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Victor, Wim and I went to the airfield at Castillonnes on Saturday as planned. The journey there and back was doubly exciting because we went in Victor’s fantastically restored Citroen 2CV! I left the front seat to Wim because he has longer legs than me and I was bounced around in the back the whole way there and back, but it was a real treat and I wouldn’t have missed it for a moment.

I didn’t take my camera with me so couldn’t take a picture but I’ll make sure I do next time. Victor has done the most incredible job because the car looks as though it’s just left the showroom. It’s finished in the most beautiful shade of turquoise blue and as well as having had a new soft-top made for it in the same colour, it has also had new upholstery fitted in a very attractive matching striped velour fabric. Victor is an engineer so the engine isn’t standard. Performance is limited by the gearbox, which I think is the standard one, but the engine is surprisingly lively and keeps up very easily in normal traffic. I always had the idea that 2CVs are noisy and gutless, but I was only correct in one of those assumptions. Well, for this particular one anyway 😉 And to top it off, it has traditional yellow headlamps, as was apparent as it got dark as we drove home. Lovely 😀

The northerly wind meant that it was quite chilly at Castillonnes. Although the chart shows that name, the signs locally show the airfield as Cavarc. We were the first to arrive and after Victor had mixed 20 litres of 2-stroke fuel, we had begun to get aircraft out of the hangar before others began to arrive. One of the first was Philippe, one of two instructors at Castillonnes. Victor had arranged for an hour or so’s instruction with him and while people were getting things ready to go, I grabbed the opportunity to have a few words with him and show him the email I’d received from Bertrand. There are two training Hurricanes at Castillonnes, one of which has a pod (carenage) and one that doesn’t. I showed a picture of the one that does have in a previous post but to save you searching for it, here it is again.

As you can see, the Hurricane is an open tandem design so you need kit similar to when you fly in a flexwing. This includes the normal helmet, visor and headset and also an insulated flying suit at this time of year. Several hardy souls went off in the non-podded Hurricane but Victor did his instruction (he’s working towards his ULM licence) in the one in the pic. After he’d returned, I was offered the chance to have a few minutes in the front seat (there are controls but no instruments in the rear position), which I jumped at. Philippe was with me in the back but although I can’t say I liked flying with a helmet and visor, possibly partly because the helmet was too big for me and kept dropping forward down my forehead, I was quite happy to take off and climb out although I hadn’t taken the controls before. I then flew straight and level at a height of 250 metres for a few minutes followed by a level 180 degree turn to the right. As we approached the airfield Philippe took over for the circuit and landing which he had to do, because without insurance, it would have been illegal for me to have done so.

After the flight we talked about my situation in more detail. Although I have a current UK medical declaration, the French rules state that I must have a letter from a French doctor indicating that there are no health considerations that would prevent me flying. However, unlike in the UK where I have to get this done at my cost every year on account of my age, once I’ve met the requirement in France, that will be it, for life. As I don’t yet have a French doctor, although I am now registered in the French system, I will have to make the necessary arrangements in the next week or so. Modest FFPLUM licence subscription fees also apply (91.95€ for me) and as these run from the beginning of each year for the following 12 months, we decided that as I must get a doctor’s letter beforehand, we’d start my licence conversion after Christmas in the New Year. Subject to weather, it should be possible to get it done by the end of January, during which time I will have short-term, temporary, membership of the club at Castillonnes.

So that’s it then! There are two doctors in Rouffignac, which is closer to Plazac than Montignac, so all I have to do is give them a call, decide which one to go for and make an appointment to drop in and get the letter I need. That sounds easy enough – now all I have to do is DO IT 😉