The day we’d booked to go out in Charlie seemed no different to those leading up to it; that is, cloudy, windy and rainy (you can tell this took place some time ago!). Whether we’d be able to fly was a decision we could only make that morning, once Will had checked the Meteorological Aerodrome Report (METAR).
Fortunately, although the weather wasn’t ideal, it was within limits. Will had already planned a route the evening before so, by mid-morning, we were taxiing down the runway and heading towards Oxford Airport. This was to be a nostalgia visit for Will as he had completed his commercial pilot training at Oxford Aviation Academy, being one of the first to qualify for the MPL (multi-crew pilot licence). It was the first time he’d been back since.
The plan was to do a touch and go at Oxford, meeting the requirement for the three landings/take-offs within 90 days required by the CAA. However, we were expecting it to be busy with training fights, if nothing else, with no guarantee that we’d be granted permission.
The flight took around 30 minutes over Tewkesbury, Evesham and Banbury. Much to our surprise, there was no traffic at all in the skies around Oxford and the airport itself was really quiet. After being given instructions to turn left to avoid the danger zone and keeping an eye on some nearby birds of prey, we got the go ahead for the touch and go. It was only then that the surroundings became totally familiar to Will – after such a long time away the only thing he’d recognised up to that point was the nearby tower of a recycling plant.
After landing, we put on our hi-viz jackets and headed for the GA terminal looking forward to a hot drink and something to eat in their cafe. Unfortunately, that was not to be. The turnstile to the GA building was locked and when we enquired, a voice over the intercom told us that nothing was open and to make our way to the Business Terminal to pay our landing fees.
Now, the Business Terminal at Oxford is for the rich and famous, the great and the good – not for the likes of pilots with a 16th share in an aged PA-28. We were quickly ushered from the hallowed VIP area into the crew room, out of the way of the family who were just about to head out to their chartered jet. A few minutes later, with a fantastic airside view through the crew room’s floor to ceiling windows, we were able to see the jet (a Cessna 560XL Citation XLS) take off for its flight to Geneva. A few minutes later a Bentley, accompanied by an airport support vehicle, arrived at the steps of a Bombardier Global 6000. An elderly man got out of the car and climbed up the steps to be greeted by a uniformed flight attendant. A few minutes later, this beautiful jet with just the one passenger on board, took off for the South of France.
Having sighed over the amazing experience it must be to fly in such luxury, we came back down to earth and managed to get a coffee after asking at the check in desk. The staff there were polite and helpful to us but I had the distinct impression that someone in the GA terminal was due for a stern talking to once we left. By the time I got back from asking about the coffee, Will was in deep conversation with one of the jet engineers who’d arrived in the crew room waiting for a plane to come in.
We didn’t leave it too late before heading back. The weather hadn’t got any worse, but neither was there any sign of improvement. It was an interesting experience with sights of rainbows alongside the plane, fierce rain which came and went within seconds, and one particularly turbulent patch where it felt as if we were going over one of those hump-back bridges where your stomach is left a few feet below the rest of your body.
Having bumps in the air never makes sense to me. I can feel another weather/air pressure-related conversation coming on!
A Pilot's Companion 