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BBQ in Flitton and flying over Lydd
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The long weekend came and went. Strangely for us, we stayed put in the UK and decided to make the most of the finally sunny weather around Britain.
Saturday we headed off to Flitton for Marta and Liam’s BBQ. The drive was a lot longer than usual -everyone was out on the roads- but with the top down and the sun out we enjoyed every minute of it. It was a glorious day to be outside and the company couldn’t have been better. We enjoyed the day tremendously and, as David and Suzanne were nice enough to allow us to stay over at theirs, made sure we enjoyed both the drinks on the night and a great breakfast on their hughe garden in the morning. I did take some pictures while the sun was still very much out.
On Sunday we drove back home on time for me to head off to Shoreham for my first full lesson of circuit practice on the Diamond DA40 TDI. Again the weather was great and as we had to head off to Lydd for the flight practice -Shoreham is not open for circuits on Sundays- I did get some extra time in the air to enjoy the beautiful view. On the way to Lydd I got stuck in a bit of cloud. It is quite disconcerting not being able to see at all where you are, how far above land or which way is up. It was quite a busy day for air traffic as well so I wasn’t too happy while trying to descend my way out, afraid some other clueless new pilot may have done the same. Nothing happened though and I did learn my lesson not to do it again.
Lydd’s airport is next door to a nuclear power plant, which I kept flying very close to on the downwind-to-base manouver. I guess they’re used to light aircraft passing low right outside the perimeter but I couldn’t help a feeling that they wouldn’t be enjoying my clumsy evolutions through the air as much as I was. I did a total 5 touch and go, somewhat impeded by a persistent crosswind that kept making me approach the runway sideways, and then I landed and stopped for a hard earned coffee with Dave, my instructor. Bad planning meant I had no change and the tills were closed, so we got a free coffee that day and a promise to pay the lady the next time. I must remember that. Flew back with the sun on my eyes -I must remember sunglasses too- and landed at Shoreham quite tired. Flying circuits is hard work.
Happy with my performance on the DA40 on Sunday, I decided to take the radio controlled Aerobird Extreme for a spin on Monday. I have to say I’m much better at flying in a plane that I am at flying a toy. The first time I took the Aerobird out it got stuck on a tree over the railway and a passer-by had to go in and get it for me. This time I went to a better field, away from obstacles, and decided to follow the instructions on the manual. Set up the plane, throw it, see how it flies, adjust trim, repeat. All was going very well and I got the plane flying almost straight in no time, so I decided to crank up the engine for a longer power-assisted slide prior to take off. I set 50% power and launched the toy. It accelerated through the air beautifully, then took a sudden dive and hit the ground with added force, snapping the propellor and breaking it into 2 pieces. I had managed about 5 minutes since I assembled the thing and it was now lying on the ground, broken. Time to pack up and go… As I went, I couldn’t help notice the faces of the other people on the park, looking at me with amusement. I can’t blame them, really. What a tosser…
Posted on August 28th, 2007 by Roberto Hortal
Filed under: Flying, Weekend
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