Work rest and play! Today at the club we did it all.
Work:- The EuroFox temperamental brake hose had a robust repair. The MT hangar was emptied and the Pawnee was skilfully positioned at the back, the normal ground equipment was repositioned to accommodate this, the Popemobile and the Gator are now nestling in the recently cleared out tunnel.
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| New positions for the ground equipment (Nick Jones) |
The second Junior was rigged so we now have a full fleet available to our members. The grass cutting tractor could be seen tirelessly going up and down for a few hours, I’m not sure who was happier the tractor with its new air filter or the driver (James a hood) it reminded me of the cartoon that I watched with my son “Tommy the Tractor”many years ago!
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| Second Junior rigged to go back in the hangar (Mark Courtney) |
Rest:- We did of course rest for a while ( quite a while actually) we ate, drank and generally moaned constantly about the weather, all of us peering to to the west hoping for the forecast clearance.
Potential tug pilot Simon Leeson just sat quietly in a darken corner watching videos on “how to land an aircraft” whilst the rest of us told stories of epic flights gone by ( they seem like a distant memory).
James Flory fresh from flying all the week on the course he and Steve ran, was understandably getting twitchy, after all nearly 12 hours had passed since he sat in a glider……
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| Leaking brake fluid (Mark Courtney) |
Play:- Well there was some play, Nicolas Johnson was keen to complete his final bit of the jigsaw for his aerotow clearance, a climb then a let down, James nearly ran to to get in the back seat before another instructor could jump in. - And before you knew it, the flight was complete.
Two of the trial lessons visitors cancelled, but the third was for young George, with a burning passion for aviation the 12 year old accompanied by, mum dad, sister and grandparents was fascinated by all things aviation related and was soon enjoying our simulator.
He also sat in the DG505 with Chris Warnes for what seemed like hours waiting for the right moment, with Simon Leeson sitting in the tug, occasionally glancing at his phone to check that he had remembered the important parts of the videos. Unfortunately the weather didn’t play ball, so another “rest period” it was.
A small window appeared which allowed John Allan to have a 1500ft tow to complete the 12 tows needed for his licence, well done John.
It was clear that little George was not going to get his trial lesson flight today, he was invited to sit in the Eurofox to taxi to the hangar, they accidentally took off and had a 10 min flight. On landing, I’ve never really seen such joy on a young lad!
After the flying, a sizeable number of members gathered outside the clubhouse chatting for a considerable time, a lovely end to what turned out to be a very enjoyable day for many reasons,
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| Deputy Tug Master Stu Procter (Mark Courtney) |
