Booker Rules Competition

The Booker Rules Competition web site is up and now accepting entries for our 2011 competition. Even if pilots cannot get the week off they can still fly 5 weekend days for only £20 entry fee. More details via the link on the right.

The sun brought them out

Last week I suggested the season was here and today reinforced that with over 40 launches, several soaring flights and one cross country to Membury (but which did need a slight bit of assistance from an iron thermal on the way back).

The shiny clean bus

The early low cloud base meant things got going slowly to start with but soon the sun started to break through and the cloud base rose fairly quickly. The early flights with the low cloud based limited flights for circuit training but soon the better weather started to bring out the members in droves. The brisk wind had the potential to catch a few people out and some of the circuits were not as well executed as they could and should have been and some words of wisdom were passed on by the CFI to miscreants. If you aren't as current as you would like to be, now is the time to have a check ride or three - there is always something new to learn and skills to polish. Make sure you are fully prepared for the season now and not when it has started in anger.

Some of the streeting evident through the day

The day finished with a couple of aerobatic flights, the last one into the evening gloom but everyone was down safely before sunset (plus 30).

The Season is here (if still a bit variable)

The high winds this weekend put paid to the Aerobatics course and were a turnaround from the previous weekend when nearly 50 launches were taken over the weekend and several soaring flights made.

The January Bronze lectures have been a success again with the exams being taken and passed by Phil Binnee, Jon Sugdeon and John Lambie. Saturday 29th Jan also provided some unexpected soaring under what looked like total cloud cover at 1,400 feet and a biting cold wind but surprising all of us with 4 knot (yes really!) climbs up to the low cloudbase.

Sunday 30th was even better and the weather encouraged Nils to rig and launch and have 2 soaring flights of well over an hour. The conditions also encouraged some big wings to be rigged. Mike C with his Ventus starship and Richard C with his shiny refinished Nimbus. Both of them must have been cold after their 2 hour flights!

Other achievements included David Baker, Phil Binnee and Nik Merkhart converting to the K18 and Will Ellis completing his BI course (which he later celebrated by pirouetting around the launch point several times throwing a seagull like glider into the sky). Congratulations to everyone on whatever their achievements last weekend.

The only thing to mar what had been an otherwise lovely couple of days was the sad news about Richard Clark who will be greatly missed as reported in the previous blog item.

Those of us lucky enough to have been at the airfield last Thursday would have seen the Spitfire land and taxi back past the bus having had to wait for the K18 to clear the landing area before it was able to land on our side of the airfield into the strong South Westerly wind.

Booker Cadet Will Hilton has also returned from 2 weeks work experience at Delta Jets in Kemble where he mostly got to work on a Spitfire and which culminated with him sitting in on the engine running checks.

Richard's funeral

Richard's funeral will be on Thursday 10 February 2011, 13.45 at Amersham Crematorium.

Tea and cake afterwards at The Swan Hotel, Amersham.

For those wishing to contribute, donations to either Michael Sobell House or Ian Rennie Hospice, cheques made payable to either of the above can be posted direct or given to Skinners Funeral Directors (Chalfont St Peter) on the day.

All welcome.