreting their contraband is visible from the cellar.

Although it’s not cheap, it serves hearty and gastro pub food for lunch and dinner in a lovely setting. The Green, TN33 0QA 01424 870 228 thequeensheadsedlescombe.com

Rest your head…

Leeford Place Hotel, Whatlington By turning out of the airfield and crossing the A21 take the lane opposite leading to the hamlet of Whatlington. At the next junction, turn to the left and shortly after, you’ll see a house with some impressive topiary in its garden, turn right down the lane and the hotel is 100 yards or so. It’s great as a base and good value, with three-night breaks for two currently from £170, including breakfast. Evening meals are by arrangement only, but there is plenty of choice in Battle. Whatlington Road, Battle TN33 0ND 01424 772863 leefordplace.co.uk

The Brickwall Hotel & Restaurant, Sedlescombe This 16th century Tudor mansion overlooks the famous village green, and you can book lunch or dinner whether you stay or not. The rooms are atmospheric, and the cuisine is described as British. Pricing is dependent on the time of the week and year, expect to pay around £140 B&B for two. Not cheap, but great for a special weekend away.

The Green, Sedlescombe, Battle TN33 0QA 01424 870253 brickwallhotel.com

Out & About Battle

From the airfield, Battle is less than 10 minutes in a taxi, about an hour on foot, or the 304 bus goes from the Royal Oak pub (check timetable).

As the name infers, it is the actual location of the Battle of Hastings, an event that changed the course of Britain’s history forever. It’s also the heart of the 31-mile 1066 country walk that stretches from Pevensey to Rye, and has a small high street made up of medieval and Georgian architecture, picturesque shops, pubs, tea rooms and restaurants.

Battle Abbey For those who enjoy historical content, the Abbey is almost a prerequisite. A day can easily be spent visiting the Abbey and Battlefield, especially if tied in with one of the popular re-enactment days.

https://tinyurl.com/z9h53n2v

Above

Left Hastings Old Town is a popular wandering and dining location and near to where the television series Foyle’s War was filmed.

Battle Museum of Local History The museum traces the town’s history to a period well before the infamous events of 14 October 1066, and offers an insight into the surrounding area. battlelocalhistory.com

Battle Bonfire Boyes A phenomenon unique to this part of the world and the oldest bonfire society in existence. Created in 1646, it has run annually after the first donation of two shillings and sixpence (12.5p) was made by St Mary’s Church to commemorate the foiling of the ‘machinated Jesuit treason of 1605’. The annual celebrations regarding the arrest of Guy Fawkes as he made clandestine preparations in the cellars of the House of Parliament owe their origins to this small market town. If you haven’t been, it is quite a spectacle, with a large procession from the neighbouring villages, sartorially depicting different periods in history, followed by a grand firework display. battelbonfire.co.uk.

As far as food goes, once again it’s not really a place for haute cuisine, expect pub food, tea rooms and the like. Hotels and Airbnb’s are expensive as they have a micro-oligopoly where demand far outstrips supply. Mind you, it’s fair to say that the standard of the accommodation is generally very good.

Hastings

Getting into the town takes less than 20 minutes by taxi and costs around £15-£20. If public transport is the only option, it’s a real faff and you’ll have to check the bus timetable, as the service is intermittent and varies according to the time of day. Once you get to Battle, you also have the choice of travelling by train.

One of the town’s lesser-known claims to fame is as the

If history is your thing, Battle with its 1066 connections and Abbey is a short bus or taxi ride away.

Below If you are self-catering, the catch of the day is available from the Rock-a-Nore area of town. With no harbour, the fishing fleet is hauled up onto the beach.

birthplace of television. Following a bout of illness, John Logie Baird set up home in Linton Crescent in Hastings in 1922 and continued the experiments in television that he had started while at university. He later had a workshop in what is now the Queens Arcade in the town centre, where a number of reproduction newspaper pages and a commemorative plaque celebrate his work.

A feat of early 20th century engineering with great views are the two funicular railways that run from the town to the hills above. The East Hill lift gives access to Hastings Country Park and the West Hill, Hastings Castle and St Clement’s Caves.

Restaurants: Fish & chips… I know that it may be a strange recommendation, but there are umpteen fish and chip shops along the seafront. This was part of British food and culture before the culinary revolution transformed eating habits throughout the UK. There is a charm in getting a takeaway to eat on the beach, but my childhood memories are the sit-down affairs, where the food is typically served with peas, bread ‘n butter and a cup of tea. Just take your pick.

The two following restaurants were latecomers in part of that food invasion but serve good food that is unique, quirky and in keeping with the charm and Bohemian feel of Hastings Old Town.

Boulevard Bookshop and Thai Café Starters range from satays to spring rolls, with curries as a main. During the day they are bibliopoles, with tables sequestered wherever possible, but come the evening the tables fill and the transformation into a quality Thai restaurant begins. Not being licenced, you can bring your own wine without a corkage charge.

facebook.com/HastingsBookshop 01424 436521 thaicafeandbookshop.com

Café Maroc Just off the ‘Old Town’ and diurnally is a shop selling Moroccan clothing, jewellery and leather goods that the hip people of the 1960s might have looked for in London’s Carnaby Street or Kensington Market. By night it operates as a Moroccan restaurant serving a variety of tagines and other Moroccan dishes. (Wednesday to Sunday). It is unlicensed but for a £3 corkage charge you can bring your own wine. The menu is limited but a good choice now and again. 37 High Street, Hastings TN34 3ER. 07500 774017 facebook.com/cafemarochastings

Accommodation: There is plenty of choice and most budgets are catered for, but don’t expect the luxury end of the market.

Just around the corner from the 'Old Town' is where most of the series Foyle’s War was filmed. https://tinyurl. com/m9hd854h

If you go for the weekend, there are several places for an evening of jazz. For a show or concert, try the White Rock Theatre whiterocktheatre.org.uk

The Rock-a-Nore area is known for fresh fish and the catch of the day, where you can buy what they’ve caught. The fishing fleet is one of the few remaining fleets to fish without a harbour, where the boats are just pulled up onto the shore.

It’s worth noting that Spilsted has a rather ‘hilly’ runway, 700 metres orientated 15/33, making all landings uphill to the north and departures downhill towards the south. The ‘one way in / one way’ out requirement makes broadcasts on the Unicom frequency, 135.480mHz, especially important in case of something coming the other way.

Joining instructions and PPR are available from the aforementioned Ed from Cristal Air 01323-870984 or 07725 953387.

This whole area of the country is a little-known gem, just awaiting discovery.

If I were to propose an itinerary, I’d suggest lunch at one of the pubs or the garden centre, with a walk through Sedlescombe village the first time. A weekend, exploring Battle and the surrounds the next and finally, a long weekend in Hastings another time. But please remember, when walking through the lanes this is the countryside with no footpaths, and some drivers aren’t as considerate as they could be.

l If you think your local airfield or the surrounding area would be of particular interest to other pilots, please drop a line to the e-mail address below. ■

Go touring with the author…

Martin is a Class Rating Instructor / Revalidation Examiner, specialising in advanced tuition and confidence-building flights in your aircraft throughout Europe and the UK. These adventures can be simple day trips or a few days at a time.

A browse through over 150 ‘favourite destinations’ on the website below should inspire tyro and experienced pilots alike. For amusement, try the ‘bit of fun’ section on the ‘contacts’ tab. Whether it’s for a confidence boost, a biennial flight, or do some distance flying, it can be fun too!

Email: lightaircrafttraining@yahoo.com

Tel: 07598 880178

Website: http://www.lightaircrafttraining.co.uk

Cylinder conundrum…

To pull or not to pull that cylinder… that is the question. Ruth Kelly decides to investigate a low compression on her RV-8’s Lycoming engine…

Sometime early in 2021, while in the grip of national lockdown number three, I read a recommendation for Mike Busch’s book Engines . I’m pretty sure it was mentioned somewhere in these pages, but I can’t find it now. No matter, it sounded like a good idea, so I bought a copy and settled down for a good read.

This article is not a book review, but I will say this: it’s interesting, it’s very… ‘American’ (much gritting of teeth) but I learned a great deal. I’m not sure that I agree with everything he says, and Mr Busch

cheerfully admits to not being a professional engineer, but it’s hard to argue with his results. Over 50 years of flying, his engines regularly achieve long hours in service – well beyond the normal certified time between overhaul. Perhaps more to the point, the book contains much useful information and most of what he suggests makes very good sense. So, if you have a Lycoming or Continental powerplant, you might like to dip in.

The point of this preamble, however, is that I read the book just as I was putting my engine back together after replacing my number two cylinder. If I

Above The engine back together and ready to carry out a ground run.

had read the book first, I possibly might just not have bothered. Or would I? Read on…

Just for the record, my engine is an ex-RAF Bulldog engine, a 200hp Lycoming IO-360-A1B6. Every year I assiduously carry out a leak-down compression check as part of my permit renewal maintenance and inspection programme. And every year I have found the compression on number two cylinder to be a little on the low side. This year I finally decided to take advantage of the enforced no-fly period to investigate.

So, how low is low? As many readers will know, the leak-down test involves warming up the engine, removing the top spark plugs and then turning the engine over until the cylinder you want to check is at top dead centre (TDC) on the compression stroke. You then screw an air-line adaptor into the spark plug hole, and connect it to a compressor via a differential pressure gauge. This comprises a regulator valve and pressure gauge, a test valve and another pressure gauge. Adjust the regulator to provide 80psi on the supply side and then open the test valve… cautiously!

If the engine isn’t at TDC the prop will turn, so it’s important to stand clear. If this happens then you must close the test valve and reposition the engine at TDC and try again. It is useful to have a friend help by holding the prop to stop any tendency for it to rotate.

Supply pressure

The second gauge measures the pressure on the cylinder side and it is typically in the region 72-76psi; the difference between the supply pressure and the cylinder pressure depending upon the amount of leakage through the valves and past the piston rings …or through a crack in the cylinder, if you have a very poorly engine.

The absolute number doesn’t matter very much, so long as it is in the ‘acceptable’ range. What you are looking for is any long-term trend. Lycoming service

Below left A leak-down compression tester. The incoming pressure is set to 80psi on the left-hand gauge and how much of it the cylinder retains is shown on the right-hand gauge. The threaded end of the hose is an interchangeable plug thread adaptor.

Below right Air box and baffles removed for access to the number two (port side front) cylinder. Note cylinder number cast into crankcase by pushrod tube.

instruction no.1191A sets out the critical numbers:

■ If the pressure reading is above 70 psi the cylinder is considered to be satisfactory.

■ Less than 65psi indicates that there may be a problem and that compression should be monitored more frequently.

■ Less than 60psi means that you should consider removing the cylinder to investigate and overhaul.

In reality it is quite hard to get completely consistent results. Variation in the temperature of the engine when you carry out the test; the presence or absence of carbon deposits on the valve seats; and possibly the condition of the oil could all produce small variations. Over the three years I have owned G-XRVB, I have seen all of the recorded pressures wander around by a couple of psi. But number two cylinder has usually been in the 60s, except on one occasion when, on re-testing, I managed to get 72 out of it. But this year my first reading was 58 psi and after re-warming the engine and much repetition, the best I could get was 62 psi.

I reported all this to my inspector, Ray Harper, when we renewed the permit. As ever, he pulled the engine over by hand a few times and agreed that number two was indeed low, but he wasn’t overly concerned. “But if you really want to take it off,” he said, “go right ahead.” So, with permission granted to go into the hangar during lockdown, I did.

It’s not a difficult job but stripping down all the surrounding bits and pieces is fiddly, and was for me a voyage of discovery. I took my time, and found out how to remove the baffles, the air box and filter, CHT and EGT sensors, the induction and exhaust pipes and finally the fuel injector pipe. Then the rocker cover comes off to allow removal of the rockers and pushrods. Finally, I borrowed the special cranked ring spanners for the cylinder base nuts and eased the cylinder off – and thanks to a mask-wearing Paul Robichaud for catching the piston for me!

At first sight the cylinder, piston and valves seemed to be in pretty good condition, but for a more detailed examination I popped the whole lot in the back of the car and took it to my inspector’s workshop.

His initial examination agreed with mine: “It looks in good shape – the piston is like new,” he said. We put a new piston ring into the bore and measured the gap between its ends, which showed that there was very minimal wear. Then we took the valves out, expecting to find a worn, dirty or damaged seat on the exhaust valve. But no. I speculated that there might be damaged spark plug thread. A close look at the spark plug holes revealed something interesting: I was running the wrong type of spark plugs. There were carbon deposits in the bottom half of the threads.

Apparently, the RAF preferred long-reach heads on the grounds that they were more Erk-proof, and often fitted them, even if the engine had been supplied with short-reach heads, which (I subsequently discovered) mine had been. Which may explain why it had the short plugs in it – ask LAS (for example) what plug is recommended for an IO-360-A1B6 and they’ll give you a short-reach plug. This isn’t much of an excuse, I admit, the cylinder had a yellow flash on the outside which indicates that it has a long-reach head. And a blue flash which shows that it has a nitrided bore. But then, I didn’t know about the colour codes. Anyway, although it was clear that I needed a new set of plugs all round, that wasn’t the source of the low compression problem.

Far left top Barrel removed, neither the piston (left) nor the cylinder (right) show any obvious signs of distress.

Left bottom Continental’s low compression advice puts much more credence on a borescope inspection than a leak-down check.

Below Piston pin end caps were different but fortunately the original pin and caps were in excellent condition.

After a very close visual inspection of the bore, looking for cracks and not finding any, we were left scratching our heads. Why was the compression low? The bore wasn’t badly glazed or anything, but it was quite shiny. Maybe the oil control ring was scraping too much oil away to get a good seal during the compression test. Ray could only suggest that he hone the bore before I re-fitted and re-tested it.

Ten minutes later we found the problem: the hone left a shiny patch on one side of the cylinder, close to the top of the stroke. We inserted a new piston ring and pushed it carefully to the top of the cylinder with a spare piston. Holding a small torch in the cylinder head behind the ring we could see light between the piston ring and the cylinder wall. The bore was warped! Not unheard of, but something that Ray hadn’t seen before. I must admit that I can’t quite see how it could come about. Probably a manufacturing defect? After all, the head is both screwed and shrunk onto the barrel, with the head heated to a high temperature and the barrel cooled before they are mated, providing an interference fit when the temperatures equalise. Uneven cooling might possibly account for the problem.

What to do? Re-fitting and carrying on flying was an option. After all, 62 psi is still in the ‘monitor closely’ range rather than ‘consider overhaul’, and as Ray remarked, the engine wouldn’t stop because of a low compression.

Low compression test results

Mike Busch, as I now know, rejects cylinder replacement on grounds of low compression test results, and cites at some length Continental’s decision to withdraw their original compression test service bulletin M84-15 and replace it with SB03-3, which allows much lower compression test readings provided the piston crown, bore and valves look OK when inspected with a borescope.

He also cites dynamometer tests on engines with low compression test results, which suggested that there was no measurable loss of power, even on an engine that only achieved 40psi on the leak-down test. In his view, Lycoming should also withdraw Service Instruction 1191A. But it hasn’t, which does make you wonder. Although I haven’t done the research – still less any tests – to support a contrary view, I find the idea that low compression somehow doesn’t matter is hard to believe, if only from the point of view of efficiency. But perhaps more to the point, I don’t like faults like this: they don’t fix themselves. They can only get worse.

Could I get it re-bored? Well, possibly, but it was a nitrided bore, which means only a small number of specialist companies could tackle the job. And strictly I ought to do the others at the same time. This sounded like a time-consuming and potentially still-quite-expensive option to me.

So, I decided to replace the cylinder and, just to add to the pain, Lycoming does not recommend replacing just the cylinder, it wants you to have new valves, piston, rings and seals too – a ‘replacement cylinder kit’. Oh well: in for a penny, in for a pound.

I ordered the parts through Adams Aviation. It took some time to work out exactly which kit I needed –according to Lycoming’s records my engine had been shipped (in 1973) with short-reach heads and my

request for a long-reach cylinder was met with consternation, despite my patient explanation, emailing of scans of some of the RAF maintenance documents and pointing out that its own (1995) spare parts catalogue listed the long-reach cylinder as an option for the A1B6. But we got there in the end.

The magic phrase turned out to be ‘no, it’s not a certified engine’. Some six weeks later my new cylinder kit arrived.

Below New cylinder installed. I now know that the yellow flash means the cylinder has long reach spark plug heads and the blue means the cylinder has a nitrided bore.

Before I could proceed with fitting there was one small wrinkle. The new piston came with a new pin and floating bronze end caps. My old piston pin had the earlier type of alloy end caps, which are lighter.

You can’t mix alloy and bronze end caps in the same engine because the weight difference upsets the balance of the engine. I couldn’t get the caps off the old pin – but happily Ray had some brand-new spares, which he posted to me.

Alloy end caps

They, however, didn’t fit into the new pin. Evidently the spec had been changed somewhere along the line. Rather than dig myself into an even bigger hole, trying to order (and then wait for) some alloy end caps, we took the simple decision to re-fit the old pin, which was in excellent condition.

I am indebted to Justin Cox who subsequently fitted the new piston to the rod, collapsed the hydraulic tappets and then fitted the cylinder, torquing the base nuts to the required setting. I then re-fitted the pushrods and rockers, remembering to check the clearance between rockers and pushrods. This is allowed to be quite large because it is closed up by the hydraulic tappets, but must not be too small. If it is, you have to buy and fit a shorter pushrod. Mine were fine.

A few hours later everything was re-connected and re-fitted – including my shiny new REB37E long-reach plugs – and I pushed the aeroplane outside for a ground run. Having first cranked it, mags off, until some oil pressure had appeared I then primed, popped the mags on and called ‘clear prop’. It started first blade and promptly settled down at a rumbling 1,000rpm to warm up. Ian Fraser kindly stood watch, armed with a fire extinguisher, and peered at the engine from a safe distance, giving me a thumbs-up to confirm that there were no unexpected clouds of smoke, jets of oil or other undesirable features. After 10 minutes or so the oil was up to about 50°C and the heads were well into the 100s, so I performed a normal set of power checks before shutting down.

Visual inspection revealed nothing amiss but I let it cool down and re-torqued the inlet and exhaust manifold bolts and nuts, the rocker cover screws and the fuel injector pipe unions. Then – after a duplicate inspection by Ray – and with cowlings back on it was off for a test flight. Would I notice any difference? ‘Of course not,’ came the rational answer from some corner of my brain. But the day of my test flight was one of those cold, clear days with lovely dense air, and the aeroplane positively leapt off the ground with a happy snarl.

Running-in demands operating at a high power setting for a number of hours, so I blasted round Dorset at ‘25 square’, touching 170kt from time to time, my eyes flitting constantly down to the gauges for any signs of trouble. There were none. Oh my, that felt good.

Was it all worth it? It’s impossible to say, of course. I haven’t yet repeated the compression test to see what improvement I have effected – I’m keeping that until I have finished running-in. So, at the time of writing, I can’t even say ‘mission accomplished’. But I certainly learned a lot and I do like to have confidence in my kit, so maybe it was. It’s done, anyway. Now for some more flying! ■

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Coaching Corner…

Summer sunshine…

PCS Head of Coaching, David Cockburn is hoping for a spell of sunny weather, but warns that it can come with risks when flying…

Iam writing this during a cold and very wet May.

However, it’s likely that summer will arrive eventually, and there may well be periods of hot weather, which have been known to extend, even in the UK, for several days. Hot weather provides a number of potential hazards which some of us may not have considered recently, and now might be the time to think about them.

We no doubt remember that temperature has an effect on aircraft performance. As the mercury climbs, the air density reduces, so the mass of air which the propeller can push backwards also reduces. That means we get less thrust from the engine, and therefore

Above Dark coloured surfaces absorb heat much more than white surfaces, and if there’s a fuel tank underneath the risk of mogas reaching its 20° C limit for Permit aircraft use is certainly increased.

can’t accelerate as quickly on take-off. At the same time, the forward movement of the wing is pushing through a lesser mass of air at a given speed, so as our Indicated Air Speed is TAS compensated for density, the effect is a reduction in acceleration – no wonder we seem to stay on the ground forever on a hot day!

We should remember that the take-off distance required by a typical light aeroplane increases by 20% as the air temperature rises from 10°C to 30°C, and progressively more at higher temperatures. That reduction in thrust and lift also produces a reduced rate of climb, which will adversely affect obstacle clearance after take-off, so we need to make appropriate allowances for that as well.

Photo: Neil Wilson

High temperature also has other effects on our aircraft. On the plus side, the engine will reach operating temperature quickly, so become efficient after a shorter warm-up. Unfortunately, though, the warmer air reduces the efficiency of the cooling system. The poor old engine, and the oil which is trying manfully to disperse the heat, will be more prone to overheat at high power, so we need to monitor the gauges in the climb carefully, and a little more often.

And fuel is also affected. As the temperature rises, the volume of fuel in the tank increases, so expect some venting from a full tank. That in turn indicates that our full tank now contains a reduced mass of fuel to convert to energy. We might hope to compensate slightly if we lean the mixture carefully in the cruise (in accordance with the engine’s handling notes) but less mass of fuel will mean less energy to convert to distance flown.

Perhaps this is also a good time to remind ourselves of the increased risk of fire if we over-prime the engine; hot fuel vapourises quickly and is consequently easier to ignite.

That vapourisation has other consequences, which those of us running on mogas especially should consider. At high ambient temperatures, bubbles of petroleum vapour may form in fuel lines, causing an interruption in the flow which may not clear easily. Motor gasolines have a higher vapour pressure than avgas and will vapourise at a lower temperature. To reduce the likelihood of this ‘vapour lock’, the CAA requires the temperature of mogas in the aircraft tank(s) prior to take-off to be less than 20°C. Even

Above A trial low level common frequency aims to improve awareness for civil and military aircraft flying below 2,000ft. You wouldn’t want to meet a Herc coming down the valley would you!

when air temperature is below that, direct rays from the sun can heat the tank, and the colour and construction of our tanks (and fuel containers) can have a considerable effect on the temperature of the contents.

Carefully parking (or shading) the aircraft to avoid these direct rays may be able to keep the temperature of the important parts within reasonable bounds, and even those of us using avgas might consider taking measures to keep the fuel temperature down. We should also think about where we put our hands, surfaces heated in direct sunshine can cause painful burns!

We should also take account of the effect of a hot summer’s day on ourselves. Sunburn can be painful, so we should consider wearing a hat and using a highvalue sunscreen on exposed surfaces, even on a cooler day if the sun is strong – I find my nose gets sun burn no matter how I try to shade it. Heat also encourages dehydration, which in turn reduces brain efficiency.

Although we are unlikely to have air conditioning in our aircraft, bottled water is widely available, and we should consider including regular sips in our routine cruise checks. Ventilation is important and we might consider how we might keep the temperature in the cockpit at a bearable level while the aircraft is parked – don’t laugh if you see me raising an umbrella over my cockpit (and fuel tank) when I come to visit!

VHF Low Level common frequency

The CAA has announced that it is supporting a military led trial of a VHF Low-Level (LL) Common frequency to help build situational awareness for users of the

Photo: Wikipedia

airspace below 2,000ft above the surface. The trial: ‘VHF LL Common’ is taking place from 1 June 2021 to 1 June 2022, as an information service on 130.490 MHz. The aim is to reduce the risk of collision within the military Low Flying System, which basically covers the whole of mainland Britain, and about which further information can be found in the CAA’s SafetySense

Leaflet 18 – Military Low Flying.

The idea is for crews of aircraft, whether military or civilian, who are operating below 2,000ft above the surface, to provide information on their presence and future routing to others who may be in the same area.

This should be done by making blind calls, if practical, when they are descending to low level and when passing significant points along their route. While terrain screening may limit the range at which such calls can be heard, hopefully if we are in the same valley as a transmitting aircraft, we should be able to hear the transmission and take suitable action.

With pilots spreading their wings after Covid consequences but being restricted to UK airspace, it is likely that more of us will be visiting places like the Lake District, Wales, and other areas frequently used by the military for high-speed low-level flying.

If we find ourselves visiting such places (basically hilly areas with few centres of population) and flying below 2,000ft above the ground, it would seem to be an excellent idea to use the frequency unless another one would be more appropriate.

Even listening out should give us some situational awareness, but it is important that we announce our own presence to provide awareness to others. A trial in Scotland was apparently successful, hence its extension across the UK.

The CAA has provided full details at https://tinyurl. com/3wtyz8fb and has created an email address on which pilots can provide feedback on the trial ( lowlevelfrequencytrial@caa.co.uk ).

VFR in Class D Airspace

Members may remember that the European Part-SERA brought in the ICAO Standard for VFR flight and caused much concern that access would be denied far more often with the 1,000ft vertical and 1,500ft lateral separation from cloud requirement.

However, on 20 May 2021, the UK reverted to our previous VFR minima requirements within Class D airspace – aeroplanes flying during the day at no greater than 140kt IAS and below 3,000ft amsl (or 1,000ft above the terrain if higher) can be regarded as complying with the Visual Flight Rules in Class D airspace if clear of cloud with the surface in sight, provided a flight visibility of five kilometres is maintained.

We need to be aware, however, that this alleviation from the normal Controlled Airspace VFR requirements only applies in Class D airspace during the day. In addition to the five-kilometre minimum visibility, VFR flights in Class D at night, or in all the other classes of controlled airspace, including Class E, at any time, must remain 1,000ft vertically and 1,500 metres horizontally away from cloud, even at low level.

Stretch yourself

It seems we may have a bit longer to wait before we can again freely fly into mainland Europe, however, there is no reason to feel restricted in what we can do. Once we have regained our currency and are back up to a skill level we feel comfortable with, how about trying to achieve a set of LAA Wings, or upgrade the ones we already own?

Have a look on the Wings section of the LAA website and investigate the various awards. It may be that you already hold enough qualifications and achievements to obtain Bronze, Silver or even Gold Wings, and if so, why not apply for them?

If you don’t already qualify for Bronze, try and gather the necessary experience and achievements, it is really very straightforward to get on to the first rung of the Wings ‘ladder’.

However, I’m suggesting that we should always be aiming higher, whatever level we hold, or are qualified to hold, we should be trying to gain the experience, qualifications and achievements to qualify us for the next level. And even Gold Wings holders can continue to extend their skills by adding more achievements from the list provided in the ‘eligible activities’ section of the site.

Go on, stretch yourself! www.lightaircraftassociation. co.uk/Wings/wings_homepage.htm l ■

W here To G o

There continue to be a number of cancellations, the Flying Legends display at Sywell being a major one. Unfortunately, the Henstridge Fly-in/Meet the LAA Day has also been cancelled, although, at time of writing, the LAA England Tour will go ahead with the starting point at Bodmin on Monday 5 July. So, as

JULY

M042/2021]

24-25 Sandown RRRA Air Race

24-25 Bodmin VAC Fly-in and evening music and poetry 01752-406660

24-25 Old Warden Shuttleworth Model Show – airfield closed

ever, please check before leaving for an event that it remains on and not subject to any last-minute restrictions.

Our thanks to David Wise (dave.wise@btinternet.com) and the RAeC for the use of their data. More events, info and links are available on the RAeC Events website at http://events.royalaeroclub.org/eventeu.htm

26-Au 1 Oshkosh, Wi (N) EAA AirVenture National Fly-in & Display

30-31 Compton Abbas BAeA Aerobatic Competition [see AIC Y008/2021]

30-Au 1 Old Buckenham Old Buck Air Show

31 Westonzoyland Scrumpy N Cheese Fly-in [PPR]

31-Au 1 Rufforth East LAA Vale of York Strut Fly-in & Meet the LAA Day

AUGUST

Flight plans…

LAA graduate engineer Mike Roberts. What makes him tick?

Afew months ago, in the March edition of Light Aviation, my colleague Joe introduced himself to the LAA’s readership. I suppose I should have expected that Brian, the editor, would ask if I would like to do a similar article, and maybe put a face to the name for the LA readers. I would imagine many in aviation share a similar, albeit different flavour of story on how they got to be involved in this industry but anyway, this is mine!

Catching the bug

I was around seven or eight years old when I first became absorbed by the world of aviation, and where most can remember the exact moment the cogs started turning, I can only remember wanting to be a pilot or an engineer, or simply anything that would mean spending time around aeroplanes. Growing up in a very Welsh family with not a shred of aviation heritage to is name, I assume that the Hawks out of nearby RAF Valley zooming overhead, plus grandad’s (or Taid, if like me, you’re a ‘Welshie’) and my dad’s hands on their R/C models had something to do with the initial bug.

When I was 10 years old, my parents, who had listened to my constant mithering about aircraft (they have yet to find the ‘off’ button), had bought me a flying lesson for my 11th birthday… I can remember it like it was

yesterday. The aircraft I flew in was G-BILS, a Cessna 152 that operated out of RAF Mona at the time – and I believe still does. I’m sure they must have regretted it afterwards; I didn’t stop talking about it until …well, never! Like so many others, once the bug had been caught I knew that aviation was something I needed to be a part of.

Balsa or video games

Being from a small town in North Wales, you would quickly find yourself very bored as there was not much to do aside from jump across the buoys in the nearby harbour or build dens, and that was when you could ‘play out’. Most of the youth in the area would cure this boredom with video games, which was not my cup of tea, helped by the fact that the games were typically my brother’s. While he was good at sharing them, my interests lay elsewhere. I spent my pocket money on balsa wood and made rubber band powered Piper Cubs or chuck gliders… I also soon began altering them, tweaking them and designing my own, with varying levels of success. As I got older, I would try to work out why one would fly and the other not, amend the design and re-fly it… and so it went on, the cheapest flight testing available.

With Taid still having models hanging from his workshop ceiling, I asked if we could get one down and start it, his answer was always the same “When you’re 13

Above Mike attends his first LAA Rally as a graduate engineer in 2019.

we will go and fly one.” This was his simple solution to stop the conversation in its tracks until I did eventually turn 13 and I called on grandson rights and held him to his word!

That unleashed a whole new world for me with R/C aeroplanes becoming a major part of my inspiration and taught me the rules of construction, aerodynamics and stability. I often designed my own R/C planes and altered them here and there to improve performance or strength, playing with the stability and learning the effect of CG locations, tail sizes etc… To this day I will still advise that anyone with the ambition of designing aircraft should get involved with R/C models, like the simple balsa models mentioned earlier, they are incredibly useful tools to develop both an R/C model and for one’s own better understanding.

I can get a degree?

Throughout my school life I had quite a struggle with secondary education, some have it and others don’t, and I really didn’t, being more of a practical lad. I was always under the impression that I would learn more from sketching out my latest R/C aeroplane design than focusing on that day’s subjects… Well with age comes wisdom and I soon learned that both were important and without the grades you won’t get to meet the people who will appreciate the sketches. Having left secondary school with very average grades, nothing too depressing but nothing too exciting either, I then looked for a job, knowing that I did not meet the high standards that Aerospace degrees typically demand.

While living in North Wales was amazing, the terrain, the beaches and the rain (you learn to love it), its opportunities for jobs left little to be desired. So, while operating on the generous donations from the ‘Bank of Mum & Dad’, I began looking for opportunities in aviation and once again, little was available to me with my average grades. This was so frustrating, and I knew I needed to be in aviation and I desperately wanted to become a design engineer. One morning at 4am, I was

Top Mike’s narrowboat, which he has moored about a half-hour drive from Turweston.

Above Launching a model, Mike has enjoyed experimenting with them since he was a youngster.

trawling the internet and found a degree in aeronautical and mechanical engineering where, if you passed a foundation year which brought you up to A-Level standard, you gained entry onto the main course. I was so excited I rode my bike for about 10 miles at 5am. When I got back, I was very eager to tell my parents who were, as usual, very supportive and realised that the aviation mithering was now going to be a lifelong thing. It was only two weeks later that I was driven to university.

Fast forward a few years and, having met some incredibly wonderful people, I was a qualified engineer looking for a job.

Boats… not aeroplanes!

Like many graduates of any subject, you often find yourself working in a completely unrelatable job to what you had studied, while keeping your eye on the prize of ‘The dream job’. Well for me that was the case when I landed myself a job as a hire fleet mechanic up on the Llangollen Canal, next to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. While it was not an aircraft, I did sort of enjoy it and fitted right in as during my studies for my degree I had purchased a little narrowboat called Borage to be my

long-term home and investment – buy a boat, pay it off, sell the boat, then buy a house. Having lived on the coast, boats weren’t at all unfamiliar and I often fixed my own narrowboat (boaters among you knowing that BOAT stands for Bring Out Another Thousand). However, I still wanted to be a design engineer and one day I noticed an advert for a graduate engineer on the LAA website… this was the one for me I thought, and I prepared the CV and covering letter. Two weeks later, I got an interview date. I was buzzing!

Graduate design engineer

So, I had been given a date and it conflicted with my current job, where I was on call, so after begging for a switch, I set off at 4am to be sure to make the interview, which was amazing fun. The initial interview was a standard chat where the senior staff were getting to know me, and I them. It went well enough but, inevitably, I drove back home thinking ‘I should have said this’ or ‘Damn, why didn’t I mention that’. Well after a week or so I was called back for a second interview because, as it turned out, they were struggling to decide on a candidate for the position.

The second interview was broader with more time spent getting to know the ins and outs of each member of staff within Engineering, and their typical day-to-day duties. This was again very interesting for me, although having worked five days prior, with the interview day being my day off from the hire fleet and the following day being the start of another four days on, plus being on call, I was happy to be heading home to my little narrowboat.

Although I enjoyed my job, working on the canals boats definitely had its downsides, particularly when on night call out – rebuilding the engine at ‘silly o’clock’ in the early hours because a stag party had somehow managed to flood the engine compartment and then tried to start the engine, bending the conrods due to it hydraulic locking, does tend to pall. And anyway, what I really wanted to do was to be involved in aviation.

A week or so later, while dealing with a broken narrowboat and showing a lovely family from Devon how to steer one, I received a call from an unfamiliar number. Not wanting to leave the struggling skipper alone, I helped them through their first lift bridge and sent them on their way. On my walk back to base, I returned the call to find out CEO Steve Slater would like to offer the position to me and that two graduates were to be taken on, me and my colleague Joe. An awesome result for the pair of us.

But what about aviation interests?

Unfortunately, due to the typical bottleneck of finances, I do not yet have a PPL, although that story is changing as my first 10 hours are booked. I have done 30 or so flights in a K13 and was prepping for solo with low height cable breaks, but a combination of winter, Covid and my reluctance to spend whole Saturdays in a cold bus hampered that plan. Gliding was something I thoroughly enjoyed but when I worked out the cost for those 30 flights, it was approximately £200 per hour. To my mind I may as well aim for the priority licence, a PPL. I very recently had my first motor glider flight in a Falke and I am aiming for roughly a lesson a week.

As for other interests, well, the part of me that enjoyed designing models has always wanted to design a real aircraft. Ever since I was 10 years old, at which point I discovered Burt Rutan and studied his projects, also

discovering the then PFA. The idea of designing an aircraft captivated me and still does… my dream was to be the next big aircraft designer with very little interest in larger aircraft, homebuilts were the way to go for me.

While a career in design for a very large firm would, I’m sure, be very exciting in its own right, I want a bigger piece of the pie than being on a team of 40+ engineers designing a crucial, but single, cog in a large machine.

I like simple, low-cost aeroplanes and I am currently mid-way through a very basic, very inexpensive aircraft that is designed to be built in a 20ft shipping container workshop. Being realistic, the performance will be modest but the biggest point in the design is for it to be a modern plans build.

What’s ‘modern plans building’?

Well, if you built a Taylor Monoplane in 1970 or 2020, the time required is the same… So, the thing about ‘modern’ plans-built aircraft is that, along with the plans, you receive a USB stick that contains the DXF files for the steel and alloy components, profiles for laser cutting foam ribs and so on. You then send them off to your local service to be cut via laser, water jet, plasma etc. Services such as these are pretty low cost these days, with competition increasing with more affordable machines, and the timesaving and accuracy is phenomenal.

LAA types have evolved, and new kit-builds do take advantage of the latest technology – builders are assembling metal aircraft today where the rivet holes line up perfectly because companies such as Van’s can afford CNC machines… well a 3D printer can cost as little as £200 and a hobby CNC can be acquired for around £2,000. There’s no reason why this technology cannot be adapted to plans-building.

So, what’s my design proposition? Well, as mentioned above, it’s a low-cost and simple construction machine… but you’ll have to wait to learn more. It’s still at the design stage but I will be submitting the engineering drawings, load calculations and stress calculations to my colleagues at LAA HQ shortly.

Once the ball starts rolling and I have something to show other than 3D renders, I may release more info. Until then, thank you for reading. ■

Right Life as a narrowboat hire company mechanic had its shortcomings!

Racing times ahead…

Clive Davidson on the learning curve with his recent acquisition – a Cassutt IIIM Racer…

Pictures by Neil Wilson

SFlight Test

mall, sleek and swift. It certainly looks the part, fits the bill… and goes like stink. This Formula One air racer is dedicated to speed – in fact speed is its absolute niche and its raison d’etre. The type is built to compete in the aerial rivalry of similarly dimensionally constrained competition mounts and the Cassutt is perhaps one of the most numerous, and most modified of machines in the field, having been competing for 70 years. And it is still very competitive.

I first made contact with a Cassutt over 20 years ago, having been asked to fly its Permit flight test. I knew little of the type before the day, but got my briefing from the owner, inspected the obvious and approached the task with caution and took my time.

Satisfied with what I had been presented with, I got aloft and was severely disappointed. It certainly wasn’t what I had expected, or been led to believe, of the type. Put simply it was, for a number of reasons, a rather slow dud. It didn’t do anything it said on the tin, other than perhaps bearing the famous name and looking the part.

As I taxied back in, the owner had a group of friends around him and as I passed, he grinned widely, crouched slightly and waggled his thumbs in jubilant celebration. I smiled politely and raised a hand as a wave, as much as one can in such confines. I taxied round the corner and shut down.

He was all smiles and now on his own and I tried to be diplomatic, but the message had to be put across, the aircraft had a number of unacceptable flaws and in its current condition was not fit for approval for a Permit application. To say he was not a very happy bunny was an understatement… I left and heard no more.

However, the idea of an aircraft built solely for one purpose is positively appealing, especially so to somebody who is very fortunate to fly a variety of types in the broad spectrum of our kind of aerial activity. The idea of getting to grips with a Cassutt has lingered in the back of my mind for a while, and I have to admit to enjoying the challenge of something new.

The boundaries

The parameters that constrain Formula One aircraft ensure competition of like-for-like. These aircraft must have a fixed undercarriage, a minimum wing area of 66 sq ft, a minimum empty weight of 500lb, and initially had an engine capacity of no more than 190 cubic inches driving a fixed pitch prop.

often running at rpm figures that are way beyond what the O-200 runs at in your typical light aircraft.

Roots and growth

Ex Trans World Airline captain, Tom Cassutt, designed the Cassutt in 1951. The design has proved itself to be intrinsically very sound and remarkably capable of detail adaptation. Cowlings are tailored to an engine’s particular tuning mods such as air intakes, and cockpit canopies to individual pilot’s requirements based on their physical dimensions. The build manual states that Cassutts may be built with an open cockpit but cautions that this may cause a disruption of airflow around the tail control surfaces. Higher aspect ratio wings have made their mark too, including some built of carbon fibre.

G-BPVO – Voodoo

Our subject Cassutt has the original wooden cantilever wing. It has a constant chord and 18 ribs with a spruce laminated main spar and a ‘D box’ leading edge. It is covered with a ply skin, the grain being angled at 45°. The wing is bolted, mid frame, on a welded 4130 chrome ‘moly steel space frame fuselage, which has a curved sheet metal covered fuselage spine, and all is fabric covered, with inspection discs for the internal control rods etc. The fabric covered tailplane and elevator are single piece tube assemblies which are bolted to fuselage longerons, and there is no trim tab on either the elevator or rudder.

The ailerons are full span with five hinges per side and, to prevent flutter, there are extended large mass balances at the outside tips that lay flush in the wing when not deflected. Interestingly the mechanical advantage lies with leaning into the cockpit and wiggling the stick rather than trying to move the ailerons on a walk around inspection by holding between finger and thumb, which requires quite a force.

The airframe sits on a one piece sprung steel, Grove type spatted undercarriage with 5x500 wheels and tyres. The steerable tailwheel is diminutive and when standing directly behind the tail, with the tailwheel completely straight and aligned, the rudder is deliberately offset to the right. The single steering rod is directly connected, there is no connecting rudder spring to absorb input… which makes it skid awkwardly sideways should you try to turn on the spot while pivoting on a main wheel. The weight on the tailwheel with an empty cockpit is only 20lb, so hydraulic disc brakes should be used with a degree of caution.

The very dark ‘drug dealer’ canopy is to be changed for a clear view one in due course.

The race category was mooted in the United States pre-WWII, but the first race wasn’t held until 1947, using mainly pre-war racers modified to meet the rules. However, it was not long before purpose designed machines were competing – a fabric covered steel tube fuselage/tail with a wooden wing and a tuned Continental C85 being the typical format. The engine spec was increased to 200 cubic ins in 1968 to cater for the Continental O-200.

Two things that play a major part in F1 success are aerodynamics and engine tuning, the pure racing examples

The aircraft is also very close coupled and without an overly wide track – just look at the small triangle of the wheels’ points of ground contact. The track measured from mid wheel to mid wheel is 3ft 7ins and it is 12ft 8ins from mains to tailwheel – the tapered fibreglass spats are three feet long, which accentuates its close coupled appearance even more.

Standing back to admire her it is obvious that her purposeful lines are heartily determined by speed, with little compromise to the comforts of personal pandering. Her old and faded name of Voodoo can still just be deciphered on the cowling with a bit of inquisitive squinting. I don’t think

Above A rapid roll rate and good all-round performance make the Cassutt great fun to fly.

Left From this aspect, the compactness of this 70-year-old design is very evident.

that will be revived, replaced perhaps with Lemon Drizzle or Go Bananas, reflecting its dominant yellow wings and tail.

That canopy

The light metal framed Perspex cockpit canopy may be opened from standing behind the left-wing root and swung over to the right, being held by a restraining wire. The cockpit itself is tiny, with nothing that could be called a seat. The pilot sits on the tin floor, or perhaps the slimmest of narrow slices of cushioning foam. It is too narrow for me if I were to sit upright. And there is no more than half a fist above my head to the roll over hardened cap. But, if I sit slightly hunched forward, my arms no longer press against the cockpit edges, being not quite without contact but slightly more comfortable... comfortable enough for the sake of being able to have the opportunity to zip around the sky anyway.

The one small placard that I see immediately before me on the ‘oh so close’ panel is a note informing that the maximum pilot weight is just 76 kilos. That is 167.58lb, a feather under 12 stone. I am not sure which boxing weight I may be in, but I am just 68kg / 150lb, 10 stone 10 lbs. For the terms of weight and balance, the aircraft and me with a tank of either full or depleted contents remain within the weight limit of 850lb, 386kg and also within the CG range of between 9.9 and 12.5 inches aft of the datum point, the wing leading edge.

As I said, it is slim and it is tight but I’m OK with that, what I definitely do not like is the dark canopy, which is a bit ‘drug dealer-esque’. I am allowed to say it’s a naff feature, as I now own the aircraft, warts and all.

The reason, not for owning the machine as I hope that may become apparent, but for wanting to change that

canopy is that when taxying, it can be prudent to try to communicate with hand signals to marshallers, pedestrians, vehicle drivers and perhaps other moving aircraft, and I cannot be seen, let alone gesture my intentions of where I am trying to go. The canopy is so dark that you cannot be entirely sure if there is actually anyone in the cockpit. I have been teased that it even looks like a radio-controlled model!

It is not really practical to taxi with the canopy swung open, seeing as it’s a one-piece affair with no front windscreen and the canopy should really be supported with a judicious hand when power is on and the slipstream increases. Supporting the canopy would leave one control, either the throttle or stick, unattended.

Furthermore, the canopy cannot be unlatched from the outside – not a pilot friendly feature – so it will have to be changed. It is a single curve of 4mm thick Perspex, so shouldn’t be too awkward to replace. Incidentally, the darkness of the canopy doesn’t make the winter light a problem internally.

Engine details

The Continental O-200 is tightly cowled with so many tinsmith washers and screws that they must have been acquired as on bulk sale with a knock down price while going out of fashion, or perhaps a means for weight and balance adjustment. Thank goodness for Chris (an old friend and fellow hangar resident) and his handy electric screwdriver. The prop extension improves and increases the forward projection of the cowling and the wooden 66ins by 72ins prop is crowned with a 14ins polished spinner. It also has the benefit of an electrical system, including a generator and starter so is not an all out serious racer.

Below The cockpit is very cosy, but the EFIS belies its minimalist panel.

Left Mass balanced full span ailerons are of fabric covered steel tube – with five hinges.

Below Nicely cowled engine and spatted wheels certainly hint at the Cassutt’s intended performance.

Getting in…

First off, I like to make sure that the soles of my footwear are clean, as anything thereon I will shortly be sitting on. And for no other reason than the fact it might be possible to have the control column sliding inside a trouser leg, my sartorially inelegant self tucks my trouser legs into your socks.

‘Mounting’ is probably not quite the word to explain the act of gaining entrance as the act requires a definite technique. It also throws up the conundrum of leg size, long legs are an advantage for not clouting an aileron, but short legs must be a definite advantage for being able to get your knees under the panel.

Standing behind the left wing with the canopy open and swung over to the right, you have to avoid leaning against the full span aileron but be able to raise your left leg over it and carefully place your foot onto the small ‘footway’ (it is far too small to be termed a ‘walkway’, which implies the fact movement may be taken along a dedicated wing section). Using the right hand on top of the curved aft fuselage spine to help balance the lean forward, the left hand can be used to hold the cockpit edge, while supporting the shift of weight as your right leg is brought up and through the slim gap between the left leg and the fuselage side and into the cockpit. The left foot may then also be ‘dexterously’ brought in.

Again, to lower myself onto the seat, hands are used to support the transfer of weight, left on the canopy edge, right behind on the lateral rail of the seat back whilst sliding either leg under the instrument panel. A body twist to align with the fuselage and I lower myself down as the other leg slides in and under. This last bit, the lowering, finds me at a mechanical disadvantage as I reach a point where I run out

the strength to hold my position and I accept the fact and just ‘slip’ down. Tar-dah! I’m in!

Those last few inches of lowering down are not a particular concern but getting out has the slightly added problem of fighting against gravity as you try to rise. Getting out brings a leg back as close to my haunches as I can, leaning forward and supporting the left hand on the open cockpit edge while using my right elbow to lever up from the seat back. It is then that my right knee sometimes flips some of the electrical switches back on in the process. Thinking decades and years ahead, when I have lost suppleness and given up exercise, I will have to get an inflatable seat cushion to do the job for me.

Winkle Brown commented derogatorily about an awful handling aeroplane, reporting it was awkward to enter the cockpit and should be made impossible. Getting into the cockpit of the Cassutt may be awkward, but it is certainly worth the effort.

Once installed

Immersed low in the cockpit, the view ahead over the nose is surprisingly good, incredibly being one of the best I can recall of a single seat tailwheel machine The only part of the nose the extends over the horizon is the upper part of the centrally lipped cowling rising to the prop and spinner. Either side and above the cowling, where the world is invariably hidden for a tailwheel pilot, the Cassutt’s low ground angle allows the pilot a view of the world ahead. It means that the aircraft may be taxied in straight lines rather than having to be constantly weaved to clear possible obstacles ahead.

The right hand falls naturally to the control column and exercising the stick towards either wing trailing edge sees the

long span ailerons dance up without any play or stiction. I like the direct solid feel of the rods, with linkages and the stick connections plainly obvious from a floor aperture. I will have to get into the habit of checking full 18° up and down elevator deflections by leaning into the cockpit as it is near impossible to see them twisting backwards when ensconced, and certainly not when strapped in. The left hand falls obligingly to the throttle, mixture and carb heat levers and knob. The fuel primer sits close to and under the panel edge

A disadvantage when checking the rudder is that you cannot even see the rudder pedals. In fact, when I first got into it, I had to point my iPhone under the panel to take snaps to see where the toe brakes might be. All is well though, as both pedals and brakes are there… and work in the correct sense.

The cockpit sides have the light framework to support, close and lock the canopy. Under these edges the internal wing roots show both the ribs and their circular lightening holes. Here there is a tiny space either side for a few items. Any idea of a fast touring machine has to be thrown away –there is room for a tooth brush and should you really push it, the tooth paste as well. In reality, I have a locator beacon, my kid leather flying gloves and provisions consisting of a few dark chocolate biscuits. The right-hand side contains a slim cylindrical, one ten second shot fire extinguisher.

The iPad mount is temporarily occupied by a card reminder sheet with all of the engine settings of rpm with CHT, oil temp, and pressures settings. It will be there until I am thoroughly familiar with these figures. There are contact breakers to the left and facility switches plus keyed starter to the right. There is the absolute minimum of steam instruments: an ASI with an inner scale of knots and an outer in mph. I have painted a tiny white line at 85mph, my approach speed.

Below It really does look like a radiocontrolled model from this view!

There is also a compass and an altimeter.

The simplest of fuel indicators, a clear plastic tube, although this is not yet calibrated. I have one mark only, telling when 10 litres has been used, and the tank holds 45 litres. The previous owner hinted he felt uncomfortable if the level got close to the switches above the panel base line. Until I can gauge the system, I too will stick with his thoughts. The tiny, and I really do mean the tiniest of fuel on/off levers is on the right, just beyond the handheld radio. It sits upright at 90 degrees to the flow for ‘OFF’ and flush along the line of the tube for ‘ON’.

Central on the aluminium panel, is an all singing and dancing MGL Avionics Xtreme mini EFIS box of tricks with

Below The steel tube empennage has no trim tabs and that directly linked tailwheel makes tight turns difficult.

Bottom Stub

exhausts are rather raucous. Note fuel drain Curtis valve protruding from fuselage side.

pages of information from GPS to engine instruments and a situational display, a page I don’t use as I prefer the real-world display of looking outside. Centrally above the EFIS is a slip ball, integral to my mindset as a Tiger Moth instructor.

Let’s get going

After a good clearing look around and bellowing a warning that I’m about to start, the canopy may be closed, or perhaps you might prefer it closed, but not locked for some circulating air on summer days. To lock the canopy requires a firm push down and the movement of something that bears resemblance to a mighty pistol grip. It is reassuringly secure enough to remain fully locked when whistling towards the 248mph Vne.

Starting from cold is a prime of four gentle plunges on the primer (having remembered to have that tiny fuel lever ‘ON’), throttle ajar a squeak and keyed for four props before she fires and the EFIS screen registers that all is in play.

Taxying has no difficulties as long as it’s remembered you cannot pivot on one wheel for a tightly confined space turn around. Power checks are the same as with a Cessna 150, after all, they share the same engine. The checks in fact remind you that this is a very simple aircraft – there is no trim, the prop is fixed as is the gear, and there are no flaps.

Upon backtracking to the large white 24 numbers, swinging from side to side seeing the compass increase turning right, that tiny wheel sets up a grumble as it crosses the central white line. I remember this from before when I was fortunate enough and flew Alan James’ Isaacs Spitfire. I must expect a cacophony as the tailwheel settles on landing –quite an audible cue. When I first got her, I did a few fast runs down the runway, lifting the tail to the flying attitude, and she felt perfectly fine. Naturally she wanted to pull to the left but it was all very predictable and controllable.

On the fourth run, I let the acceleration and her character

free to accelerate in liberating ground effect. And so it was, the speed rose belting along 24 and we inclined increasing all of the time from 80mph to select a climbing attitude that I guessed would hold the intended climb speed of 90mph. I have to admit to thinking that this took longer to achieve than I had anticipated, but then reminded myself that this was all on just one hundred horsepower. Certainly not too bad at all.

Climbing showed the CHTs were rising into their operable green arc; the rate of climb was over the 1,200fpm mark. Its performance figures are impressive, giving 115mph with a power setting of just 1,800rpm and at the other end of the spectrum, with the max continuous of 2,750rpm, 190mph. But with no trimmer to hold her nose attitude up, a steady pitch attitude means ultimately that with a range of hills approaching or a haze layer with a false horizon height holding is not as accurate as one might hope for. The stick has to be held back.

Handling

As speed decays, she eventually exhibits a shaky wing wobble and lets go at 65mph, when a standard stall recovery of neutral stick forward, power and balancing footwork bring her back to conventional flight. She exhibits little aileron drag that might pull the nose away from the direction of roll, aided and abetted by the upward aileron deflection of 18° and 13° down.

The rate of roll is phenomenal, I can only guess at what might be in excess of 100° a second. Ideally, I would like to roll her but just going from 60° of bank left or right, then rolling to 60° in the other direction is… swift. Rolling both into and out of highly banked turns and not applying any rudder, the nose just sits pointing forward without deviating away from the turn The slip ball sits momentarily out to one side as a turn is introduced, but very soon centres itself.

Unfortunately, although the aircraft is stressed to 12G and freely aerobated in the US, it is not cleared here at home in the UK. Rolls may be demonstrated to race officials as part of pilot clearance to participate in races, to give pilots the option should they be caught in a leading aircraft's slipstream and become inverted at low level. They may also have race props fitted prior to a competition and checking the back of Victor Oscar’s own LAA Operating Limitations, specifically for Formula One racing it states that the maximum engine RPM may be exceeded. The previous owner states definitively that its max rpm of 2,750 had never been exceeded.

Not being able to trim a set speed means that when attempting steady heading side slips when releasing the stick from a deliberately positioned wing low condition as the stick is released the nose wishes to promptly pitch forward. The rudder release, again from the side slip, does however display positive directional stability. The phugoids, the up and down cycles from a trimmed cruise attitude, cannot yet be explored, it just wants to do a dirty dive.

This is but a niggle at the moment as I have started to trim this out. I have read in the builder’s manual that a number of washers under the tailplane may adjust the pitch problem. I am aiming for a mid-speed range option for a stick free cruise of around 140mph.

Landings

Armed with the tidbit of knowledge that she wants to give up flying after 65mph, I ought to make my approach at 85, and practices at altitude show she has no desire to relinquish her speed and the approach is near flat. Slips help, but pointing downhill, well she was designed to be fast by being clean. I have now done 16 landings in my 4 hours and 10 minutes of getting to know her. Initially I would rejoin the circuit with a dead side join, descending with a cooling engine but hardly

placed to lose any speed. Downwind joins helped if I started from miles away to adjust my speed, but the last set of landings were from a 300ft run and break on the runway heading, pulling up and closing the throttle to lose both speed and energy for the downwind join.

The approach is interesting as it takes only a tiny distraction and my speed may rise to 95, which is awkward to lose in a curved, flat slipping approach. If I had that speed at the flare, I would literally end up in the next county (Henstridge is on the Somerset / Dorset boundary). A steaming side slip may easily have fuel venting in a white stream out of the lower wing vents. But, crossing the hedge from a curved approach at the right speed, 120 metres before the 24 threshold and making sure I have fully closed the throttle with carb heat cold, she will want to float for a while as the attitude increases. I have a clear view of the runway. Initially I was touching down tail first as I reached for a landing with the stick all the way back. It’s not necessary though, I just get that taxi attitude and hold it and let her touch when she wants. And then that tail wheel will grumble its rumble and I pedal to keep her straight. I am reluctant to break heavily and have avoided the circumstances that mean I’d need to. That tail is light so better to roll to a late taxy turn off than go hoppity skippity.

To sum up, you have probably learnt no more than my opening three-word description, that she is small, sleek and swift. But, put it another way, she is stretching me as a slippery challenge and a lot, yes truly, a whole lot of fun! ■

Bulldog Model 120

Specifications Cassutt IIIM Racer

General characteristics

Crew: One pilot

Length: 16ft 0in (4.88m)

Wingspan: 15ft 0in (4.57m) (IIIM Sport 17ft, 5.2m)

Height: 4ft 0in (1.22m)

Wing area: 68 sq ft (6.3m2)

Empty weight: 500lb (227kg)

Gross weight: 850lb (386kg)

Powerplant: 1 × Continental O-200, 100hp (65 kW) Performance

Maximum speed: 248mph (400km/h, 216 kn)

Range: 450mi (725km, 390 nm)

Rate of climb: 1,500 ft/min (7.6 m/s)

Right Clive with his recently acquired Cassutt Racer, which he is enjoying getting to know.

Life in the fast lane…

Eddie Barnes reveals all about his ‘bucket list’ fast jet flight…

Paul Bussey’s story of a flight in a Spitfire in the May issue of LA triggered thoughts of my own desire to encounter a particular flying thrill, not as Paul did in an historic WWII fighter, but in a military fast jet. The dream had been at the top of my ‘bucket list’ for as long as I could remember, but opportunities to ‘make it happen’ were, and indeed still are, few and far between. There is now quite a choice of opportunities to fly a Spitfire, and other aircraft of the WWII period in the UK, but fast jet flights remain elusive.

Several attempts to go flying with serving air force officers, whom I met through my motorcycling interests, came to nothing, and it looked as if I was going to be disappointed. That was until I learned from a friend, Peter, another bike fan who was also a light aircraft instructor,

who told me that a chap in the South East had recently acquired a former Soviet jet trainer and was planning to take fare paying passengers for a jet flight experience in the skies over Kent. This was just the news I had been waiting for!

I waited for updates from Peter as to when I might be able to achieve my ambition, but after lengthy delays as the owner complied with CAA regulation, it transpired that even when completed and the aircraft was flying, that they would only allow the owner to take up PPL holders as the rear cockpit was fully dualled, and I was not a pilot. Sadly, the aircraft was later destroyed in an accident.

A few years went by with little sign of my ambition being fulfilled, unless I fancied paying a small fortune (around £5,000) to go to Russia to fly in a MiG fighter. Or, on the other hand, with a private owner of several jets, including a

Above Eddie flew with Don Goodin and for part of the flight was accompanied by a second aircraft from the four ship Thunder Delfins display team.

Lightning, in South Africa. However, in 2007 my wife and I planned a road trip in California and it occurred to me that if there was anywhere else in the world I might get a flight, the States was probably as good a bet as anywhere.

I searched the internet and found a company who did just that and called them, but was disappointed to learn that it was temporarily closed. I did, however, get the name and number of a private owner (Don) in Los Angeles who I thought might be prepared to take me up.

I called Don straight away and he was happy to oblige, provided I paid for the fuel, which he reckoned would be about $800. Given that the pound was worth two dollars at the time, I thought this was good value!

We agreed on a date, which would be at the end of our road trip, and we would be flying from Martin Reserve Airforce Base in San Bernardino. Meanwhile my wife, Elaine, checked out Don’s credentials and found that he was an ex-USAF pilot with more than 10,000 hours logged, including flying in Vietnam.

So, at the end of October 2007, Elaine and I booked into a motel close to the airbase and called Don to let him know we had arrived. He would collect us in the morning and we would travel in his car to reduce security checks required to get onto the base.

Morning in San Bernardino was glorious – already 20°C at 0730, and not a cloud in the sky! Don arrived a few minutes before 0900, and off we went to Martin’s just a mile or two away. Don was known to security so we went through without any formalities.

We had learned a little about Don by now. His aircraft was a Czech built Aero L-29 Delfin, one of about 300 built which were used to train fighter pilots for the Soviet Air Force. Many were sold off when the USSR collapsed at the end of the 1990s. Don was one of four private owners who had flown with the USAF and now flew their Delfins as a

Top Flying in

Above Flying inverted – almost!

Fortunately, Eddie was not airsick during aeros.

display team, the Thunder Delfins, at numerous Air displays throughout the States. As an added dimension to my experience we would be going airborne with Doug, another one of the Thunder Delfin team.

After introductions and formalities, we made our way out onto the tarmac where the two aeroplanes had finished being refuelled, and after a few snaps I was supervised into my seat, fastened into my full harness and shown how to lock the canopy when instructed. I was also handed a rather large digital camera which I could have done without at the time, but the results from which are now treasured.

By now the temperature had risen to about 30°C and it was sweltering in the cockpit. I had to keep the belt buckle from touching my neck as it was so hot!

formation over the San Bernardino Valley.

The pre-flight checklist was relatively short, and the control tower gave permission to start the engine. We were given the go-ahead to taxi and take off at our discretion –there was no other activity on the base.

Doug went first and we followed him onto the runway in the ‘wingman’ position. Acceleration down the runway was less exciting than I’d expected, but it was great to watch Doug’s Delfin almost alongside, then feel the rumbling of the undercarriage stop a fraction of a second after Doug’s, as both aircraft took to the air.

Don told me we would try some mild manoeuvres just to make sure I was OK, and I was to let him know otherwise before we tried anything more ambitious.

For the next few minutes, we flew in Red Arrows’ fashion just a few feet apart, peeling off right then left in quick succession and in perfect formation, Don checking regularly that I was still OK. Next came a complete roll to the left then levelling out, and as we flew straight for a while Don invited me to take the stick and try to maintain level

Below Eddie, right, with ex-USAF fast jet pilot and Vietnam veteran Don Goodin and his L-29 Delfin.

LAA engineering charges

flight behind Doug (at a safe distance), my performance is best described as PIO – pilot induced oscillation!

At this point, Doug went his own way. His passenger was in fact in the front seat of his aircraft and I later learned from him that he had been a fast jet pilot in the Airforce and was now flying 737s. He flew with Doug on a regular basis just to enjoy the freedom of real fun flying – not possible in a commercial aircraft full of passengers.

Don now invited me to take over for a while, and for the next 10 minutes or so I could push the stick in any direction I wanted with Don ready in case I did anything silly. I wouldn’t use the rudder pedals!

There was quite a lot of resistance but only a small push resulted in immediate response – great fun. Don then told me to pull back on the stick until we were going almost straight up. He then took over and as we approached stall speed, the stick went forward and we headed down – this is about as fast as the Delfin will go advised Don, who then pulled out, at which point it felt as though an elephant was sitting on my head!

Eventually it was time to return to base, but as we made our approach the aeroplane dropped as it hit an air pocket. Despite the full harness, I banged my head on the cockpit canopy – just as well I had a helmet on. The drop took us too low and so we did a go-around to make another approach and landed. All told we were airborne for just under an hour – in light of the price to fly in a Spitfire today this had to be a bargain.

When we returned to the control room I handed over my dollars and Don returned us to our car. A few weeks later I received a large envelope which contained the photos I had taken on their camera.

So, what did I make of it all? Well, I had satisfied my curiosity and was pleased to find I wasn’t sick during the acrobatics.

I have subsequently taken up flying and I’m in the process of learning to fly a gyrocopter. James Ketchell, the chap who recently completed a RTW trip in a gyro, describes the machine as a flying motorbike and I have to say I agree with him. For me it is the most exhilarating way to fly, more so even than the fast jet – and I can vouch for this with, an albeit small, degree of authority! ■

Big Wings take to the air…

An update from Alan Twigg on test flying his Europa motor glider G-GIWT…

Members will no doubt recall Alan Twigg’s glider winged Europa which was recently featured in Project News. Well, the good news was that after a wait for the Covid lockdown to end and flying to restart, Alan had completed all the paperwork and was ready to start testing. Andy Draper suggested that Alan should apply to carry out the test flying himself, so he sent off his credentials to Francis, having flown off mono wheeled gliders thousands of times since he was 16, and also having experience with the short-winged Europa.

“Andy gave me an excellent briefing, I planned three or four shakedown flights to eliminate the gremlins,” writes Alan. “During my career in Rolls-Royce, I had several years of seeing aircraft coming off the production line and never saw one land off the first flight with no reported issues.

“I set up to fly one quiet afternoon in May with, as advised, just enough people to support me. Lining up on Runway 34 at Bicester, I opened the throttle and was away, airborne so quickly that in looking out at the runway, I missed max rpm, unstick speed and all the important stuff! I had expected a much longer run.

“Up and away into the climb, I selected climb on the Airmaster Prop and raised the undercarriage at about the airfield boundary. I remained within gliding range of Bicester and was at 2,000ft in no time. Dave Hook got airborne as support in his ‘baby’ winged Europa, and I put

the prop into cruise and slowed down, as the slippery beast was up at 110kt. Turns left and right, what a joy to fly, some flight exercises and practice approaches at altitude, sampling undercarriage down. My red light for undercarriage unlocked and travelling was bright, and the horn was easily heard over engine noise.

“Like any aircraft new to me, I did as I briefed all my students converting to new types. Airbrakes open, which sense is the pitching? Slightly nose down but all good. I flew around for 20 minutes and then joined the circuit. Downwind checks complete including undercarriage down and locked – one green light – I planned a longer approach to get myself stabilised, being a tug pilot I have to fight the urge to clip the circuit to a minimum.

“Initially approaching at 70kt, I slowed down over the boundary and (if I do say so myself) managed a greaser of a landing and taxied in to gather my thoughts. The only issue had been the trim indicator dimming when transmitting on the radio and my radio guru, Dickie Feakes advised a ferrite sleeve on the trim indicator cable, which cured that minor issue.

“This is a beautiful aeroplane to fly, with a half-fuel load and one up she is off the ground in no distance at all. I have also taken more advice about data gathering. Paul Shenton recommended a GoPro, which is due to arrive in the post soon, courtesy of Ebay. Then it’s onto the flight test proper – I hope to see you all at the LAA Rally in September!” ■

Above Alan Twigg approaches to land on his first test flight in his Europa motor glider. Photo: Dave Smith.

Fond French connections

Meanderings and musings from Picardy. By Duncan Campbell…

Ithink it is a fair bet that many of you, like me, unable to make new flying memories in mainland Europe for a while, find yourself thinking about past good times.

We all have favourite destinations we loved to fly to and, for me, the airfield at Abbeville (LFOI) holds a special place in my heart. There have been times though, when I have wondered whether a return will ever be possible in the foreseeable future, not only because of the pandemic, more in fact because of the changes to regulation as a result of Brexit, nullified permission for PtF types and the use of the LAPL to fly abroad.

Thankfully France was quick to agree to a return to the pre-Brexit status quo regarding Permit to Fly aircraft, but the Licence / Medical situation was still a showstopper. However, just a couple of weeks before this issue arrived on our doorsteps, it was reported that the DGAC (the French equivalent of our CAA) had announced that our PtF aircraft could be flown with whatever Licence and

Above

Medical they were being flown with in the UK – so we can use out PPL, NPPL etc., and a Medical Declaration. Thank you DGAC, CAA and the LAA for such a pragmatic, common sense solution.

What drew me and my flying buddies back to Abbeville time and time again was a combination of the welcome always extended to us by Daniel, the then airport manager, with the one-off, budget-priced landing fee for the duration of our stay – plus the prospect of staying overnight in the Relais de l’Europe motel, right on the airfield itself.

Some brave visitors camp with their aircraft but we always went for the comfort option. Readers who have stayed at the Relais in past years, before its change of ownership, will know that comfort, in this context, is a relative term. As the rather splendidly faded Dassault Mystère gate guardian at the entrance to the airfield suggests, the rooms had seen better days, but the

The Baie de la Somme, turn inland and the airfield is not much more than about 10 miles.

courtesy, care and excellent catering provided by Pascal and his family in the restaurant was a huge bonus.

However, what made the Abbeville experience truly special was the prospect of waking up, opening the curtains and looking out onto the sun rising over your aeroplane, and then taking advantage of what Virginia Woolf called, ‘the cream of the early morning brain’… a priceless experience. There is simply nothing to beat pre-flighting on a crisp morning with only the song of birds for company, wiping the dew off wings and windscreen, then briefly shattering the peace and quiet as the engine fires before taking off into the crystal clear and empty skies for a pre-breakfast flight.

The airwaves are quiet, there’s no bureaucracy, and no landing fees. Do as many circuits and glide approaches onto grass or tarmac as you want and savour the prospect of hot coffee and croissants waiting for you after shut down. Those early morning flights were always a good warm-up for ‘brain and plane’ before planned forays to go deeper into France on the day that lay ahead.

Saint Valery

One destination, not too far away down the stunning coastline, the Côte d’Opale, was St Valery-en-Caux, about 20 miles from Dieppe. Originally built by the French with a 1,000m north / south grass runway in a slightly different location, the German occupiers built a 1,600m 07/25 runway in 1941/2 with rubble from the bombed town of St Valery-en-Caux. On leaving, in September 1944, as the post D-Day Allied forces advanced, the runway and taxiways were rendered inoperable due to mine damage.

From late-1944 until early 1946, the Americans used the site, known as ‘Lucky Strike’ (after the cigarette brand), as their largest staging post for US troops in Europe, with up to 100,000 soldiers being temporarily housed there at any

Above The sun rising over the aeroplane in the early morning, bliss!

Below St Valery’s hard runway is unserviceable, but there is 900m of grass, good food and a cheery welcome.

one time. The runway was patched up for use by allied fighters but never returned to major use, as nearby Le Havre was used for heavy transport operations, including the repatriation of US Prisoners of War (PoWs) after the war ended. These days the hard runway is completely unusable but right next to it, parallel to its southern edge is a perfectly serviceable 900 metre grass strip.

Three things set St Valery in a class of its own, The first being that the northern edge of the runway, for its entire length, is also the boundary of the temporary prohibited zone above Paluel nuclear power station. The French aeronautical authorities being legendary for imposing eye watering fines on those who transgress, one would need to be a very high earner indeed to attempt a circuit to the north. We always took the wise option…

The second notable thing is that there is a public road running parallel to the runway, and the hangarage, fuel and clubhouse / restaurant are on the other side to the runway. A sign warns taxying pilots that cars will approach

from either direction, and motorists rounding the bend just before the airport buildings are confronted with a sign warning that aeroplanes will be crossing the road.

The third notable feature is the welcome. On one of our visits, although we had checked upfront that the restaurant was open, it was firmly closed and a note gave a telephone number to call. I did just that, and was told that staff were on the way. In short order a beautiful old Citroën DS skidded to a halt on the loose gravel and three women bearing armfuls of food tumbled out into the cloud of dust. They were clearly delighted to see us and when they ushered us into the restaurant some minutes later, they had prepared a table laid with a clean cloth and fresh flowers. There was no menu, we just had to ask for what we wanted and it was magically prepared.

They then asked what wine we would like to accompany our meal and were clearly disappointed when we politely turned down the offer, explaining that we were flying and could not consume alcohol. We then watched with a mixture of amusement and concern as, while we were still eating, the occupants of two new arrivals, one from Belgium and the other from Germany, happily ordered and quaffed beer and wine before taking off again. The warmth and generosity of our hosts now extended further, as the local club let us taxi across the road and top up our tanks from their supply.

Down time spent on the ground back at Abbeville after a day’s flying was rarely boring. Pascal and his family were always happy to supply endless coffee, beer or wine while we chatted in the sun and the Luscombe, a rarity in France, always drew interested onlookers, surprised that she had been built as long ago as 1941. In fact, it was some years earlier, when I had flown into Abbeville in a club PA28, that I was captivated by a G-reg Piper Vagabond parked on the grass. I had a good look over her, chatted to the pilot and was completely won over by her simplicity and that wonderful smell of old aeroplane. If I’d needed any further urging to move to a taildragger, that would have clinched it.

Below Abbeville Airfield. The buildings to the right of the disused runway are the controversial factory farm.

Bottom The delightful Fourga Magister, flown by a former Patrouille de France pilot.

In complete contrast, one afternoon’s R&R was enlivened by the arrival of a lone Fouga Magister, piloted by a man sporting a handlebar moustache that would have been the envy of Professor Jimmy Edwards.

It transpired that in past years he had been a member of an early incarnation of the Patrouille de France and, on retirement, had bought one of the squadron’s old aeroplanes and now toured the country strip-hopping and offering flights. One of the slower jets of its era, the turbine is more a whisper than a roar, and we were treated to a slow, elegant aerobatic display by this quiet, graceful trainer.

The infamous ‘factory’ farm

September 2013 saw us have a particularly unusual experience at Abbeville. As usual, we had arranged Customs for our arrival and the five of us, Tony, Trevor, Javid, Richard and I, had booked in at the Relais de l’Europe for a couple of nights (Unfortunately Abbeville is no longer available for Customs. Ed.). Paying our landing fees Daniel explained that, although they hadn’t yet got around to

posting the Notam, the airport was going to be locked down the next day, and nothing would be permitted to fly in, nor out. They were expecting a big demonstration by animal rights activists against the proposed building of a ‘factory farm’ on airport land on the far side of the main runway. The demonstrators had flagged up their intention to drive 1,000 cows across the airfield in a very visual protest against the plans.

Over coffee in the sunshine, we discussed our options and rapidly discounted wasting any time trying to locate alternative accommodation for five, but to accept the fact that we would be grounded the following day and set off to today’s destination, Berck, as soon as possible.

Berck sur Mer and Eu Mers Le Treport

Richard flew our Luscombe to Berck. The 900 metre grass runway was in good repair and easy to find, although visitors do need to be aware of the proximity of the Le Touquet control zone. It would be easy to stray into it on downwind or climb out. The airfield itself presents little of interest but the town and beach are close, and though I regret to say I have yet to visit either, I understand that it is a quite delightful little seaside holiday town in the ‘Kiss me Quick’ tradition.

On a previous visit there we had been given a very special treat by the local club, they had offered us coffee and told us that we would not be able to take off for a while because they needed to keep the skies over the field clear for a fly past by a ‘local lad’. Born in Berck, he learned to fly at the club, but he was displaying that day at an aerial fest at Le Touquet and planned to do a fly past over the field when he’d finished. They were, however, unsure exactly when it would happen. You can imagine our thrill as the complete Patrouille de France made a very noisy pass low over our heads, the local lad now being their leader. No such luck today, though…

It was my turn to head south along the coast to Eu Mers Le Treport, the views over the Baie de la Somme being idyllic. The airfield has a 900-metre asphalt runway in perfect condition, a fine clubhouse and only one small club in residence. A local pilot explained how this wonderful resource had dropped into their laps. The runway had originally been built and staffed as an emergency landing ground for the French Air Force but had been sold to the local flying club for one euro on the understanding that the club maintained it in good enough condition to still be used in an emergency by the military.

Aligned parallel to the coast, the 05/23 runway is

subject to 90° onshore and offshore crosswinds and, if the approach is to 05 over the valley, fierce turbulence and updraught. Fun is guaranteed for all. My logbook just records the terse observation, ‘wheeler’, suggesting my landing was probably mediocre at best.

Eco-provocateurs!

Back in Abbeville, the following morning we sat idly conjecturing over croissants and coffee how we might spend the day. We watched with some amusement as a growing collection of vehicles and personnel gathered on the grass outside. These included fire engines, water cannon, personnel carriers, army detachments, national police, municipal police, Gendarmes and the Air Transport Gendarmerie… and, of course, the press. Naturally after a while, the attraction and inactivity palled, and Tony thought it would be good to go for a walk.

The town being some distance from the airfield, we thought it might be nice to stroll the length of the now redundant hard runway to see what lay at the far end. The normally deserted airport office was full of uniformed, armed officers chatting amenably and taking full advantage of the small bar in the corner. I was directed to an officer who said that it would be perfectly OK for us to walk down the runway, but we should on no account go beyond the runway onto the grass beyond.

Thus it was that we got ourselves arrested. We had scarcely lined up for a formation photograph on the runway centreline when three armed officers raced across the grass, yelling and gesticulating. They escorted us back, confiscated our passports and confined us to the office while some checking was done. It became clear that we had naively fallen foul of a fragmented command structure. While the officer in command of one force had given us permission to stroll, another had taken the view that we were clearly airborne eco-provocateurs. Passports returned, we strolled the three-and-a-half kilometres to the town (no taxi driver was coming near the airfield today!) found a convivial bar, and there we stayed until nightfall.

Some time that afternoon a couple of hundred demonstrators in white boiler suits and cow masks made their way peacefully along the access road to the proposed factory farm site and held a press conference. The factory farm for 1,000 milk cows that would never know the delight of grazing in the open did get built, but, in the face of continuing and overwhelming public opposition, it was finally shut down in January 2021. ■

Below Eu Mers Le Treport, a quiet field but a very good 900m hard runway.

Eryl Crump wrote: “Struts are renowned for being cyclical in nature and largely dependent on enthusiastic and hardworking committees and co-ordinators. It will be extremely interesting to read the history of the 75th anniversary to see if the Strut system is still extant and which Struts are the leading lights at the time.”

Those words, from Eryl’s booklet Fifty Years of Flying, were written in 1996 when the Association was looking back over its 50 years since its founding in 1946. A further summary of Strut activities included mention of the Strut Newsletters, which were mailed out in A4 or A5 format and were ‘an amazingly varied mix of content and no two are ever alike’.

We are fortunate now to have the technology to send up-to-date news to Strut members and to share photos, technical advice and reports of Strut activities at the click of a button. Notably, the enthusiastic and hardworking editors, ever searching for copy, are to be thanked today as, although the technology may be different, the challenges of editing remain the same!

In the 1980s, over 40 active Struts were operating with names such as Royal Berkshire, Breckland, Heston and Hanworth, Louth, Dunstable, Heart of England, Gloster and Cheltenham, Ipswich and District – a list worthy of a verse in one of John Betjeman’s nostalgic poems.

Editors for the magazine Struts’ column changed from time to time, as did the title from Group News to Around the Struts and Strutting Around and it was reported that the gathering of news from some

Struts 4U

by Anne Hughes

PAST AND FUTURE…

Above Flying again in Scotland, from the Highland Strut Newsletter. Iain Bright writes, “The image was taken on a lovely May evening. We had a formation trip around Morayshire with a Bowers Fly Baby (Rick Phillips), a Pietenpol Air Camper (Iain MacDonald), a Druine Turbulent (Iain Bright) and an SD1 Mini Sport (Mike Wood, who took the picture). It shows the Turbulent (G-AREZ) with the town of Cullen in the background.”

Above left Eryl Crump’s 1996 booklet celebrating 50 years of the Association.

Left The 2021 e-book celebrating Association Struts and Groups. Available from the LAA website. https:// tinyurl.com/h6ert3x4

quarters proved challenging. Some of the Struts amalgamated over the years so, although the number of Struts has decreased, the opportunity for members to meet up in re-formed groups was always there.

I’m sure Eryl will be pleased to see that, 25 years on, not only are the Struts on good form but that we published our own celebration of Struts for the 75th anniversary in an e-book which was sent to all members in January and can be found on the LAA website today in the News section. A summary of the e-book is also included in the free celebratory book, 75 Years of Flying for Fun, compiled by Steve Slater and Brian Hope.

Not long after the 50th Anniversary, Chris Parker took on the role of Strut Chairman for the PFA and reported that a Strut Charter had been developed and cleared through the National Council, defining Strut responsibilities and focusing on the safety aspects of event organisation. He said at the time that the role of the PFA in supporting Struts was under review. The role Struts play in event organisation is still very much at the forefront, as Struts today host the LAA ‘Meet the Members’ days, the Round Britain Tours, as well as putting a lot of the hard work required to organise and run the LAA Rally.

In 2046 it will be time to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the LAA. Will the Struts still be an integral part of the Association? Will they still, as David FaulknerBryant said over 50 years ago, be the support for the ethos of the LAA? Do we still have a vision for the groups of LAA enthusiasts across the UK who have dedicated their time to supporting the Association over the years being perpetuated by new recruits with a new focus? I certainly hope so.

Following on from Eryl Crump’s words… it will be extremely interesting to read the history when it comes to the Association’s 100th Anniversary.

Strut calendar

Many of the Struts and Clubs are once again running events but most continue to run their meetings relying on zoom because of the extension of the Covid regulations.

Members are very welcome to be part of most Struts zoom meetings, please contact the individual Struts for details. And of course, you will be very welcome to contact a Strut near you if you want to see what they are up to and maybe consider joining in their activities.

Andover Strut: Spitfire Club, Popham Airfield, SO21 3BD. 1930. Contact keith. picton@ntlworld.com

Bristol Strut: BAWA Club, Filton, 1930. Contact: chairman@bristolstrut.uk www. bristolstrut.uk

Cornwall Strut: The Clubhouse, Bodmin Airfield. Contact: Pete White pete@aeronca.co.uk 01752 406660

5 July – LAA Tour of England. The shorter tour will call into Bodmin Airfield on Monday and use it as a night stop. 24/25 July – VAC at Bodmin. 1 August – Lundy Sunday.

Devon Strut: The Exeter Court Hotel, Kennford, Exeter 1930. Contact: david. millin@sea-sea.com

17 July - Branscombe, Devon Strut fly-in.

East of Scotland Strut: Harrow Hotel, Dalkeith. 2000. Contact: inrgibson001@ btinternet.com 0131 339 2351.

28/29 August – Fly in at Balado Airfield (about two miles West of Kinross) PPR essential Balado Airfield.

East Midlands Strut: Please contact: tonyrazzell2@gmail.com We also have a Facebook group and upload recordings of some meetings where we have speakers.

Gloster Strut: The Victory Club, Lypiatt Road, Cheltenham, GL50 2SY. Contact: harry.hopkins@talktalk.net

Highlands & Islands: Highland Aviation, Inverness Airport. Contact: b.w.spence@btinternet.com 01381 620535.

Kent Strut: Cobtree Manor Golf Club, Maidstone, Kent. 2000 (Currently Zoom). Contact: Steve Hoskins hoskinsltd@outlook.com 07768 984507.

11 July – Kent Strut Fly-in at Headcorn, half-price landing.

LiNSY Trent Valley Strut: Trent Valley Gliding Club, Kirton Lindsey. pilotbarry1951@gmail. com http://linsystrut. wixsite.com/website

North East Strut: Fishburn Airfield. Brunch on the third Sunday of each month. 11301330 at Fishburn Aviator Cafe. Contact: alannixon297@btinternet.com

North Western Strut: Veterans Lounge, Barton, Manchester, 1930 for 2000. Contact: cliffmort@btinternet.com 07813 497427. 6 July – LAA Tour visits Barton.

North Wales Strut: Caernarfon Airport, Dinas Dinlle. HEMS Bistro Café 1300. Contact: Gareth Roberts gtrwales@gmail.com 07876 483414.

Oxford Group: New Venue from 11 August. Sturdy’s Castle Country Inn, Banbury Road, Kidlington, OX5 3EP on second Wednesday each month. Contact: LAAOxford@gmail.com www.oxfordlaa.co.uk

14 July – Strut BBQ at Enstone. Advance bookings only.

Redhill Strut: The Dog and Duck, Outwood, Surrey, RH1 5QU. Third Tuesday of each month at 1930. Contact: david@milstead.me.uk

Shobdon Strut: Hotspur Café, Shobdon Airfield, Hereford HR6 9NR. 1930. Meetings (once lockdown completed) second Thursday of month. Contact: Keith Taylor bushebiggles@sky.com

Southern Strut: The Swiss Cottage, Shoreham-by-Sea. 2000. Normal meetings will resume on the first Wednesday of the month when permitted. Contact palmersfarm@sky.com

Strathtay Strut: Scottish Aero Club, Perth Airport, Scone. Scone Clubhouse. Contact: keith.boardman@peopleserve.co.uk 07785 244146.

Suffolk Coastal Strut: Crowfield Airfield Clubhouse. 1900. Suffolk Coastal Strut: Crowfield Airfield Clubhouse. 1930. Contact: Martyn Steggalls events@suffolkcoastalstrut. org.uk 07790 925142.

10 July – ‘Spirit of Boxted’ Fly-in at Monewden Airfield – Details/PPR at www.flytoboxted.co.uk

29 Aug – Monewden Airfield: Airfield Open Day and Fly-in.

Vale of York Strut: Chocks Away Café, Rufforth East Airfield. Contact: Chris Holliday 07860 787801 valeofyorkstrutlaa@gmail.com www.valeofyorkstrutlaa.wordpress.com

31 July/ 1 Aug – Yorkshire weekend at Rufforth East Airfield.

Wessex Strut: Henstridge Airfield Clubhouse. Contact neil.wilson@laa.uk.com

3 July 5pm – Wessex Strut Evening ‘Bimble and Spaghetti Meal’ at Henstridge Airfield.

4 July – Wessex Strut fly-in / Meet the LAA Day.

6 August 1830 Wessex Strut Evening ‘Bimble, Bangers and Mash Meal’ at Henstridge Airfield.

West Midlands Strut: Navigator Café, Halfpenny Green Aerodrome 1930. Contact: Graham Wiley westmidlandslaastrut@ googlegroups.com Stuart Darby stuartdarby134@hotmail.com. or visit our website wmstrut.co.uk

West of Scotland Strut: Bowfield Country Club, Howwood, PA9 1DZ. 1900. Contact: Neil Geddes barnbethnkg@gmail.com 01505 612493.

Youth & Education Support (YES): Contact: Graham Wiley gw20home@outlook.com

NB: Thank you to all Struts and clubs for getting in touch. If you have any stories, items you wish to share or updates for the calendar, please contact me at struts@laa.uk.com

A chartered career…

This month we talk to Kath Burnham, highly experienced Dakota and charter pilot, who also has a great passion for her Piper Super Cub…

Welcome Kath, could you tell us something about your career please?

My current job is Head of Training for RVL Aviation Ltd. We operate a mixed fleet of Cessna twins (C404, C406), Beech King Airs and Saab 340s out of East Midlands Airport. We operate in a variety of roles –survey, freight and passenger charter. This includes carrying Covid samples, and donor organs.

My first job in aviation was as an operations officer for Alderney Air Charter. I was then sponsored by CSE Aviation / Oxford Air Training School as a flying instructor, and spent nearly 10 years there, ending as CFI Short Courses.

I joined Air Atlantique as a DC3 pilot and spent 30 years there, in all its various forms – latterly as Head of

Training. I left when the company went into liquidation and joined RVL full time the next week. I’d been RVL’s HoT since before it was RVL – formerly it was Atlantic Reconnaissance.

What fired your interest in aviation?

My gran bought me a book when I was about eight years old. Each chapter was a different adventure story for girls. I remember saying to my dad, “This book’s wrong, it says here a woman from Hull flew to Australia on her own in a little aeroplane.” He asked, “Was she called Amy Johnson?” “Yes!” I said, “but it can’t be right… she came from Hull!” I couldn’t believe anyone from Hull, male or female, had done something so impressive. My dad assured me it was correct, and I set about finding out what I could about her. A little later, my older brother gave me all of his aeroplane books, and I was hooked.

Above Kath Burnham at the controls of her beloved Super Cub.

In what, where and when was your first flight?

My first flight was a pleasure flight in a DeHavilland Rapide from Chivenor, North Devon. We were on holiday in Cornwall, and I nagged my mum and dad into taking me to the airshow at Chivenor. I spent all my holiday money (10 bob / 50p) on it.

Where did you do your flight training?

I learned to fly with Hull Aero Club, at Paull Airfield, in East Yorkshire. I received tremendous help, support, and encouragement from both the club, and individual members. Most of my training was done at its expense. Weather checks, positioning flights etc. My PPL took five years to complete (but I was 12 years old when I started it). In turn, I used to put out the runway lights whenever they were night flying; goosenecks originally, and then battery powered lights. Finally, we had mains electricity. The club is still going strong and is now based at Beverley Airfield.

IMC and ME (centreline thrust) ratings were completed while I was in Alderney – the Company operated C337s. In those days, you simply had to take the test, there was no minimum course. I sat alongside the Company pilots and watched what they did, and then took the test.

How did you hear about the PFA/LAA?

While I was at Oxford. Some of the instructors and engineers went to the Rally every year and came back with lots of stories.

How long have you been a member?

Above right Kath spent many hours pollution spraying in the Dakota.

Below Air Atlantique’s Twin Pioneer, one of the Classic Fleet piston twin types on which Kath was involved with training.

How many types and hours have you flown?

I always remember the great Lettuce Curtis having in her logbook the phrase ‘Moths, various’ which covered all of her de Havilland types in one phrase. If I apply the same logic, I have ‘Cessnas various’, ‘Pipers various’, and about 60 types, including six helicopters (but I didn’t necessarily know what I was doing!). Hours are roughly 16,300+.

Do you have a favourite and less so type?

The DC3 and the Cub have to be my favourites. The Dak, I have always been fascinated by, such an honest aeroplane, with such history. I wish they could talk.

The Cub because it’s the purest form of flying I know – it takes me back to the hobby which first got me interested. I don’t need to go anywhere, just potter along experiencing the sheer simple joy of flight. I’m back to being the 12-year-old kid every time.

I don’t have a least favourite, I was always so delighted to be going flying, I didn’t mind what in.

What aircraft do you / have you owned?

I very briefly (about a week I think) owned a share in a Jodel. I never got to fly in it, as sadly my family circumstances changed, and my spare time was needed elsewhere.

The Cub represents everything you’re not supposed to do with your pension-pot, but it’s a lot more fun. I’ll worry about the pension later!

Not long enough, I initially thought it was only for aircraft builders. I only got around to joining when I bought my own aeroplane and decided I needed all the help I could get.

Flying with Air Atlantique must have been interesting.

Yes, Air Atlantique was an amazing time in my life. The variety of flying, the people, and the aeroplanes all combined to make it so. To begin with, it was freighting and pleasure flying. Mainly car parts around Europe, and the mail in the UK. The pollution contract brought with it exciting flying, sometimes in very demanding weather. I was involved with the training for the Dak and the Islander sprayers, which operated at 20ft and 10ft respectively.

The company operated a school throughout and began training our own cadet pilots (the Fuglies). Initial training was on a tailwheel C152, and then a Maule. It made the transition to the Dak a lot easier for me as the instructor! I’m still in contact with a lot of the ex-cadets and take great pleasure in following their careers.

Above left At the controls of a DC-3 Dakota which, along with the Cub, are Kath’s two favourite types.

They were some of the most competent aviators I’ve had the pleasure to work with. They all tried to kill me at various times in their early days, and I wasn’t always nice to them, but I love them dearly. Don’t tell them though – they’ll think I’ve gone soft!

The survey flying was often quite long flights, a typical pollution patrol was 5.5 hours. The longest surveys I did involved towing a magnetometer behind the C404, they were 11 hours. I did very little on the DC6, but remember it being very quiet, and very sociable! A crew of three meant an instant party whenever we stayed anywhere…

The final stage of Air Atlantique was the Classic Flight, what an amazing collection of aircraft. I was lucky enough to be involved with the training on the piston fleet – Twin Pioneer, Dove, Pembroke, Prentice, Proctor and Chipmunk, and of course the Dak.

Did

you display the DC-3 and DC-6?

I did a few airshows in the Dak in the early days, and was then happy to get my weekends back! Southend, Farnborough, Culdrose, and Navy days in Portsmouth for a week are the ones which come to mind. Latterly, I’ve been very happy to be co-pilot to Jon Corley, who holds the necessary authorisations (and does all the work!).

Last year we just did the show at Headcorn, which I think was the only air display to take place.

I never displayed in the ‘6. I was a very inexperienced F/O on the aircraft.

Tell us about flying a Shorts 360 in Texas

We had a contract with an American company to fly a Shorts 360 for research and development in controlling and assessing oil spills (the same work we did for the UK Government). A colleague of mine had to return home unexpectedly, and I went out to cover for him for the remainder of the job. I couldn’t believe I was being paid to go wandering about the US in a (Super) Shed! We were based in Ellington Air Force Base near Houston. My first instruction was ‘go and video the coastline of the USA’, at 1,000 ft, oblique photography. I said ‘OK – bye’ and off I went. I keep saying ‘I’, but in reality, we had a flight crew of three (two pilots and the American cadet), and five operators working the kit down the back. I didn’t do the whole of the US – just Southern California, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Georgia. It was a total

blast, often we were the first ‘Shed’ they’d seen, which led to: “Gee Maam, that your Winnebago you parked outside?”

What has been your best aviation moment?

I’ve had many, often just the simple things. Jon and I have just looked across at each other in the Dak and grinned. A recent highlight has to be the D-Day 75th Anniversary flight in the C41A (a military DC). We were no. 18 in the stream, with a Mustang on our wingtip. It was a total privilege. There was one point in the flight –just passing Dieppe – when my imagination ran riot. All I could ‘see’ was the black and white TV footage of the actual D-Day, with Daks as far as you could see.

I’m still having ‘best moments’ though. Recently, I met up with friends in their Cub, and we wandered around Cornwall as a loose pair. Jonno doing all the work, and me just following. It was great, and just what I came into aviation for a very long time ago. It’s easy to take it for granted when you fly for a living, and I don’t want to do that.

Do you have any aviation heroes?

Yes, Amy Johnson, because she came from Hull! Seriously though, her courage and determination were second to none. She had 100 hours total when she set off for Australia. An amazing feat of navigation and perseverance.

Plus, all ATA pilots, male and female. They quietly did the most amazing job of delivering aircraft during WWII.

Any ‘I learned about flying’ moments?

A few. Many of them of my own doing and the main lesson I’ve learned is, ‘don’t be so stupid’. The second lesson is, ‘don’t give up’, and keep doing what you’ve been taught to do.

One example: I got stuck in rain ice, many years ago, in an Islander. Short version – it was dark, I had a super-cold airframe and was radar vectored into an unseen thunderstorm. Instantly covered in ice, I lost my ASI, and with the nose up at 10° and full power I was descending at 1,000fpm. Minimum safe altitude came and went so I got a Surveillance Radar Approach to the nearest runway. At 1,500ft over the middle of Glasgow, the aircraft shuddered, and most of the ice came off. I made it to the runway – reducing to climb power on touch down and rolling only 50ft or so. I parked up and took a hire car the rest of the way! ■

What aircraft or vehicles are on your wish list?

I already have it – my Super Cub.

Do you have any non-aviation hobbies/ interests?

Not really. My Cub is my hobby. Flying for the sheer fun of it, and meeting up with friends from VAC and VPAC at their fly-ins.

Any advice for fellow Pilots?

I guess it would be to never stop learning. Listen to others and learn from their mistakes too. There isn’t time in life to make all of the mistakes ourselves. Also, don’t fly with an empty seat, take others when you can. ■

Below Kath was delighted to fly one of the Dakotas from Duxford in the 75th D-Day celebrations in 2019.

Having built a reputation for excellence in the design and manufacture of light aircraft fuel system components within the amateur-build aircraft sector, Andair has now established a significant presence in the commercial aviation market as well.

Landing vouchers

LANDING AUGUST 2021 VOUCHERS

Two FREE and two HALF-PRICE landings this month. Bagby, in North Yorkshire and Leicester in the Midlands are offering a FREE landing for August, and Beccles in Suffolk, and Blackbushe on the Hampshire,

Aviation

Free landing

August 2021

Berkshire and Surrey borders are providing HALF-PRICE landings. Summer has well and truly arrived so please get out and about and enjoy these great offers.

Bagby Airfield, North Yorkshire 01845-597385

Bagby is situated in the Vale of York, three miles south of Thirsk in North Yorkshire and provides a base for visiting pilots to enjoy lunch, refuel or stay overnight. Well located for Thirsk, Harrogate, York and the Moors. The clubhouse offers food and drink daily from 0900 to 1700. No overhead nor dead side joins and please avoid flying over Bagby and Thirkleby villages. Radio is 123.255 but is not always manned, but please make calls as normal. www.bagbyairfield.com

Aviation

Half Price Landing

August 2021

Beccles 01502 476400

Located in unrestricted airspace, Beccles is under new management so come and say hello. The clubhouse offers tea, coffee and snacks Monday-Wednesday, and a full menu Thursday to Sunday. Accommodation is available on site, so it’s a great base for touring. Enjoy Kart racing at nearby Ellough Park Raceway or visit nearby historic Beccles town. Please PPR, as sometimes parachuting is taking place. Beware possible windshear on final to Runway 27. Avgas available during opening hours. Radio is 120.380 www.becclesaerodrome.co.uk

Aviation

Half Price Landing

August 2021

Blackbushe Airport 01252 471300

Blackbushe has recently completely refurbished its Pathfinder café which is now much larger with more seating inside and out. Important: PPR please via the airport website and read and fill in the arrival form giving your email address. Please avoid flying over Hartley Wintney, Yateley, Eversley, Mattingley and Hazeley Heath. Avgas and UL91 available. Radio is 122.305. Farnborough LARS 125.250, Farnborough Radar 133.440. Website www.blackbusheairport.co.uk

Aviation

Free landing

August 2021

Leicester Airport 01162-592360

Set in the heart of the Midlands, Leicester is an ideal stop for a snack, Sunday lunch, or a fantastic day out, with plenty of attractions just a short taxi ride away. With three hard runways and two grass, parking is to the rear of the tower on the hard standing. Avgas available. Leicester A/G radio is 122.130. PPR for latest airfield information on http://leicesterairport.com

Collaboration

By Steve Slater

There’s been an awful lot going on at LAA Towers over the past few weeks, with a welcome return to flying for most of us leading to the customary summer documentation surge, which is keeping our airworthiness team more than fully occupied. In addition, we are now starting to plan ahead for the various ‘Meet the LAA’ and 75th Anniversary events which will be happening in the next few months including, of course, the LAA Rally.

Sadly, one further casualty of Covid has been the LAA Wessex Strut fly in at Henstridge on 3 July, which would have been the first of our ‘Meet the LAA’ events. In view of concerns regarding the still developing risk of the Delta variant of the virus, the airfield owner and the Strut agreed that the risk to staff and volunteers outweighed the benefits of running the event.

As I write this, we are working on revised plans for the LAA 75 England Tour, which would have started at Henstridge. Whether it goes ahead or not, it won’t be without Neil Wilson and his team having made the greatest of efforts.

Rally info, or not…

The LAA Rally too, has had to face some unprecedented challenges this year. As part of our Covid precautions, we’ve had to redesign the exhibitor marquee layout to meet public health requirements, ensuring appropriate ventilation and spacing. Greater than that though, are challenges posed by Sywell Aerodrome’s post-lockdown recovery process, which is the primary reason we are still not in a position to release landing ‘slots’ for visiting aircraft.

Normally, as part of our contract with Sywell Aerodrome, they control all airside activities, and we focus on the other elements of the Rally. However, as with many other airfields, last year and this, Sywell furloughed most of their staff and many of the air traffic control team, including long-standing and much respected Airfield Manager Jeff Bell, have retired or found jobs elsewhere.

For the past decade, the ‘Sywell Information’ radio service at the LAA Rally has been run by these staff, all Flight Information Safety Officers (FISOs), licensed by the CAA.

Due to the high volume of traffic, the CAA has required that Sywell demonstrates this capability before granting its approval for the event and allowing us to release landing slots. However, the challenges of recruiting a new team of FISOs and bringing them up to the CAA’s required level of currency has proved impossible in the time available. It could have been a showstopper for the Rally.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been working flat-out both with Sywell and the CAA Aerodromes team to develop an alternative solution. Chris Thompson, our National Coach and the man who in his capacity as a CAA Examiner, runs our ground to air radio operator licencing courses, has long experience of providing radio operations at events such as the Popham Microlight Fayre

and has assembled a cadre of experienced air/ground radio operators to man the Sywell Tower.

We are currently awaiting the CAA agreement to our revised risk assessments for the lower level of control where only airfield information is provided, placing an added onus on incoming pilots to maintain a greater lookout and deconfliction. Only when this approval is given, can we activate landing slots. So, apologies for the delay. Also, if you are an experienced AGCS ground/air radio operator and you’d like to assist the team at Sywell, please drop us a line at office@laa.uk.com

Self-help

The whole basis of the success of the LAA has been built on a tradition of self-help, and even today with an expanded HQ team and a £1.3 million turnover business, we remain dependent on individual members to take the initiative and assist with their knowledge and expertise. Nowhere was this better illustrated than the recent discussions surrounding acceptance of NPPLs and LAPLs by the regulator in France, the DGAC.

In addition to the efforts of the CAA and our President Roger Hopkinson, a number of individual members made direct approaches to the French regulator, which resulted in the correspondence which stated that ‘if the license and associated medical is valid to fly such aircraft in the UK, it is accepted in France’. Key drivers of this included Donald Walker, Neville Langrick and Tony Oliver. Thank you all for your efforts. Much appreciated!

A8-26 consultation

Thank you too, to those who responded to the CAA’s consultation on proposed changes to airworthiness organisation approvals. I’m informed that the CAA ‘inbox’ contained around 1,200 responses. In addition to commenting on the proposals themselves, as you are well aware, we expressed disquiet about how they were achieved, pointing out that while the original airworthiness delegation was achieved by the CAA, BMAA, and LAA all working together, this time there was no such attempt at joint collaboration.

While this raised hackles in some quarters of the CAA, in subsequent meetings we’ve all acknowledged the importance of proper collaborative working, and we have therefore committed to the continuation of the current consultation process and developing the best possible outcome based on the information obtained from it.

The CAA has agreed to ‘stop the clock’ on their potential timeline for the changes, to properly analyse the consultation submissions before inviting the LAA and other stakeholders to discuss the findings and work together on the final documents.

We look forward to that in, we hope, a true spirit of collaboration. ■

Classifieds July

For all display or commercial advertising enquiries please contact Neil Wilson: 07512 773532 neil.wilson@laa.uk.com

You can email your classified advertisement direct to the LAA at the following address: office@laa.uk.com

Deadline for booking and copy: 22 July 2021

If you would like to place an aircraft for sale advert please see details below:

MEMBERS’ ADVERTISEMENTS

Up to 30 words: £6; 31-50 words: £12

Up to 50 words with a coloured photo: £45

NON-MEMBERS’ADVERTISEMENTS

Up to 30 words: £22; 31-50 words: £44

Up to 50 words with a coloured photo: £60 www.laa.uk.com

LAA Engineering advice to buyers:

AIRCRAFT APPROVED? Members and readers should note that the inclusion of all advertisements in the commercial or classified sections of this magazine does not necessarily mean that the product or service is approved by the LAA. In particular, aircraft types, or examples of types advertised, may not, for a variety of reasons, be of a type or standard that is eligible for the issue of a LAA Permit to Fly. You should not assume that an aircraft type not currently on the LAA accepted type list will eventually be accepted.

IMPORTED AIRCRAFT? Due to unfavourable experiences, the purchase and import of completed homebuilt aircraft from abroad is especially discouraged.

TIME TO BUILD? When evaluating kits/designs, it should borne in mind that technical details, performance figures and handling characteristics are often quoted for a factory-produced aircraft flying under ideal conditions. It is wise, therefore, to seek the opinion of existing builders and owners of the type. You should also take your own skill and circumstances into consideration when calculating build times. The manufacturer’s build time should be taken as a guide only.

AMATEUR BUILDING

All LAA aircraft builders and potential builders are reminded that in order to qualify for a LAA Permit to Fly, homebuilt aircraft must be genuinely amateur built. For these purposes the CAA provide a definition of amateur built in their publication CAP 659, available from LAA. An extract from CAP 659 reads “The building and operation of the aircraft will be solely for the education and recreation of the amateur builder. This means that he would not be permitted to commission someone else to build his aircraft”. An aircraft built outside the CAA’s definition could result in an expensive garden ornament.

AIRCRAFT FOR SALE

Immaculate Luscombe 8E turns heads wherever it goes. Complete rebuild 2015, TT 3035. 300 hours airframe and engine since rebuild. O-200 TSMO 1233, top end 300 hours. Always hangared, too many new items to list so call for details and photos. £32500 ONO. 07759 530987 Alan.

Glassair III. 185 kts cruise from 730m airfields! Changed circumstances mean someone else can enjoy this superb aircraft. Garmin GNS430, GNC255 and Aspen Evolution 1000 Pro with synthetic vision brings many destinations in easy reach. Finished in practical alpaca fabric.Watch Loop magazine’s YouTube video “Glasair 3 Speed machine”. ken@bozedown-alpacas.co.uk, +44 (0)7711 823005

Here is a opportunity for a young Jabiru SK available for a new flyer. Clean, very low hrs, tidy, in hanger when on ground. Shame to let her go. Offers over £35,000 and please email tellegens@gmail.com for further details.

Christen Eagle II. Two seat aerobatic. LAA Permit to fly. 8.33 Radio and Mode S transponder. Full details at www.christeneagle.weebly.com Tel 07514 362389

Rans 116 Coyote Group A. Always hangered, with trailer. Needs some work done for Permit. Lots of extras included. £4,500 Offers invited. Rotax 912 80 H.P. Engine boxed new with firewall forward parts included. £12,500. Offers invited Please contact 0789 2376986 for details.

WANTED

Wanted - Sequoia Falco parts from either a stalled project or spare. Interested in any parts but particularly wing Ribs, u/c components, canopy components, IO-360 cowlings, fairings, gear doors, trim and upholstery. iaviate@icloud.com

Contact:Jay Lucas

Dire ct Te l: 01933304789

Mob:07341866056

Email:jl@arkle finance.co.uk

We b: ww w.arkle finance.co.uk

AIRCRAFT PARTS

Lycoming O-360 P/N 13B17122. Crankshaft with Form one. Repaired standard size, less than half thou wear replated etc. £2900 ono.

Bob 07730 202627.

Lycoming 0-320-E1A. Time expired at 1845 hrs since new. Dismantled. Requires total overhaul. Engine logbook with full history included. £2,000. Call 07450 226905 (Dorset).

Magnetos & Harness. Bendix Scintilla SF4RN-8 spec 10-19293-2 with gears, R/H rotation. Off A65 Hours unknown. Became hard to start when warm. IMHO requires o/haul. Serviceable Skytronics harness. £200 or offers? peter.pdyer@gmail.com 07791 550012.

Universal Fit 8” pneumatic tailwheel c/w Anti - Shimmy Spring set. Part No. Maule SFS P8A-1-4 (see LAS catalogue for full details ). Current new cost £890. As new condition, £350 ono. 07850 723085

HANGARAGE

Hangarage - Covered hangarage available at a private airstrip NW of Worcester. 600m x 22m grass runway in a stunning secluded location free of controlled airspace. www.hwa.one

Email: fly@hwa.one Tel: 01886 853410

Hangarage / outside parking available private strip near Huntingdon / Peterborough. 700M grass runway. On site security. Tea/coffee facilities. Toilets. Great place to operate. Email: aerium2020@outlook.com Tel 07808 808945 Flexible Aviation Finance* Specialist Lender