The day dawned OK, with broken / scattered low, thin cumulus cloud (initially 1100’, but rising slowly during the day) and an easterly wind. It turned out to be a high pressure system, with the ATIS at Gloucester reporting 1036. It was also pretty cold.
So we trekked to the airfield and I checked the plane out. I was going to have to do two flights, one for the ‘boys’ (aged 22 and 25!) and one for Linda and her husband. The fuel was good and the weight and balance worked out. With the pressure so high and the temperature so cold, it would also be flattering for aircraft performance.
I loaded the boys up and gave them the required safety brief. It was a bit embarrassing when I couldn’t seem to get the canopy open again, until I realised I had to rotate the handle an extra bit to disengage the latch! I called for taxi, to be told by the tower that I had not booked out! Damn! Forgot that! They had a combined tower and approach, so were busy, but they were good enough to advise me to hold and eventually took my booking out on the radio.
Wit was 04 in use with a wind of 050 / 10. So we taxied out and did the power checks. I tried to talk the boys through what I was doing for their interest. Checks complete, I was given clearance and we were up and away in a remarkably short distance considering we were reasonably heavily laden.
I climbed out to 1500’ with the cloud base only just a bit above that. The boys were keen to get on top of the cloud, so with large openings all around, I circled in a large gap and was easily above them at 3000’. We were around Tewkesbury at the time and had fun picking out the abbey. It can be so calm and peaceful there above the clouds, I wonder why I don’t do it more often.
We bimble around as I show them normal then steep turns and climbing and descending. We wander over to Cleeve Hill where we walked the previous day and check out another crop of walkers, having descended again below the cloudbase to about 1700’. It is a lovely, sunny day, but very cold with extensive frost all over the hill.
I pick up the ATIS and request a direct join to Gloucester. I am given a left downwind join for 04 as we head back in. The rest is pretty uneventful as I land and taxi back in. I shutdown and we head back to the club. My sister sees the size of their grins as they both decide that they MUST have a plane as well!
Well, I repeat the process with my sister and her husband with the exception that I refuel a bit first – not too much as we can’t take on full fuel with this load.
While I am bumbling around Gretton, I hear another aircraft on frequency abandon plans to go to Bembridge and decide to head for Wellesbourne instead. They are already east of the airfield and headed to Wellesbourne – which would have them crossing where I am. So out of caution, I call Gloucester for am position report on this aircraft and state my own position and altitude and put my landing lights on. The other aircraft sees me some three minutes later (I never see him, but I am looking into sun – that’s my excuse anyway). Can’t be too careful!
They seem to enjoy the flight equally well and I reward myself with what I am afraid I must say was a pretty good landing – not a true ‘greaser’ (those are rare), but definitely one of my better ones.
Well, that’s the last flight for the year, but the good news is that I already have a checkride sorted out for the 4th January in the RV6. So hopefully, I will start 2009 as I mean to go on – with a lot of great flights!
