Hi guys, April already! Can’t quite believe how quickly this year is going or indeed how quickly the flying season has begun given the current ‘tropical’ weather. Although, I have personally been unable to take advantage of our early summer the other day I did fly a spitfire out of Duxford aerodrome . . . well it was on a flight simulator actually but it’s probably the closest I shall ever get to flying one! Richard Preston asked me some time ago whether I would be interested in having a go on his flight simulator. If I’m being honest I thought that it would be just like any other computer game I have ever ‘played’ on – oh how wrong I was! I truly believe that you could learn to fly an aeroplane on the flight sim and then get in a full size version and fly it without too much trouble; the only thing that was missing was the vibrations of the engine! Richard started me out in a Cessna 172 which I found very easy to handle and gave me a ‘feel’ for the air. We flew out of Lyneham and past Queens field, around Chippenham and then my first landing which didn’t turn out as bad as I was expecting. It was certainly much easier to land an aeroplane ‘sat’ in it looking at the runway rather than stood on the runway looking up at the aeroplane! After a short taxi to the apron we jumped in the next aeroplane (which involved Richard clicking the mouse a few times!) a siai machetti. We flew all the way down to Bristol airport passing other aircraft on our way, Richard has his programme set so that there are other aircraft flying around as well so as to give the simulator more realism, there are even cars and refuelling tankers driving around the airports! Next up was a Cessna 337 skymaster with a pusher prop in the rear. We flew in America (you can fly from pretty much any airstrip in the world) over some lovely mountain scenery, after we finally found the landing strip amongst the rivers and hills. Richard said I was ready for a spitfire – much to my delight! I have read a lot of books about the Battle of Britain and pilots first experiences of flying spitfires. Although this was on a computer (yes, you can reset it if it goes wrong) I still had that funny feeling in the pit of my stomach and slightly clammy hands! Needless to say she was a true lady, heavenly to fly just a tad tricky on the ground because of that massive great nose lurching out in front of you but she wasn’t designed for the ground was she?! If you need something aeroplane related to keep you occupied next winter I really couldn’t recommend this enough!
QUEENS FIELD
The field is looking in great shape at the moment and our new mower is doing a sterling job as is the ‘estate manager’ who would like to say a big thank you to Cain Barnish for the use of his Roller recently, Thank you!
BRING and BUY
On Saturday 21st April at the Bell in Sutton Benger we will be holding a bring and buy from 1pm onwards, so if you have anything you’d like to sell and you really can’t be doing with the hassle of eBay maybe this is your opportunity . . .
CLUB INSTRUCTOR
Richard Preston has kindly offered his services to become a club instructor and will be happy to teach anyone interested in learning to fly up to ‘A’ certificate; he is available mainly on weekdays and the occasional weekend, please find his number on the contacts sheet. Richard also has the Club trainer and is ‘restoring’ it to flying condition! If anyone is interested in using it please contact Richard.
Whilst out and about, Dave Ruskin has taken the opportunity to take some pictures of a few new models that have turned up in the club.
REMINDER
Just a polite reminder guys, if you are the last one leaving the field can you please remember to lock the gate behind you, Thank you! Happy landings for now everyone, Ed.