I have volunteered for this for three out of the last four years, but to date have not once managed to fly veterans in. The date chosen seems to be cursed with poor weather. The first year, it was only at Kemble (just over the ridge from Gloucester), but thick cloud sat on or below the ridge until 14:00 when it lifted enough for me to squeeze through – unfortunately, by then the veteran concerned had given up and gone home. On the last occasion at Bruntingthorpe, the weather was again very poor with a very low cloudbase and all I could managed was a low-level local, never getting above 1000’ and considerably lower cloudbase towards the north east.
This year the weather had been great leading up to Saturday so I was hopeful. It was again being held at Bruntingthorpe, a mere 35-40 minutes flying time to the north east. Saturday dawned and I threw the curtains back and ……….FOG! You have got to be kidding! Where I lived the visibility was about 200m first thing in the morning and it was plenty thick. I set off to the airfield more in hope than expectation.
At the airfield it wasn’t quite as bad, but was still less than 800m visibility and no cloudbase as such. I prepped the plane and loaded with the required amount of fuel and parked the plane up. There was not a breath of wind and it was warm and humid. The fog was starting to lift and form into low cloud and the visibility was improving. Maybe 1km now with 600’ cloudbase. It was worth hanging around to see if it would become flyable.
I spotted my veteran talking to others in the main terminal building and introduced myself. He is an ex-pilot in the RAF who got ‘stuck’ in training command in WW2 flying Avro Ansons on navigation training exercises from Northern Ireland. We chatted as we waited for the weather to improve. There were a few other pilots and veterans in the same position at Gloucester as we reviewed our respective personal minimas and strategies for Bruntingthorpe, who themselves were reporting an unofficial 500’ ceiling and 2k visibility (they are at 500’ elevation).
My slot time would have meant a 10:30 departure, but I thought there would be plenty of slots available, so vowed to ‘see what it was like for an 11:00 departure’. As it happened, by 10:50, the weather at Gloucester was now broken, thin cloud with rather nice sunshine, probably 1300’ cloudbase and 7km visibility. We checked with Bruntingthorpe again who were giving 3km and 800’ cloudbase and that was it, it is worth a try!
I saddled up while giving John a careful safety brief, especially the harness and canopy opening. We buttoned up as late as I could and taxied out to 27 for power checks (it can get very hot under the Perspex bubble canopy on the ground in weather like this). Power checks complete, we lined up and took off. I climbed to 1300’ and set course to DTY. Nearing my home village en-route, Gloucester called and warned me of many aircraft holding around Wellesborne at 500’ trying to get to Bruntingthorpe. I considered my options and with some good sized gaps in the thin cloud, decided to power up and go ‘VMC on top’. I was above the cloud by 2000’, but carried on to 3000’ to get a good view downwards. Still perfectly legal as there were sensible sized ‘holes’ in the cloud, so I was always in sight of the surface.
I continued to DTY and noticed one of two spots of significant vertical development where the cumulus was already starting to ‘tower’, but fortunately, these were off my route. I got a ‘basic service’ from Coventry and on hearing that I was ‘on top’ another aircraft called me for an update on conditions ‘on-top’, which I was happy to give him.
I was hoping that I could sit up there in the sunshine and cruise all the way to Bruntingthorpe and let down through a gap there, but once I got to DTY, the view north looked like a solid undercast, so scrap Plan A!
Plan B was to drop through a hole I spotted just north of DTY and try a ‘scud-run’ in. I transferred to Bruntingthorpe Radio who were frantically busy (good sign as others had clearly made it) and giving runway 24 in use and giving me the QFE. I set to this as I was VERY interested in ground clearance and was below the cloud and about 800’ above the ground, scraping my head against the cloudbase. I turned on every light I had, especially landing and taxi lights so others could see me. I set course using Ded Reckoning for Bruntingthorpe (it wasn’t in my GPS). Eventually I spotted a large airfield and another aircraft appearing out of the murk. I avoided him and studied the airfield. Big enough, but where is that huge 3000m runway that we couldn’t use? I dawned on me that I had found Husbands Bosworth glider airfield about 2 miles to the east – ooops! I set course for Bruntingthorpe. I didn’t so much see the airfield first as start to spot aircraft appearing all over the place around me!
By this stage, the radio calls were interesting as the place was frantically busy. A particularly unusual (though undoubtedly necessary) radio call from the ground went something like ‘RIGHT – SHUT UP EVERYONE! Now, who is that on short final?’
By the time I spotted the airfield, we were coming in on left base for 24 (we would use the 800m x 23m taxiway that ran parallel to the huge runway which was being used all day for motor sport). I tucked in behind a plane and turned final. Both the grass runway and the hard taxiway were being used for runways, but as they were next to each other, we were not doing simultaneous landings. The guy in front opted for the hard runway, then I saw that they were backtracking aircraft up the runway to parking. I knew I was too close to the guy in front to give him time to do that, so called a ‘go-around’.
I tucked in behind someone else and came around again. Again, same thing, so I went around again. Third time lucky? On final, I was close to a Cessna. He opted for the grass as I let him get a bit further ahead so I could land on the hard. I managed it this time around. I cam in a bit fast given the last minute ‘dive’ once I had cleared the trees. No matter, I just held off and off and off. She touched, hopped a bit and touched nicely a second time and stayed down. I backtracked and followed the marshalls into parking.
Well, we had made it as had (it later transpired) some 65 out of an expected 105. A large number given the poor conditions.
Bruntingthorpe is an interesting place, full of ‘cold war’ machines, including a Victor tanker aircraft that can still do fast taxi runs (including becoming briefly airborne by accident in May 2009). John went off to find colleagues as I spotted some Flyer Forumites and said hello as we all compulsively watched and gave a critique of every landing (like pilots do!). One was a very impressive ‘triple bouncer’, from a PA28, another was a real ‘smackdown’ by a twin and yet another was a ‘I like to use ALL of the runway’ long-ish landing. I wandered around the old aircraft, including going inside the particularly ugly ‘Super Guppy’ that is based there. For me the star of the show was a dilapidated but still astonishing ex-Luftwaffe F104 Starfighter. The wings are tiny and the leading edges can only be described as ‘sharp’!
The Spitfire display due at 12:55 was cancelled due to the poor weather and by 14:00 a lot of people had started to depart. I started to rain and I sheltered under the wing of the Victor for a while. The weather had sort-of improved, probably a bit higher cloudbase (maybe 1200’) but the forward visibility was poor. I decided to check the plane. While over there, Adrian asked if I wanted to have a look at his spanking new Cirrus SR22 while he checked it over. I sat in and tried it on for size while the glass cockpit booted up – WOW, what a view! Artificial terrain, side-stick, soft leather – GA for the 21st century!
John spotted me and asked me what I wanted to do. I said if he was done, we could wander off. WE got back to the plane, checked her out and mounted up. I joined the queue for departures, which was nearly as bad as when I landed. I got away behind a PA28 heading in the same direction. I levelled out at 1300’ and headed towards DTY contacting Coventry. It was clear that I was catching up quickly on the PA8, so I put a further 100’ on and overtook in the prescribed manner, waggling my wings to let him know I was there.
Sure enough, pretty much overhead DTY, the weather changed abruptly into clear skies with scattered thin cumulus, better than when I left it three hours ago and still in the same place (but then there was no wind at all). I climbed to just over 3000’ and levelled out there.
I handed over to John to fly for a bit and warned him at the sensitivity of the controls. He handled it like a pro and when he did lose or gain height (it is VERY sensitive in pitch) he quickly got it back.
I was so busy chatting to John that I didn’t spot that we were headed towards one of the glider sites directly on track. First I knew about it is that there we a glider spiralling in a thermal and another off to one side. I took control and did my best to steer well clear. Once clear, I handed back to John while I got the ATIS for Gloucester.
I recalled from the NOTAMs that there was some sort of glider competition from Bidford. Well off my track, but the gliders themselves would be around here. Sure enough, I started to spot them. I called Gloucester Approach and they warned me about ‘many gliders on the Cotswold ridge to the North East’ – precisely where I would cross. I took control and dropped altitude, coming across the ridge in the Gretton / Gotherington valley at low level – if they were this low, they were in trouble and landing! Sure enough, I started to spot them well above me. Once clear, I climbed again to 2000’ QFE for the standard overhead join for 27 at Gloucester.
The circuit was uneventful followed by a good landing. Unfortunately I didn’t quite make the early turnoff from 27 and certainly didn’t want to over-work the brakes, so I had to roll to the end and endure a baking hot ‘long march of death’ around the taxiway back to parking. I was very happy to get the canopy open at Cotswolds with the sweat now stinging my eyes!
John clearly enjoyed the day and I was pleased to be able to get him there given the poor weather conditions. He insisted on paying for his share of the fuel, but I insisted more strongly that he was going to do no such thing! We settled on him inviting me and my wife over to dinner one evening.
A good trip to another ‘new airfield’ for me. The plane is flying well, although now it is or course coming up for a 50 hour check, so more downtime. I really must book it for a weekend shortly for a cross-channel foray.
