The grey days of Autumn and Winter are on approach.
It's the time of the year that the days are becoming very short and the winter lows sweep in bringing rain and miserable drizerable days.
I had expected the
aeroplane to have done nearly fifty hours by the end of this
week, but no, the weather has prevented several booked flights
from happening.
September was the wettest it has ever been... Climate change with
a rise in sea temperatures has meant much more moisture is in the
air, warm air that can carry more of it. "Global
warming" means more rain, and cold weather here in England.
The weather is another factor that adversely affects General
Aviation flying.
Even though it is
no longer required the aeroplane will have its fifty hour check
this weekend together with a couple of snags to be sorted.
The aluminium airframe shrinks with the cold air, more than the
steel control cables, and so I want the rudder cables tightened.
One of the engine's cooling baffles needs a repair, and the
fitment of a new rubber seal. I like to maintain my aeroplanes to
ensure they are safe for others to fly, I do my best though luck
often will make this difficult.
I have spent over £13,000 on the aeroplane within the last 12
months, and this has drained my resources.
To give you an
idea of my financial condition, I was assailed by a couple of
chaps from the British Legion looking for a donation of 'only'
£2 a day for veterans charities. I have no objection to this
except £2 x 365 = £730 ÷ £346 = nearly two months of my
British pension! When I told them I could not afford this they
impolitely brushed me off. Shame on Michael for being poor!
To pay for the aeroplane I sold most of my prized assets and all
but closed an investment account I had fortunately set up in
Canada.
I am very
fortunate to have very good friends around the World and so a
sofa or a bed has been made available to me, otherwise I would be
out on the street.
Beyond the drug use and the Canadian Government's promotion of
Cannabis, I understand why there are so many poor people sleeping
rough in Vancouver.
British Columbia is the worst place on Earth for people sleeping
in doorways, it's an absolute sin for a modern wealthy country.
I have a Canadian pension as well, and half of it goes to the
investment scheme (higher payments with the present interest
rate), and I am very very very glad of this investment, it has
saved my bacon many times in recent years.
BC was both good and bad for me, and I have many good friends
there, but I believe I made a good choice to return to England.
I am criticised
for some of the purchases I have made, not least the aeroplane...
I bought a little truck in Thailand for fun somewhat but also for
a purpose.
The Mazda MX-5 I owned here had to be sold; my Hasselblad camera
had to be sold... Asset stripping, but I still have a shirt on my
back!
People think this is terrible, I get all sorts of advice, but
what I do are in fact efforts in Optimism, a counter to
Depression which would be the act of giving up.
I bought the Honda CR-V for a purpose. I thought I would have
visitors and this vehicle offered utility. Indeed I have taken
visitors for journeys in England.
It's been superbly reliable, and has done an excellent job.
But we must remember a contribution to petrol is not a
contribution to its eventual replacement, and now with 155,000
miles on it I can see that this will be due soon.
Life goes on, and we all have had to tackle the disaster of Covid
and the stop it put on our lives. It prevented progress, and cost
everyone a lot. Time can not be replaced. It's called a set-back,
carry on, and hope for positive change.
Doing my
job
As a Class Rating
Instructor (CRI) here in England I can do the "one hour with
an instructor" biennial flight that everyone has to do, (I
myself am due before the end of November).
So I flew with Russell in the Auster AOP6.
I see the one hour with an instructor as a way to add new skills
and so I always like to do something different to the normal
flying the pilot does. This time we did some limited panel flying
using the Reid and Sigrist turn and slip indicator. This was the
original blind flying instrument and consists of a slip needle
above and a turn rate needle at the bottom, opposite to the
needle and ball pilots are used to now and different to the funny
turn coordinator.
Then we looked at performance, and did the 'Range and Endurance'
lesson by flying different power settings straight and level and
recording the indicated airspeeds.
I have never been bored doing my Flying Instructor job.
The West
Country
Exmoor and Dartmoor are
wild places, excellent for hiking.
Moving to England
from Canada in one's retirement means escaping the boredom and
the expense. Vancouver is a very expensive to live in, hence the
need for many to live rent free on the street. It also can be a
boring place to be, though I suppose many like repetition, and
believe the Best Place on Earth nonsense..
On the other hand it is a fantastic place to fly and for this I
am eternally grateful. I have had a brilliant time flying for
thousands of hours there, across Canada, and across the USA. But
if in the future one must stop flying Vancouver would be a bad
choice to spend time in, it is reputed to be the loneliest city
in North America.
Affording to fly
here in England has been difficult, and all my plans for when I
had the money to set myself up with a place to rent, and
somewhere to continue to work were thwarted, not least by the
Covid period.
But in England there are pleasures that do not cost very much,
there are walks, great pubs and cafés, and very sociable people
who are willing to chat.
Ko has bought a
house in Devon in the West Country, and when it is finished
people will be welcome to stay.
The CR-V has done the trip down to Devon many times loaded almost
to full Thai style.
The West Country is very scenic and perhaps a little too green
(rain). The location of the house (Westleigh near Tiverton)
allows access to the north and the south coasts, and to Cornwall
to the west.
At the top the carriage is
loaded with water, at the bottom the water is released.
The heavier descending carriage pulls the lighter climbing
carriage up by a cable loop.
We took the CR-V
up to Lynton in North Devon via Exmoor. It was a beautiful
journey.
Lunch in Lynmouth was a Cornish Pasty followed by a scone,
clotted cream first, jam on top, and washed down with tea. A
simple economical pleasure.
We had walked down the hill, had a nice wander around, and after
lunch we took the funicular railway back to the top of the hill.
Flying
Many new housing estates
are being built, millions of three bedroom box houses to house
new families.
Aerodromes are prime targets for developers; ready prepared land
for the huge growth in building.
It's always a
pleasure to fly with people in the Aircoupe. Everyone likes this
aeroplane,and providing no disaster occurs it will slowly redeem
its investment.
I would still sell it for the right offer, and I am also offering
shares... But as the days get shorter this is an unlikely time
for someone to invest in an aeroplane.
Ancient villages dot the
landscape where our iron age ancestors lived,
and of course the Romans, whatever they did for us.
I offered to run with the
wing of this DG sailplane that had landed out at Popham.
Standing there,
wing tip in hand, I realised that I hadn't done my shoe laces up
tight! Too late... I ran with the wing tip and let the glider go.
Because I was told it had a heavy wing I ran faster and further
than I would normally, let go, tripped, and fell on my face...
Mud on my trousers, a little bruised, but I survived my
stupidity. Do your shoes up next time!
Dunsfold
Dunsfold is slated
to be covered in New Build houses, but until it is it will still
be an aerodrome as well as a test track for those Top Gear
lunatics.
I was invited over to see a Sling 2 that Brian has just
completed.
There are a few engine indications to be sorted out before it can
be taken for its first flight. The Rotax 912S engine is new, and
so there shouldn't be a real problem.
Back at Popham Cherokee 180
E, G AYAB has turned up to be based at Airbourne Aviation and
available for training and rental.
It was owned by friends of mine in the 1980's and I had many
flights in it, sometimes with Jutta Cunningham. We flew from
Cannes Mandelieu back to Redhill, and from Redhill to Munich and
back.
I also flew it to Porrentruy in Switzerland when I was doing the
deal for two Beagle Pup 150's, one of which I brought back
(HB-NAK, G AZEY).
G AZEY is also based at Popham these days... A bit of my history
on the field.
Many fond memories of this Cherokee 180 and the Beagle Pup 150
(up towards the hangar in the far background).
I was really very lucky to
have had the best of times, the 1970's and 1980's when many
things were possible... I even managed to buy aeroplanes and set
up a flying club where many twenty something year olds would
enjoy a brilliant time to fly aeroplanes.
Those earlier days were a totally different time, where through
our ignorance of the Pound exchange rate and the seriousness of
life, we flew all sorts of aeroplanes and had fun.
Today's World is far too serious, and the young are infected by
knowledge of World affairs, crime, and finance. Ignorance was
bliss for my generation.
Another
Test Flight
In order to prevent
inadvertent application of toe brakes on takeoff and landing I
suggested fitting blocks to the bottoms of the rudder pedals.
This means the soles of the shoes are stood off and only apply
pressure to the base of the pedals. A deliberate but easy effort
is required to apply the brakes by rotating your feet to toe
them.
This has worked well in many aeroplanes where the unwanted
application of the brakes has been a problem.
In this case the Light Aircraft Association (LAA) had to approve
the modification, and they requested a test flight with me as
Pilot in Command.
Of course the real test was for Paul to be in the left seat with
his big feet on the pedals so I took the right seat.
We taxied, did turns on the ground with and without brake assist,
then three takeoffs and three landings with a light crosswind
from the left.
A short field takeoff, brakes held on to full power, and a short
field landing, brakes on to stop, were both satisfactory.
Turns with the application of rudder in flight were normal.
I recommend this mod for Sling and Sonaca aeroplanes used for
training where student application of the brakes has been a
problem.