wales – A Pilot’s Companion

We’re back!

After months of being on terra-firma, we finally made it back in the air. It had been so long since our last flight, that Will had had to go out with an instructor again. Due to us being unavailable, Charlie being unavailable, the wrong type of weather or maintenance issues, Will hadn’t been able to do the three take-offs and landings in 90 days that are required by law, so before he could take Charlie up again, he needed to prove that he was competent to do so.

A few days after that important tick in the box, we were on our way to Shobdon. Just a short trip there and back. I’d only been to Shobdon once before, on the first ever trip in Charlie with Will as pilot. At that point everything seemed so rushed and we hardly had any time on the ground before having to head back. This time around we knew what we were doing and had planned for the inevitable delays (such as catching-up with people we hadn’t seen for ages).

As we were nearing Shobdon, Will asked for clearance to do a touch-and-go which went perfectly, after which we still had plenty of time to sit outside the airport’s Hotspur Cafe and enjoy a leisurely coffee. It was obviously a stopping point for bikers too – nearly every table, inside and out, was occupied by people in leathers enjoying a late breakfast, while motorbikes of every make and size were lined up just beyond the fence.

The airfield was also busy with gliders with a constant flow of take-offs and tows. More gliders were parked up near the top of the runway surrounded by people presumably waiting to go up.

One of the many gliders being towed that day

Someone had booked Charlie after us so we needed to get him back to the hangar by early afternoon. Due to the proximity of the gliders, we had to stop short of the normal holding point to do the pre-flight checks.

As far as I’m concerned Will can take as long as he likes going through the checklist. These are obviously critical and ensure that the aircraft is in a fit state to fly. The first checks are done before the engine is even started. Once the engine’s on there are more checks, after which permission is sought to enter the taxiway. At the holding point near the entrance to the runway, more checks are done and then, if conditions are safe, permission is given to enter the runway. Inevitably there are times when you have to wait for other aircraft to land or you end up in a queue so it can take quite a while from getting into your seat to the wheels finally leaving the tarmac (or grass). And that’s without getting any fuel!

Anyway, back to the flight….. We cruised most of the way to Shobdon at around 3,500 ft over the mountains, and slightly lower coming back. Visibility was excellent and the weather was calm most of the time. However, there were some areas of turbulence which caused a few bumpy moments and at one point as we started to descend towards home, there was a sudden drop – the type where your tummy feels like it’s been left behind!

It’s not unusual at our home airport to have to hang back or stay in the circuit as it gets so busy, but that day it was surprisingly quiet and we were able to go straight in.

Charlie is again off-duty having an avionics upgrade after which he’ll be due for his next service so it’ll be a little while before we can get up again, but now that summer’s well and truly here we’re hoping there’ll be plenty of opportunities once he’s back.

Sunday morning on the farm – on the descent

A Day Trip to Newquay

Checking his log book, Will informed me that he’d last flown into Newquay nine years ago and that was as a commercial pilot. Apart from that, neither of us had ever been there, until Monday last week when we took Charlie out for the day.

We had decided that we didn’t want to go too far as we wanted some time down-route but we were really spoilt for choice. I wanted to head to the South West whereas Will would have preferred to go somewhere with a large model railway shop – Sheffield for example. Luckily for me, he took one look at my face and thought better of it!

The day couldn’t have been better for flying. It was the hottest day of the year thus far but 3500+ ft up and with the cool air coming through the vent, it was like having air conditioning. Perfect!

It was also ‘Freedom Day’ so we were expecting it to be busy with everyone taking a day off and making the most of it, as we had. But it was the complete opposite. For once, there were no queues at the fuel pumps or the hold, and we could pretty much go straight onto the runway. During the flights there and back, I think we could count on one hand the amount of aircraft we saw.

Our route over the Bristol Channel and along the North Devon coast

The route down took us over the Brecon Beacons to Swansea, across the Bristol Channel where we climbed to an altitude of 7000ft (which would give us enough of a glide slope to get us back to land if the engine failed), along the North Devon coast, over the River Camel and into Newquay.

When Will had rung Newquay earlier with prior notice of our arrival, we’d been asked if we needed a taxi to get into town. Sure enough, our flight had been tracked in and as we got to the club house, just after watching a Loganair Embraer ERJ land, the taxi was there waiting. Not only that, but we were asked if we needed fuel and by the time we got back later, it was already done. The service there is truly second to none.

Newquay town centre was about a 20 minute taxi ride away. Apparently en route we passed Rick Stein going the other way, but I was looking at the views out of the window and by the time I’d registered what the taxi driver was saying and turned round to have a gawp, Mr Stein had long gone.

We eschewed all the fish and chip shops for lunch. The heat was continuing to beat down and Newquay was pretty packed. We considered going to Walkabout which overlooked one of the bays but decided to continue walking towards the beach to see if there were any other contenders. Now, about a year ago I would have never have dreamt this would happen, but Will pointed out an actual vegetarian café and wondered if we should eat there. So we did, and it was delicious.

One of the many little bays we passed. Perfect weather for a dip!

Our flight back took us on a different route: straight over Plymouth and to Brixham, turning at Berry Head then following the coast past Torbay and reaching land at Sidmouth before heading towards Bristol airspace. We had arranged with my mum and sister that we’d fly over their house and do a couple of orbits. They could track us on Flight Radar and watch out for us – that was the plan. As it was, by the time we got there, Will was already on the radio to Bristol and we had no choice but to skirt their village, keep our altitude, abandon any idea of circling round and head straight through, keeping to the east of the runway at Bristol Airport. We heard later that mum and sister could hear us but couldn’t spot us. Next time we’ll do it the other way round so we’ll get out of Bristol’s way first.