Decided a trip to the Isle of Wight and Bembridge with it’s hard runway seemed ideal. It was quiet but a couple of aircraft had made the trip and the Propeller Inn was open for a nice lunch, well a nice burger lunch. Walked back across the runway and met a chap with a lovely aeroplane that looked rather like a Stearman but wasn’t. The old Britten Norman factory is looking a little forlorn giving the field a slight air of sadness compared to my last visit 40 years ago.
Sywell
Not too sure why we decided on a trip to Sywell but pleased we did. There is a nice hard runway and good facilities. Not too sure what the landing fee was but pretty sure it was very reasonable. Very popular and good cafe, the Blades aerobatic team were getting in some practice and a quick chat with Sloane Helicopters for Andrew, all very pleasant. On start up we were unable to set the instruments CB, it just would not go in, so a bit of a rethink and we concluded we hadn’t lost a lot, and departed home.
Cromer Airfield
We took a trip to Cromer in February. I try to avoid grass in winter as I don’t like cleaning off any mud and I think the strips need looking after but cromer seemed very well drained and well fit for purpose. We were made very welcome, there is a nice cafe on site but on this occassion we walked (about 20 minutes) into North Repps village for a nice pub lunch.
Upper Air Work
Our first priority after returning from maintenance was to explore the stalling characteristics. Andrew is a recent PPL ie. no spinning type PPL so I could sense a bit of unease as he is P1 letting his passenger try to induce, with increasing enthusiasm, the severe wing drop that had been reported by the ARC test flight. We concluded that some aerobatic training was the order of the day, Cambridge have an Extra 200 which seems ideal, will report on how this goes later.
Duxford Again
A return trip to Duxford in February. Three of us this time and we have a great time. It’s half term so a little busier. Complaints that it is a little cold in the back of the Bolkow for our passenger, the warm air control having little effect and the fresh air control doing nothing. I am sure they are connected but will check.
Sherburn in Elmett
The second of January and we are off to Yorkshire. Landed at Sherburn for a nice lunch and fuel, then a lowish level sightseeing trip over the dales. We take in a few of the villages where I have relatives, Arncliffe is one and then a wave from my dad as we fly over Gargrave. After our fun over the dales it is time to climb to FL75 for our return to Norfolk, the Bolkow heater doing a very poor job of keeping us warm.
Henstridge
A bit of post christmas hour building with a flight on the 27th December to Henstridge. They had a discount on their fuel price for the holiday and free landings with a fuel uplift. A long way to go for a mince pie but we were made very welcome, it was a lovely clear day and we will return some day.
Old Buckenham
A trip to Old Buckenham to see Tony Walters about some work on the transponder. There is a bit of a story to tell about the KT76 with a KT76A faceplate but for now suffice to say it seems to be responding with a low power output. Tony is very pleasant but I sense not too keen to get involved with replacing the transponder as he knows the work invoved. I too, now know that the KT76A requires a different tray and a different plug with everso slightly different pins to those on the Bendix King KT76.
Duxford
11th December 2016 and a trip to Duxford. This photo (© AJC Duxman) was taken on this visit. Duxford is the ideal winter destination. Open every day with a tarmac runway & maneuvering areas, they charged £14.50 for the Bolkow 207. As this includes a couple of hours to explore all the exhibits, restaurants and facilities I would say it is a bit of a bargain.
Farley Farm
Mike Smart had issued the last ARC and was happy to undertake the Annual and ARC Renewal. We flew G-EJBI to Farley Farm, Hampshire, what a hidden gem of a place. Mike & Nick are very Bölkow familiar and extremely helpful, G-EJBI did run into some maintenance issues which I will detail later. We left the plane and took a hire car back to Norfolk expecting to return in a couple of weeks. It didn’t quite work out that way!