Day: December 15, 2014

Wim has been lucky to get a few flights in recently while I’ve had other things to do and not been able to. We expected today to be a good flying day but I almost gave up on it because it started off dull with thick mist and I didn’t think that it looked as though it would clear up enough. However, as lunch time approached, the sun broke through and I was surprised by how quickly the mist began to burn off.

So I gave Wim a call and said that I’d go across to Galinat to see if the runway was firm enough to use and if it was, I’d give him a ring from my mobile. Well it turned out to be fine so while I was waiting for Wim to drop over, after getting 56NE inspected and ready to fly, I thought I’d do a quick take off and landing. Almost as soon as I left the ground, I spotted Wim approaching, so I turned round and followed him back in.

We decided that we’d do a quick flight with Wim taking the lead in the Red Baron, taking in Thenon, Fossemagne and Rouffignac. I had taken my flying jacket with me to Galinat but hadn’t put it on as I already had several layers on my upper half, as well as a ‘beanie’ hat and my trusty gloves. I soon regretted leaving it behind, however, because it was a lot colder aloft than I thought it would be. It was also quite hazy, as the couple of pics I shot show.

I came up abreast of Wim several times but didn’t take any close-up pics because with the vis as it was, especially flying into the sun, I didn’t think it would be too safe. Eventually after we’d flown over Rouffignac, Wim turned in front of me on a low circuit to land back at his strip. After he’d landed and got out of the Red Baron, I did an approach and low pass before giving him a wave and heading off back to Galinat.

So it was an enjoyable and very welcome flight from my point of view, as when I came to fill out my log book, I realised for the first time that I hadn’t flown at all in November on account of working on my new wood store. I just hope that the situation can be remedied by getting in another couple of flights before the end of the year 😉