Peaky Pilots Flying experiences and other interesting stuff

Gloucestershire (EGBJ) Airfield METAR summary on 22nd at 17:20Z

Wind is 260 degrees / 14Kts (Gusting 24Kts)

Temperature 20 degC, Dewpoint 12 degC

Visibility 5.40nM (9999m) --> VFR
Scattered Clouds at 3600 feet.
QNH 1011

Peaky Pilot

Coventry or bust 30/05/2025
Keen to add another airport to my list, I decided upon Coventry for several reasons: it was quite close, there is a museum there and it’s a new one.

It’s easy enough to get to, the only part that requires careful planning is the final section as it is underneath Birminghams CTA.

Coventry were very helpful, warning me of this and allocating a squawk code such that, should I bust the airspace, Birmingham would know who I was in contact with and let them know. In the event, no worries and I made a good landing on the huge runway. Directed to parking, I tidied up and headed off to the museum, less than 10 minutes walk away.

The museum is well worth a visit, although many of the aircraft there have seen much better days and looked very sad.

The Vulcan bomber allows visitors inside, although despite the huge size, the cockpit area is very small. Five people fill it, but we were given a good talk about its use, and how it all worked.

Inside are many exhibits. I had an hour and a half which was just about enough, another half hour or an hour would have given me more time to dawdle over the aircraft but I had a return slot at Gloucester so made my way back.

The return flight was uneventful, soon leaving the CTA ceiling I flew back at 2500 feet and made a good landing at Gloucester. 48 airfields visited, rapidly approaching the 50th. I wonder where it will be.

Shoreham and the Hills 23/05/2025
The plan was a good one, fly and train to Berwick in Sussex, cycle up to the South Downs Way and follow it to Firle Beacon, then Wilmington Hill and back to the station. Due to train delays I was late starting. Firle Hill went well, but a puncture on the way to Wilmington Hill meant I would not have enough time. A leisurely ride back to the station where I was greeted by the news that the train was cancelled! A frantic 12 mile ride over to Newhaven to catch a train meant I only just made it back to the airport in time!

Duxford Fly out 16/05/2025
Today we had a club flyout to Duxford. The weather was superb at Gloucester, but very cold and windy at Duxford. Luckily most of what is to see is inside.

Very pleasant flight down and back, somewhat hazy but enough visibility not to worry,

Club aircraft at Duxford 16/05/2025

Biennial Refresher 13/05/2025
Pretty straightforward flight around the patch. We did a Go-around at Ledbury and a Spiral dive practise. I managed to put in a poor landing, but then we always reserve our worst landings for when we are with an Instructor!

All in all, pretty good and happy for another couple of years.

Tiger Moth 13/05/2025

Gloster Strut BBQ 13/05/2025
A very pleasant evening at Croft Farm for the first Strut BBQ of the season. We were also treated to a talk about a Tiger Moth aircraft and got to watch it leave.

Club Flyout 11/05/2025
After much deliberation and chatting, we decided on a fairly local flight due to impending thunderstorms (that never really appeared). Only a 40 minute flight but very pleasant and an excellent lunch at Halfpenny Green. With time to spare we headed to the antique shop where some of us bought stuff we didn't know we needed.

Oil Leak test flight 08/05/2025
The last flight I had resulted in a very serious oil leak. Cowling off, I traced it to a leaking oil cooler. A couple of trips to a welder and then testing and it was back on. Fingers crossed for a ground test, all good. Fingers crossed for a test flight, also all good!

Welshpool Triathlon 27/04/2025
A lovely sunny day and what better to do than to fly up to Welshpool, get the bike out and ride to the base of Y Golfa, a Marilyn, ascend, descend and ride back for a well-earned lunch.

Due to a slightly early departure, I flew back via Bridgnorth which was nice and straight into 22, touching down at exactly my slot time.

Superb day out, peak bagged and excellent flights.

Skills circuit 20/04/2025
With various holidays and other things, I squeezed in a quick flight. With nowhere particular in mind, I decided to fly over to Ledbury and do a skills circuit. With the airfield nearby as a 'just in case', I did some turns, both 30 and 45 degrees, some climbing and descending turns, followed by stalls. All went well. As the airfield was close by I did a power fail drill and managed to mess it up, approaching the airfield far too high and fast. in my defence I was a little worried about the big aerial nearby but really that was no excuse.

The hour was up too quickly and I headed back for a direct join onto 09. One of the benefits of the reduced traffic at Gloucester is that most joins are direct and one has to ask for a standard overhead rather than the other way around.

DC3 and Spitfire 12/04/2025

North Weald Fly out 12/04/2025
I'd been looking for a new place to fly and happened upon North Weald. It requires a lot of concentration and careful flying to avoid the various big airport airspaces. My route took me via Bicester, Princes Risborough and Potters Bar, avoiding Luton, Stanstead and Heathrow, eventually finding myself approaching runway 02 via a downwind join. There was quite a cross-wind but it is a long runway so plenty of time to get organised and centralised.
To be honest, there's not much there so after lunch at the burger van I had a quick look around then headed off to return using the same route as my outbound journey.

Cheeky lunch 09/04/2025
After a successful mornings work in the engine area I rewarded myself with a cheeky flight to Welshpool for lunch.

The weather was superb, the skies mostly fine although there was a haze at about 20 miles distant and a few bumps but overall a fantastic day.

Nice lunch at relax in the sun before an equally enjoyable flight back. Two excellent landings. Superb day out.

A full week of flying 03/04/2025
Flew Monday, flew Wednesday and flew Thursday. Excellent weather and a mini-adventure to see what the practicalities are. All went well, although the Wednesday flight was somewhat bumpy.

White Van Man 28/03/2025
I had to pick up a spare windscreen. There were two choices: drive over or fly to Wellesbourne. I chose the latter.

It was quite a blustery day with a strong crosswind at Wellesbourne but I went for it anyway, I need to practise. A good landing despite the wind.

The return landing should have been easy with a direct headwind onto 27, but I was blown all over. Made a good touchdown so happy with that.

Welshpool 20/03/2025
What a glorious day! I flew direct to Welshpool, went cycling, climbed a hill and cycled back to Welshpool for a well earned lunch.

My return flight took me via Buith Wells, over Pen-y-Fan and then a long straight line into Gloucester landing on 09.

Perfect day out.

Summit of Y Golfa 20/03/2025

Brecon Beacons 20/03/2025

Nympsfield 17/03/2025
As a result of an oil leak, I flew the plane over to Targett Aviation at Nympsfield. I'd never flown there, but had visited a couple of times on my motorbike to check it out, that and have a nice coffee at the cafe there.

It's a quick hop from Gloucester, taking just ten minutes. I'd been advised that there would be no movements at the airfield so was confident of getting in okay. as it turned out, I landed on 07 which has a nice long run and is slightly uphill so slowed me nicely.

The oil leak was soon traced to a loose oil filter which was annoying as I could have done that myself, but I wasn't to know.

A trial flight saw me do a loop around May Hill before getting a second crack at landing and I made a better job of it. No leak!

Back to Gloucester via May Hill as 09 was in use and I love that long final. Fun day out and the plane fixed.

The day also saw me reach 500 landings so happy with that.

CAC Flyout 09/03/2025
After some discussion, we decided to fly to Nottingham. It wasa mixed day. The flight up was excellent, I elected to fly West of Birmingham and over the Peak District, even doing an orbit around Monyash just for the hell of it.

Nottingham was busy but I made a good landing so happy with that.

The cafe was something of a let down. When we arrived they decided to stop serving hot food so our choices were, ham, cheese or ham and cheese baps! They were not nice and rather small. The cafe itself is very run down and clearly not cleaned on a regular basis.

Flying back I came around the East and South of Birmingham on a very hazy afternoon but got back okay and well within my slot time.

One piece of bad news, the minor oil leak has now developed into something more serious so will need prompt attention.

In search of my roots 28/02/2025
My ancestors came from Derbyshire, in fact they came from Sutton on the Hill which is about 9 miles or 40 minutes cycling from Tatenhill Airport. A nice flight up, with something of a traumatic landing with the runway appearing through the cloud about a minute before landing, and about 30 seconds before abort!

Nice ride over to the village, some success in locating graves, then a nice ride back via Tutbury for lunch. Very pleasant return flight around the Eastern side of the Birmingham CTA. Altogether, a very nice day out indeed.

Finally out! 18/02/2025
Well, the weather has been pretty awful of late, but today I finally managed to get out for a quick local. It wasn't perfect by any means and a few early thermals shook the plane around a bit. Heading down to Bristol I rose to 3,000 feet to clear the mist. The ground was still visible but the great benefit was that it was clear sky in front of me!

Of course, my chosen route took me back up the Severn so I had to descend to 1,500 feet to dip under the Bristol radar and again, whilst I could see the ground/sea, the visibility ahead was not as good as I would have liked. Clearing Bristol I gained height again and got a direct join Right Base onto 09. Not quite my favourite, but pretty good and I enjoyed a nice float along the runway until touching down around half way and coasting back to A2.

Nice mornings flight. Just hoping for more good weather now...

Halfpenny Green again 03/01/2025
Another quick trip to Halfpenny Green, this time with CAC for lunch. Nice easy flight and excellent food.

A break in the misery 14/12/2024
The weather has not been kind but today the sun shone and the skies were blue. I fancied a quick flight out so popped up to Halfpenny Green. Navigation is pretty straightforward; Worcester, Kidderminster, airfield!
I made a mess of the first landing so did a go around rather than bouncing. Second time was perfect, as was the landing back at Gloucester. Fine day out and the plane behaved itself the entire flight.

Cheeky Flight 06/12/2024
With yet another storm arriving, I found a gap in the weather and had a very nice flight down to Abergavenny, along the Black Mountains and back via Leominster and the Malverns. Due to some minor bad planning, I missed flying over the mountains as I hadn't allowed enough time when booking out. In defence, the mountains are never clear, apart from today!

Nice flight, everything went well, slightly too fast on landing but only 5 kts or so. Still improving!

Cloud Dodging 03/12/2024
Having not flown for a couple of weeks, I was keen to get out, but aware of my over-enthusiasm. The weather has not been kind of late but today was looking good, if a little cold. I called up Turweston who told me their skies were good. Gloucester was good. I was off! A more or less direct route over saw me land 35 minutes after take off. A nice bacon and egg sandwich for lunch and I was soon ready to return, concerned about cloud I didn't linger.

My return route was longer, via Oxford and Swindon I headed out to Chepstow then turned North over the power stations and back to Gloucester. Some cloud avoidance was necessary, mostly under but sometimes over and even the airport threw in some misty cloud to challenge.

Not the best landing but overall, a nice day out.

Finally some nice weather 17/11/2024
I decided to go to the airport to complete a few tasks, but take my flying gear just in case. Turned out to be a superb morning so I could not resist a flight. Out to the Black Mountains, skirted North - there was cloud cover on the mountains themselves. Up to Hay on Wye, then across to Ludlow and back via Stourport and the West side of the the Malvern Hills.

Excellent morning. Of course the tasks were still waiting!

Beaten again 15/11/2024
The plan was to complete a few tasks on the plane following yesterday epic day spent washing and cleaning the plane, then performing a 50 hour aircraft service.

The tasks went quickly and as a reward, I planned a trip to Thruxton for lunch. Setting off in glorious sunshine, my joy of being in the air was short-lived as the mist and cloud swirled, eventually causing me to turn around just South of Swindon. I then played the cloud game, firstly above it, then, spying a hole, down underneath to finally return to Gloucester in glorious sunshine!

A nice flight and quite a test, but sadly no bacon roll!

Collecting the plane 11/11/2024
Due to a run of very bad weather, my plane remained at Brimpton for a week longer than planned, but finally the cloud lifted and I headed down via bus, trains and another bus, followed by a 25 minute walk. It was all ready for me and after a chat about various things, I was off and returning in glorious November sunshine all the way back to Gloucester. It seemed that everyone was out and I was requested to make some delaying moves to open gaps for landing but eventually I was allowed into the circuit and made a good landing.

Having been on wet grass, the plane was filthy so a cleaning session will be in order at some point soon.

What can you do? 24/10/2024
I had to deliver my plane for the 50 hour service. At this time of year, weather plays a very big part so I consulted the various weather apps, checked both Brize Norton and the Gloucester METAR and TAF. The best weather window was between 10 - 12 with Brize reporting clear skies. I even called up Brimpton, my destination for an on the spot report.

All looked good and off I went, soon encountering a low cloud blanket that seemed to stretch for miles. No problem, the reports were all good, I would get past it.

With about 20 miles to run and no sign of the end of the cloud blanket, I spotted a good sized hole so decided to take advantage and get down.

The mist swirled and whilst I could still see far enough, it was far from ideal and I found myself just 1500 feet QNH. Above me I could see patches of blue sky so knew there was an escape route if needed. I continued and Newbury ahead. From there it was less than 5 miles so I reduced height to around 1,000 feet as I passed Newbury and lined up for the circuit.

The final section in the circuit went as well as could be expected in the cross wind conditions and I was very happy to touch down.

My troubles were not over yet. The runway and taxi way were very soft and required rather more power than I am used to but I parked up and climbed out, rather relieved.

So, checking and double-checking everything still was not enough! Makes you wonder.

Skills Circuit 22/10/2024
I'm getting close to the engine 50 hour service so wanted a quick skills circuit to use up the remaining time and of course, practise my skills.

I headed North and did a few turns at 30 and 45 degrees, followed by stalling in all configurations. A few ascending and descending turns and turning to headings.

I even tried a sideslip although it wasn't as effective as I'd hoped but that's the aircraft I guess.

I had a practise Mayday. There are plenty of other skills on my list but it was time to return.

All went well apart from lining up on the wrong runway! I was on 18 instead of 22. Never done that before! I corrected and made a good, if slightly fast (65 knot) landing and managed to wheelie it a couple of times before settling down.

Plan B 17/10/2024
Plan A was a trip to Welshpool, cycle to a mountain, climb it, cycle back for lunch then fly home. Due to a flooded runway, Plan B was to fly to Deenethorpe - a new one for me, coffee and cake, then on to Turweston for a nice lunch and fly home. Plan B worked a treat and I enjoyed thermal free flying and warm sunshine dining. Cannot argue with that!

A grand day out 13/10/2024
The CAC fly out was to Goodwood this month and an excellent destination it proved to be. The sky was not as blue as hoped but the cloud was way higher than anything that needed to be worried about. I flew more or less straight down, using Brize and Farnborough and made an excellent landing, although due to the smoothness of the grass, was a little alarmed to run on faster than I expected.

A very nice lunch and the flight home took me over the Solent past the North of the Isle of Wight, then a sneaky cut through and over the New Forest to skirt around Boscombe area to head North. Another fine landing completed an excellent day out.

Goodwood 13/10/2024

Shoreham - a new destination 04/10/2024
Shoreham had been on my list for a while and when I discovered discounted landing for early arrivals, it was irrestible. The flight down was fine, in excellent weather. As I radioed to join I was asked whether I had the ATIS information - I did not! I could not get the details either because I was hearing the frequency incorrectly or what, but eventually they gave up and told me!
Landing was fine on their tarmac runway. Getting into the building was a challenge - the trick is to go around the C building, outside, then back in again through the main entrance!
I spent the day cycling and walking up a local hill.
Leaving, I filled with fuel, was told it was all sorted so set off. At the final hold I was called back as in fact, it wasn't sorted!
Finally I got away and flew back in slightly hazy conditions and made a pretty rubbish landing at Gloucester.
Great day out though and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Wiltshire Countryside 04/10/2024

Shoreham 04/10/2024

Local but windy 29/09/2024
Having had a couple of weeks off flying I fancied a quick flight. The weather wasn't promising so I elected to do a local. Off North then West towards Leominster, then South to Monmouth and return via May Hill and my favourite direct onto 09. There was quite a cross wind and the plane was angled about 20 degrees off the line to compensate. Despite that, a good landing so happy with my skills.

Old Warden Steam Fair 15/09/2024
I'd fancied Old Warden for some time and I managed to pick the day where a steam rally was being held. Double delight, great flight over and back, excellent aviation museum and more steam engines than you could shake a stick at. What's not to love? Oh ys, I redeemed myself with two excellent landings as well.

Old Warden Big House 15/09/2024

Missed lunch 13/09/2024
The days plan was to drain the fuel, weigh the plane, refuel and fly off for lunch. The reality was, tediously drain the fuel which took forever, weigh the plane, refill and refuel, then fly over to Shobdon to find the cafe had stopped serving lunch, so it was coffee and cake. I decided to fly back via the Black Mountains which this time were much clearer and a superb flight it was too. Back to Gloucester for the worst landing for a long time! No idea what went wrong, but I'm going to blame the fact that after draining the front tank, we didn't refill it which altered the balance - but only at Gloucester, my landing at Shobdon was fine!

Black Mountains roundabout 11/09/2024
A quick flight over to the Black Mountains, although cloud prevented me from flying right over and the wind was strong so I didn't want to risk getting too close. Along the Eastern side to Hay on Wye and return. Quite a windy landing but happy with the way I controlled the plane. Bought my flying total to just over 300 hours.

Another new airfield 04/09/2024
Beingaround 20 minutes flying time, I can see why I haven't visited Bidford - too close. On the other hand, I can't see why I haven't. A quick flight over had a dual purpose, firstly as a reccee for next week when I'm meeting a fellow Europa owner and secondly to pick up some weighing scales so I can finally get the Europa weighed.

It's an excellent runway and very smooth on the South side. Coffee and two jam tarts was just three quid, so what's not to love?

LAA Bronze Award 30/08/2024
The only thing I had left to do for my LAA Bronze Award was a 200+ mile flight. Today I flew to Manchester Barton, then to Tatenhill and finally back to Gloucester. A great day out with excellent weather, two new airfields bagged and the award criteria met with no less than 259 miles covered.

Manchester Barton 30/08/2024

Tatenhill 30/08/2024

Rain slowed play 28/08/2024
The plan was to fly to two or three grass strips for some grass landing practise in the Europa. All went reasonably well for the first landing at Abergavenny, then it rained! I got stuck there rather longer than planned, but Frank, the owner is nothing if not friendly and generous so the time was well spent. He even convinced me I needed a variable pitch propellor!

Eventually the rain stopped but my enthusiasm for other airfields had waned so I flew directly back to Gloucester. Nice day out of course.

Black Mountains (almost) 21/08/2024
The weather was not brilliant, it was windy and the cloud had come in. I decided to fly down towards the Black Mountains and see how far I got. As it turned out, Skirrid was the furthest. I did manage a tour around table mountain before turning back towards Chepstow and up the river.

A nice flight, good landing on 22 even though ATC tried to mess me up with an orbit on final!

Grass Strip Practise 16/08/2024
With an adventure trip coming up soon, I realised that I don't have a huge amount of practise landing the Europa on grass, so today was a quick tour to take advantage of some local grass strips. Due to a minor miscalculation of fuel, I only managed Ledbury and Berrow but they were good practise and went well. Hopefully early next week I'll do a couple more.

Oil change 15/08/2024
One of the joys of owning your own aircraft is the regular maintenance, in this case, a 25 hour oil change.

I am a self-confessed muppet where engines are concerned and normally solve the problem by throwing money at it. This time, however, I intended to have a go myself. The actual oil change went very smoothly but gaining access to the sump plug required some engineering and discovery that the component parts comprise both Imperial and Metric fittings! The classic was the Allen bolts being 5/16 and the nut on the other end, being 11mm!

By far the longest and hardest part was the replacement of the cowling which took probably a couple of hours - there must be an easier way!

Anyway, that is done and as a reward, I am going flying tomorrow as the forecast is very good.

Duxford IWM 11/08/2024
It had been on my list for some time so when the Club Flyouters suggested Duxford I was all for it.

It takes about an hour pretty much due East and the runway is enormous, as you might expect for an airfield that sees some pretty huge planes coming and going.

Superb day looking at all the planes and various exhibitions. It is, of course, impossible to see it all in a single visit so I will just have to go back again.

GOLX Check Flight 05/08/2024
The skies were not as blue as previous days, the wind was not as calm as previous days but we decided to go ahead with the check flight anyway. Fully loaded with a P2 (Helen), additional weight in the baggage area (my dumbell!) and as much fuel as we could add to bring the weight up to as close to the limit as possible.

Taking off was interesting. I am used to retracting flaps before the end of the runway due to the speed, not this time! We climbed at a steady 75 knots, slowly gaining height until around 1,500 feet then levelled off. Engaging the auto pilot, it flew us to Ledbury airfield where we did a baulked landing, then gained height again to commence the 1,000 foot climb, completed within 60 seconds. Then off South (ish) to get within range of Bristol Radar. At around 25 miles and 1,900 feet we were able to talk to them and they gave our position exactly where we thought we were, so all good.

From there it was a couple of stalls to check that and then head back for a landing which went well. Taxied back to parking with grins and lots of boxes ticked!

Pre check flight flight 02/08/2024
The Europa has been grounded for the last few weeks undergoing its annual inspection and service. As a result of the inspection, some work needed to be done on one of the wings. That has now been done and all back together again. Today was a shake down flight just to make sure all was well - it was. I think the brakes need a little TLC but it is not serious enough to stop flying.

A gap in the clouds 07/07/2024
After the last abandoned flight and trying and failing to fly recently due to bad weather, I spotted a gap big enough for an hours local flying so off I went. Some level turns, climbing turns, a VNE test and clean and flap stalls occupied me for an hour before it was time to return. The stalls went well, in fact much better than last time so I was happy with that.

A few minutes after getting the plane into the hangar, the heavens opened again and it hammered with rain!

Bad weather day 27/06/2024
It was a little breezy at Gloucester ( gloucestershireairport.co.uk ) but nothing to worry about, the skies were blue with a few clouds. Today I was flying down to West Tisted, then Priors Farm on the way back. All went well until South of Marlborough where the low grey cloud was rolling in. I continued for a few minutes but quickly realised it was only going to get worse, so I did an about turn. Not the best turn to be fair and I found myself in cloud for a few seconds and mildly disorientated but soon sorted it out and levelled up to start heading back.

A wise decision I thought but frustratingly was soon clear and back into glorious sunshine! Oh well, these things happen.

Shobdon triathlon 24/06/2024
A new type of triathlon. Fly, cycle, walk. I flew over to Shobdon in around 30 minutes, cycled up to Shobdon Hill, walked the last bit, then cycled over to Wapley Hill and did the same, then back to the airfield for a well earned bacon and egg roll. Good flying, no issues with takes offs or landings.

Sunny flight the the IoW 20/06/2024
Due to the Fairford air show I had to take a different route down which bought me out via Purbeck and across the Solent. For reasons I do not know I messed up the landing and of course, didn't video it! On the return I was concerned about the fuel level - the EMS is clearly optimistic and I only just made it back. It will be interesting to see how much I actually used. The landing at Gloucester was okay but not brilliant, due, in the most part to the worry about fuel if I'm honest.

Finally a nice day 16/06/2024
Today I flew to Welshpool. Outbound via Malverns and Church Stretton with no issues or problems and a fine landing into a cross wind. The return flight saw me head out to Tywyn on the Welsh coast then follow it down and across to the Brecons. I had an interesting time avoiding cloud and eventually had to descend through a big hole as I was at 8,000 feet dodging around and the engine was struggling a bit. No worries and I was soon down underneath into a shower! Some route adjustment avoided the worst and an improving sky saw me into Gloucester, although they changed from 27 to 22 as I was lining up for a direct join onto downwind 27. No worries, sorted it and made a good landing.

Superb day out 02/06/2024
Another new airfield for me. This time Nottingham. I flew up via Market Harborough and Leicester, using a listening squawk on Birmingham and a Basic service from East Midlands. Nottingham airfield is more or less oriented the same as Gloucester so easy peasy. Cycled into Nottingham for lunch, then flew back via Derbyshire and Dovedale in particular which was just the best. No issues and a great flight.

Still bad weather 27/05/2024
With showers forecast all day, but it still being the best day of the week, I decided I needed a flight. Welshpool was considered and abandoned due to the cloud formation North West of the airport. A trip to the Black Mountains went the same way. I popped over to the club to be told that one of the Robins had gone to Turweston. That seemed reasonable so off I went.My outbound route was around the North of Brize via Banbury and the return South of Brize via Oxford and Swindon. Couple of showers encountered but mostly a nice day. Perfect landing at Turweston and an average one at Gloucester. I think maybe a circuit session is in order for next time.

Bad weather alternative 16/05/2024
The weather forecast was predicting heavy rain around 3-4pm so I decided to abandon my plans for lunch at Welshpool and do a local down to Avebury and back via the Bristol channel. It was a great flight, thoroughly enjoyed it, but the rains never came so I could have done the lunch flight. Oh well!

Hazy but nice 12/05/2024
Our club flyout was cancelled due to an impending thunderstorm so I decided on a local flight, flying down to Abergavenny then up and around the Black Mountains and back. I got my favourite direct rejoin onto 09 from May Hill which I always love and managed an excellent landing, so completely happy with the day.

Nearly a nice day 01/05/2024
As I travelled down to Brimpton to collect the Europa the weather changed from a gloriously sunny clear skies day to a rather overcast one. The weather apps reported heavy rain around 4pm at Gloucester. I was suddenly on a mission. Walking from the railway station to the airport is around a mile or so and it was hard to believe heavy rain was on the way.

Collecting the plane I elected to take the direct route home rather than a circuit around the Bristol channel. As it turned out, the rain came around 5pm so I would have had time.

Blustery Day 29/04/2024
I had booked the Europa in for its 100 hour engine service so was keen to get it delivered. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas and strong wind warnings were issued. Taking off from Gloucester would not be a problem, but landing at the destination: Brimpton might be. I checked their excellent website which reported lower wind speeds and called for confirmation. All was reported as good.

Taking off was easy and the flight down mostly without incident other than a couple of bumps. I located the airfield easily and began the circuit. On approach it was clear there was some significant gusts and I was being blown around. I tried to land but it was never going to work so a go around was needed. Second time, more confident, my speed was ideal and I landed. The stall warner complained a couple of times but no real issues. The plane will be staying overnight and perhaps another day, but the wind is set to drop so hopefully a less eventful return.

Super weather 18/04/2024
Finally some decent weather. I flew Westwards to the Black Mountains and then onto the Brecons for a circuit of Pen y Fan. From there I headed North to Llandrindod Wells and circled around to Worcester and South to the airport. Excellent day, plane handled very well and the landing was perfect, although it did float a little further than I had intended but no worries, it was a smooth soft landing so happy with that.

Brecon Beacons 18/04/2024

Too cloudy 31/03/2024
The weather forecast had clear skies until early afternoon. How wrong was that! By the time I took off, it was distinctly overcast. My plan was a tour of the Black Mountains and Brecons - no chance! Towards Abergavenny I did climb up to around 4,000 feet for a look but it was solid cloud and it had been pretty overcast all the way so I did not want to risk the holes disappearing, so made my way back via Chepstow, struggling to get even 2,000 feet at times. An okay flight but not what I had planned.

Another new airfield 26/03/2024
A quick trip to Leicester and back today. The weather forecast was pretty poor for the afternoon and also for the South so I picked Leicester as being the best option. Good steady flight out and happy with the circuit and landing at a new (to me) airfield. Return trip was also good but the landing not ideal, I think I got slightly caught by the crosswind. Planning another circuits session to improve.

The weather was against me 18/03/2024
On the face of it and having checked the weather, a trip to Lee on Solent looked great. The reality was that I encountered mist and cloud almost from the get-go. It did clear a bit but my maximum altitude on the way down seldom got even close to 2,000 feet, and approaching Portsmouth I was playing dodge the cloud down to 1,000 feet. Despite all of that I did a good landing so was happy with that. The return journey started out just as bad with very low cloud but gradually improved as I headed North and ended up being a nice day. Landing at Gloucester was another good one so happy with the day.

Auto Pilot test 16/03/2024
Having an auto pilot installed but never used, I was keen to try it out. I programmed a route into the Garmin Aera via Garmin Pilot and as part of my start up routine, switched on the EZ pilot and activated the Flight Plan in the Garmin. It warns not to activate below 1,000 feet so once I had cleared that height, on it went. It seemed strange sitting there watching the plane fly a course - I had deliberately added some turns to make it interesting. Within 45 minutes I was heading directly for Welshpool so deactivated as I had no plans to land and took control for the return trip. It was fun, although I am not sure I will use it very much, but who knows!

Stalling practise 08/03/2024
Having had some questions about the accuracy of the ASI I decided to try stalling to see at what speed it would go. The day was not perfect with plenty of cloud and a good deal of haze but I found some clear sky at 3,000 feet. The initial clean stall went off at 50 knots, exactly as expected. First stage stall went at 47 knots and second stage at 42 knots, all as expected. What was not expected was the wing drop! Boy did it drop! Clean was okay, but with flaps, it went over fast and before I knew it I was in a spiral dive at over 100 knots! Training kicked in and I quickly fixed it, but it gave me a surprise.

More circuits 19/02/2024
I was not totally happy with my landings last time so this time, engaged the expertise of my CFI. Turns out all was well and it was just the fact that it was a different attitude required (to the plane, not me!). We did a couple of circuits and good landings, then one final one to land. Happy with everything, although we suspect that the air speed indicator is not correct which might explain why I was having some trouble with the speed/approach angle. Something else to look in to.

More circuits 19/02/2024
I was not totally happy with my landings last time so this time, engaged the expertise of my CFI. Turns out all was well and it was just the fact that it was a different attitude required (to the plane, not me!). We did a couple of circuits and good landings, then one final one to land. Happy with everything, although we suspect that the air speed indicator is not correct which might explain why I was having some trouble with the speed/approach angle. Something else to look in to.

Circuits in the Europa 17/02/2024
A morning of circuits to practise my landings. Not too bad, but not too good either. Out of six landings, I was happy with three of them and unhappy with three of them so have book my CFI for Monday. I cannot seem to get the speed and angle correct and find the plane is running away with me, then I have to either drop quickly or land too fast.

BMAA Gold Award 12/02/2024

First club flyout in the Europ 11/02/2024
The first club flyout in the Europa was a quick hop over to Sleap. I was impressed with the speed, as were a couple of flyout mates in one of the Robins as I came scooting past!

The radio was much improved, giving me a good reception of London Info and both Sleap and Gloucester, although I think I need to be a little closer than I am used to for best reception.

First club flyout 11/02/2024

Teething trouble part 1 07/02/2024
So, one of the conclusions from Mondays flight was that the front wheel was suffering from a little bit more shimmy than was good for it. I had already identified a guy (Ben Davies) who knows about the Europa so arranged to visit him at Finmere to sort the problem. I had not been to Finmere before so it was also a new airfield bag. After a brew, we got on with the work and within half an hour were pushing the plane out for a test flight. All went well and the landing did not exhibit the problems of earlier. Job done!

By way of celebration and because I could, I flew to Welshpool for lunch. Unfortunately a second issued manifested itself, radio reception...

Radio much improved 07/02/2024
A hangar afternoon saw me resolve the radio issue to a large extent. It seems the culprit was the USB cable used to charge the Sky Echo! Unplugging that has made a huge difference and the radio reception seems much improved. Time will tell.

First flight in the Europa 05/02/2024
Today was the first proper flight in the Europa. Accompanied by my Flying Instructor to be on the safe side we headed down river to do some skills and general handling. The plane needs the front wheel adjusting so we declined circuits but even so it was a useful flight. The finger brakes take some getting used to but its only a matter of time I am sure.

Europa on her way home 03/02/2024

New aircraft! 02/02/2024
After a very long wait for one reason or another, I finally took delivery of my new aircraft today! It is a Europa XS trigear. A quick chauffer flown trip over to Bicester and we picked it up. I flew back, with James, my instructor as co-pilot and adviser. The first flight only lasted 35 minutes but it was great fun. Lots of new things to get used to which will of course, take time, but I am on the way!

Europa XS 02/02/2024

BMAA Gold Award 27/01/2024
To qualify for the BMAA Gold award, one of the skills is a 300 mile flight with three airfield landings. A prior plan has to be either submitted to the BMAA or a Trusted Instructor. That done, I set off for Turweston on the first leg. I entered the ATZ five minutes ahead of schedule which was okay. The second leg was down to Lee on Solent which took me seven minutes longer than planned so overall I was just two minutes down. Leg three to Dunkeswell was as planned and final leg back to Gloucester was six minutes quicker giving me an overall of four minutes quicker than the planned Three hours and Thirty Nine minutes. Well within the allowed margin of error. The Gold award was in the bag!

Upside Down flying 26/01/2024
After several failed attempts, I finally got to do my UPRT flying. This is where you learn to recover a plane that is in, what is described as an Unexpected Position, hence the UP. The RT is Recovery Training. We flew a Firefly which is perfect for such activities and Neil, my instructor had me recover from ever increasing problems, both steeply upwards, steeply downwards and many angles. I also learned why adding rudder to a turn onto finals to increase the angle is a really bad idea - the plane more or less falls over and takes a few hundred feet to recover, okay at 4,000 feet, not so at 400 feet!

Choices choices 17/01/2024
The original plan was to fly to Welshpool but the cloud and general weather put paid to that. Second choice was Lee on Solent, but rather bad weather in the Channel also scuppered that, so I elected to go East and enjoyed an early lunch at Turweston. Outbound via Banbury and return around the South of Brize via Oxford and Swindon before turning back overhead Kemble. Busy arrival with me second of three and the runway changing to 04 just as I am descending deadside for 09. Nailed it with a great landing though!

Back in SHMI 10/01/2024
It was good to get back into SHMI for the first time this year. A quick jaunt over to Shobdon for their cheap landing fee day and of course, a bacon and egg roll. Flight was fine, although there was a bit of cloud dodging and on the return I had to orbit a couple of times as Gloucester suddenly got very busy, but a good flight and good landings so happy with everything.

Night Flight 05/01/2024
As a newly qualified Night Flier I decided to exercise my rights with an early evening flight. I timed it so I would take off at dusk so see the world darkening and then by the time I landed it would be fully dark. I flew over to Ross, then Hereford and swung around the North of the Malvern Hills to Worcester and back over Tewkesbury. Great flight and great to see the floods from above. No issues and I even remembered to put the landing light on!

Night Flying over Gloucester 05/01/2024

Night flying past Malvern 05/01/2024

Basic Instrument Flying 15/12/2023
So, if this session taught me one thing, it would be do not try to fly with your eyes closed! I did (under supervision) and within a minute, opened my eyes to discover we had turned 90 degrees! The session basically involves wearing a headset face covering so that only the instruments are visible. The challenge is then to fly the plane on straight and level, turns, climbs and descents using only the instruments. I think I managed quite well apart from the turns where I banked far too much, but that, apparently is normal. If you have never done it, give it a go, under supervision of course.

Pootle around the patch 14/12/2023
I was in two minds whether to go over to Shobdon, Welshpool or just do a local flight. I nearly cancelled as the morning cloud was too low for a flight, but magically it cleared up to be a fine day. I elected for the local flight so headed off on a circuit of Chepstow, Abergavenny, then I had planned to go to Hay on Wye via the Black Mountains but the cloud was too low so I headed to Hereford, avoiding the SAS transmitters, then over to Bromyard and a long return via Broadway. A great flight, no issues, a good landing and mostly great weather. What is not to love?

Back in SHMI 08/12/2023
After trying several times and being beaten by the weather I finally managed to get a re-validation check flight in today. The weather was not brilliant to be fair, with a strong wind blowing and the ever present rain which got worse, but we managed a couple of circuits and I did good landings so everyone was happy.

Night flight qualification 06/12/2023
An epic evening flying with two hours done. We did a departure, return and two touch and go landings plus a full stop. I was then left to it for my solo flights. I did three circuits with full stop and backtrack landings, followed by two departures from the ATZ and return with full stop landings. That completes the Night part of the course. There are two other elements, I need to do the basic instrument training and also get an official colour blind test done.

Touch and Go Night flight 01/12/2023
Touch and Go circuits with and without landing lights and PAPI lights. Unfortunately it was a bit short due to the onset of fog. Went okay apart from my usual mistake of not pulling the stick back when landing.

Second Night Flight 22/11/2023
This time it was a flight to Oxford for a Touch and Go, then return via Newbury. Plenty of lessons learned! Lesson one, we still fly direct. I had worked out a route via towns which would give me confidence that I was on the right track. That was binned. Lesson two, I should have researched the exact location of Oxford Airport a bit better. We got there, but I might have struggled on my own. From there to Newbury went well, as did most of the return to Gloucester, except the direct route required a Zone Transit at Brize and I was struggling to remember the syntax. As it turned out, we drifted slightly West so missed it. The final lesson was to be aware of the ground. I had fixated on the final approach and forgotten about Chosen Hill so we crossed it lower than we should have, but then that is all part of the teaching and I have learned valuable lessons.

UPRT course 10/11/2023
I had signed up for a Upset Prevention and Recovery Training course some time ago. Unfortunately the day it was due to happen, the weather was against us so it was cancelled. I arranged to visit Goodwood again on the 10th November but again it was cancelled. To save the day, we did the theory part of the course which was very interesting. At some point in the near future I plan to fly down to do the practical element of the course and am looking forward to that.

First Night Flight 31/10/2023
I had wanted to try night flying for some time, so with the clocks changing, it seemed like the ideal opportunity to book one. As it turned out, I got a slot quite quickly. It was an amazing experience watching the world get darker and less obvious. We flew down towards Chepstow, then turned across to Stroud and back up where I had my first test - finding the airport! I managed it quite well. We then headed North and swung around to indentify the airport from the East, much easier as we were in line with the runway lights. A touch and go went reasonably well, then a second full stop landing completed the evening. The landings were fine, but I should have paid more attention to the PAPI lights.

Wellesbourne for coffee 25/10/2023
Out via Banbury and M40 for a 36 landing, joining downwind for an excellent landing. Return via Alcester and Tewkesbury. Excellent flight out over the clouds which were broken so plenty of holes. Excellent landing, excellent coffee and cake and nice return flight, although the cloud base dropped towards Gloucester so I asked for and got a direct right base join for another excellent landing. All in all, a great day out.

Meteorological Training Day 12/10/2023
Spent the day at the Met Office in Exeter learning all about the weather. It was a very informative day covering synoptic chart interpretation, general weather forecasting and observations and how to make the best of the very informative Met Office website. It also counted towards my BMAA Wings Gold award so double bonus!

A real classroom day 08/10/2023
Club flyout to Bembridge on the Isle of Wight, a glorious day, what could possibly go wrong? Turns out, plenty. I was flying the outbound leg so taxied DJ over to the pumps, we filled up, then bang, could not restart. Had to tow it back to the apron. Hung about waiting for HANS to return. Taxied over to the pumps, 60 litres of fuel and off we went. Great flight down in the glorious sunshine but got to Bembridge too late for lunch! Disaster. Also on the way down, we noticed the fuel gauge reading much lower than we expected and might not be enough to get back. Given the late hour of arrival, we had a quick coffee and enjoyed listening to the others telling us what a fine lunch they had. No fuel at Bembridge, so we decided to visit Compton Abbas on the way back. We ran out of time, so headed directly back - we would be fine! Except we were not, the low fuel light came on about 17 miles from Gloucester so we diverted to Oaksey Park and were lucky enough to find someone who could dispense fuel. Then we had to phone Gloucester as we might not make it back by the 6pm closing time, so we got an indemnity. In the end, we touched down at exactly 6pm. A full day with lots of lessons learned.

Shobdon bacon roll 04/10/2023
Land away to Shobdon in DJ partly to do something other than just a local and partly because it was almost lunchtime! Good flight over although I found myself too far South and reported being in the wrong place but corected it. Very gusty day but mostly a strong headwind which made for a comfortable landing. The lunchtime bacon roll was excellent. Return was delayed slightly by the raincloud passing overhead. Gloucester was on 22 which always makes me think about the approach and where I am in relation to the circuit. No problems, joined Right Base and nice landing. All in all, a good day out.

Two up to Thruxton 15/09/2023
I had wanted to fly in the right hand seat for some time, just to see what it was like, the answer is, weird, but interesting. Steve and I flew down to Thruxton with him at the controls and me as adviser as I had been there before. No dramas on the way down and an interesting and different route. The bacon baguette tasted just as nice. I flew the return leg back via Highclere, Marlborough, Wooton Bassett and overhead Kemble to finally arrive at Gloucester. No problems with the flight and no issues, plus it was good to fly one of the two legs, it meant we could go further than perhaps one might do solo.

Back to DJ 24/08/2023
A fun flight down to Abergavenny and the Black Mountains. I did intend to fly over the Black Mountains but there was too much cloud so I moved Eastwards and followed the line of the hills to Hay on Wye, then turned Eastwards and eventually back directly to Gloucester. The Sky Demon was running North upwards which threw me a little initially until I realised, plus the day was a little hazy so I misread the direction of the Malvern Hills until I realised and corrected. No dramas on the flight and non in the circuit except I was told to follow a Cessna which appeared briefly on my Port side until deciding to do an orbit. Very confusing!

Fun flight in HANS 09/08/2023
Flew down to Chepstow in increasingly good weather, over the Severn and across to pass over Badminton airfield which I found straight away, then to Charlton Park which I did not spot immediately, then got too transfixed on it, only to look up and see an aircraft heading towards me. Standard avoidance with no issues, but just shows the importance of a good look out. I returned via overhead Kemble for a standard join. Another good landing so happy with that.

Solo in HANS 28/07/2023
My first solo flight in HANS for a couple of years. It went as well as it could. I had decided to fly over Over, Eastbach, Tredunnock, Ledbury and Defford airfields via the Malvern Hills. It all went well apart from an early diversion to avoid a rain shower. Had some trouble locating Tredunnock but other than that all good. Return to the ATZ went well and the landing was very good. All in all, a very satisfying flight.

Flexwing Trial Flight 25/07/2023
What an experience! I flew in a Flexwing for the first time ever today and how much fun is that! Neil Douglas at Over Farm took me in his DeltaJet 500. We flew down the river towards Chepstow and back in exactly one hour. After take off and level flying, I flew most of the way, getting used to the reverse operation - push left to go right, push right to go left, pull back to descend and forward to go up! The exposure is amazing.

First Flexwing flight 25/07/2023

Robin Refresh 21/07/2023
A final refresh before I am allowed to go solo in the Robins again. A nice pootle out to Kemble and back followed by a few circuits to test me. I managed to get perfectly into the circuit on the return but in exactly the opposite direction! Doh! Corrected and managed a couple of reasonable touch and go landings followed by a final low level circuit where I managed to get the speed all wrong (too fast) and the line up wrong. Homework is to practise low level circuits. On the upside I have been signed off for solo flying in the Robins again so happy with that.

Touch and Go 08/07/2023
Another refresher session covering Touch and Go. We did standard landing plus flapless, Glide and a couple of Power Fail landings, one on 09 and the other on 22. Great session, loving getting back into it.

Back to the Robins 30/06/2023
With the absence of SHMI, I have decided to reaquaint myself with the Robins, so with Phil I flew HANS for an hour or so, getting familiar with that again. We did some turns, slow flying and a forced landing - it comes down a lot quicker than SHMI! Then for fun, Phil took me cloud flying. Great day out.

Taildragger experience 14/06/2023
First flight in a taildragger courtesy of James Peplow. It was a Piper Super Cub and a really different experience to what I'm used to. For a start it is tandem so the instructor sits behind. All the controls are opposite so the stick is right hand and the throttle left hand. The flaps are on the left and the brakes are heel brakes! We did a run over to Ledbury airfield and three landings, then back to Gloucester. All good fun.

No plane! 11/06/2023
SHMI headed off to Evektor a few weeks ago for its 4000 hour checks and will be gone for some time. I am missing flying so much I am considering reaquiring my skills in the Robins. In the meantime I have a flight coming up in a tail dragger just to try that and I even contacted a guy with a view to flying a flex wing!

Biannual Skills Refresher 11/05/2023
Technically I did not need to do this as I have flown for an hour with an Instructor over the previous two years, but I was keen to have my skills checked to make sure I was still competent. After some delays due to fuel be temporarily unavailable, we headed off West to find some airspace. I did climb and level off, slow flying, steep turns with and without flaps, stalling, engine fail and partial fail, turn to heading and finally a fun flight down to Monmouth keeping at 700 feet. Back to Gloucester and an orbit delay whilst waiting for clearance completed the day nicely. All good and happy for another two years.

Military/Civil Air Safety Day 28/04/2023
As it said on the tin, it was a safety day aimed at both Military and Civilian pilots. The venue was RAF Benson which was an excellent place to be, the staff, officers and others were incredibly friendly, helpful and polite and a real credit to the base. We were allowed to look in a Chinook and ask all the questions, then enjoyed talks by various civilian and military personnel on a range of subjects including ATC, Air Ambulance, Police Air Service, 28 Squadron operations and other safety related talks. An excellent breakfast started the day and equally excellent lunch added to the pleasure of the day.

A Blustery Day 18/04/2023
I almost didn't fly as it was very windy, but I am glad that I did. Apart from a bumpy take off, it was all fine. I did a skills circuit including most of the skills on the list, I even did a Practise PAN with DnD so happy with that. The landing was into a strong wind which was very kind to me and I made a very soft landing.

Llanbedr Land Away 03/04/2023
Fabulous weather outbound via Rhayader in the Elan Valley and Aberystwyth on the coast. Some cloud but I flew above it as I could see gaps and also the end of it near the coast. Llanbedr airfield has huge runways, but no Air Traffic Control so its blind calls all the way. Cycled into Harlech for the castle and lunch. Flight back via Bala and Church Stretton was cloud free and superb. This is what flying is all about!

Finally back to Flying 27/03/2023
After what seems like forever, I finally got a flight! It was a superb day with few clouds, blue skies and almost no wind. I flew over to Shobdon via Chepstow and Hay on Wye which was excellent, then back via May Hill and a long direct onto 09. Coffee and Hot X bun was superb at Shobdon.

Skills circuit 22/02/2023
Off to the West for a skills circuit. The weather was showery but I managed to find some blue skies near Ledbury. Standard Skills circuit but this time I put the plane into a spiral dive and successfully sorted it out so well pleased. Also did a couple of full 60 degree turns which was exciting. Happy with the return to Gloucester and landing. All in all a good flight.

Aerobatics Fun 14/02/2023
Aerobatics course in the Robin today. We did stall recovery, both standard stall and wing drop stall, then banked stalling and spiral dive. Finished off with a bit of aerobatics with a few Ballistic rolls which were excellent fun, but made the stomach turn a bit on the third one. I now need to practise the stalls and recoveries in the Eurostar, but obviously not the aerobatic stuff.

Club flyout success 12/02/2023
A nice flight up to Sleap with CAC for lunch. Decent weather with cloud at around 3,000 feet so nothing to worry about. Good landing at both ends and a very nice lunch, whats not to like?

First new airfield of 2023 04/02/2023
Flew down to Thruxton for breakfast. Nice flight down, but rubbish landing so did a go-around, the second was not much better. Oh well! Nothing happening at Thruxton so I flew back to Kemble for a first ever visit. Nice airfield, and a very good landing. Helpful tower but very busy. Maybe pick a weekday next time. From there a quick ten minutes back to Gloucester and another good landing. Nice day out but it was a bit cold and dreary weather.

First Land away of 2023 28/01/2023
The cloud was pretty low but flyable. I initially had some problems with the plane. I taxied for fuel, then couldnt restart it! Dragged it back to Aeros. Tom turned up and started it straight away of course!

The flight to Turweston was direct out over via Morton and Banbury. Maximum altitude was 1,500 feet due to the cloud base and weather. Nice flight, no issues. I did consider returning via Kemble but changed my mind as it seemed rushed and the cloud base seemed to be getting lower. It was a good return flight although I did have to divert slightly to get around the Cleeve escarpment with the low cloud.

Another cancelled day 26/01/2023
I had the plane booked for the day with no particular destination in mind, but with a Northerly wind, Sleap was looking favourite. The cloud didn't look good but it did start to clear a bit so I went to the airport. Turning in I could just about see May Hill which wasn't a good sign, then as I looked out, the Malverns began to vanish in the clouds. My enthusiasm wained and I decided to give up, I dont need to fly that badly!

Cancelled Club Flyout 22/01/2023
Due to the possibility of freezing fog reaching Gloucestershire we decided to cancel the club flyout and one or two of us elected to have a local flight. Mine took me North to Worcester, identifying Defford on the way, then across and round the Malverns, then out to Ledbury airfield, over that and onto Eastbach before circling around and back via Frampton. Nice flight and good conditions.

Scary Flight 16/01/2023
The plan was to fly to Sleap. I checked with the destination and they told me the sky was clear and improving weather. The forecast had the cloud clearing in good time so I felt confident to fly. All went well until North of the Malverns when the cloud base dropped and visibility began to become an issue. I turned around and headed across to Worcester, hoping for better weather, none came, but I looked up and saw that the cloud tops were not so high so decided to fly over. The cloud was higher than I thought and I realised I would not make it, so turned around and found I was becoming enveloped. I headed towards the blue sky but the conditions rapidly deteriorated and I suddenly found myself completely in cloud. I was over 5,000 feet so no ground worries. Next thing I knew I was descending at an alarming rate. I have no idea how that happened. Correcting I levelled the wings and tried to sort myself out and calm down, eventually finding a gap and ground visibility. I decided to abandon for the day, descended below the cloud and headed back to Gloucester. It was a valuable lesson learned about cloud and the disorientation that comes with it.

GASCo Safety Seminar 09/01/2023

GASCo Safety Seminar 09/01/2023
A very interesting seminar focusing on the Manchester Low Level Route which was of particular interest as I have been wanting to fly that to Barton for some time now.

Another Flying day cancelled 08/01/2023
Today was supposed to be a club flyout but the more we talked about it the less enthusiastic we became what with the high wind in the wrong direction, dark cloud and forecast of rain, cowardice prolongs life as one put it!

Weather Watching Seminar 14/12/2022
Tonight I attended on line, a weather watching seminar which was excellent and taught me a lot

Day trip to the Seaside 06/12/2022
Back to flying with a land away to Lee on Solent. An excellent day with great weather. I used Brize, Boscombe and listened on Southampton before contacting Lee for the final bit. Excellent cafe with good food and coffee. Return was the reverse but I flew out over Portsmouth. No issues with comms, flying or landing.

Leaving Lee on Solent 06/12/2022

Two Hundred Hours flying 06/12/2022
Today's flight saw me passing the two hundred hours mark

Back flying again! 28/11/2022
Finally after far too long, SHMI has been fixed and I have been flying again. Two flights, the first being a few circuits with Tom to ensure all was well, it was. I then did an hour around the patch,up to Worcester, across to the Malverns, a few skills; slow speed flying, 30 and 60 degree turns and a couple of steep descending turns. All was well and Standard Overhead join finished the day nicely.

Brompton in SHMI 27/10/2022

AAC/CAA Workshop on PPL 28/09/2022

Pembrey Land Away 19/09/2022
Flew down over Pen-y-Fan and direct back. Did a circuit of the airfield as it was my first time but excellent landing. Owner is very welcoming but 18 pounds is a bit steep even if I did get a free cup of tea and biscuits! Cycled down to the harbour in about 15 minutes. Back direct South of the Brecons was nice and a good landing at Gloucester with a direct join onto Downwind.

Pembrey 19/09/2022
Pembrey

Club flight to Swansea 11/09/2022
Club flyout to Swansea, another new airfield. Excellent flight down over the cloud at 4,000 feet. Gentle descent into Swansea Bay and around to the airfield which easily comes into view. Landed on 10 which was more or less in the opposite direction to arrival so it was a direct join onto Downwind. There is nothing much at the airfield, not even a cafe so we had to blag a coffee from the flying school. Return trip went well. I flew pretty much a reciprocal course but there was much less cloud. Good landing on 09 but they wouldnt give me a direct because it was really busy. Great day out.

Circuits and Skills 05/09/2022
I started off with a few circuits onto 09. None of them were great landings, several were okay and a couple rubbish. In my defence there was an 8 Knot crosswind. Off for the skills part. All good apart from the engine failure forced landing which I was not happy with so repeated three times. First time was okay but I didn't use my flaps. Second attempt I changed my mind about the field and ran out of height. Third time was good but I was right over Ledbury airfield so used that, but it counts. I was tempted to actually land, but I was happy enough at 500 feet to know I would have got there. Probably need another similar session but maybe less crosswind to get the confidence back.

Popham Trip 19/08/2022
Another new airfield, Popham this time. I took the sensible approach of an overhead join so that I could get a better idea of how it worked. There is a dog-leg on final to get on the runway which was interesting and a lot easier than I expected. No dramas, good landing. The airfield is pleasant with a good cafe and I stayed about an hour. Off to Priors Farm next, only 20 minutes up the road. My initial approach was far too steep - I should have gone around - and I messed up the landing so took off again. Second time was fine and I got the angle right, although the altimeter was not quite right. Stayed for an hour and had lunch in the shade of the elevator and rudder. Good flight back to Gloucester but I messed up the landing a bit and had to add power to correct, then landed okay. Next session will be circuits I think as I keep getting 27 wrong!

Wellesbourne Club Flyout 14/08/2022
Nice easy flight but very hot. Lots of float on the landing but got down okay. Second flight around Birmingham to Abbots Bromley. Good landing on the second rise. Walked to the village for lunch - awesome garlic bread. Flight back was fine although my tablet overheated and shut down! Had to use the phone but no worries. Direct landing onto 27 via Right Base although they initially set me to 09 Left Base! Note: Take the tablet out on a hot day!

AAC/CAA safety Workshop 10/08/2022

Seaside trip 08/08/2022
One of the best flights of the year! Flew to Caernarfon via Bala Lake, Ogwen Valley, Bethesda and down to the airfield. The sky was completely clear until I approached Bala where I had to do some cloud dodging and in the Ogwen Valley I took the sensible decision to fly over rather than around them which took me to a personal height record of 5,000 feet! I had planned to go over Snowdon but there was too much cloud for a safe pass so I gently descended right to the airfield. I had taken my bike to ride into the countryside and managed 30 miles out to Rhydd Ddu and back via a lunch stop at Snowdon Ranger YHA. The return flight was equally spectacular with glimpses of Snowdon Summit then out via Cadair Idris, Tarren y Gesail and then directly back over the Elan Valley. No flying or landing issues but I did float a bit too long at Gloucester - must get into the habit of landing slightly quicker. Used Shawbury after Ledbury, then tried to contact Valley at Bala with no luck, so straight to Caernarfon. Return I had valley down to Tarren, the Shawbury to Shobdon who off loaded me to Gloucester.

Caernarfon 08/08/2022

Isle of Wight 01/08/2022
Flight down to the Isle of Wight via a devious route avoiding temporary controlled airspace around Kemble. Via Badminton, Stourton, Sturminster, then through the gap to Wareham and Corfe Castle before crossing the water to the Needles and around to Sandown. Late comms at Sandown was slightly confusing but ended up doing a LH onto runway 05. Cycled down to the town for lunch and along the front to Shanklin which was great fun and made the bike well worth it. Decided to call into Oaksey Park on the way back so got PPR via email. Returned via the standard route of Portsmouth, Petersfield, abeam Hungerford to Oaksey which took a bit of finding. Also note that Oaksey has no overhead joins so need to join into the circuit, easy to do if you spot it. Landing no issue. The runway is supremely flat. Good comms from the radio. Leaving should have been simple but as I climbed out, I spotted on Sky Demon that the entire area had become temporary controlled airspace! Presuming it had come from Kemble I located their frequency and gave them a call but got no response. At this point I was very close to the edge of the CTR so though the best course of action was to continue to Stroud which I did then called Gloucester and proceeded as normal. On further review I discovered that the Airspace Control didn't come into force until later so I was fine.

Oaksey Park 01/08/2022

Priors Farm Day 21/07/2022
Day trip to Priors Farm for lunch. Good easy flight out. Excellent landing on 01. Took off on 01 as well for a change and also the wind was Northerly so benefitted 01. Good flight back and good landing on 09 runway. A very nice day out.

Grass Strip Day 18/07/2022
Another grass strip day. This time Defford, Abergavenny and Eastbach. Defford was fine although I turned in a bit late, but no worries. At Abergavenny I did a go-around as I didn't give myself enough time on final but nailed it second time. I did think afterwards that maybe I should have landed the other way due to the wind, but no drama. Eastbach was perfect which I was really pleased about. Super hot day which did make me rethink the location of the tablet holder but this hot weather won't last I am sure. Good landing back at Gloucester so all in all, a good day out.

Grass Strip Training 11/07/2022
Training session with Phil. The sole intention was to land at Eastbach. Good fly over and approach and remarkably good landing, seemed much easier than last time. Went round, took off and did a second landing then straight off again. All good. Will be trying that one on my own next time. We flew back up the river at 200 feet above the water which was awesome. Might try that one too! All in all a very good training session.

Flight for Tracy 10/07/2022
Bimble around the county with Tracy. Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Broadway, Malverns, Ross and return via the Severn Bends. Good flight and good landing. Fabulous weather.

BMAA Silver Wings 05/07/2022
Today I got my BMAA Silver Wings Award Certificate, happy with that

(Not) a Training Day 03/07/2022
Today was supposed to be a semi-training day with Phil to do some grass strip landing practise. Due to the previous pilot over-filling the tank we were over the weight limit! I took the opportunity of going anyway and flew to Croft Farm, Berrow and Ledbury. All went well apart from Berrow where I had to do a go-around due to not being happy with the position. The second time I landed on the first hump so was well pleased with that. All in all, a good day out, putting into practise, stuff I have learned, most importantly keeping the stick well back on landing.

Strip Flying Part 2 30/06/2022
We went to Croft Farm on a direct approach Left Base which worked well, then off to Berrow. I missed the first hump but got the second okay and made a good landing. Must remember to pull the stick right back on landing even on tarmac. We practised slideslip which is cross controls, engine to idle, trim for 68mph and descend. Can also turn on the descent but be very careful not to induce a spin! Can get up to 1,200 feet/minute descent rate so best not do it below 3,000 feet and end the exercise early!

BMAA Strip Flying 30/06/2022
Today I passed my BMAA Strip Flying Course so well on the way to completing my BMAA Silver Wings Award

Raffle prize flight 29/06/2022
Took Ben flying for his raffle prize win. Standard tour around the county down to the Severn Bends and back up through FoD and across to the Malverns and Worcester. No problems. Good landing probably due to the balanced weight! Crosswind was 180/9 Knots onto Runway 22 so about 7 Knots crosswind.

Blustery Circuits 27/06/2022
A circuits flight today in very blustery conditions. The first touch and go was not even a landing I do not think, I just could not get it down properly. The next few were okay but the plane was being blown about in the circuit so after five, I ended the session. It was good that I kept control and corrected for wind with safe landings, probably could not have done that 6 months ago.

Welshpool Land Away 19/06/2022
Land away to Welshpool which had been on my list for a while now. Flight over was a bit longer than expected (50 minutes) but fine. Landing was okay, although I nearly messed it up but recovered with a bit of power - I let the speed drop too low and almost stalled it. Luckily the runway is long enough. Return okay and a reasonable landing given the 7 Knot crosswind. Took the folding bike which fitted in nicely.

Peterborough 12/06/2022

Peterborough Land Away 12/06/2022
Club flyout to Peterborough. Very windy and turbulent day with lots of glider traffic to contend with. On approach to Peterborough the wind was reported as 270/17! Made for a bumpy landing, combined with a very poor runway I had to power on and re-land. Reviewing the video I think I was slightly fast on the land which did not help. Return flight was similar. I got a direct in on Final which was awesome coming over Cheltenham. Good landing so happy with that.

Halfpenny Green Land Away 09/06/2022
Today was supposed to be Day 2 of my Strip Flying course but due to the rain this morning, we postponed it for a week. Having the plane and a reasonable afternoon I decided to fly to Halfpenny Green. This was good practise for several reasons; the weather was not fantastic so it would be good handling practise, I did not have the plate with me so it would be good visualisation practise for the destination and it was quite windy so it would be good crosswind practise. Land away was fine as was the flight up. Return was also good and I felt I handled the 8 Knot crosswind well with a smooth landing.

General flight with Laura 03/06/2022
Pootle around the county with Laura. All good and a nice flight. Slightly slow on landing which meant we bumped a little but all good.

BMAA Strip Flying course 31/05/2022
Today was the first session of the BMAA Strip Flying course. We did Eastbach, Ledbury and Berrow. Eastbach was by far the hardest and having reviewed the video I felt I over compensated for the wind, pushing the aircraft too far right then did not brake hard enough which forced us off the runway and into the grass. No harm done apart from pride! Take Off was fine and Ledbury where I had been before and Berrow both went without a hitch. Overall, happy with it but I will need an instructor for Eastbach for the next couple of visits though.

Skills and Nav 30/05/2022
General skills flight plus navigation to some of the grass airfields in the area; Defford, Berrow, Ledbury and Eastbach. Also did a skills session which went well apart from the Engine failure where I picked a field with sheep. Would have had time to relocate but need to do that one again. Really pleased with the landings.

Grass land aways 12/05/2022
Today's flight was a flight of discovery to locate and possibly land at some local grass runways. I managed to locate Berrow, then Ledbury (Dymock) where I landed with no problems. Stayed about 15 minutes then headed off to Eastbach in the Forest of Dean which looked ridiculously short so gave that one a miss - I will need an Instructor for that. Back to Gloucester. Two good landings, no problems and a good day out.

Dymock International 12/05/2022

Taster flight 08/05/2022
Took John for a taster flight. Had to stay low due to cloud base but we did a good tour of the county. No problems

Turwston Land Away 08/05/2022
Club flight to Turweston. Easy flight out, good landing and easy flight back. No problems apart from deciding which service to use. Ended up not bothering although Brize would probably have been best.

Land away to Wellesbourne 25/04/2022
A morning flight to Wellesbourne Mountford. Just a quick flight of 35 minutes over and 45 minutes back as I came via the Malvern Hills back. No problems, good landing at both ends and good handling and comms. Happy Birthday flight.

Wellesbourne Vulcan 25/04/2022

BMAA Silver Award 15/04/2022
Three legs, Leg 1 Gloucester to Dunkeswell down the Bristol channel and across. All good but managed to stall on the final couple of feet of landing. Leg 2 Dunkeswell to Priors Farm. Great flight and a good landing. Came in very low on final but all good. Even set the altimeter to a QFE! Leg 3 Priors Farm to Gloucester. Another good flight and good handling in the ATZ. Final was right on the PAPI line but then something went wrong and I had to do a go-around. I do not know what happened. I will get Phil to review the video (too fast on approach was the conclusion). Second time was perfect. All in all a superb day out , weather was excellent but I really need an Instructor circuit session.

Compton Abbas Land Away 10/04/2022
Compton Abbas was chosen as the destination for the club flyout. It is a great flight down with good views over to Bristol and nearby Bath. On approach I was told about high cross winds - 10 Knots gusting up to 15 Knots! A good approach but slightly high close in but I landed, then I felt I was ballooning so decided to go around. Second time was much better and I put it down nicely. Walking to HQ I was stopped by a couple of experts who asked why I had gone around. I told them why but they told me it was a good landing! The feeling must have been just the uneven surface. Chatting with the other guys they said it was the best decision regardless. One or two other aircraft did go-arounds so I felt happier. Excellent lunch of Pilots baguette which was sausage, bacon and egg in a baguette. Take Off was straightforward and the return via Bristol channel presented no issues. Straight in direct to Downwind and a good landing at exactly the time I had planned, 4pm.

Compton Abbas 10/04/2022

Abbots Bromley Land Away 08/04/2022
Superb flight to Abbots Bromley farms trip. Flight time was 50 minutes in the sunshine. Given the crosswind I elected to land on 04. Using Safety Com I updated my position etc and approached. I had been told about the concave nature of the strip but it still threw me out and I ended up too slow and badly positioned so got to practise my Go-around for real! Second attempt was much better and I did a smooth landing. Taxi to parking where I had it all to myself. The airfield is extremely well kept and the owner is as friendly as you will ever meet. Cobwebs cafe is about 15 minutes walk down a pleasant lane and well worth it for the cake. Also there is a small craft village there. For the return flight I continued my clockwise tour of Birmingham air space down to Draycote Water and across. Direct into Downwind on 04 completed the day nicely with another good landing. One hour and ten minutes back.

Abbots Bromley 08/04/2022

Skills Flight 28/03/2022
A skills fight today. I headed over towards Ledbury to clear 3 - 4,000 feet skies and ran through my skills set including turns up to 30 degrees, stalls with 0, 1 and 2 stage flaps, climbing and descending turns, 360 degree turns, slow speed flying and Power Fail. I also tried Sideslip but I am not convinced I have it right so that is one for next time I have an Instructor on board. Landing was fine although a late gust of wind tried to knock me off course.

Gamston Land Away 21/03/2022
Excellent flight to Gamston. Used Birmingham and East Midlands on listening mode. Doncaster to check QNH to ensure I stayed under their CTA and finally into Gamston. Very hazy day and not much in the way of photos but the flight was excellent, I kept the height spot on and did a good landing at both Gloucester and Gamston so all in all a successful flight. One note though, the cafe at Gamston was closed on this day and the nearby Starbucks is inaccessible being on the wrong side of the A1 - take food and drink next time.

Gamston 21/03/2022
Gamston

Brecons day out 18/03/2022
Scenic flight down to the Brecons and Black Mountains. All good on taxi and Take Off. Flight was good at 3,000 feet and then to 4,000 feet over the mountains. Return fine and I got to practise slow speed flying as ATC wanted me to delay. There was a significant cross wind on 04 of 7 Knots from 90 degrees. Given that, the landing went well, although it did push me to the left of the runway. I was pleased enough with it.

Brecon Beacons 18/03/2022

GasCo Safety Evening 15/03/2022

BMAA Bronze Wings 09/03/2022
Today I received my BMAA Bronze Award Certificate, well pleased with that, and straight onto the Silver Award

Sleap Land Away 07/03/2022
After a significant delay due to airport operations I finally got my flight to Sleap as part of my BMAA Bronze Wings Award. The flight went well and timing was pretty much spot on. Reasonable landing although a significant cross wind did little to help. Return journey was similar and even with an orbit on Downwind I still landed on time. Again, a reasonable landing but I could have taken more account of the wind.

GASCo Airspace Infringment avo 07/03/2022

Local Jolly 23/02/2022
Very windy day! Original plan to fly to Welshpool was abandoned in favour of an hour around the local area. Take Off fine and initial heading out West. Soon encountered rain and cloud so turned South to Chepstow. Slow going down but a very fast return. All good but final Standard join was interesting with the strong wind. Got caught up in that and trying to keep level and straight, ended up landing without rounding properly. No idea why not! It was not too hard but less than perfect. Gusting wind caused some issues keeping straight.

Sandown Land Away 11/02/2022
Excellent day for a flight down to Sandown on the Isle of Wight. No issues with the flight down nor the airfield approach. It was unmanned so blind calls all the way. Final approach was a bit short - I should have extended downwind which made the final a bit steep at the end. The grass was very soft so the plane skewed left a little. Next time I will wait for the astroturf. Return was good with a nice tour of the island first. Used Farnborough and Brize but neither would give me a traffic service and it was quite busy. All good. Runway 22/04 is the only one in use at the moment and it was my first landing on it which went well.

Portsmouth 11/02/2022

Old Warden Land Away 02/02/2022
Visit to Old Warden for the Shuttleworth collection of aircraft, cars, bike and lots more. Also very impressive gardens. Take Off and flight down was perfect. Old Warden had no radio/AFIS so it was blind calls all the way. It is a requirement that an overhead is done first which is no bad thing as the runway is a little vague. Line up on final was fine but it was gusty on approach with a 9 Knot crosswind. Landed okay. Taxi and Take Off also fine, even with a strong crosswind I hardly noticed it. I got a direct approach onto final so technically a 48 mile final approach! A great day out and one to repeat.

Old Warden Museum 02/02/2022

Final Robin Flight 27/01/2022
Final flight in the Robin for the foreseeable future as I have now used up all of the hours I paid for back in May. One touch and Go which went really well and then off for a circuit around the Malverns, over Worcester and back via Tewkesbury. Cloud was quite low so 1,500 feet was pretty much maximum height - fun going along the Malvern Hills. Final landing was as good as any I have done so an enjoyable flight.

Halfpenny Green again 16/01/2022
A quick trip up to Halfpenny Green which highlighted a few small, but important handling errors. Take Off and flight were fine. Radio contact with Halfpenny Green also okay. Landing was onto Runway 16 so I should have crossed 34 end at greater than 1,300 feet QFE then descended either on the Downwind leg or done a complete circuit and then descended, instead I approached directly onto the Downwind leg and came close (500-1,000 feet) to an aircraft in the climb out who, technically should have avoided me. Not being sure of the aircraft I proceeded to the Downwind leg which fine but I think I could have been further away from the Runway. Turning Base and Final wewre okay but that left me a little too close so my approach angle was wrong, although I was well lined up, I managed to bounce several times before staying in contact with the tarmac. Leaving was fine although ATC never said Take Off at your discretion and I had to ask a second time. I will check that one. Return to Gloucester was fine and the landing okay with just a slight amount of crabbing which I should have corrected. Overall a good learning experience and a handy airfield to visit again to put all that right.

Circuits again 10/01/2022
Poor weather meant that the original plan was cancelled and I decided to do a circuit session instead. Six good landings with some additional instructions thrown in to keep me on my toes; Runway 27 change to LH circuit then back to RH circuit. Orbit at the end of the Downwind. Part of the time it rained so it was good practise dealing with that plus a wet runway. No bad landings at all so happy with the session.

Shobdon Land Away 03/01/2022
Land away to Shobdon via several castles, Croft, Wigmore and Clun on the way out and Longtown and Grosmont on the return. Very windy day with the crosswind right on or just exceeding the maximum. Flight out was mixed weather with a big rain cloud followed by bright sunshine, and the flight back was just dull. Landing at Shobdon was okay but I did bounce before getting it under control. Good line up and pretty straight. Landing at Gloucester was interesting with a 12 Knot at 220 degrees wind. I managed to land okay but the plane took some lining up and a late correction just before landing. All good and I felt in control.

Henstridge Land Away 22/12/2021
Flight went well with no problems. Approach to the airfield could have been better as I was a little out of position on the final but tidied it up for a good landing. Nothing much at Henstridge and the start of 06 is a bit rough. Take Off was fine. The original plan was to skirt Yeovilton and head up the Bristol Channel but it looked a bit cloudy so I went straight back. Tail wind meant I was back much quicker. Got a Direct LH onto 27 but I think I should have been wider and gone further on the Downwind as I had a lot of height to lose on final. All worked out okay but I did land later than normal so had to roll to C1. All in all a good day out but three weeks since my last SHMI flight is too long.

Monthly DJ flight 09/12/2021
For my monthly flight in DJ I went to Halfpenny Green. Several reasons, it is a nice flight, I had not been there before and it was fairly close so a round trip would be about an hour. No problem with the flight over, although DJ felt heavy compared to SHMI. Take Off was fine and navigation okay - basically over Worcester, Kidderminster and think about looking for the airfield. In fact I flew right over the top. I must get used to giving airfields a bit of a wide berth until I am confident I know where they are. Coffee and bacon roll, paid my dues, got a brief on taxi requirements and I was off. No problems leaving and I remembered everything about AFIS departures. One to note for future visits is that they provide a good Basic Service right through to Worcester. Return to Gloucester was fine but I forgot to book in and could not get them on the phone. It was okay, but I did have to do a standard join which wasted some time. Landing was fine.

Sleap Land Away 21/11/2021
Nothing exciting about the trip up except there was a 20kt headwind so took longer than expected. Left on 36 so a good experience. Arrival was interesting. Once again I was over the top before I realised! Did a quick circuit and landed. 14kt headwind from 330 meant additional power was required to avoid a stall. The airfield is really nice with a good cafe, small museum and a hangar with some aircraft being restored. Return was much quicker due to the tail wind. Take Off was really short, again due to the headwind. Landed on 36 which was more good experience and I felt more comfortable using it and picturing what I needed to do. Great day out.

Fenland Land away 19/11/2021
Land away to Fenland. Initial Take Off was fine in good coinditions but cloud soon appeared so I elected to fly at 4,000 feet above it. It was a good decision and I enjoyed a sunny flight over. I did begin to wonder whether I had made the right decision as I approached my destination, but passing over Peterborough, the cloud vanished, leaving a glorious day. Initially I missed the airfield, only spotting it as I flew overhead. Long sweep around to get onto Base and a smooth landing. Runway 26 looked quite short on approach but I think that was just an optical illusion and I came to a halt in less than half the distance (330m). It is quite a low key airfield and parking seems fairly arbitrary but I found a good spot close to the cafe. Its just five pounds landing fee which meant my bacon roll and coffee were more than the landing fee! Leaving the airfield I got initial information but that was all. Take Off was fine and I did a circuit to see Spalding and The Wash before climbing to 4,000 feet over the clouds again. Unremarkable return until I neared Gloucester where I realise that it was totally overcast, despite the ATIS saying broken at 1,700 feet. I looked around for a gap but none was found so decided the best course of action would be to head towards Worcester, listen out and find the narrowest and thinnest gap I could. This I did and within a few seconds cleared the cloud to emerge below it. A bit naughty but what choice did I have? Turning I approached the airfield for a standard join, although I think I messed up the comms a little, probably pre-occupied with recent events.

Circuits in SHMI 13/11/2021
Circuit session. First landing was a little bouncy. after that, all good. Did four with flaps and two flapless. No issues but perhaps could take more notice of wind speed and direction. Maybe try to note it in the log.

Easy DJ 05/11/2021
Planned to be an easy flight in DJ just to keep the skills up and thats what it was...mostly. Flew down to Chepstow at 1,500 feet then through FoD to Hereford, rising to 2,500 feet. Over the Malverns and out to Tewkesbury. Busy day at the airfield so took a standard overhead. All good until emerging from the Deadside onto Crosswind. Cessna ahead and slightly left. It was obviously higher than me but not by much. I had been told to follow the Cessna which had reported as being Downwind and I had seen another aircraft in that position. I decided the best course of action was to continue, then orbit to give it time to clear. On approach to Base I saw it going very wide so followed it but it was clearly out of position for final, then so was I! Corrected and lined up. The aircraft ahead had turned left for some reason, so I continued my approach and landed smoothly enough but I may have bounced once. I think that was due to trying to get into a following position then correct onto the line but found myself a little too high. Of course, today was the day I didn't video the approach and landing.

Goodwood Day Trip 02/11/2021
Day trip to Goodwood. Great flight down, requireing a zone transit from Brize and a Traffic service from Farnborough - all good practise. Goodwood was easy to find and I initially intended to do a complete circuit to get the feel of the airfield but the approach was directly on the downwind leg to runway 32 so I dropped straight down. Good landing, no issues. Return flight was similar using the same services. Gloucester was mega busy when I got back and I had to do two orbits before being allowed into the overhead. Final approach was slightly nerve wracking as there was a helicopter on the runway seemingly playing chicken! I was 200 feet with engine cut and almost down before he moved. ATC told me to continue! Great day out.

Sandown Jolly 17/10/2021
Day trip to Sandown. Flew VFR above the cloud which was awesome. Over Portsmouth and onto IoW was superb. Did a tour of the airfield as I hadnt landed there before and did find myself a bit too high (1,500 feet) on Downwind instead of 1,000 feet but sorted it and made a good landing on the grass runway. Return was fine - same route via Petersfield then direct to Gloucester. Used London Information and Farnborough on the way down, then Farnborough and Brize on the way back. Landing at Gloucester was slightly bouncy. I think a combination of a steeper approach and gusty conditions caused me to flare slightly early and too much, should have just let it settle. Promising myself a circuit session next time!

Harwarden Day Trip 13/10/2021
Land away flight to Harwarden near Chester. Great flight up. Used Shawbury for Basic Service until past Chirk then switched to Harwarden Radar who I kept calling Radio. Doh! Final few miles was a bit tricky with very low cloud requiring 1,000 feet prior to the circuit and also on the Downwind leg I lost sight of the runway in the cloud. They give a very late final instruction and I was quite close before I was given a direction and join (Left Base). Rubbish landing with a couple of balloons but not a hard landing. Departure is interesting, They give a full description of departure; 1.5nM straight on Runway 22 blah blah, but no taxi clearance which then comes later. That is the reverse of Gloucester and did throw me out a bit, needing several Say Agains. Once I departed the return flight was good and landing at Gloucester no problem.

A tale of two 06/10/2021
Two land aways today, Compton Abbas and Priors Farm. The weather was good but there was a strong Westerly wind (good for Gloucester Take Off) which turned N/W (bad for landing/Take Off at Compton Abbas). The flight went well with good comms and despite the wind, the landing (on grass as well) went really well. Take Off also went better than expected despite being nearly psyched out by the aircraft ahead veering to the left! Landing at Priors was slightly hard but okay. Stayed about an hour. Take Off and return to Gloucester good. They gave me a late direct join Left Base onto 27. As I was almost at the end of 27, had an interesting zig-zag to get on line but landed fine with two red lights. All in all, a great day out.

Shobdon jaunt 24/09/2021
Quick trip over to Shobdon. Flight out was good. The Take Off felt slightly heavy but I did have a passenger so not surprising. Good direct in to runway 26 with a good landing and plenty of room for the first exit. Return flight was slightly lower at 2,000 feet as opposed to 4,000 feet and with the wind behind quite quick. Came back via Malvern Hills and Tewkesbury for a standard join. All went well until final where I had some trouble lining up and pulled back too far on the stick and landed awkwardly. Probably should have done a Go Around. Note to self: Practise Go around!

Seaside trip 20/09/2021
A day trip to Caernarfon today. I had planned Elvington but couldnt get clearance. Outbound via Aberystwyth and up the coast. Interestingly I couldnt raise Valley until North of Aberystwyth so used London Information from Ledbury. Altitude was around 4,000 feet to fly above the clouds whcih was great and then a long slow descent once clear of the big mountains. Wonderful airfield, flying over the sea, then around the circuit to land. Fabulous weather. Spent the day relaxing then flew directly back via Leominster which only turned out to be 15 minutes quicker. Also at 4,000 feet although I did have to descend by 500 feet a couple of times to dodge clouds. No issues and even landed with an 8kt cross wind at Gloucester. Slightly high on one side but happy with the landing. Also happy with the landing at Caernarfon.

One Hundred Hours 20/09/2021
Today's flight bought my flying hours to just over one hundred!

Two airfield day 03/09/2021
Two airfields in one day and one of them was a grass strip, a first for the Eurostar. The flight down to Thruxton was uneventful apart from trying to get a MATZ penetration with Boscombe. I'm pretty sure they either said No, or didn't respond, either way I steered clear which is only a slight diversion to come in wide of Andover. From Andover it is straightforward although as I approached I did wonder about it - I was 2,000 feet but crossed the runway Take Off line. I might have to ask Phil about that. Coming downwind I dropped to 800 feet and being Air/Ground notified the tower of my position and intentions. All went well until just crossing the end of the runway where I was blown completely off course by the wind being deflected by the buildings. Bit of a shock but corrected and landed okay. Take Off and flight to Priors Farm was fine, although I did keep thinking I had arrived earlier than I did. Once actually spotted, I did a circuit, set the altimeter to read my height above the field and came into land. For a first grass landing in the Eurostar and a first solo grass landing I was well pleased. Needed less than half the length so no worries. Stayed for about 45 minutes, long enough to watch a Stearman land and have a chat with the owner. Take Off was equally easy and the return to Gloucester without issue, although I did climb to 4,000 feet just for the hell of it, and another first. Landing was no problem on 09. Might be getting the hang of landing a bit more now.

Circuits 01/09/2021
Circuits practise using 09. Five landings, two using flap and three flapless. All fairly good but could probably use a session with Tom. Some additional pressure with other aircraft requiring extension to Downwind and orbits whilst looking out for other aircraft was good practise.

Local in DJ 30/08/2021
Local flight in DJ. Started really badly trying to do a Short Field Take Off and the plane veered to the left. Only just managed to correct it and take off. All over the place down the runway. Couldn't find any decent height due to the clouds. Did a couple of stalls and tried a side-slip but I wasn't happy with it. Decided to give up and return. Runway had changed from 09 to 36. I approached from the West and asked for a direct join. Runway 36 Left Base I was told. Unfortunately I approached on 18 and couldn't understand how it was Left Base! I realised when they told me I was out of position - in fact, approaching the wrong end! I corrected and actually managed a good landing. Overall, not a good flight and one to forget.

Dunkeswell 29/08/2021
Land away to Dunkeswell. Second attempt! Cloud base was quite low so decided to phone the airfield and check - clear skies came the reply. Down Bristol channel had some challenges, there was some cloud even at 1,000 feet but I managed it okay. Crossing to the English side improved visibility considerably. South of Weston it improved even more. Approach to Dunkeswell circuit was maybe high and I should have descended much earlier - at centre line of runway ideally. Landing was a little hard I think, I let the speed drop too much and it stalled the final couple of feet. Return was fine although I couldnt raise Yeovil for a MATZ penetration so steered around to be safe. Otherwise no issues. Long circuit at Gloucester. Landing was a good one - kept the speed a little higher.

Dunkeswell 29/08/2021

Turweston for real 27/08/2021
Land away at Turweston. Direct this time. All went well with no issues and a good confident landing. Return was equally good. Used Brize Radar for Basic Service in both directions.

Turweston or not 22/08/2021
It was supposed to be a trip to Turweston via Huntingdon but quickly turned into a dodge the clouds game. A couple of times I did get enveloped but got myself out quickly with a 180. It was slightly worrying at times and eventually I decided to abandon. Actually there were a lot of good learning opportunities; dealing with cloud avoidance, getting out of cloud safely, talking to Brize Radar, returning to Base and doing a standard join for the first time in ages. All went well and the landing was a good one so even though I didn't get to Turweston I learned plenty and came home safely.

Shobdon Land Away 03/08/2021
Trip over to Shobdon in the Eurostar. Take Off good, although I need to focus on the aircraft rather than other stuff - too much messing about with the camera and didn't back off the throttle at the right time. Encountered another aircraft above and ahead to my right. Decided to do a delaying orbit as there wouldn't be time to reposition and overtake. Landed on 08 for the first time which was fine. Returning was all good - proper taxi out at Shobdon! Take Off good and direct join was good with a smooth landing. No mistakes and all good.

Second Passenger flight 29/07/2021
I was a bit worried about the wind but luckily it moved almost Westward so actually helped. I took Dan flying today. He seemed a little nervous at times but I think he enjoyed it. Usual route around the Malverns, Worcester and return via Tewkesbury and Direct onto Right Base. Excellent landing, really pleased with it.

Eurostar again 24/07/2021
An hour in the Eurostar. Not sure whether to go as the airport was really quiet and the sky was a bit iffy. Eventually phoned Phil who said it was okay, just a quiet morning. Runway 09 but taxied from the 27 end to half way, still plenty. Nice flight down to May Hill, Malverns and off in search of Broadway Tower - found it straight away. Direct join onto Downwind for 09. I think I got too high too close so had a steep approach. Must remember to aim further down for a shallower angle and look down the runway. Slightly hard landing with the nose too high.

First Passenger flight 23/07/2021
First passenger flight with Alex in the Robin. Full brief and off. Flew down to Chepstow then up through the Forest of Dean, Ledbury, Malvern Hills, Worcester and back to the Malverns and down to May Hll for a direct join onto 09. All good, no issues and a good landing.

Back in the Robin 20/07/2021
Back in the Robin because the Eurostar had a brake cylinder issue. All pre-flight checks done, apart from the fuel check which I remembered about 20 minutes after Take Off! Flew down to the Black Mountains and did a couple of loops - beautiful. Direct join onto Downwind and all was good, although I seemed to land quicker than expected but a nice soft landing so happy with that. All good.

Skills flight 13/07/2021
A skills flight today. Headed West for some space then did turns, shallow at first, then 60 degrees. Watched the horizon not the altimeter and was pleasantly surprised that I held the altitude really well. Did a couple of stalls, flapless, then first stage with the obligatory HASELL check. Headed back via the Malverns and did an engine fail drill, but its a bit of a non-event in the EV97 as there is almost nothing to check. Found a good landing site but pulled out a few hundred feet above. On the return, the runway had changed to 09 so asked for a couple of circuits. Did three landings. First and third were good, the second was a little hard but okay. All in all a good session with no mistakes. Even set the QFE!

Dunkeswell trip 11/07/2021
Planned flight to Dunkeswell. All went well, altitude 1,000 feet to fly under the Bristol CTA. Across the Severn to Weston was amazing although being so low I did think about the glide range - basically no chance of making land! The weather deteriorated significantly South of Bridgewater so eventually called Dunkeswell and abandoned. On return notified London Information of cancelled plans. Apparently it is not a requirement in uncontrolled airspace. Flying under Bristol I used Bristol Monitor with a 5077 Squawk. Joined Left Base which was new to me. Managed fine although cross wind was interesting. All good a single touchdown not too hard this time.On ground control is much improved. Landing improved but could still be better I think.

Brecons flight 08/07/2021
Great flight down to the Brecons, some very dark clouds which I avoided. Due to not being able to get fuel I had to turn short of Pen y Fan as I was starting to worry. Need to revise the speed in my plans as it is clearly set too fast. Return was fine and a direct join went well. Might have been slightly low as I came over the end of the runway and the landing was a little hard. I was looking down instead of along the runway and I should have had a shallower angle as I think I stalled.

Big Flight Plans 02/07/2021
Gloucester to Shobdon via Welshpool, Barmouth and Aberystwyth plus the Elan Valley thrown in for good measure. Got to try out Sky Demon which worked a treat but it was a demo version so switched off after 30 minutes but I have now purchased the full version. Take off from Gloucester was fine although due to changing runways as I was taxiing I actually took off half way down! No problem but got caught slightly in the crosswind. The journey was all good with no problems. I did give the mountains a good gap at 4,000 feet as I could feel the effects of the updraught. Took a litle while to identify Shobdon but a good approach I thought. Not such a good landing! I bounced. Misunderstood departure instructions. Shobdon has a grass taxi-way. I thought they meant for me to taxi down the runway. *Lesson learned - get more familiar with new airfields* Return to Gloucester all good and landing was fine. Slight waver on runway but no dramas. Could improve braking distance maybe.

First Eurostar Solo 29/06/2021
First solo in the Eurostar! All went well. Good Take Off. The route was Tewkesbury, Droitwich, Ludlow, Hereford and direct back via May Hill. Minor navigation issue on approach - too far to the right due to the misty conditions but corrected with 5 miles to go. Great landing, very happy with that. Compass seems a bit unreliable and I couldnt get Sky Demon working until after the landing. Screen is too reflective anyway so need a matt screen cover. Timings were all spot on which was nice

More Eurostar 24/06/2021
Back to the Eurostar for more circuits. It all went well with a steady improvement on each landing and subsequent Take Off. Eight landings in total but at the end of the session, Tom was happy to sign me off! Lots of practise required now

Avebury 23/06/2021
Gloucester - Avebury - Chepstow - Gloucester. No issues except I think the Wind report was not correct as I found myself too far South but could correct with visual clues - which is a good thing. Used Brize Radar from Kemble to Avebury but they closed and passed me over to what turned out to be London Information. I didn't use them, so enjoyed some quiet flying. Must check if that's okay. All good, no mistakes and a good landing.

Solo in the Robin 21/06/2021
Nice solo flight over Tewkesbury then off to Broadway Tower, Evesham, Worcester and down to May Hill for a Direct Approach. Really exciting approach and landing on 09. All good with no mistakes and felt very relaxed throughout

Eurostar Differences Training 12/06/2021
Having not been able to fly the Eurostar so far, but now I have my license, I can crack on with the Differences training. Good take off, although not such as steep angle as the Robin, HASELL and Stall skills were fine. Also stall in turn. Power Fail was fine although it is much more manoeverable than the Robin so can land on a much shorter strip. All R/T was fine. Landing was a bit floaty so get lower on final. Run out and steering all good. Shutdown drill is radios off, Mags off, Master and Alternator off. Need to check some basic info: landing speed, stall speed(s), flap requirements, cruise speed

First as Pilot 10/06/2021
First flight as an Official Pilot! I dont think I made a single mistake! Flew over Leominster and hit it spot on. I had not pre-planned any further so worked out a bearing to Hay on Wye. Got that including the correct ETA. I had intended to fly over the Black Mountains but the cloud was too low to get up to 3000 feet - so far I had been at 2000 feet. By passing, I flew along the East side which was interesting. Once I got down to Skirrid I took a bearing back to Gloucester and again the ETA was spot on and a well executed direct join saw a good landing. One comment would be to check landing speed next time as the stall warning was sounding. Also aim a little further down the runway as I am only just making it.

First after Qualifying 04/06/2021
First solo after qualifying. Rather ambitious flight to Welshpool and back (no land away). Longest flight so far. Pre-flight drills all okay but I went to the pumps first. Must remember to restart and do all the checks as I didn't turn on the alternator until the final power checks. Flight and Nav were fine. DI caught me out for a short while after turning but corrected it. All good and good comms. Only final mistake was not setting the altimeter to QFE again but landing was good anyway. Have now modified log sheet to add reminder about Altimeter.

The Skills Test 26/05/2021
I could not believe how nervous I was. The initial briefing was quite short and succinct: Read the skills list and let me know if you have any questions. We were off. I had prepared a Weight/Balance sheet which wasn't needed. Weather forecast also not needed and a Safety briefing that I had barely got started when he told me that was okay. Engine started and checks, no problem, taxi and Take Off okay. He had asked me to do a couple of circuits and I really naused up the first landing, then we were supposed to do a flapless landing which I naused up again! Third time I finally got it. Not going well! We then went off to Leominster and I found myself too far to the North but corrected it in good time, although he said I should have done it earlier. Next skill was the detour which went well and we did a 45 degree turn which I nailed. Next was Emergency Landing, okay but I could have picked a better field. I should have spent more time looking, but I picked what I thought was okay. Stalls next were fine and then we headed back via Tewkesbury. I got the approach okay and we did a standard overhead which I also got okay and finally into the land. I allowed the aircraft to be blown left and only just got on but he seemed okay with it. Taxi back and shutdown were fine. I totally expected to fail or have a partial pass so was amazed when told I had passed! What went badly: First normal and flapless landing. What could have gone better: Navigation - should have flown a couple of miles further West before turning onto the heading. Final landing could have been lined up better with cross-wind. What went well: Start up, taxi, R/T, Take Off, Diversion, Steep Turn, General Handling, Safety Briefing, Stall, Power Fail, Rejoin

LAPL Award 26/05/2021

Local solo flight 22/05/2021
Local solo flight to practise some skills ready for the skills test. Taxi and Take Off were fine, although I do need to slow down on the checklist to make sure I cover everything. Flew over to Ledbury then went in search of Putley Church. Got in the vicinity but didn't quite identify it. Did some steep (45 degree) turns, stall practise, slow flying and steep turns. All went well and happy with everything. Return to airfield via May Hill gave me the opportunity to ask for a Direct Join. I was told Right Downwind and not below 1500 feet. Perfect. On arrival I had to widen which also gave me good practise for different scenarios and I followed a Cessna in. One minor criticism is that I could have been down at 1500 feet on the Downwind instead of 2000 feet which gave me a lot of height to lose quickly. All good with the landing

A good lesson 18/05/2021
Much better lesson today. Good Take Off and level off at 2,500 feet. Did stall practise. Remember 90 degree left (with bank) and 90 degree right (with bank) for the Lookout part, then straight into skill. Also forced landing which went well, but always remember to land into wind and dont forget to turn off the fuel etc. Return for Right Base. Had height restriction. Flapless landing, 75kts, normal landing 65-70kts and short field 60kts landing. Easy on brakes for final skill.

Eurostar Circuits 16/05/2021
Circuit training in the Eurostar went okay, but things to remember are: more right rudder on Take off, more right rudder on landing and checking the speed before deploying the flaps. A couple of minor issues: I didn't set the transponder and a couple of misheard messages so don't be afraid to ask for a repeat. Need to copy the briefing card for reference and check it is complete as there are very few checks compared to the Robin

Circuits 14/05/2021
Started with a few circuits. It all felt very rushed, but I havent done them for a very long time and it always seems rushed anyway. All good on the standard landing. Flapless gave me some issues getting the speed right - the nose has to be up to reduce the speed. Remember power = height, attitude = speed. Must check the speeds required. We went off and did some upper air work with straight and level and low speed flying. That was okay, but again pay more attention to the attitude and the speed will come. Steep (45 deg) turns were fine and spiral dive recovery was fine too. Some confusion on my part returning as I misunderstood Phils request for a Direct Join (i.e. no overhead) when I called for Rejoin which implies overhead. Join and landing were fine. Direct join approach is 1500 feet unless stated by Approach. Remember on Direct Join, pre-landing checks should be done early. Also when QFE is given, change the altimeter immediately.

Navigation Exercise 11/05/2021
Repeating the Nav exercise as I made such a hash of it last time! Flew out of 18. Tower gave left turn, I should have requested right turn. Some minor issues getting back on track and identifying Ledbury. DI played up and it took a little while to get comfortable with direction using compass. Got to Leominster okay and diversion went well although initial bearing was off, I soon corrected it. Diversion was to Hay on Wye, then South across the Black Mountains to Abergavenny. Again okay, but I need to get more familar with spot heights. Return to airport fine although I could have used May Hill as a good reference. Tower gave me Right Base which confused me. Basically the join is onto Base but from the East means a Right Hand Turn onto final rather than Left hand overhead and onto circuit. Landing was good but a slightly fast approach.

Eurostar buy in 01/05/2021
Well, today I paid up for a share in an aircraft! It is a Eurostar EV97 and I now own 1/20th of it. I cannot actually fly it until I have passed my skills test and done the Differences training, but I own it so happy with that

Navigation Day 30/04/2021
I made a big mistake very early on by not checking the DI against the compass but I also underestimated the speed, I worked on 93kts and should have used 95kts which made enough of a difference so that I did not start looking for the destination early enough. Also I missed it because I was looking on the wrong side of the aircraft, then mistook another airfield. Eventually I located it with some help from Phil. The Diversion was planned okay with goo timing but because I had not checked the DI, I ended up 20 degrees off course! We decided to give up and head back and I got very disorientated with the consequence that the return fell apart, but I finally recovered for a reasonable approach and landing. Top lesson, the D (Direction) in FREDA should be done every 10-15 minutes and always when changing direction or circling for a diversion. Positives: The plan was a good one, and the direction was fine, I correctly identified places along the route. I held 2,000 feet for the vast majority of the flight and calculating the diversion went well.

Land away to Thruxton 26/04/2021
Today was a trip to Thruxton for my solo cross country skill as part of the LAPL course. Taxi and take off were good and the Navigation fine. I felt comfortable with the R/T understanding. I had a minor confusion with my MATZ penetration request so went in via Andover. The landing could have been better as I think I started to flare slightly high. I was happy with the comms to Thruxton and took the time to pop into the tower to ask the controller what he thought - answer was all good so happy with that. On my return I should have taken more time with the PLog as I did not write down all of the frequencies I was planning to use, especially Kemble which I planned to use. Happy with the comms back into Gloucester with a slight wobble on approach to landing and again a high flare but otherwise okay.

General Handling Day 16/04/2021
Today was all about performing the basic tasks. Leaving Gloucester, my Instructor and I flew over the Malvern Hills and past Ledbury to a safe area with little in the way of houses and villages and some large fields just in case my power fail drill was for real! Gaining 3,000 feet I did my HASELL checks and pulled the power. The Robin has a stall speed of 51 knots with flaps up. The stall itself is unremarkable, the stall warning going off well before the actual stall which is characterised by the airframe starting to shake and very easy to recover from and within 100 feet I was on my way back up again. A second and third stall with first stage and second stage flaps followed with no issues. Some 360 degree turns at 30 degrees and 60 degrees followed which I always enjoy, the skill of course is to maintain the altitude which I managed successfully. Finally a power fail drill, pulling the power and setting the glide speed to 68kts I had plenty of time to look for a suitable field, check for a problem, and (pretend to) make an Emergency call. As I approached around 500 feet above the ground and confident of a landing I eased on the power and started to climb away, conscious of not closing the flaps until I had enough speed to guarantee I would not stall. That was enough for today and it was a pleasant flight back to the airfield.

Departures

Last Flight

Duxford 16-05-2025

Distance: 100 miles

Route: Via Bedford and Royston then direct onto 06

Next Flight

Coventry 30-05-2025

Distance: 80 miles

Route: Direct out via Stratford, return via Gaydon.

Station Frequencies

Benson	MATZ	136.450
Benson	Zone	120.900
Birmingham	Radar	123.980	Sq 0010
Brize Norton	Radar	124.280	Sq 3727
Boscombe	MATZ	126.700
Bristol	ATC	125.650	Sq 5077
East Midlands	Radar	134.180	Sq 4572
East Midlands	ATIS	122.680
Enstone	A/G	129.880
Farnborough	Radar	125.250
Halfpenny Green	AFIS	123.005
Kemble	AFIS	118.430
Gloucester	ATIS	127.480
Gloucester Tower	Zone	122.905
Gloucester Approach	Approach	128.555
London Information	Info	124.750
Shawbury	Radar	133.155
Shobdon	AFIS	118.155
Sleap	A/G	122.455
Thruxton	A/G	118.280
Turweston	A/G	122.180
Welshpool	A/G	128.005
Yeovil	Radar	127.350
Safety Com	(Traffic)	135.480
MayDay	Emergency	121.50

+15

+16°

+10°

Gloucester

Monday, 17

Tuesday	+18°	+8°
Wednesday	+15°	+11°
Thursday	+17°	+12°
Friday	+15°	+12°
Saturday	+14°	+9°
Sunday	+13°	+9°

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