Welcome
to 2025
Happy New Year
Have a great 2025,
and after 29th January a good Year of the Snake.
Hopefully this year will be a better one for all of us.
Arctic winds brought below zero freezing temperatures
The first day of
2025 was one of dreadful weather and so there was no flying.
The second day we took a drive up to Dunkeswell where under a
beautiful clear sky there was nothing happening.
Flying is
definitely a shadow of its former self, lacking in the enthusiasm
that I grew up with.
Forty years ago we'd race to the aerodrome to try to be the first
to fly from the aerodrome in the New Year.
So I begin this year a little sad, but on the other hand I have
so many superb memories from over fifty years of flying.
The world changes; accept it and make the best of it.
On friday I drove
the 111 miles to Popham which is a haven for aviators.
The café was open and so I sat down to a pasty and baked beans
as the Aircoupe was off for a local flight.
Outside it was like a Fly-In with many visiting aircraft. Inside
the café was full of people enjoying each other's company, and
many of them were not flying people. A good aerodrome café is an
asset for the local community; a place to go when out for a cycle
ride, motorcycle ride, or a trip in the car.
Unlike Dunkeswell, Popham was thriving with active people.
The Aircoupe
returned so I stopped for another cup of tea, and a biscuit with
David and Mark, then it was time to go for a flight, but it
wasn't.
Ben turned up in his Super Cub, and so I stayed for a coffee.
After coffee I
could follow Ben out and do three circuits in the Aircoupe.
So I got my first fifteen minutes flying of 2025 with three
landings on 26 while accepting the challenge of approaching into
the sun.
Saturday was overcast and so I didn't venture out, but I wish I had as the weather was not that bad.
Another change
from 40 years ago is that we're all poorer, most people do not
have the disposable income that affords going flying. Even though
flying is actually no more, (relatively), expensive than when I
learned to fly, it's just that everything else is so much more
expensive.
At seventy my life's a bit of a disaster, my pensions are puny,
yet I do work every day, but not for a salary.
Yesterday and today I helped a friend to determine why the
magneto on his aeroplane is not working.
Yesterday it was to advise an instructor in Canada about the
legalities in teaching a person in a privately owned aeroplane.
If I was a lawyer I'd be on the clock and earning a lot of money,
I'm just an aviation consultant with many friends.
I have an offer to
buy half the aeroplane which means I can pay off some bills with
some left over to live on.
I would like to keep flying if I can.
My subscription to this URL runs out in March, I have until then to decide whether I renew it for another five years.
