Saturday 31 December 2011

Top 5 In 2011

It is again that time of year where it's traditional to look back the previous 12 months & pick out the highlights, so that's exactly what I've been doing!

Overall 2011 has been a quieter year for me in terms of number of events attended, mainly due to the weather being far from ideal & when this is teamed with the ever increasing cost of fuel it isn't a good combination! Thinking back across the past 12 months I can only pick out one weekend where both days featured "summer weather", so hats off to all those out there involved with GA that haven't given up hope yet!

Anyway that's enough writing from me, on with the list! To view details of each event just click on the image below the description.

In at number 5 is WestonZoyland, this former RAF airfield is now a nice microlight strip with around 40 aircraft based. The day itself dawned very foggy & with low cloud, it did eventually clear & then visitors continued to arrive well into the evening. I beleive calls from over 200 aircraft for PPR were taken during the day!
G-BZUZ

Number 4 comes in the form of the fly-in on Knott End sands. This is again a popular fly-in with pilots as it's a rare oppourtunity to land on a beach! It certainly offered up some very intersting photograph oppourtunites, with the dramatic backdrop of the Lake District hills.
G-AVVC

Third place goes to the "Summer Madness" fly-in at Breighton. This is one of my favuoite airfields to visit, the lighting is perfect for photographs throughout the day & you can walk the length of the runway to get whatever angle you desire for your shots.
G-CGPY (671)

Second place goes to Sacville Lodge for the "Grass Roots Balloon Meet". After weeks of cancellations due to unsuitable weather conditions they eventually gave the go-ahead for the event & what a day they picked! During the day it was boiling hot & fairly windy, but by the launch time the wind & temperature's had dropped out nicely perfect balloon flying weather.
G-CGWU

Finally in taking the number one spot is Headon, their fly-in back in July saw the little microlight strip near Gamston bursting at the seems with aircraft! The friendly approach to things & a very uncomplicated approach to aviation was very nice to see, we spent most of the day chatting away to the chap who was manning the radio (inbetween dealing with the many RT calls!) a fantastic day.
G-KASW

Lets hope for some better weather in 2012!

Saturday 12 November 2011

Caernarfon (EGCK) 06-11-2011

The number of visitors to Caernarfon on a nice weekend day is very impressive, out-numbering many fly-ins during the summer! The Irish 182 was a nice surprise.

EI-GSM
EI-GSM    Cessna 182
G-ARNJ
G-ARNJ    Piper PA-22
G-ATJL
G-ATJL    Piper PA-24
G-AVGA
G-AVGA   Piper PA-24
G-BAFL
G-BAFL    Cessna 182
G-BAGR
G-BAGR    Robin
G-BDVC
G-BDVC    Piper PA-17
G-BGPJ
G-BGPJ    Piper PA-28
G-BHEG
G-BHEG    Jodel
G-BOPH
G-BOPH    Cessna 182
G-BTNE
G-BTNE    Piper PA-28
G-BYTU
G-BYTU    Mainair Blade 912
G-BZFS    Mainair Blade 912
G-CBIE
G-CBIE    CT2K
G-CBXJ    Cessna 172
G-CCCN
G-CCCN    Robin
G-CCLX
G-CCLX    Quik
G-CCSF
G-CCSF    Quik
G-CDNW
G-CDNW    Ikarus C42
G-CDTL
G-CDTL    Jabiru
G-CEMD    Piper PA-28
G-CESD
G-CESD    SkyRanger
G-CGHD
G-CGHD    Cessna 172
G-CGHM
G-CGHM    Piper PA-28
G-CGPE
G-CGPE    Quik GT450
G-DECR
G-DECR    QuikR
G-DJAY
G-DJAY    Jabiru
G-EDNA
G-EDNA    Piper PA-38
G-EZZE
G-EZZE    SportCruiser
G-FBII
G-FBII    Ikarus C42
G-FKNH
G-FKNH    Piper PA-15
G-FMKA
G-FMKA    Diamond HK36
G-FOGY    Robinson R22
G-JADW
G-JADW    Ikarus C42
G-KEVZ
G-KEVZ      QuikR
G-MTTW
G-MTTW    Gemini Flash
G-MYXZ
G-MYXZ    Quantum
G-MZIW
G-MZIW    Mainair Blade
G-NOCK
G-NOCK    Cessna 182
G-OGOD
G-OGOD    Quik GT450
G-RAZY
G-RAZY    Piper PA-28
G-RCWK
G-RCWK    Cessna 182
G-RVIX
G-RVIX    Vans RV-9
G-SEXE
G-SEXE    Falke
G-SWCT
G-SWCT    CTSW
G-TIFG
G-TIFG    Ikarus C42
G-VAAV
G-VAAV    QuikR

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Blackpool (BLK, EGNH) 05-11-2011

A visit to the seaside for the American Legacy that was visiting to arrange hospitality for the 2012 Open golf championships proved that photography at Blackpool is tricky shooting into the sun. The airfield was reasonably busy during the visit & there was ample activity to keep yourself amused.

G-AXDK
G-AXDK Robin
G-BHFI
G-BHFI Cessna 152
G-BILS
G-BILS Cessna 152
G-BORL
G-BORL Piper PA-28
G-BRBW
G-BRBW Piper PA-28
G-ENEA
G-ENEA Cessna 182
G-GAEA
G-GAEA Aquila AT01
G-GALA
G-GALA Piper PA-28
G-GCDD
G-GCDD Cirrus SR20
G-GMCM
G-GMCM As350
G-LACB
G-LACB Piper PA-28
G-REDF
G-REDF As365
G-IBED
G-IBED Robinson R22
G-JILY
G-JILY Robinson R44
G-OWST
G-OWST Cessna 172
G-SYGA
G-SYGA Beech 200
G-UFLY
G-UFLY Cessna 150
G-ZRZZ
G-ZRZZ Cirrus SR22
M-YAIR
M-YAIR Premier
N189DR
N189DR Legacy