21 September 2014 - Isle of Sheppey ,Canterbury, Rochester

This morning I was up early at Rochester Airfield hoping to get a flight down to the Dover cliffs but looking down to the south the cloud was fairly low so I decided to do a relatively local flight up to Sheppey and then down to Canterbury. Weather was better than it had been for some time due to a weather front that had passed through during the night. Wind was fairly brisk and the active runway was 02 although one wind sock was showing 02 and the other wind sock was showing 34. It was the first time I had heard the radio controller at Rochester give pilots an option as to which runway they wanted to use.

Brakes Off: 07:55 (Z) Brakes On: 08:55 (Z) Total: 1:00
Total Hours: 112:35

13 September 2014 - Isle of Sheppey , Faversham, Rochester

A sustained period of high pressure has meant generally poor visibility (muck, haze and mist/fog) to content with, and so a lot of flying had been cancelled over the last few weekends. These were the conditions that greeted me in the morning. Keen to get something in, I rebooked for 16:30 later in the day. 

The low cloud and mist fell away about 13:00 and so to my relief it was on.  I was back at the airport at 15:45 and waited for the plane (G-FLIP) to come back from a trial lesson. I managed to get rolling at 16:50 which gave me 40 minutes to play with. With the pressure of being back on the ground at 17:30 I didn't have much choice in destination really so headed over to Sheppey to blow the cobwebs off. 

Runway was 02 which can be a bit interesting when there is a fresh breeze blowing over the ridge, but nonetheless all ended well.

Video enclosed. This demonstrates upon the return to Rochester how bad visibility can be in haze when flying into the sun. This is typical after a period of sustained high pressure.

Brakes Off: 15:50 (Z) Brakes On: 16:30 (Z) Total: 0:40

Avro Vulcan XH558 - The Spirit of Great Britain

I went to the Farnborough Airshow the other day and really enjoy the day out. That said, I could have done without the massive wait to get out of the grass park at the end, but it was my first time of going so I guess you live and learn!

The Avro Vulcan XH558 stole the show for me and you could tell just how much she means to people when prior to her ground roll everybody got on their feet and there was buzz of excitement. 

She didn't let people down because as she rotated she went full thrust (or pretty close I would imagine) and the sound was awesome. I believe they are demonstrating her at airshows with more power than they previously used to. 

This is because with just a couple of years to run, they are trading engine hours against air frame hours. It appears that 2015 could be her last year. I think she is absolutely magnificent. What a name as well!

17 August 2014 - Isle of Sheppey , Canterbury, Rochester

Weather wasn't too great first thing this morning so I put off a cross country trip to stay relatively local taking in the Isle of Sheppey and Canterbury before turning back to Rochester. Runway in use was 20 and the surface wind was about 15 knots at 190 degrees.

Brakes Off: 8:05(Z) Brakes On: 09:00(Z) Total: 0:55 
Total Hours: 110:55

3 August 2014 - Hastings

Lovely day yesterday and I wanted to pop down to Lydd but I just didn't have time as somebody needed the aircraft straight after my early morning slot. I popped down to the coast in the end, this is all I had time for really. Lovely day mind. Nice and warm. Short video attached.

Brakes Off: 8:10(Z) Brakes On: 09:20(Z) Total: 1:10 
Total Hours: 110:00

26 July, 2014 - Poor visibility so just a local potter around

A very warm and humid day lay ahead and so I was up at Rochester Airport early hoping to have a quick jolly down to the kent coast and back. Alas as soon as I climbed up to a 1000ft and looked east I knew it wasn't going to happen. There was a wall of low cloud and haze where I wanted to go. Not to be put off completely I decided to stick local. It had been 4 weeks since I last flew so I really wanted to just blow some cobwebs off anyway.

I also tried out a new lens on the Garmin Virb camera I recently purchased. This is a lens which removes the flickering on the film caused by the aeroplanes prop. You can see it makes a big difference in the video compared to the earlier video clips. The lens cost me £39.99 and is freely available from the internet. It's a shame its not a simple clip on device as you have to replace the old one. However, it only takes 5 minutes and you get a basic DIY kit with your purchase to help you. This includes a rubber ring, screwdriver, screws and of course the replacement lens.

Brakes Off: 09:00 Brakes On: 10:00 Total 1:00

29 June, 2014 - Pottering Around Sittingbourne, Leyesdown, Whitstable

I was off on holiday on the 30th so I wanted to get up just for a potter around before I went. The opportunity came on Sunday 29th June. Weather wasn't good first thing in the morning (well it was marginal really) so I stayed around long enough for it to clear a bit before heading out. It was nothing adventurous but enough of a fix for me with my holiday around the corner.

I set the VIRB Elite camera up for its third outing. I read somewhere I can buy a lens to remove the prop flicker so when I get time I'll take a look at that. 

Brakes Off: 09:20(Z) Brakes On: 10:25(Z) Total: 1:05

22 June, 2014 - A Friends Birthday Flight

Sunday was forecast to be a lovely day so I was up early at Rochester Airport to take a friend up for a birthday flight. I was intending to go round a lap of Kent (anti-clockwise) but the visibility wasn't up to much looking SW to Lydd [from Bewl Water] so I came back and went along the Thanet Coast for a bit.

A nice pleasant morning was had by us both. I'm pleased my friend enjoyed his first trip in a small aeroplane.

Brakes Off: 07:50Z Brakes On: 09:00Z Total: 1:10