The way we were… The thought of being up in the gin clear blue skies with the azure waters below is still a bit of a dream. But Derek Thorpe takes us on a meander down Memory Lane with his 1988 trip to Menorca by Jodel…
T
he seed had been sown the previous year, when I had great difficulty getting last minute flights for my wife Marnie and me to join friends in Menorca for a holiday. The suggestion was made that we should ‘consider flying ourselves down the next time’, we laughed but later, after a few cool drinks sitting on the terrace in the warm sunshine, we thought well, why not, we’ll do that next year. After a lot of thought I bought the latest French charts, the Spanish ones were a bit of a problem as there didn’t appear to be any half mil. aeronautical charts. Airtours was able to supply me with two tactical pilotage charts, although they were dated 1981 and didn’t have any control zones printed on them. I arranged a visit to A.I.S at Pinner, and they were very helpful and gave us some useful advice on our trip and copies of the relevant A.I.Ps. I was then able to mark out CTR and TMA boundaries onto our charts. We planned to clear customs at Lydd and fly to
Above Derek and Marnie Thorpe with their Jodel D120, which was restored by the late Richard Yates.
Le Touquet to clear into France, then on to Troyes for lunch and refuel before heading down the Rhone Valley to Saint-Rambert-d’Albon, where we would stay the night. The following day we’d continue to Montpellier, then along the French coast to Perpignan for lunch, refuel and clear customs for Spain. We’d clear Spanish customs at Gerona and then continue our journey along the Spanish coast to Castellon (a pleasant unlicensed airfield right on the coast), where we would stay for two nights. From Castellon we would fly across the Mediterranean to Ibiza to refuel and then route along the south coast of Majorca and on to Menorca. However, things don’t always go to plan when flying! We spent some time improving the engine cooling on the Jodel and adding extra cabin air vents. Shades were also made and fitted to the top of the cabin as it is clear Perspex. I also wrote to the Spanish and French aviation authorities to request permission to fly in Spanish and French airspace, imperative as neither recognised the British Permit to Fly. Thankfully permission was granted.
52 | LIGHT AVIATION | May 2021
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21/04/2021 11:50
