Sunday started even colder, the outside registered -3 on the drive upto Gloucester. The intention today, was to take 2 friends up to Lake Vyrnwy (https://www.lakevyrnwy.com) and pop into Shobdon on the return leg. Company policy states that self fly hire to Lake Vyrnwy isn’t permitted so Doug came along too.
After a very chilly Check-A we fuelled full with 46.5 gallons and booked out for the hotel. I gave them a quick call to adjust the time we would arrive and fired up Hotel Bravo. We had a standard departure to the North, with a busy airfield full of GA. I hadn’t flown the R44 in any wind upto this point, the type rating weather was spectacular and didn’t afford me any breeze. Today was more normal, and served to provide experience with passengers and some wind!
The first leg was to Ledbury, I’d covered this route so many times during training, I headed for the spot height outside of the Gloucester ATZ to the NW, and tracked 300 towards the foothills of the Malvern ridge where I picked up Ledbury and frequency changed to Shobdon for a Basic Service.
The 300 heading was modified to 320 with Doug map reading and mastering the sky demon, and two friends in the rear happily clicking away taking photographs of the stunning landscape afforded to us by the weather and the recent snowfall. After passing the most western tip of Leominster and transiting past the Shobdon ATZ to the East and North, I picked up London information for a basic service for the rest of the journey.
We were abeam Welshpool, flying over beautiful rolling hills and valleys, fir and pine trees in scattered forests and thick snow covered mountains to the north west. Pre-Landing checks complete and the Lake rose out of what seemed like an impossible landscape to have such a feature.
Slowing down to 60KIAS and calling finals to London Information, I turned parallel with the Lakes Dam, and headed over the immediate shoreline in front of the Hotel, taking a right turn and left orbit. Descending down the shallow valley to the NW of the helipad which sat at 1000’. Someone had taken the effort to spell out the word SHIT in the snow, using the H of the helipad in the appropriate place! (Probably to pre-empt their rating of my approach!)
The approach and landing was the most challenging to date and leaves little room for error. Having Doug on hand was a godsend and once into the hover and spot turned to face out over the lake, the view was breathtaking. I touched us down into the snow and shut down for some lunch. We ate in the Brasserie overlooking the surroundings, with pheasants within arms length on the balcony outside.
Lunch was great and actually really reasonable for such a hotel. Our eyes tracked skyward and the furthest peaks had now disappeared with low clouds being blown over the lake and surroundings. Doug and I looked at each other, gave Shobdon a call and headed out to get going!
After a 360 degree clearing turn and nodding goodbye to the lonely hen pheasant, I transited out towards the valley we approached down into a climbing right turn almost following nap of the earth over the hills before heading Easterly. The weather was much better out of the local vicinity and with a Basic Service from London Information we tracked East of Welshpool this time. Before picking up our planned track shortly and heading over to Shobdon Information for a join into right base for runway 26, north side grass.
Shobdon are always welcoming and they told us all about their upcoming events in 2019, including the food festival and the Auster fly in. We only had a quick coffee and toilet stop before heading back into Hotel Bravo and back to Gloucester for just after 3!
2.3 Hours Total
(1.0 1st Leg)
(0.6 2nd Leg)
(0.7 3rd Leg)
Hourbuilding Adventures 