A Wasp Sting

“I was looking for a place to set her down, as I was taking fire, I managed to land at Ballykelly. A surprised and angry engineer made his way out of the hangar, and as he started to open his mouth to shout, what I can only imagine were profanities, the turbine exploded behind me.” […]

AStar in the Aravis

Last Sunday I was standing in one of the expansive rooms of the Louvre museum on the banks of the Seine, in awe of the decorative grandeur of the vast ceiling and skylight, my eyes were scanning across the gold leaf and vibrant blue paints, when I saw the name L. Da. Vinci painted onto […]

CPL(H) 1 – Night Flying

To say the start of this year has been atrocious for weather would be an understatement, it’s purely unrelenting and it shows no sign of stopping as we head on into March. This posed a significant challenge… poor weather and Gloucester (EGBJ) shutting air ops at 19h30L meant rapidly running out of early nights. Achieving […]

The AS350 to end 2019

Firstly Merry Christmas, as we draw closer to the end of 2019 I’m going to spend a little time in this post reflecting back on the year of flying and the varied and interesting rotorcraft outings that have contributed to such an incredible year since passing the PPL(H) Skills Test. I think it is important […]

Jetranger Xmas Fly-in

To keep yourself current on the types you have on your licence, it is necessary to fly each type for a minimum of 2 hours per year, and undergo a proficiency check with an instructor within 12 months of your proficiency expiration date. I hadn’t flown the Jetranger since I had rated on t back […]

Deadalus

The last few weeks of 2019 were awash with poor weather, so when a few crisp days presented themselves for flying I jumped at the opportunity to get the hours up. Just before the AS350 rating, which was now set for the end of December, I had the chance to take out the R44 for […]

Ston Easton Park

Ston Easton Park has long been on the visit list, ever since I passed my skills test in December 2018 I wanted to land at a grand country hotel, where you can park right on the lawn in front of the house. Lucknam Park and Ston Easton were both in the running for the top-spot, […]

The Shuttleworth Collection

Visiting the Shuttleworth Collection had long been on my list of upcoming fly-ins, ever since I was holding over with the Royal Navy Historic Flight as a young Sub-Lieutenant in 2015. I had spent a lot of time during this period around the airworthy Fairey Swordfish and Sea Fury and whilst based at RNAS Yeovilton […]

Turweston and Soho Farmhouse

The morning after the night at Barnsdale Lodge in Oakham was fresh and bright, I woke up early and was raring for some breakfast.. and based on the quality of the cuisine from the night before I was sure it wouldn’t disappoint. I opted for the French Toast with bacon, which turned out to be […]

WSquared

Welshpool Mid-Wales airport, sits 2nm South West of the town of Welshpool in Wales, surrounded by rolling Welsh hills and countryside. I had wanted to visit for a while, and every attempt up until now had been thwarted by the weather, A good friend of mine who I met when I was in the Navy […]