'Flying For Fun' 2006

The Popular Flying Association's (PFA) annual 'Rally' (renamed Flying For Fun') has, in recent years, suffered a curse of epic proportions. Any event of this size relies on good weather (or at least, not bad weather), and this is, of course, especially true of a fly-in. Traditionally, the Rally has occupied the first weekend in July, but coupled with very poor weather, this has tended to clash with other events (RIAT and the British Grand Prix to name but two). In recognition of this fact the organisers made the decision to move the event to the third weekend in August.

The first weekend in July arrived, and Mother Nature revealed a rather warped sense of humour. You might remember 1st - 2nd marking the beginning of what turned out to be the hottest July on record. The British Grand Prix had even been moved. I turned to one of the Twenty-First Century's greatest minds to sum it up best...''Doh!''

''Fear not'' the BBC told us. ''If you thought July was hot, just wait until we get to August.'' Well, August arrived, and I was less than impressed. Wet and windy conditions prevailed over the first two weeks, and I began to fear the worst. Fast-forward to the Wednesday before the Rally, and I dispatched a 5 day weather forecast to fellow Bolkow flyers, Gunther Butterweck, Stewart Luck, and my father, Derek. The forecast looked alright, certainly better than I had first thought. Stewart e-mailed back, ''Well, your forecast is better than mine!''

By the time dawn made an appearance on the Saturday morning, I had digested the various weather reports (along with my breakfast), and was confident that it was a 'go'. Hampson Snr called from Rotterdam for an update. The plan for my father to fly across from Rotterdam and pick me up from Goodwood. From there, we would fly direct to Kemble. ''It's o.k here, I'm going to set off in 30 minutes''.

Driving to Goodwood, the weather was bright and breezy. Cloud was building from the south-west, but it was suitably dispersed and the visibility looked good. So, there was nothing for it but to wait for my father to arrive in G-ME. I was expecting him at 10:15hrs (L), which came, and went. Just before the point of getting concerned, the Bolkow appeared overhead at 10:45hrs (L).
''Battery was flat.'' was the response to my mild look of concern (or maybe that was just the wind-swept effect?) as the intrepid aviator, complete with a striking yellow lifejacket, deplaned at the fuel pumps. ''Ah''.

Fuel and landing fees paid, we jumped into the Bolkow for the next sector. Dad kindly relinquished the left-hand seat, and I handed over my PLOG and deputised him in the role of 'Navigator'. We briefed for a 24 departure which involved an early right turn for noise abatement, and also for the anticipated procedure into Kemble. As we started up a pair of French homebuilts were getting airborne, also bound for the Rally. The route would take us north-west to Popham, turning slightly to a more north-north-westerly track towards Swindon. From here we would pick up the mandatory VFR route inbound to Kemble.

Two up, full fuel, a tent, and overnight bags meant that we were at MTOW so the climb-out was 'leisurely'. We skirted the bottom of some broken cloud on departure at around 1200ft, but it cleared quickly once we reached Petersfield. Switching to Solent Radar for the briefest of services (they were busy with an inbound -146), we then called Popham to broadcast our intention to transit the overhead. The weather was lovely, and we started to develop high hopes that we would be just one of many aircraft making the trip that morning.

Passing Swindon, picking up the VRPs that make up the VFR route proved to be straight-forward. One 'gotcha' when flying into the Rally is that there are two water towers, and care must be taken to identify the correct tower (Malmesbury) before turning towards the field. Approaching Malmesbury water tower, we had a Bulldog behind us we began our decent and turn towards Oaksey Park. The Bulldog had seen us and slotted behind in trail. The ATIS had given Runway 26 as active, and on changing to 'Kemble Hard' the frequency was typically busy with finals calls. Flying the specified offset approach (to avoid Kemble village), we rolled wings level on short final, touching down nicely (''taildragger style'', my 'navigator' commented) and vacated at the first exit.

(G-ME arriving at Kemble)

After parking up and booking in, we set off to find our fellow Bolkow Squadron members. We had seen D-EHAC in the aircraft park so knew Gunther had made it. We found Gunther Butterweck and Stewart Luck at the PFA Education tent. Stewart has been responsible for the fantastic 'Build-a-Plane' project and he was kept busy all weekend flying people in 'The Spirit of Brooklands' (G-TSOB). We also met Mark Kaye (G-ATXZ) who drove down from Tatenhill with his girlfriend (I'm terrible with names), and enjoyed a few beers in the Education Strut's motor home. Clive Morris managed to fly G-AVKR in from Deanland. Clive was the only other Bolkow I saw (any others?) in the aircraft park.

(Stewart Luck bringing 'The Spirit of Brooklands' back down to Earth)

That night, we stood outside the 'Beer Tent' in the drizzle and the dark, and joked about why we go to great lengths, year after year, to get to Kemble, to stand on a wet, cold airfield, drinking warm beer. ''Same again next year'' was the unanimous response.

(Derek Hampson, Colin Hampson, Gunther Butterweck, Stewart Luck)

With G-ME having to get back to Rotterdam, and D-AC to Bonn Hangelar, we left at lunchtime on the Sunday. There was enough moisture in the air to neccesitate 'weather avoidance' on the return home, but in general the conditions were o.k. A brisk westerly wind gave reports of 126kts groundspeed for G-ME as it skirted up the Belgian coast. Gunther later told us that he saw 133kts on the GPS whilst over France. This must be a record, Gunther?

(D-AC and G-ME depart Kemble. Same again next year?)

So, another year of 'less than ideal' weather meant that the PFA, despite their best efforts, have almost certainly made a significant loss (again). The actual weather conditions at Kemble were, in general, quite reasonable. However, many people will have been put off by the forecast, and physically getting to Kemble from certain places was likely more trouble than it was worth. Those of us who did make it certainly enjoyed meeting up, walking around the aircraft park and watching the aeroplanes arrive and depart. Some 600 aeroplanes made it to Kemble this year, if there is another Rally, we will be back in 2007.

The Around Ireland Rally - Trip report

Stewart Buckingham (D-EEAH)

At the final night party of the 2004 “Around Britain Air Rally”, everyone was in high spirits and there was much discussion as to “what could we do next year?” We had had such a great time flying round England, Scotland and Wales that there was great enthusiasm for a 2005 trip. But somehow we were not in a mood to reach a conclusion there and then. It was many months later that Bob Manners, the instigator of the 2004 trip sent round an e-mail outlining a circumnavigation following the coastline of Ireland for 2005. Unlike the 2004 trip, there was no web site to announce and promote the trip; the word just went round the 2004 participants and any flying colleagues they happened to inform. The 2004 Bustard G-SKAN crew (Bob and Gilly Weaver and myself) were all very keen to take part, and we spread the word around the club to see if others would like to join in. Then as the dates started to firm up it became clear that Bob would have to miss the trip as he was all booked up to jet off to the US to attend the Oshkosh rally. It’s a hard life! Undeterred, Gilly arranged to come on the Ireland tour as a passenger with one of the other participants, meanwhile Carl Harris and Kaleb Tarrekegn decided to take part in G-ROBN, and Tony Oliver arranged to accompany me in my little Bolkow Junior D-EEAH.

Maps and Irish Pooleys were purchased, club life vests and dinghy were serviced, and for good measure emergency locator beacons were bought. The route included 3 water crossings of up to 40 miles each so prudent precautions were in order. The rally plan was for the ~25 participating aircraft to assemble at Haverfordwest by mid-day on Thursday 21st June, to depart to Weston (near Dublin) then to work round the coastline clockwise to Waterford (SE), Kerry (SW). Galway (W), Sligo, Enniskillen, Donegal (NW), Londonderry (Eglinton) and Aldergrove (NE), then across to Ronaldsway in the Isle of Man for a end-of-rally celebration on Monday 25th, and back home on the 26th, some 14 flying hours and 1400 miles later. But as we all know, plans and reality do not always coincide!

Carl and Kaleb reached Haverfordwest on the evening of the 20th and met up with Gilly and several other participants who likewise thought it best to get to the assembly point the night before the mass departure. But for Tony and I the lead-up to the rally had become fraught because I needed to get the German C of A renewed on D-EEAH before setting out and a snag with the engine delayed the trip I had to make to Germany for the renewal. Eventually I arrived back from Germany on the evening of Wednesday 20th and Tony and I decided to slip our departure for Ireland back to early on Friday 22nd. By skipping the Weston stopover we planned to intercept the rest of the crews at Waterford. Good plan, we thought! And as Carl and Kaleb has decided also to forego the Weston stopover and route direct to Waterford to avoid what looked on paper a rather complex procedural routing into Weston, Tony and I looked forward to meeting ROBN at Waterford. So D‘AH was all loaded and ready to depart Boscombe early on the Friday morning. Or so we thought. The ASI thought otherwise. We were clearly accelerating nicely down 23 but the ASI insisted on believing we were stationary. Take-off aborted, taxy back to the club. It was Tony’s first flight in D’AH – not an auspicious start! Lesson 1 – if you can see that you are clearly doing 30+ kt and the ASI says zero, don’t wait and hope it will recover, abort! ASI failures CAN and DO happen – even to me or you! On 23 I had lots of space to abort from perhaps 50 kt but on some airfields I may by then have been committed to getting airborne with no ASI! Fortunately for us, Brian Carter was there helping Neil Grayson prepare D-KIMM for his C of A renewal trip to Germany and with his kind assistance remains of several flies were removed from the pitot line and an hour or more later than planned we were on our way.

A fuelling stop at Haverfordwest and we were off again to Waterford. The sea crossing was uneventful except that the overcast kept us little above 1000ft much of the way, which would have left little time to deal with any emergency. London Information asked us to relay a message to a Czech aircraft which was apparently crossing at 600 ft and was clearly below their radio horizon. But below the overcast the visibility was OK, and as we approached the Irish coast the overcast lifted and the Waterford weather was bright and clear as forecast.

So by Friday mid-day we were at Waterford, where we met ROBN and two other participating aircraft. We were at a point on the rally route and expecting the other 20 or so aircraft to be appearing very shortly. But three days later we were still at Waterford! Initially poor weather at our next planned stop, Kerry, prevented us setting out and then the rain and low cloud spread eastwards from Kerry and clagged us in completely. And for 2½ of those days all the other participants stayed weathered in at Weston and never managed to reach us at Waterford. We visited the famous Waterford Glass Works, wandered around the seaside town of Tramore, consumed Guinness and speculated about just how much of the water of the North Atlantic would be precipitated down onto us. When an improvement to the weather started to be forecast we considered abandoning the rally and returning home, and one of the four aircraft eventually did just that. But by the Sunday afternoon the weather had cleared at Weston and further north so the aircraft from Weston made a break to Sligo and on to Donegal in the north west by the evening – which got them back on the planned schedule, so they then flew the Monday route to Eglinton, Aldergrove and Ronaldsway as planned.

Meanwhile at Waterford we had to wait until Monday morning for the weather to improve and while one aircraft set off back home, D’AH, ROBN and the third aircraft set off to try to catch up with the main group. We clearly could not follow the full route, and the weather was still forecast poor at Kerry, but we reckoned that if we cut across to Galway, we could then fly the coastal route all the way round to the Isle of Man in a day if we skipped the stops at Sligo, Eglinton and Aldergrove. In fact Galway was notamed as not having AvGas so our first stop was Connemara, a 600m surfaced strip right on the coast a few miles west of Galway. From there D’AH and ROBN set off northwards with improving weather on a 2 hr leg round the coast to Donegal while the third aircraft chose instead a direct route eastwards back across the country to the Isle of Man.

Refuelled at Donegal (and with landing fee waived as rally participants) a further 2 hours around the coast to Belfast and then across the water (by now under clear blue skies and with plenty of height for the crossing) got us to the Isle of Man around 7pm - the last two aircraft to arrive, but with a good margin ahead of sunset and well in time for the final party. Although we had had to skip some of the planned stops, the Bustard pair had ROBN and D’AH at Donegal for a fuel stopprobably covered more of the intended coastal route than any other participants!

A very sociable evening followed, with much exchanging of stories of the flying and a very heart-felt vote of thanks to Bob Manners and Dick his assistant for all their work planning and arranging the rally. And, of course, another round of discussion about “what can we do next year?” The preference seemed to be for a tour of France – in the hope that the weather would be better!

Next morning it was time to load up the aircraft for the last time, say farewell – or perhaps “au revoir” to the other crews, and with flight plans, Special Branch notification, etc, all set up the night before we were away homeward. The clear, sunny weather encouraged us to fly a circumnavigation of the Isle of Man before heading southwards towards our landfall at Amlwch on Anglesey. Once clear of Ronaldsway airspace restrictions D’AH just managed FL90 before starting a descent as we reached gliding range from the coast. Unfortunately once back over land the cloud started to build and we were forced down to 4000ft as we skirted a cloudy Snowdon and followed the coast down to West Wales (Aberporth) for our final refuelling stop. Departing just after 5pm allowed us to arrive back to Boscombe “after hours”.

Despite the disappointing weather (which we always new was a risk – Ireland cannot stay so green without plenty of rain!) we had had a wonderful trip. We had enjoyed some spectacular coastal scenery, had shared some great camaraderie with the other flyers, and had broadened our flying experience and developed our confidence. We had gained lots of practice filing flight plans (almost every planned leg required a written flight plan either for transit across international boundaries, transit over open water or because in Ireland you need to submit a written plan an hour before departure for any flight into an airport with controlled airspace – which means almost every flight). We learnt that the trick is to plan ahead – file a plan for the leg you hope to fly the next morning, or for the leg after the one you are about to fly. That saves waiting an hour and once you have a plan filed it is easy to defer it if circumstances conspire to delay your take-off beyond when your plan stated. And we learnt that the Special Branch notification is likewise very straightforward if you plan adequately ahead. Although they were somewhat taken aback to receive a phone call at 11pm to discuss the following day’s planned arrival, they were very helpful! France in 2006? I very much hope so! Perhaps next year the Bustard participation might be three aircraft (or more!).

International Old Timer Fly-in 2005 - Trip report

The International Old Timer Fly-in (http://flyin.dac.be/) held annually at Schaffen-Diest airfield in Belgium has grown to become one of the top events on the European calender. It began some twenty years ago, originally as a Falco fly-in, and has evolved into a celebration of all manner of classic and vintage aircraft types. Given some half-decent weather, there are usually up to half a dozen Bolkows in attendance at the three day event.

The sun was just making an appearance as I left the house for the 90 minute drive to the airstrip where my (then) Bolkow Junior D-EDNA was based. The forecast was pretty good, so spirits were high as I negotiated my way around the (unusually clear) M25 and down the M3 towards Winchester. Arriving at the airstrip at 07:00hrs (L) I loaded my bag into the aeroplane and began to make preparation for my departure. I was on my own for the trip. My (then) fiancee, a firmly earth-bound soul, refused to come; and my housemate (usually up for most things) failed to secure a weekend pass from 'the boss'. Poor show.

Diest is approximately 250nm from my (then) home strip of Farley Farm in Hampshire, so within range for a direct flight. However, with no fuel at the strip, and with about half tanks, I needed to stop for fuel before I ventured across the Channel. The day before I happened upon the website for 'London Ashford Airport'. That's Lydd to you and I. They were offering tax/duty free Avgas for all international departures. London Ashford Airport is, of course, nowhere near London, but located on a headland directly on my intended route of flight. Ideal! Lydd opened at 09:00hrs (L), so I planned to arrive overhead at 08:55hrs (L).

Farley Farm has a single 800m runway (06/24). Huge trees placed strategically on the western threshold effectively reduce the distance available to around 650m when using 24. Bags of room for the Bolkow with one up, half tanks and an overnight bag. The strip sits right on the edge of the Solent CTA so once airborne it's advisable to contact Solent Radar for a FIS. This is especially important when leaving the area to the East as you cross the extended centreline of the active runway at range 8.5nm.

Clearing the area to the East, I tracked towards Petersfield, where the South Downs become very conspicuous. Running West/East, the Downs make an ideal 'follow me' sign for a good 30nm. The visability was good, with early morning mist and dew sitting in the low lying shadows of the hills - all very spectacular. So often overlooked, the scenery in this part of the country really is fantastic. Flying in the early hours brings many rewards; Such hours are exempt from the often turbulent and convective nature characteristic of an August day. It has fast become my favourite time to fly.

Leaving Solent behind, London Information became my companion for this first part of the trip. The headland at Seaford provided a constant reference as I parallelled the coast eastward. Passing Rye at around 08:50hrs (L) I gave Lydd a call, half expecting to hold in the area for 10 minutes or so. To my pleasant suprise, Lydd responded with joining instructions, and I gratefully accepted the invitation to proceed into the overhead. Upon reaching, I was advised to continue my descent for a ''tight right-hand circuit for 03'' and expect a late clearance. The fire truck was still doing its runway inspection, but would (should?) be clear. The circuit at Lydd can be quite tight due to the proximity of the Dungeness power station to the South of the field. Various Danger Areas also litter the headland, so it pays to plan your circuit carefully.

The requirement for a ''tight'' circuit meant that it was an ideal candidate for a glide approach. Speed back, flaps to 17° for the glide. 600ft at the 'Low Key' position abeam the numbers, checks complete (where's that clearance?) I turned in on the glide adopting the 'constant aspect' technique. ''Delta November Alpha, cleared to land Runway 03, wind light and variable'' is broadcast through my headset as I roll wings level 200ft on 'short' final. Flashing over the numbers, the Bolkow settled nicely onto the new tarmac after a short but satisfying float. 'I enjoyed that', I thought as I taxied to the parking area by the fire house. ''Delta November Alpha, welcome to Lydd, landing time zero one''.

After just 20 minutes, the aeroplane was refuelled, landing fees paid and I was back in the saddle starting up for the next sector. The service at Lydd was exemplorary, and at 77p a litre and a £10 landing fee, I taxied out with a huge grin.

Departing towards the sea, I was 'feet wet' just one minute after take-off. I decided to stay with Lydd for the crossing, and gave Calais a call mid-Channel. The weather was still good. Visability was in excess of 10km giving a workable horizon for the crossing. As many will know, local conditions can sometimes conspire against pilots making this crossing. The brightness of the morning sun can generate a fair amount of haze, and can 'smudge' the horizon when it's needed most. ''Bonjour Calais...'' in my most stereotypical 'Englishman speaking French' manner marked the FIR boundary. Advice and past experience told me it would be pointless calling Lille Approach, as they seldom take interest in small GA traffic. Calais Tower is often the better bet - and so it proved to be.

(Crossing the Channel)

Calais kept with tradition and spoke French to French pilots and English to everyone else. French pilots and controllers also seem to enjoy a remarkably informal relationship, certainly precious few standard RT phrases. ''Bonjour Claude, c'est Jean-Paul ici''. ''Ah Jean-Paul, bonjour. Ca va...'' Claude and Jean Paul proceeded to have a long discussion, presumably about wine, cheese, and the fact that there was an English aviator loose in the skies above. I always enjoy taking to Calais.

It was upon crossing the French coast that the visability began to deteriorate. It was still very bright, but there was a good amount of broken cloud at around 2500ft and it was certainly much more hazy. The entire sky was the characteristic milky irrediscence common to summer days. Perfectly flyable, but it certainly would increased the workload across this part of Northern France. Those familiar with this part of France will know that it is pretty featureless until you cross into Belgium and reach the urban areas of Ghent and Antwerp. D-NA had no GPS fitted at the time, so all navigation was done by map-reading and dead reackoning by compass and stop-watch.

I was passed onto Ostend for a FIS. Tiny villages passed underneath my wing as I made steady progress East. I could just about make out the town of Ypres, (in)famous for the bloddy battles of the Great War. Now, a place of pilgrimage, the area around Ypres is saturated with the graves of soldiers who fell during the Battle of the Somme.

It was only upon reaching the confluences of Ghent that my faith in my navigation was affirmed. From here onwards, the navigation element would become easier. There did remain, however, one final hurdle to overcome. In order to reach Diest, one must route accurately between the Antwerp and Brussels control zones. A narrow corridor approximately 2nm wide is all that prevents an unpopular 'zone bust'.

After safely negotiating the corridor, I began to make preparations for my arrival into Diest. As with any event of this nature (such as the PFA Rally), traffic can be very heavy, and proper planning is essential to ensure a safe and efficient arrival into the event. Procedure dictated that pilots obtained the ATIS as soon as possible before reaching the field. Unlike the PFA Rally, where there are mandatory arrival routes and procedures, Diest employs a fairly standard downwind join. This is the point where I wished I had another set of eyes in the cockpit as the workload increased dramatically.

The ATIS was giving Runway 26 as active, so I proceded to join downwind, keeping a good lookout for other traffic. There were aeroplanes everywhere! 'This is going to be interesting', I thought to myself as I completed my downwind checks. Turning base, number five to land. Speed back and settling in the approach configuration, frantically moving my head (bird like I'm sure) trying to acquire all the aircraft. A Harvard was circling on a long final, waiting for a gap to appear - he would slip in behind me. On final approach, still one ahead just completing its landing roll. Short final and the runway becomes clear, the Bolkow comes over the hedge and kisses the grass gracefully. I make sure to vacate as soon as is safe to do so and make my way over to a gentleman waving ping-pong bats at me.

(D-NA Coming over the hedge at Diest)

The runway at Diest is usually in pretty good condition (as long as its not wet!), but the parking areas undulate quite alarmingly in places. The movement areas are not always employed as such (for most of the year Diest accomodates parachutists) and so you have to be fairly careful not to appease the enthusiastic pace of the 'Follow Me' car.

(Gunther Butterweck arrives in D-EHAC)

'I'm here, and what a great flight it was'. I was immediately greeted by the rest of the Bolkow contingent, Gunther Butterweck and my father Derek. Hampson Snr had arrived in G-BSME from Rotterdam the night before and Gunther had flown D-EHAC from Bonn Hangelar earlier that morning. The people at Diest do a great job of looking after their guests and after booking in and closing the flight plan, we tucked into the long-standing, traditional Belgian dish...Frites et Mayonaisse!

(The Bolkow contingent - Colin Hampson, Gunther Butterweck & Derek Hampson)

We spent a good few hours looking around the aircraft park admiring the various vintage types that had made the trip. D-NA was due to have it's annual in the weeks following the fly-in and would have to go to Germany. Therefore, the plan was for my father and I to fly back to Rotterdam and swap aeroplanes there. I would take G-ME back to Blighty and my father would take care of the annual - thanks Dad!

Gunther departed at the same time, so spectators were treated to three Bolkows taxying out and departing in sequence. It was a short sector of some 80nm, and we would fly it in formation until we reached controlled airspace where I would drop back and we would arrive seperately.

As my father was rolling, I lined up behind and began to roll as G-ME got airborne. D-NA has a climb prop fitted so accelaration was good and I soon caught up with Hampson Snr in G-ME. We set up 90kt cruise settings (G-ME approx 2300-2350rpm, D-NA approx 2400rpm) and tracked North. We passed East abeam Seppe, and approaching ROMEO I pealled away and dropped back out of formation.

Rotterdam publishes mandatory VFR routes both inbound and outbound to the field. ROMEO is a large railway yard on the southern edge of the city. The inbound route follows a motorway up to a large junction to the south-east of the airport. From here, aircraft proceed to a position south abeam the field and turn to cross overhead, breaking downwind (either left or right) for the final descent. I saw G-ME cross the numbers as I broke into the downwind leg for Runway 06. As with most large airports blessed with huge runways, it's prudent to plan where you're going to land in order to make a particular turn-off, otherwise a prolonged taxi-in can be expected. Intersection V3 is approximately 350m in from the threshold, and is the preferred turn-off if you can make it! If not, it's best to land long as its a fair way down to V2!

(D-NA and G-ME back at Rotterdam Airport)

So, farm strip to regional airport to military field to international airport made for plenty of variety. Make The 2007 International Old Timer Fly-in the first thing you put on your calender in the New Year.

The Fleet

G-ATTR

Owned by Capt. Stewart Luck, 'TR' is a lovely red and white 1966 Bolkow 208C Junior. Also flown by Stewart's son, Henry, 'TR' is a frequent visitor on the U.K fly-in scene. Stewart is a Captain on the B747 'classic' fleet and runs the PFA's Youth & Education Strut (YES) and 'Build-a-Plane' project (www.flyers.org.uk).

G-BSME

Owned by Derek Hampson since 1990 and currently based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 'ME' was built in 1966 and sports (for now) a fairly non-standard silver and blue scheme. Derek is an engineer with Shell Aircraft looking after their fleet of business jets. 'ME' usually makes it to most Bolkow gatherings in the hands of Derek, or occasionally myself!

D-EHAC

Owned by 'Mr Bolkow' himself, Herr Gunther Butterweck. 'AC' is Gunther's 7th Bolkow and was the last ever 208 to come off the production line in 1971 (Serial number 709), built by Siebel Flugzeugwerk Donau. Gunther has been flying the 208 since 1980. In 1999 he flew across the USA from St Augustine, Florida to San Diego, California in N208WC, and in 2005 Gunther attended the celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the Bolkow 208 in New Zealand. During the 5 weeks in New Zealand, Gunther flew some 20 hours to 15 different airfields in ZK-CJG. Gunther's Bolkows are flying in many countries: G-ECGO (Scotland), D-EEAH (England), D-EMUH (France), D-EMFU (Belgium), D-EGVI (Germany) and D-EAMB (Italy). Gunther is the leader of the famed 'Bolkow Formation' which has been known to put on quite a display at various model aeroplane fields in his homeland.

D-EDNA

Owned by Capt. Martin Woodcock, 'NA ' is a delightful 1965 Junior. I was fortunate enough to own 'NA' for a brief period before it was reluctantly sold. Martin is a Captain with Shell Aircraft flying the Gulfstream V and Falcon 900EX. 'NA' is now based at a private strip near Exeter.

D-EEAH

Owned by Stewart Buckingham, 'AH' is a fantastic example of type. Gunther Butterweck won numerous awards with this aeroplane back in 1994. Built in 1967, 'AH' is painted in a very attractive red and white 'starburst' scheme. Stewart recently got in touch with other members of the group (thanks Stewart) and it appears as though 'AH' has done her fair share of touring these past few years. 'AH' is currently based at Boscombe Down.

G-AVKR

Owned by Clive Morris, and based in the South somewhere (where exactly Clive?). A couple of us met Clive at the PFA Rally at Kemble this year. 'KR' has a very distinctive paint scheme with a 'Betty Boop' motif on the port side.

G-ATXZ

Owned by the G-ATXZ Group, 'XZ' is a 1966 208C and is painted in the standard Bolkow scheme. The aeroplane is currently undergoing a rebuild after a landing accident. Mark Kaye to supply further details on the aeroplane shortly (thanks Mark). Currently based at Tatenhill. Hopefully she will be flying again very soon.

G-AVLO

Owned by Phil Swain and based at Knockin airstrip in Shropshire, 'LO' has been in Phil's hands since 1994. 'LO' has done it's fair share of touring - there have been sightings in France, Belgium, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Mann to name but a few. Phil has confessed that he has, in moments of weakness, 'made eyes' at composite machines (we forgive you Phil) but has never been able to give the Bolkow up. Phil coordinates the 'Bolkow Squadron Newsletter', so watch this space for the next issue.

D-EGHW (209)

Owned by Tony Watson and Nick Wright, D-EGHW came to the U.K last year and is based at a private strip in Hamphire. Nick started flying the Monsun in November 2006 and has managed 10 hours since! (given the weather over this period, this is no small achievement). We look forward to hearing more about the aeroplane, and hope to see it at the next Bolkow fly-in.

D-EMUH

Owned by Marc Bonnier since July 2006, 'Uniform Hotel' is based at Voves-Viabon, a private strip near Chartres, France. Another of Gunther's Bolkows! (more info to follow)

Rotterdam to Blackpool! - Trip report

September 2006

The plan was for my wife and I to fly ourselves down to Jersey for a week. She was happy to get a few days off work, and I was happy about getting some flying in. Having sold my Bolkow last October in order to fly something more reckless (and only one seat!), I needed to prise a set of Bolkow keys from my Dad for a couple of weeks. This involved getting a flight across to Rotterdam where G-BSME is based, and from where my trip would begin. Kathryn, my wife, decided not to accompany me across to Rotterdam. She is not an avid aviator, and was not really (if I'm honest) realishing the prospect of the flying part of the holiday. No real problem, West Sussex is pretty much in between Rotterdam and Jersey (close enough anyway).

Arriving in Rotterdam on the Friday, the weather was grim, and the forecast for the weekend wasn't much better. 'Hmmm, who's idea was this?' I thought as we planned, and replanned my trip back to the U.K. 'Well, it was my idea, and a good one at that! The weather will improve, it always does...eventually', I thought. A Sunday return was out of the question. High winds, low cloud, horizontal rain, the lot! However, the forecast for Monday was better.

(Rotterdam Airport - Image provided by Google Earth)

Monday morning; The weather was good in Rotterdam, and good in the U.K. The Belgian coast looked less than ideal, but flyable. And so it proved to be. Departing Rotterdam I was able to climb to 2500ft and tracked the coast south-west towards Midden-Zeeland. So far, so good. Geographical borders (certainly in Western Europe) are largely political. Not so on this Monday morning approaching the Belgian one. Mother Nature had decided to encamp on the border itself and I was met with a wall of cloud. I decended to 1200ft to dip under the cloud. The visibility under the cloud was pretty good (certainly close to 10K), definately good enough to keep going. An updated weather check from Ostend confirmed my suspicions - a base of patchy cloud at 1200ft and 8km vis. Ostend approved a zone transit following the coast, and the ride was silky smooth. Just before the handoff to Koksijde, Ostend told me that Koksijde wanted me to climb to 2500ft to transit their zone, if not I would have to go around their zone (not good). Just as I was recalculating my route and about to key the mic, the cloud lifted!

Almost spookily, the cloud disintergrated to reveal a bright blue sky. I took the climb to 2500ft and said farewell to Ostend. Coasting out at Dunkirque to avoid the power station at Gravelines, the weather was now glorious. I climbed to 3000ft for the Channel crossing, and left the French coast at Sangatte making direct for Lydd. Ground speed at this point, due to the strong westerly wind, was atrocious. The GPS was giving 75-80kts, but the air was beautifully smooth and I was in no real rush.

Making landfall at Lydd and tracking West to pass North abeam Deanland and Shoreham, I finally sighted home territory and began a gradual cruise descent towards Goodwood. Landing after a flying time of 2hrs 55 minutes I was ready for a cup of tea. Kathryn was waiting for me, and looking displeased. My pondering progress had meant that I was a good 30 minutes past my ETA. A bit of grovelling and shifting the blame onto my Dad for giving 'shoddy information' and all was forgiven.

So, Jersey...what happened to that then? Well, we went back to the house to check the weather. The forecast for the South-West was terrible. Bright intervals, but early morning fog was going to linger for a good part of each day. In fact, Helen Willets informed us that it would be Thursday afternoon before we might be in a position to head in that direction. We needed a Plan B!

The rest of the country appeared to be o.k, in fact better than o.k. ''Look, its nice all week up North, lets go and see your parents.'' Kathryn's parents live in Lytham, just outside of Blackpool - ideal. Now, I'd heard horror stories about flying into such airports (ones with 'Big Airport syndrome'). You can usually tell these apart as they'll have names like London Little Bibbington Regional International Business Spaceport. They're large enough to attract the one or two low-cost commercial movements per week but have a nasty habit of charging 'the Earth' for GA traffic to infringe upon their apron. These tales proved to be just that - tales. More on this later.

The route was to take us from Goodwood, north-west to Popham, then north to Oxford, Banbury and Coventry. From Nuneaton we would turn north-west again towards Stoke and Crewe, and then north between the Liverpool and Manchester CTAs. From Wigan it's north-west direct to Blackpool.

With my passenger strapped in and briefed for the departure, we started up and taxied out to 14R. Goodwood benefits from hugh grass runways, so despite full fuel, two-up and baggage, performance wasn't going to be limiting. We climbed out and turned towards Popham. The weather was good, although there were bits of broken cloud sitting around which we climbed above for the overhead transit at Oxford. Coventry were very busy (it was a weekday), but were still able to provide an excellent service. As we approached Crewe we were treated to the lovely sight of a Canberra (one of the 4 recently retired) passing us on our port side at about 1 mile.

Decending to remain below 1250ft to route through the Manchester low-level corridor, we got a good view of urban Warrington! Haydock Park racecourse and Wigan's JJB football stadium also passed under our wing. Leaving the corridor, we gave Warton Radar a call for the transit and initial approach into Blackpool. Warton will typically give you a squawk and (if routing from the South) will ask you to route via Southport Pier. We could see Blackpool's Pleasure Beach from a good distance out as we crossed the Ribble Estuary.

Warton hand you off to Blackpool Tower (the landmark is referred to as 'Tall Tower') very close in, pretty much on the downwind leg, so its best to plan your descent in advance.

We followed a Super Puma helicopter in after the recommended spacing for wake turbulence. ATC at Blackpool were very professional, yet very accomodating and helpful. I made it 2 hrs 45 minutes flying time - not bad at all.

We decided to uplift our return fuel there and then, rather than try to do it when we wanted to leave. Again, the fuellers were particularly helpful and did everything for us. High-vis jackets are mandatory at Blackpool, which is common sense when you consider how busy the apron is. We secured the aeroplane in the grass parking area (Fylde Park) and were let out at a security gate. We arrived on a Tuesday and left on Saturday and were charged just £27 for the landing and parking, which I consider to be very good value.

So, Rotterdam to Blackpool. Probably not the most obvious of choices for a trip, but plenty of variety to keep it interesting. The Bolkow performed flawlessly and proved that it can mix with

The big boys when required.