Back to Farley Farm for a 50 hour check. Andrew and I stayed with the aircraft, the idea being to help out and learn what was involved. Not too sure we were much help but we enjoyed ourselves and learnt a lot. We stayed overnight as a few little jobs cropped up that required attention, one being a leaky exhaust gasket, and some repairs to the scat hose. Should do wonders to reduce the carbon monoxide level.
KT 76 Transponder
Our trusty KT 76 was really not that trusty. Some stations would pick up a signal but most would not see any response which was becoming just a bit embarassing. I had ordered a second hand KT 76A from Harry Mendelssohn not really realising the problems invoved in using this as a KT76 replacement. Our local avionics engineer obviously realised and was becoming elusive. The trays are just a bit different, the plugs are different and unfortunately the pins are just a bit different. The KT 76A is installed with the help of a soldering iron and working fine but will probably put a Trig mode S as the long term solution.
Back to Cromer
We had visited a couple of months before and enjoyed the village pub. A lot of effort has been put into the airfield facilities and so it seemed a good idea to try the cafe for some tea and cake, all very nice, Cromer is a very pretty airfield, not overly long and with an upslope if landing toward the west, £7 landing fee which is well deserved.
Stapleford
Andrew managed to blag a free landing for a trip to Stapleford and their training seminar. We were quite impressed with the presentation, CFI told it straight and the student who showed us around was very helpful. We had to leave around 5 to get back to Tibenham and found it pretty busy, eventually it was our turn to depart, finding a gap in the circuit traffic and some lovely weather for the journey home.
Calais
Fresh from our trip to Le Touquet we decided to give Calais a visit. Everything was so quiet, No ATC no marshalling, not another aircraft on the apron. We find our way in to the terminal and meet a very pleasant man to whom we pay the 10 Euro landing fee. He phones the restaurant in the village and off we walk the 10 or so minutes. Mrs Moore is with us today for her first Bölkow trip and the restaurant and trip to the supermache prove a great hit. When back at the field there are a few more arrivals and a bit of a breeze that reminds me of Lydd, will definately do this trip again.
Le Touquet
Finally have our transponder fixed so off to Le Touquet. A nice easy trip which is early enough to make the airport restaurant. Sky Demon makes the flight plan and GAR requirements an absolute breeze. Could not connect to the internet for some reason at Le Touquet so the return flight plan was a phone call to the tower who were most helpfull. 30 Euro for the landing fee is a tad steep but lunch was pretty reasonable and very good. Now the Bölkow 207 does not seem to have a demonstrated crosswind limit, I can say that gusts to 18 knots from the left is way too much, Andrew did a great job but braking on the take off role is not too good, will be setting some lower limits in future.
Seething
Popped across to Seething for a number of good reasons. Firstly there is a reciprocal landing fee arrangement with Tibenham so no fee and there are a number of interesting aeroplanes in their equally interesting (they are on turntables) hangar. Bumped into Dan Gay (who used to teach Andrew the drums) who has a long ez at the field and is now authorised to display it.
Bembridge
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.