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.

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