Straight and Level

A warm welcome the world over

It feels somewhat surreal to be writing this month’s Chairman’s Chat from the other side of the world. Australia opened its doors to international travellers, and after a two-and-a-half year wait my wife and I have finally been able to visit our son in Sydney. The combination of fires, Covid, and now floods has clearly taken its toll, but gradually life is opening back up again.

The visit to Sydney provided me with an opportunity to reach out and meet with fellow aviators and members of the New South Wales chapter of the Sport Aircraft Association of Australia (SAAA) at their base at Wedderburn. The field sits within a national park and is home to a large and eclectic mix of aircraft, which range in size from the diminutive Cri-Cri to the only remaining airworthy Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer. Having been flown in from Bankstown, I was greeted by Chapter President, Ian, and introduced to members of the local RV squadron who duly treated me to a four-ship aerobatic sortie. This was followed by a short flight in a Lancair Legacy before returning to the clubhouse for a lunchtime discussion while enjoying the obligatory BBQ. The afternoon was rounded off by further hangar chats, coffee and a late afternoon flight via the Blue Mountains back to Bankstown. What more could I ask for?

Updates from the Chairman and CEO

Needless to say what emerged was a community of likeminded and passionate aviators keen to share their stories, show pride in their workmanship, whether that was the Auster J4 with a Cirrus engine, the pristine Nanchang or an RV-8 nearing completion. The welcome was warm and effusive. Discussion flowed, questions followed, experiences shared and some connections with fellow LAA members were made.

While there are differences between our respective Associations there is much in common providing an opportunity to share and learn. In some aspects we are ahead of the game, in others they clearly have a lead, but there are many common concerns, most notably how sport and recreational aviation’s voice is heard and how it can secure a supportive environment in which to flourish.

It was a privilege to meet kindred spirits, and see my visit provide an excuse for them to get back and socialise together again after such a difficult period. As many LAA members have experienced over the years, reaching out when abroad produces a warm and generous welcome, establishes friendships and strengthens a worldwide community. If you have the opportunity, take it, but don’t forget to reciprocate when the opportunity arises once you are back home.

My return to the UK coincides with the start of the flying event season and I look forward to meeting members at the various events LAA will be attending across the summer, including our Grass Roots flying event at Popham at the beginning of September. ■

Back to our roots

Slater CEO

You may recollect that last month, I passed on the disappointing news that Sywell Aerodrome had confirmed that it was not in a position to host the LAA Rally this year. The Rally has for the last decade been held at Sywell. In many ways it is the ideal spot, being centrally located and offering both space on the ground and relatively unimpeded airspace around it to accommodate the arriving and departing traffic. However, as it became clear that the airfield was not in a position to accommodate it this year, we reviewed several alternatives.

The LAA Grass Roots Fly-In at Popham Aerodrome in Hampshire has given us the opportunity to go ‘back to our roots’ with a new event and new location for the traditional Rally date of the first weekend in September. It will, on the one hand, take the Association back to its traditions, while continuing to offer the first chance to see some of the latest aircraft and products in the recreational aviation market.

It’s not the first time that the LAA’s premier event has been on the move. Prior to Sywell, the event was previously, as the PFA Rally, hosted by Cranfield in Bedfordshire, Kemble in Gloucestershire, Leicester, and Wroughton in Wiltshire.

The LAA Grass Roots Fly-In will continue the theme of past

Rallies. The event though will be developed on a more intimate scale. The all-grass runways at Popham and the airfield’s famed rural ambience will mean that the event will focus on the fly-in and social element as much as on tarmac, concrete and a large exhibition campus.

Popham has developed a reputation as one of the most friendly and enthusiastically run airfield operations in the country. Since it was opened in the early 1970s on land alongside the A303 dual carriageway by Jim Espin, a member of the Hampshire Strut, the local branch of the then Popular Flying Association. With the aid of fellow members of the Strut, the land was cleared, levelled, seeded and transformed into an airstrip. The original strip is now the 26/08 Runway of the present airfield.

In 1978, the airfield was purchased by Charles Church, who restored Spitfire Mk Vc, G-MKVC, which was to have been the start of a significant historic aircraft collection based at the airfield. Tragically however, Church was killed in the Spitfire, when it crashed at Hartley Wintney in July 1989, during an attempted emergency landing following engine failure. However, the airfield has continued to develop in his wife Susie’s subsequent ownership, with the addition of a second grass runway and additional hangars to host a burgeoning selection of privately owned aeroplanes, microlights and gyroplanes.

It is particularly noteworthy that a number of the volunteers helping with the event will be members of the LAA Andover Strut, and many will have been involved with the beginnings of the airfield 50 years ago. ■

Inspiring members to take on their own aircraft build or restoration project

Compiled by Mike Slaughter