Latest / Flyer Magazine / Air Racing, STOL, Rally, & More! - The FLYER Show - 12 March 2026

Transcript

Air Racing, STOL, Rally, & More! - The FLYER Show - 12 March 2026 · Flyer Magazine

0:04
SPEAKER_05: Hello and welcome to this week's Flyer Show.
0:08
SPEAKER_05: I'm Ed Hicks, I'm Annabelle Cook, and I'm Dave Corderwood.
0:11
SPEAKER_05: And it's Annabelle's birthday.
0:13
SPEAKER_05: Happy birthday.
0:14
SPEAKER_04: Happy birthday to you.
0:15
SPEAKER_04: Happy birthday to you.
0:17
SPEAKER_04: Happy birthday.
0:19
SPEAKER_04: Happy birthday to you.
0:20
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
0:21
SPEAKER_04: Make a wish.
0:22
SPEAKER_06: I wish you'd stop singing.
0:30
SPEAKER_05: Smoke a lungs.
0:31
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's my lungs.
0:34
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
0:35
SPEAKER_05: So this week's uh flyer show is all about uh getting into competition flying.
0:41
SPEAKER_05: Um so uh hang on for that a little bit later.
0:44
SPEAKER_05: We'll be talking about uh various ways you can compete in your flying.
0:48
SPEAKER_05: Okay, wait.
0:50
SPEAKER_05: I have something else.
0:52
SPEAKER_05: Annabelle.
0:55
SPEAKER_05: Oh, thank you.
0:57
SPEAKER_05: You have to open it on camera.
0:58
SPEAKER_05: Do I?
0:59
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
1:00
unknown: Okay.
1:01
SPEAKER_05: Come on.
1:02
SPEAKER_04: Okay, I haven't got all done.
1:04
SPEAKER_04: Hang on then.
1:06
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
1:07
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
1:07
SPEAKER_04: Honest.
1:08
SPEAKER_06: Hmm, I have a suspicion.
1:13
SPEAKER_06: And it's not enough.
1:17
SPEAKER_06: What have you got?
1:19
SPEAKER_06: What else could it be but an airfix beaver?
1:24
SPEAKER_05: You can have a lot of fun assembling that.
1:26
SPEAKER_06: I can.
1:27
SPEAKER_06: That's perfect.
1:28
SPEAKER_05: We've even got some glue in the studio from one of our previous airfix challenges.
1:34
SPEAKER_06: Yes, the last time we made airfix models in this studio, I had a cracking headache from all the fumes.
1:38
SPEAKER_05: It was very fumy, wasn't it?
1:40
SPEAKER_06: Oh, that's brilliant.
1:41
SPEAKER_06: Thank you.
1:41
SPEAKER_05: Very good.
1:42
SPEAKER_05: But anyway, uh enough of that nonsense.
1:44
SPEAKER_05: Uh it's time for this week's top tip, and it's from Tim at Sky Demon.
1:48
SPEAKER_05: Thank you to Sky Demon for their support for the show.
1:51
SPEAKER_05: We couldn't do it without them, and it's all about AIPs.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: Hi, I'm Tim from Sky Demon.
2:00
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to this week's Top Tip.
2:02
SPEAKER_02: In Sky Demon, we license all the AIPs for countries across Europe and provide those documents to you as a standard part of your subscription.
2:10
SPEAKER_02: You'll find them here in the Airfields tab.
2:14
SPEAKER_02: There are other companies who create documents for airfields, often containing information not present in the AIPs, and in many cases, we make those available through Sky Demon as an optional extra.
2:25
SPEAKER_02: In the UK, we offer the flight guides from AFE and Poolies.
2:31
SPEAKER_02: Both of them contain loads of information for hundreds of UK airfields, and if you've bought a subscription to them, you'll see the documents here alongside those from the AIP.
2:41
SPEAKER_02: This is the AFE plate for Compton Abbas.
2:47
SPEAKER_02: And this is the Poolies plate.
2:55
SPEAKER_02: You can also go into My Flight Guides, then pick the one you want, and you'll often see lots of general useful information at the top, which isn't associated with a particular airfield.
3:09
SPEAKER_02: For our full user manual, go to skydemon.ero and choose help and support.
3:18
SPEAKER_06: Actually, that's really useful because when I did that mammoth flight across Europe a couple of years ago, it was really helpful to have everything in one place.
3:26
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
3:26
SPEAKER_06: Just to keep flicking through it and then reference back.
3:29
SPEAKER_05: Are you a Sky you a Poolies person or an AFE person?
3:33
SPEAKER_06: I'm a Poolies person actually.
3:35
SPEAKER_06: I think you just go with whatever you're yeah, whatever you start with.
3:38
SPEAKER_06: And I have to say, again, when I do the um the landing fees each month, I do go in to the Poolies flight guides to check all the details.
3:46
SPEAKER_06: So yeah, make very good use of all.
3:48
SPEAKER_05: Because the Flyer Club landing fees are sponsored by Poolies.
3:51
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
3:51
SPEAKER_05: They are fantastic.
3:53
SPEAKER_06: Weather is very much on the mend, isn't it?
3:56
SPEAKER_06: We've had actually some sunshine and it was warm yesterday.
3:58
SPEAKER_06: So shall we see what Simon has in store for us and whether we can start making use of this month's free landings.
4:04
SPEAKER_05: Let's hope.
4:04
SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone, Simon Keeling here with your Flying Weather Outlook for the weekend.
4:09
SPEAKER_01: Um at the moment, but I couldn't leave you without a forecast for the weekend.
4:14
SPEAKER_01: Let's take a look at how things are gonna shape up.
4:18
SPEAKER_01: And as we get into Friday, you can see that the winds have changed somewhat.
4:22
SPEAKER_01: The ice bars are closer apart.
4:25
SPEAKER_01: Some heavy showers affecting western parts of Scotland and into the uh west of Wales as well.
4:32
SPEAKER_01: Um, I do think that it's gonna be these areas that we may see some Q names, those heavy showers coming in and uh probably basically around two to three thousand feet tops probably getting up to around about 15,000 feet plus.
4:48
SPEAKER_01: I think further east, generally flible, maybe marginal if you've got caught by a shower in more central and western areas, but okay, uh generally bases 3,000 feet tops and around 12 to 15,000 feet as we get through in towards um Saturday.
5:10
SPEAKER_01: So the winds have um lighten up quite a bit there.
5:13
SPEAKER_01: You can see the ice balls have become uh more stretchy apart, so much lighter in westerly winds.
5:19
SPEAKER_01: Still the risk of some heavy showers that are affecting parts of northern and western parts of Scotland.
5:25
SPEAKER_01: Now I think what's gonna happen here is that those showers basically are mostly confined to the west of Scotland, parts of Western Ireland as well.
5:37
SPEAKER_01: Here we're gonna be finding it marginal for the air, some heavy showers coming in, like I said to say, but for most of us, it actually looks like being a pretty decent day.
5:47
SPEAKER_01: But generally three to four thousand foot bases, and I think tops are probably up at around 10 to 12,000 feet.
5:55
SPEAKER_01: Visibility, not bad uh as well, particularly in the east.
5:59
SPEAKER_01: But obviously, with no showers in the west, the visibility will be reduced at the time.
6:03
SPEAKER_01: On Tuesday, breezier day, you see the ice bars closer together once again, come from passage east, which is taking rain with it, but more importantly, following in behind, we get some heavy showers getting into western Scotland, northwest Wales, northwest England, non to marginal VFR here.
6:19
SPEAKER_01: Um, with those showers around base is probably coming in at around about 3,000 feet, but lower in the showers at around 15,000 feet.
6:31
SPEAKER_01: More eastern and central and southern areas generally better.
6:35
SPEAKER_01: Basically coming in at around 4,000 feet, tops 12,000 feet.
6:40
SPEAKER_01: But again, it's quite breezy for all of us in the west, west, southwesterly wind in Scotland elsewhere, just I think fresh and strong westerly wind blowing anyway.
6:50
SPEAKER_01: I'll be booking um my uh next aviation weather school with places available.
6:55
SPEAKER_01: This is part one, and uh it's going to be held entirely online and presented by me between 6:30 pm and 9 pm on the Tuesday evenings of the 12th and the 19th of May.
7:06
SPEAKER_01: It would be absolutely super happy to see you there.
7:10
SPEAKER_01: This is the course where I show you how you can um see weather windows after five days in advance, and then more importantly, drill down into the weather charts to work out what the weather is going to do on each of those days so you can spot the days when the weather is within your limits.
7:27
SPEAKER_01: I'll show you how to basically winds and winds at different levels and speed visibility, loads and loads of things basically take you beyond the PPL weather syllabus.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: So if you want to put your place in a weather school.com.th and you just use the link here on the right hand side.
7:53
SPEAKER_01: So if you want to come along, you know, okay, I will leave you with that.
8:01
SPEAKER_01: Whatever you do, have a great have a safe flying weekend.
8:08
SPEAKER_01: On the Tuesday evenings of the 12th.
8:11
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
8:12
SPEAKER_01: Time for me to home.
8:14
SPEAKER_01: Um whatever you do, have a great, have a safe flying weekend.
8:18
SPEAKER_01: Uh watch the window today.
8:20
SPEAKER_01: It's not gonna take a bit longer just uh I'll catch you all again next week.
8:24
SPEAKER_01: Thanks again for watching it.
8:26
SPEAKER_05: News.
8:27
SPEAKER_03: News news.
8:28
SPEAKER_03: Well, uh it's a saga of old serum, I'm afraid.
8:31
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
8:31
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
8:32
SPEAKER_03: The airfield, the airfield management rather, yeah has just been it's been locked in planning arguments with Wilts County Council, Wilshire County Council for years.
8:40
SPEAKER_03: And the latest one, um, the Airfield Management have just won.
8:44
SPEAKER_03: They've defeated they've defeated uh Wilt's attempt to block uh going ahead with the uh the building plan they have.
8:53
SPEAKER_03: Uh the Wil Wilshire County Council have never liked this plan, and they said because of the the hangar at uh Old Serum burnt hangar three burnt down last year, they said the planning permission that had been granted um was no longer valid.
9:07
SPEAKER_05: Because the planning originally was all about restoring that hangar.
9:10
SPEAKER_05: Exactly, yeah.
9:11
SPEAKER_05: Because it had been damaged in a windstorm.
9:13
SPEAKER_03: Yes, it had been damaged in a windstorm, and then there was yeah, then there was the fire.
9:17
SPEAKER_03: So there was very little left to restore.
9:20
SPEAKER_05: Uh I haven't been down there recently to have a look, but um I think the site the site has been cleared now and there's just the brick structure, isn't there?
9:26
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I think so.
9:27
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
9:27
SPEAKER_03: But uh Blister have shown how you can restore an old uh an old hangar.
9:32
SPEAKER_03: Uh it did cost them four million pounds, but they've they have restored that lovely old hangar.
9:36
SPEAKER_06: They yeah, they have, because that was very similar actually.
9:39
SPEAKER_06: It's it's another grade two listed building.
9:41
SPEAKER_06: This is Hangar 137.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
9:43
SPEAKER_06: Um and this one was built in 1926.
9:46
SPEAKER_06: It's a type A aeroplane shed.
9:48
SPEAKER_06: Um so it's really nice to see that restored in time for its centenary.
9:52
SPEAKER_05: But unfortunately, you say aeroplane shed.
9:54
SPEAKER_05: But it's this is the one that they evicted all the aeroplanes from, isn't it?
9:58
SPEAKER_06: They have, yeah.
9:59
SPEAKER_06: Um so it is going to be used as an indoor e-carting centre.
10:03
SPEAKER_06: I think everything's e at the moment, isn't it?
10:05
SPEAKER_06: Um but actually, even though it's not going to be used to house aircraft, it is really nice to see that they're keeping some of that um the aviation heritage from BISTA visible.
10:14
SPEAKER_06: Um and um there was a note in the press release that uh said that the historic graffiti on the internal walls has been kept.
10:22
SPEAKER_06: And I think that's actually rather lovely.
10:24
SPEAKER_06: That is nice.
10:24
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
10:25
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
10:25
SPEAKER_05: That's a because that is a really historic and very complete site, isn't it, Bista?
10:30
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
10:30
SPEAKER_05: And they have done.
10:31
SPEAKER_05: I know there's been a lot a lot of talk about the fact that aviation has kind of become a fringe activity there.
10:38
SPEAKER_05: There's some of it, you know, it's some still takes place.
10:41
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
10:41
SPEAKER_05: Um but they have done an amazing job in preserving an airfield.
10:44
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
10:44
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
10:44
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
10:45
SPEAKER_05: Um so that can only be a good thing.
10:47
SPEAKER_03: It's still a flying site.
10:48
SPEAKER_05: That's yeah, you yeah.
10:49
SPEAKER_05: And and and there's even a V there's an EV toll vertiport, isn't there?
10:54
SPEAKER_05: E more e yeah, more easy.
10:57
SPEAKER_05: That's easy for you to say.
10:59
SPEAKER_05: It's not.
11:02
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
11:02
SPEAKER_05: Who who's next?
11:03
SPEAKER_05: It's you, I think.
11:04
SPEAKER_05: It's me.
11:05
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
11:05
SPEAKER_05: Ah, okay.
11:05
SPEAKER_05: This is probably the Stollfest news.
11:07
SPEAKER_05: Now we talked about the fact there was a stall event coming back to the UK this year.
11:13
SPEAKER_05: Um, because uh last year there was a a real Stollfest, which was all about uh just kind of trialling the idea of a of us of getting the stoll community together.
11:22
SPEAKER_05: That worked out really, really well, and uh they had uh a whole bunch of aircraft, I think 70 attend real Stollfest last year.
11:30
SPEAKER_05: Uh and now they're gonna have the first actual UK competition uh that's all about stoll, that's short takeoff and landing.
11:37
SPEAKER_05: That's gonna happen on the 19th, 20th, and 21st of June at Breaton Airfield in Yorkshire.
11:43
SPEAKER_05: Uh managed to say that one right.
11:45
SPEAKER_06: I'm so impressed.
11:45
SPEAKER_05: I know, yeah.
11:46
SPEAKER_05: So, anyway, more of that later, because that's obviously one of the things that you can do in the UK to compete.
11:51
SPEAKER_05: But anyway, well done, Breeton.
11:53
SPEAKER_05: Well done, real Stollfest.
11:54
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
11:54
SPEAKER_03: You've got some news of helicopters as well, haven't you?
11:56
SPEAKER_05: I have.
11:57
SPEAKER_05: This was all this all happened really quite fast.
11:59
SPEAKER_05: Because like on Monday, there was no helicopter news, and we arrived today, and there's like news of three new helicopters.
12:06
SPEAKER_05: That's exciting.
12:07
SPEAKER_05: It is, and you're a helicopterist.
12:09
SPEAKER_05: I am now.
12:09
SPEAKER_05: I mean I'm the expert on this.
12:11
SPEAKER_05: I could fly, yeah.
12:12
SPEAKER_05: Um so uh so uh Gwimble, the makers of the Cabri G2, which everyone knows, uh sold lots of those.
12:19
SPEAKER_05: Um a little bit like a it's like a I always think it's like a much nicer looking R22.
12:24
SPEAKER_05: Looks really really good looking airplane, yeah.
12:27
SPEAKER_05: Helicopter, uh three rotors, um three uh yeah, three blade rotor head.
12:32
SPEAKER_05: Uh anyway, Gwimble have come up with the G5 Grand Cabri, uh, as you would expect, five seaters, uh but not piston powered like the G2.
12:40
SPEAKER_05: This is going to be uh turbine powered and powered by Safran's new Arias 450 horsepower uh 2D engine.
12:48
SPEAKER_05: Uh that's uh so that lots of flurry ac of activity on that, but they say not going to be entering service until 2030.
12:55
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
12:56
SPEAKER_06: Might have my license by then.
12:57
SPEAKER_05: You might have your license by then.
12:58
SPEAKER_05: Um probably sexiest helicopter reveal.
13:02
SPEAKER_05: Um, it was MD helicopters who I need the the Hughes 500, probably best helicopter ever made.
13:10
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
13:10
SPEAKER_05: Maybe.
13:11
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
13:11
SPEAKER_05: Um MD helicopters, um, the modern day manufacturer for that.
13:15
SPEAKER_05: Um they teased a video and brief details of a new helicopter called the MD564, um, which has a six-blade main rotor.
13:24
SPEAKER_05: That just looks very cool.
13:25
SPEAKER_05: How is that gonna sound?
13:26
SPEAKER_05: That's gonna be amazing.
13:27
SPEAKER_06: And that is the important thing.
13:29
SPEAKER_05: Um, yeah, uh powered by the Rolls-Royce 250 C47E uh 3 engine, which is 675 horsepower.
13:37
SPEAKER_05: That's gonna be a real beast, I think.
13:39
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
13:39
SPEAKER_05: So um uh 650 pound internal payload, 750 pound external payload.
13:45
SPEAKER_05: So if you want more passengers, just carry them in a m carry them in a little pod outside.
13:50
SPEAKER_05: So um four-hour endurance, four hundred nautical mile range.
13:54
SPEAKER_05: Um just very, very cool.
13:56
SPEAKER_05: The real surprise for me though was Robinson, who unveiled this, the turbine truck.
14:02
SPEAKER_05: Um now you won't be surprised to learn that it's basically an R66 um from kind of firewall aft, but forward of the so basically the cabin space on the turbine truck is bas is just set over to taking an enormous cargo pallet, and what would have been the windscreen is now two giant doors, which is bonkers.
14:23
SPEAKER_05: Uh and it's unmanned.
14:25
SPEAKER_05: It's all about just using a helicopter as an unmanned delivery system.
14:29
SPEAKER_05: Uh they partnered with Sikorsky to use their Matrix Autonomous uh piloting system.
14:34
SPEAKER_05: Um and yeah, so and it looks like that's gonna be s here with us sooner sooner than we think.
14:41
SPEAKER_03: So I think all the helicopter companies have to look at uh unmanned flight, don't they?
14:46
SPEAKER_03: Because it's you know it's the way things are going.
14:49
SPEAKER_05: It's uh Well weird and weirdly, we've we've been saying about it's like e VTOL.
14:53
SPEAKER_05: You go, well, are they solving a job that helicopters already do?
14:57
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, solving a problem that helicopters already do.
14:59
SPEAKER_05: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
14:59
SPEAKER_03: They've already solved that problem, yes.
15:01
SPEAKER_03: I know, yeah.
15:01
SPEAKER_05: So um it's it it's it's interesting to see pe uh helicopter manufacturers going, hey, we have these products and we can be autonomous too.
15:08
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
15:11
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
15:12
SPEAKER_03: Quick mention about fuel.
15:13
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, quick mention about fuel.
15:15
SPEAKER_05: Um obviously uh there's been some concern about fuel prices kind of globally, given what's going on in the Middle East.
15:22
SPEAKER_05: Um and that uh did have us talking in the office earlier this week.
15:27
SPEAKER_05: You know, uh are we are we thinking that Avgas prices certainly I'm sure Jet A1 is going to go up because there's a you know big demand for that.
15:34
SPEAKER_05: Avgas, smaller market, but still quite volatile, literally.
15:38
SPEAKER_05: Uh uh We did read on the internet, um there was a couple of well the one useful post on the internet uh on Facebook.
15:47
SPEAKER_05: One useful post on the entire internet.
15:49
SPEAKER_05: I know.
15:49
SPEAKER_05: Anglian Flight Centre, uh Earls Cohn, uh they posted to say they'd had a long chat with their fuel suppliers, uh, and they said we're relieved that wholesale Avgas fuel deliveries serving the UK remain largely unaffected.
16:03
SPEAKER_05: Um and they said there's currently no supply issues.
16:06
SPEAKER_05: Um price does seem to be a factor though, and you kind of expect that.
16:09
SPEAKER_05: Um on the price front, we I I spoke to Oaksea Park, who are one of our free landing fees.
16:15
SPEAKER_05: They are, that's slick.
16:16
SPEAKER_05: Uh and they said that um they're at certainly their next delivery of Avgas is another nine P expensive more over what that they're currently buying at.
16:25
SPEAKER_05: So per litre that is.
16:26
SPEAKER_05: Per litre, yeah.
16:27
SPEAKER_05: So I think we can all see I Avgas prices have come down, you know, but the the post-COVID time of two pounds plus a litre.
16:36
SPEAKER_05: W lots of airfields have been well below that.
16:38
SPEAKER_05: I suspect we might be skirting around that price threshold for a bit.
16:43
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
16:44
SPEAKER_05: So see what happens.
16:45
SPEAKER_05: Uh if we've got more to report on that, we will do.
16:48
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
16:48
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
16:48
SPEAKER_03: So Jet A1 is a bit worrying for flight schools who use uh diamond a lot of them are using diamond air.
16:54
SPEAKER_03: Diamond aircraft which are run on run on Jet A.
16:56
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and I guess for the airlines as well.
16:58
SPEAKER_05: Oh, for the airlines, yeah.
16:59
SPEAKER_05: They're big consum big consumer of it.
17:01
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
17:01
SPEAKER_03: Although I did hear that the way the airlines work, they they they tend to buy forwards.
17:05
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
17:06
SPEAKER_03: Uh so they're millions of litres, I guess.
17:08
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
17:09
SPEAKER_05: So anyway, yeah, we'll see how that pans out.
17:12
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
17:12
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
17:13
SPEAKER_06: So you mentioned Oaksea Park.
17:15
SPEAKER_06: Um, so let's take that slickly into the club news.
17:18
SPEAKER_06: Um so yeah, um Oaksea Park are one of our free landing fees for March.
17:22
SPEAKER_06: Um and they have just added UL94 to already available 100L.
17:27
SPEAKER_05: The UL94, I hear, is nearly the pump system is nearly ready.
17:32
SPEAKER_05: They're just waiting for an electrician.
17:33
SPEAKER_05: But um, yeah, chances are you might see that by the end of uh by the end of March.
17:37
SPEAKER_05: So any late visiting.
17:39
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
17:40
SPEAKER_06: Um we have Cumbernauld, so Cumbernauld, they're celebrating anniversary this year.
17:44
SPEAKER_06: They're 60.
17:45
SPEAKER_06: So um if you can't visit them this month, though, because they are a bit of a trekkerway, um, they um they are celebrating their anniversary with free landings in June as well.
17:56
SPEAKER_06: DC has more about that in a bit.
17:59
SPEAKER_04: I do.
18:00
SPEAKER_06: You do, yeah.
18:01
SPEAKER_04: Surprise!
18:04
SPEAKER_06: Um Dornock, um who here under a new revival, um under management of a local GA enthusiast and professional pilot, Huey Urquhart.
18:15
SPEAKER_06: Um, he says that in summer you can watch the pipe band in the town square and climb the cathedral tower.
18:21
SPEAKER_05: A pipe band?
18:22
SPEAKER_06: Yes.
18:22
SPEAKER_05: What's a pipe band?
18:23
SPEAKER_05: It's a band with people playing the pipes, Ed.
18:26
SPEAKER_05: Oh, you know, when people say pipes, I don't necessarily think of like musical pipes.
18:30
SPEAKER_05: I'm it's like my brain does a weird thing, and it's like straight to water pipes.
18:34
SPEAKER_06: Ed's brain does a weird thing.
18:35
SPEAKER_06: This is breaking news.
18:37
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
18:38
SPEAKER_06: Um and yeah, Huey will help with transport.
18:41
SPEAKER_06: So if you want to go see a pipe band, he'll drive you.
18:43
SPEAKER_06: Um actually, I don't know, I'm really tempted by that.
18:45
SPEAKER_05: I'm here for the pipe band.
18:47
SPEAKER_06: Yes.
18:48
SPEAKER_06: Um and Straven.
18:49
SPEAKER_06: Um, of course.
18:50
SPEAKER_05: Said correctly.
18:52
SPEAKER_06: How else would it be?
18:53
SPEAKER_06: Yes.
18:55
SPEAKER_06: Um, yeah, longtime supporters of ours.
18:57
SPEAKER_06: Uh, known, of course, for the Grand Designs house, but remember it's private, don't just go and try to let yourself in.
19:02
SPEAKER_05: Don't knock on the windows.
19:04
SPEAKER_06: Um flyer club webinars.
19:09
SPEAKER_06: We um had one, was it last week?
19:12
SPEAKER_05: Um week before?
19:13
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, week before, I think.
19:15
SPEAKER_05: Recently.
19:15
SPEAKER_06: Recently, we had one with Darren Lewington on being confident on the radio.
19:19
SPEAKER_06: Um, and a licensing update with Ed Bellamy.
19:23
SPEAKER_05: Um, two good ones, that.
19:25
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
19:25
SPEAKER_05: Two good ones to launch into the season.
19:27
SPEAKER_05: So yes, yeah.
19:28
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
19:31
SPEAKER_05: Okay, so uh our main topic of discussion uh on this week's flyer show is all about competition flying.
19:37
SPEAKER_05: Now, clearly, we all love flying, but what's better than flying uh is actually flying with a purpose.
19:44
SPEAKER_05: Uh and in the UK, there are a whole bunch of competitions you can get involved with, and it's pretty good fun.
19:51
SPEAKER_05: And uh, you know, it's it's definitely accessible, and y if you have an aeroplane, you can take part and and you can make a difference.
19:58
SPEAKER_06: Or any flying machine.
20:01
SPEAKER_05: Any flying machine.
20:02
SPEAKER_06: Any flying machine, because one of the best known flying competitions, I think, is poorly dawn to dusk.
20:09
SPEAKER_06: Right.
20:10
SPEAKER_06: Um and the aim is to encourage interesting employment of an aircraft, any aircraft, um, in the hours between dawn and dusk, with a minimum of four hours airborne.
20:20
SPEAKER_06: Um, whilst undertaking an original and praiseworthy objective.
20:24
SPEAKER_06: Uh so for this there's a panel of judges, including our very own Ian Seeger, who apparently says he can be bribed with Curly Worlies.
20:32
SPEAKER_05: I have heard that, but I don't think that makes a difference to the judging.
20:36
SPEAKER_06: No.
20:36
SPEAKER_06: No, but I'd still give it a try.
20:38
SPEAKER_06: Um and um the scoring is based on things like the originality and research that has gone into your theme and plan, uh, how difficult your actual flight was, how closely your flight start to the plan in terms of time and distance, the write-up and the experience of the flight and crew.
20:56
SPEAKER_06: Um and I think it's actually they they publish the names of the winners and the themes of the winners back over the years.
21:01
SPEAKER_06: And it's it's really interesting to look through some of the things that people have chosen.
21:06
SPEAKER_05: I'm uh I'm always surprised because you go, surely m everything must have been covered.
21:10
SPEAKER_05: But actually it's quite surprising that people keep coming up with new themes and new ideas.
21:15
SPEAKER_06: So some of them are really straightforward.
21:17
SPEAKER_06: So I mean, one was Denmark and back.
21:20
SPEAKER_06: Well, that's pretty easy to work out what they did.
21:22
SPEAKER_06: But um one year a Canadian team chose the theme fur trappers.
21:28
SPEAKER_05: Fur trappers.
21:29
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
21:32
SPEAKER_06: Um Dawn to Dusk has been going on for just over 60 years.
21:37
SPEAKER_05: And you've taken part, haven't you?
21:38
SPEAKER_06: I have, yeah, I have.
21:40
SPEAKER_06: Um and actually there's a few little um bits on the table.
21:43
SPEAKER_06: So on the show, I'm not gonna stand up because I'll probably fall in the cake.
21:46
SPEAKER_06: But there's um there's a third I took part in 2003 um on the little plaque.
21:50
SPEAKER_06: That's a third place overall.
21:53
SPEAKER_06: Um the uh the little medal in the box, um, with so it's a silver medal, I think, uh, with a tiger.
22:02
SPEAKER_06: Oh wow.
22:03
SPEAKER_06: Which is a separate medal for the year.
22:04
SPEAKER_06: So what were your can you can you remember what so this is yeah, the the flight log is kind of our background, the different attempts, what actually happened on the day, some photographs.
22:16
SPEAKER_06: Um and then all the background materials.
22:19
SPEAKER_06: So the actual forms with our report, the summary, our flight plans, weather.
22:26
SPEAKER_06: Um yeah.
22:27
SPEAKER_05: And I'm guessing if you do this nowadays, I mean it'll yeah, this was this was like pre-digital time.
22:33
SPEAKER_05: I'm guessing it's gonna be a little computers exist.
22:36
SPEAKER_05: I know.
22:36
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, but I'm guessing it would be a little bit easier to do.
22:39
SPEAKER_06: Yes.
22:40
SPEAKER_06: Um yeah, yeah.
22:44
SPEAKER_06: You can you can do what you like with it, and a lot of people I think make video logs these days.
22:48
SPEAKER_05: And there is there's a separate award, isn't there, for best video on the website.
22:50
SPEAKER_05: There is now.
22:51
SPEAKER_05: There is now, yeah.
22:52
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, there's a lot of different awards as part of it.
22:53
SPEAKER_05: So Dawn to Dusk sounds like a great challenge.
22:56
SPEAKER_06: It is.
22:56
SPEAKER_06: And I just want to shout out actually, because I'm not the only person in the Flyer family that has taken apart.
23:01
SPEAKER_06: Um, so other winners uh of trophies and awards are Derek Pake, Nick Orchard, Cheryl Prax, Ian Briley.
23:08
SPEAKER_06: So yeah, quite a few of the Flyer family.
23:11
SPEAKER_05: Um have been successful.
23:12
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
23:13
SPEAKER_05: Big winners too.
23:14
SPEAKER_06: But if that sounds like a lot, you could join the British Women Pilots Association and take part in the Chairwomen's Challenge.
23:21
SPEAKER_06: So this was established about 30 years ago, and it's the idea is it's an introduction to this kind of competition flying.
23:28
SPEAKER_06: Right.
23:28
SPEAKER_06: But there are a few big differences.
23:30
SPEAKER_06: So for the chairwomen's challenge, the theme is chosen each year by the chair.
23:34
SPEAKER_06: So the theme for this year was just announced and it's a local legend.
23:38
SPEAKER_03: Who is the chair of uh Hannibal?
23:40
SPEAKER_06: It was me, actually, Dave.
23:42
SPEAKER_06: Did you not know?
23:43
SPEAKER_06: You had to ask.
23:44
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
23:45
SPEAKER_06: Shocker.
23:46
SPEAKER_06: Um the flight time is a lot shorter.
23:48
SPEAKER_06: So um rather than the dawn to us dusk, which was a minimum of four hours, with a chairwoman's challenge, it's 75 to 120 minutes.
23:55
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
23:56
SPEAKER_06: And unlike the dawn to dusk, you can take part even if you're a student.
23:59
SPEAKER_06: Um but it is very similar in the way it's judged, so it's on things like interpretation of the theme, the experience of the pilot, um, challenges faced, um, and the write-up.
24:09
SPEAKER_06: And that lovely trophy is which has got the engraved of the names of the winners through the years, is that is the Chairwinners Challenge trophy.
24:18
SPEAKER_06: Amazing.
24:19
SPEAKER_05: So that's a that's a really great option.
24:21
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
24:21
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I think it's a really well, it was always designed as an introduction to competition of flight, and I think it does really work still.
24:27
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
24:28
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
24:28
SPEAKER_06: Dave, that's that what did you what did you think?
24:31
SPEAKER_06: You're so taken aback by all the spell three things.
24:33
SPEAKER_03: I'm very impressed by Little Little Trophy.
24:34
SPEAKER_03: That's very nice.
24:35
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
24:36
SPEAKER_03: Um, so I've come up with air racing.
24:38
SPEAKER_03: This is the air races that are run by the uh Royal Aero Club, yeah, particular sections of Royal Aero Club, uh known as the Records Racing and Rally Association.
24:48
SPEAKER_03: That's easy for you to say.
24:49
SPEAKER_03: Or in three Rs.
24:50
SPEAKER_03: RAs.
24:50
SPEAKER_03: Three RAs, yeah.
24:51
SPEAKER_03: So air racing is a sport that goes right back to the start of flight, the early days of flight.
24:56
SPEAKER_03: And the first official Royal Aero Club air race was the King's Cup of 1922, uh, offered by King George V as an incentive to the development of British light aircraft.
25:08
SPEAKER_03: Brilliant.
25:09
SPEAKER_03: And it pretty well worked actually at the time.
25:11
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
25:11
SPEAKER_03: It took place at Croyton Airport, believe it or not.
25:14
SPEAKER_03: And uh that particular race was flying 810 miles to Glasgow, uh, then coming back the next day.
25:20
SPEAKER_05: Well that's quite that's quite a race.
25:22
SPEAKER_03: That's quite a race, yes.
25:23
SPEAKER_03: These days it's uh it's all a bit more straightforward.
25:26
SPEAKER_03: Um the uh they're handicapped races around a predetermined course.
25:31
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
25:32
SPEAKER_03: And um one one, for instance, is in from the Isle of Wight, on the Isle of Wight, and it flies it it did when I took part in it a few years ago.
25:41
SPEAKER_03: You've been a racer.
25:42
SPEAKER_03: I've been a racer, and we did actually win a successful racer, yeah.
25:44
SPEAKER_03: We did actually win the Snyder Trophy.
25:48
SPEAKER_03: But I was just navigator and all I had to do was say turn left, turn left.
25:52
SPEAKER_03: But anyway, that particular course we uh took started at Bembridge, flew across across to a point on the mainland of of uh England, and then back to the Isle of Isle of Wight over to ride, and then back to Bembridge.
26:04
SPEAKER_03: So it was a triangular course like that.
26:07
SPEAKER_03: Um competitors set off at uh different times depending on the speed of their aircraft.
26:12
SPEAKER_03: And the first one to cross the line at the end uh is the winner, but you did you uh that you you can get disqualified if you don't if you c if you go too fast.
26:23
SPEAKER_05: Yes, because you have it you have a you have a uh a designated speed, don't you, for your variability.
26:28
SPEAKER_03: That's right, yeah.
26:29
SPEAKER_03: So you either because of the history you've competed before, or the you know there'll be a practice session and you have to set a time and you have to stay within one percent of that time.
26:39
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
26:39
SPEAKER_03: Which is actually a lot harder to do than it sounds.
26:42
SPEAKER_03: Oh yeah.
26:43
SPEAKER_03: Particularly if the wind has changed from the day you set the time.
26:45
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
26:46
SPEAKER_03: And on a triangle, of course, you're into wind at different different times.
26:49
SPEAKER_03: So it is it is quite true.
26:51
SPEAKER_05: Are there any minimum requirements for taking part?
26:53
SPEAKER_03: Yes, there are.
26:54
SPEAKER_03: You must have at least a hundred hours P1 experience.
26:56
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
26:57
SPEAKER_03: And you also have to have a valid FAI, that's the international body that uh governs uh air sports.
27:04
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
27:04
SPEAKER_03: You have to have a competition license.
27:06
SPEAKER_03: Any aircraft can race, provided it is capable of doing at least a hundred miles an hour.
27:10
SPEAKER_03: That's 86 knots.
27:12
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
27:12
SPEAKER_03: And uh any adult or child with a reasonable level of maturity can take place.
27:19
SPEAKER_03: Take place out then.
27:20
SPEAKER_03: Can take place as a navigator.
27:21
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
27:21
SPEAKER_03: Yes, I don't know how they'll help you in.
27:23
SPEAKER_03: Um so the navigator will help help with locating turn points.
27:28
SPEAKER_03: Um they're actually little things on the ground.
27:31
SPEAKER_03: They put up a little marquee or something like that.
27:33
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's it's like a little like a like a little tent on the ground.
27:36
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's right.
27:36
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
27:37
SPEAKER_05: And you can't cut those parts, you can't cut those turn points, can you?
27:39
SPEAKER_03: No, no, you try and come as close as possible.
27:41
SPEAKER_03: But of course there are other aircraft doing the same thing.
27:44
SPEAKER_03: Right.
27:45
SPEAKER_03: And the kind of one of the things we learned when I was doing I was doing it in an R V seven, which is quite a fast aircraft.
27:51
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
27:51
SPEAKER_03: Um so we went slightly above the slower c slower aircraft just to make sure we could see them and stay out of their way.
27:59
SPEAKER_03: Uh but the the trick is to dive slightly for the turn point.
28:03
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
28:03
SPEAKER_03: Um, because obviously when you turn you lose speed.
28:06
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
28:06
SPEAKER_03: Um and uh and then you you you can get back your you get back your altitude afterwards.
28:11
SPEAKER_03: And then at the end, it's very exciting towards the end on the last lap, because as you approach the finish, you dive to come over the line.
28:19
SPEAKER_05: Okay, so I'm guessing there's uh it's it's there's a little little bit of of of authorized low flying going on.
28:26
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
28:26
SPEAKER_05: And I and I'm guessing if the handicapping has worked out, then everyone's arriving at the same time.
28:32
SPEAKER_03: They are.
28:32
SPEAKER_03: Well, they're not they're not not exactly at the same time, but you do find if you're in a faster aircraft, you are overtaking a lot of people on on the last bit.
28:41
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
28:42
SPEAKER_05: So that sounds like a real exhilarating way to use your airplane.
28:45
SPEAKER_05: It is.
28:45
SPEAKER_03: It was actually really exciting.
28:47
SPEAKER_03: I should say that there's a race school.
28:49
SPEAKER_03: Um it's always recommended if you do the race school.
28:52
SPEAKER_05: Yes, because if you there's how many events are you how how many ra uh uh races in a season?
28:57
SPEAKER_03: Normally there's six.
28:58
SPEAKER_05: Okay, and and uh the three RAs have been putting on this get into racing thing, haven't they?
29:04
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's right.
29:04
SPEAKER_03: It's uh air race school at Popham.
29:06
SPEAKER_03: This year it's on the 18th and 19th of April.
29:09
SPEAKER_03: Um uh and uh you can go either day.
29:12
SPEAKER_03: Both days are exactly the same.
29:13
SPEAKER_03: Um it it's just it's it's an opportunity to learn about our air racing and uh understand the skills involved.
29:20
SPEAKER_03: Um you've got to fly reasonably you've got to fly fairly safely.
29:24
SPEAKER_03: Very safely.
29:26
SPEAKER_03: Very safely and fairly precisely.
29:28
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
29:29
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
29:30
SPEAKER_03: Um and you just have to contact the uh the uh three R's, three Rs three R A.
29:34
SPEAKER_05: To register your interest.
29:35
SPEAKER_03: To register your interest, yeah.
29:37
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
29:37
SPEAKER_05: So air racing.
29:38
SPEAKER_03: Air racing.
29:39
SPEAKER_03: It's I should add, it's a very sociable event, air racing.
29:42
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
29:42
SPEAKER_03: Normally there are over two days, Saturday and Sunday, and on a Saturday night there's a dinner, which is usually extremely sociable.
29:50
SPEAKER_03: By which you mean racing your mind.
29:54
SPEAKER_03: Drinks?
29:55
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
29:55
SPEAKER_05: You're gonna be fine the next day, so and I think the amazing thing about air racing is that it is steep, like you say, it's steeped in history.
30:02
SPEAKER_05: You can compete for the King's Cup, the Snyder Trophy, the Stewart's Cup, which were all big races names, yeah.
30:09
SPEAKER_05: Back in the days, weren't they?
30:10
SPEAKER_03: And these days, of course, you know.
30:11
SPEAKER_06: And still now.
30:14
SPEAKER_03: And of course, these days they uh the races can uh uh uh they work towards a British air racing championship.
30:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, championship.
30:21
SPEAKER_05: So you can be you can win individual races and be an overall race championship.
30:25
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
30:25
SPEAKER_05: Race champion.
30:26
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
30:27
SPEAKER_05: Fantastic.
30:28
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
30:28
SPEAKER_05: Well, I'm gonna bring it really up to date with uh with the Britain's newest competition.
30:34
SPEAKER_05: Uh and you heard me mention it, uh reference it in the news earlier, uh, and that is um stall competitions.
30:42
SPEAKER_05: Uh, because stall competitions have become a big thing in the USA.
30:47
SPEAKER_05: There's obviously um there's the uh the stall competitions over there, there's stall drag, uh plus there's a um uh countrywide kind of stoll competition uh that's like a championship.
30:59
SPEAKER_05: Uh but it comes to the UK uh this year, uh, and that's part of a bigger picture for Europe uh because there's events going on in in France, there's multiple stoll competitions going on there and other countries.
31:13
SPEAKER_05: Um but the cool thing is that this is finally a UK stole competition.
31:18
SPEAKER_05: It's open to a variety of aircraft and there's a number of different competition categories.
31:23
SPEAKER_05: Um you'd get a brie uh so it's taking place at Britain this year.
31:28
SPEAKER_05: There's gonna be uh briefings uh ahead of the competition, because clearly new event, and uh but they want people to know what to expect.
31:36
SPEAKER_05: Um and they said basically it's uh it's a there's gonna be an opportunity to practice and gain an appreciation of the of kind of local conditions.
31:45
SPEAKER_06: So what sort of aircraft can you take place in?
31:47
SPEAKER_05: Well you don't know because you think you you go, oh well, you know, I haven't got a I haven't got a typical cub with big wheels, I'm gonna be non-competitive.
31:54
SPEAKER_05: But actually the stall competition and it it has certainly in the States is open to you can have uh Cherokees, um you know the nose wheel says and there's all sorts of different that you don't have to have an out-and-out stall aircraft.
32:08
SPEAKER_05: Uh it's just a it's clearly showcasing your ability to take off short uh take off in a short distance and land in a short distance.
32:16
SPEAKER_05: So it's all about piloting skill and knowing your aeroplane.
32:20
SPEAKER_05: Um Stoll UK have put some serious effort into making the event a reality here, and they've been working with the CIA and the Royal Aero Club uh to be recognized as the organization um to make um stoll competition in the UK possible.
32:34
SPEAKER_05: Um I did ask them for some details.
32:36
SPEAKER_05: They said as to what competitors can expect uh in the UK, they said it's going to be similar to the US.
32:42
SPEAKER_05: Uh pilots will be judged on takeoff distance uh and landing distance, and this is on a what they call a marked carrier deck.
32:48
SPEAKER_05: So it's a hundred meter section of runway uh with intervals, and basically they say the key is to get the lowest score, so obviously the shortest distances.
32:59
SPEAKER_05: Um there is a white line at the start of the of the hundred meter deck, and but you have to when you're landing, you have to touch down on or after the line.
33:09
SPEAKER_05: You can't touch down ahead of the line, because clearly it's cheating.
33:13
SPEAKER_05: So um and you'll get disqualified.
33:15
SPEAKER_05: Um but uh so pilots can if you if you fancy this, uh they've got uh there's a link in the video description if you fancy signing up to either attend the event or compete.
33:27
SPEAKER_05: Um and uh you can go along and do that.
33:30
SPEAKER_05: And basically, there's this is this is gonna be I think a stall is is an exciting new thing for the UK.
33:36
SPEAKER_05: And I think it's got a big appeal for younger people as well.
33:40
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
33:40
SPEAKER_05: So um uh but there's events going on in the Czech Republic, Denmark, um, France, like I said, France has got events uh in May, June, July.
33:51
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
33:52
SPEAKER_05: Um yeah.
33:52
SPEAKER_05: Uh Denmark has an event in August.
33:55
SPEAKER_05: Czech Republic is June uh July 30th to August 1st.
33:59
SPEAKER_05: Uh and obviously uh the one at Britain uh June 19th to 21st.
34:04
SPEAKER_05: So um exciting stuff.
34:07
SPEAKER_05: Really, yeah, really pleased to see that come to the UK and I I clearly wish them well.
34:11
SPEAKER_05: And if you fancy taking part in that, uh do check do find out more.
34:15
SPEAKER_05: Um but it's like all competition, isn't it?
34:17
SPEAKER_05: It's it gives you a reason to fly, it gives you a reason to improve your to think about how you can improve your flying.
34:24
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, there's there's these are just three examples.
34:27
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, and it's really nice to do some of them say with this.
34:30
SPEAKER_06: I went with somebody that was um the dawn to dusk with someone that was very much more experienced, and I ended up doing a flight I never would have done on my own because I I literally just have my PPL at that point.
34:40
SPEAKER_06: I think I've been flying for a year.
34:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
34:41
SPEAKER_06: So even though I wasn't piloting command for most of it, it the it yeah, it really stretched what I could do and what I felt comfortable with doing.
34:49
SPEAKER_06: So yeah.
34:51
SPEAKER_05: Fantastic.
34:52
SPEAKER_03: I've got a couple of other things you could have a go at.
34:54
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
34:54
SPEAKER_03: Aerobatics, uh obviously.
34:56
SPEAKER_03: Of course.
34:57
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, there's a I mean there's a big UK aerobatics championship, isn't there?
35:00
SPEAKER_03: Yep, that's right.
35:01
SPEAKER_03: And uh these days you need to have an aerobatics rating course.
35:04
SPEAKER_03: But it's it's uh and it's fairly straightforward to do.
35:06
SPEAKER_03: It's about eight hours flying altogether.
35:08
SPEAKER_03: Basically, it's it's uh just making sure you can recover after whatever manoeuvre you've got yourself into.
35:14
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
35:14
SPEAKER_05: Um and and clearly practice, practice, practice.
35:17
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
35:17
SPEAKER_03: There is a get into arrows event coming up as well.
35:20
SPEAKER_05: They have actually there's more than one.
35:22
SPEAKER_05: I th I think they have they have two or three of those around the UK at different times.
35:27
SPEAKER_03: Well, I did check with the British Aerobatics Association and at the moment they've only got the one listed.
35:32
SPEAKER_03: Ah, okay, right.
35:33
SPEAKER_03: They may have more.
35:33
SPEAKER_03: This is also at Popham, um, that place again.
35:36
SPEAKER_03: It's on the 16th.
35:41
SPEAKER_03: On the 16th and 17th of May, yeah.
35:43
SPEAKER_03: You just need to get in touch with the British Aerobatics Association, and we'll put a link into the description as well.
35:48
SPEAKER_03: Um to write about that.
35:49
SPEAKER_03: There's another competition going on during May called TopNav.
35:53
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
35:53
SPEAKER_03: This is a navigation of competition as it as it suggests.
35:57
SPEAKER_03: It's uh a visual navigation exercise.
35:59
SPEAKER_03: It's run by the Royal Institute of Navigation.
36:02
SPEAKER_03: They've got a group called the General Aviation Navigation Group.
36:06
SPEAKER_03: Ring gang.
36:07
SPEAKER_04: Ring gang, yeah.
36:08
SPEAKER_03: Sounds like a 1970s Japanese two-stroke motorcycle.
36:12
SPEAKER_04: Uh yes.
36:13
SPEAKER_04: Ring gang.
36:14
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
36:15
SPEAKER_03: Uh and uh anyway, so uh again we'll put the the link into this year's top nav competition.
36:21
SPEAKER_03: And did you know that something called precision flying and rally flying?
36:26
SPEAKER_05: I knew about precision flying because there is a British precision pilots team, isn't there?
36:31
SPEAKER_05: I bet you're on that.
36:32
SPEAKER_05: No.
36:32
SPEAKER_05: I am so imprecise I wouldn't even they'd be like, don't come here.
36:36
SPEAKER_03: Well the difference between precision flying and rally flying is that precision flying is a solo effort.
36:42
SPEAKER_05: Right.
36:42
SPEAKER_03: Whereas rally flying is a two-crew operation.
36:45
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
36:45
SPEAKER_03: Um and it gives yeah, you've got to be good at map reading, obviously, because it you're not being allowed to use um No electronic device.
36:52
SPEAKER_03: No sky demons.
36:54
SPEAKER_03: Um and uh uh it it's each day, each crew receives an envelope just before takeoff containing clues and photographs that indicate the turning points, and you've got to find them.
37:05
SPEAKER_03: That sounds a bit fun.
37:06
SPEAKER_03: That does sound like fun, yeah.
37:07
SPEAKER_06: Should we do that, Dave?
37:09
SPEAKER_05: There is and how do how do you get into that?
37:11
SPEAKER_05: Is that British Precision Pilots Association Association?
37:15
SPEAKER_03: There's a British Precision Pilots Association.
37:17
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
37:17
SPEAKER_03: They've got a Facebook group, that's what they they use rather than a website.
37:21
SPEAKER_03: Right.
37:21
SPEAKER_03: Uh well again, we've got I've got all the leaks here, so you can put them in.
37:24
SPEAKER_03: Um the Precision Flying, there is a world championship this year.
37:28
SPEAKER_03: It's going to be held in Poland nights to the 14th of August.
37:32
SPEAKER_03: Um, and there was a World Rally Flying World Championship last year.
37:37
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
37:37
SPEAKER_03: Held in Ferrara, Italy.
37:39
SPEAKER_05: Nice.
37:40
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, nice.
37:40
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
37:41
SPEAKER_05: I've got another one, uh, and that's the MicroLite Open series.
37:45
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
37:45
SPEAKER_05: Takes place in the UK.
37:47
SPEAKER_05: Uh it's uh one, two, three, four, five.
37:50
SPEAKER_05: There's six UK venues, uh, plus there's um there's a Czech open and a Polish open you can participate in.
37:57
SPEAKER_05: Um that's uh the dates of that and that's just been cons uh confirmed.
38:02
SPEAKER_05: And you can sign up for all of those events on the British Micro Lite Craft Association website um in their um MicroLite Competitions event section.
38:11
SPEAKER_05: So um and again they say it's all about improving your flying skill, uh your flying skills and meeting new people and going to new places.
38:19
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
38:20
SPEAKER_05: So um yeah, fantastic stuff.
38:21
SPEAKER_05: Have you competed uh in your airplane or have you decided that one of these uh might be your challenge for 2026?
38:28
SPEAKER_05: Tell us in the comments.
38:32
SPEAKER_05: So it's time for what caught your eye, and I'm gonna go to Annabelle.
38:36
SPEAKER_06: Oh okay.
38:38
SPEAKER_06: Uh what caught my eye this week, um, there was a short bit of video doing the rounds on social media.
38:44
SPEAKER_06: Um and it's uh pilot Sam Rutherford, who is the father of Azara and Mac.
38:49
SPEAKER_05: Um the famous round-the-world flyers.
38:51
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, them.
38:52
SPEAKER_06: Um so he posted uh a video uh that he was intercepted by F-18s while flying a PA-28.
39:00
SPEAKER_06: Oh blind.
39:01
SPEAKER_06: So he's in the final stages of a ferry flight from the US to India and was over the Indian Ocean south of Iran at the time, trying to escape a war zone.
39:11
SPEAKER_06: And um the video is taken from inside the cockpit, and you can hear him receiving and trying to establish two-way communications with a warship and failing.
39:21
SPEAKER_06: Um and um but yeah, it's it's a very it's a very clickbaity teasery, sorry Sam, but it is.
39:27
SPEAKER_06: Um because he has said he'll share what happened next in a few days.
39:30
SPEAKER_05: What happened next, yeah.
39:31
SPEAKER_05: But it does, I mean you do have to be in a clearly to end up being intercepted, you have to end up in a certain situation.
39:39
SPEAKER_06: So you are flying towards a coalition warship.
39:41
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, but do you do you remember your interception procedures?
39:45
SPEAKER_06: And you should carry them at all times in your aircraft.
39:47
SPEAKER_06: I do, do you?
39:48
SPEAKER_05: No.
39:50
SPEAKER_05: No.
39:50
SPEAKER_05: But yeah, wow.
39:52
SPEAKER_06: The first thing was remove the cardboard from the from the screen, because of course, if you're flying straight into the sun, that part of the world is it's pretty blinding.
39:58
SPEAKER_06: So yeah, that's the thing.
39:59
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that was I was quite impressed by the makeshift sun visors.
40:02
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, so take those down so you can actually see what's going on.
40:05
SPEAKER_06: And then yeah, that must have been quite uh that must have woken you up.
40:09
SPEAKER_05: More to follow.
40:10
SPEAKER_05: Dave, what did you find?
40:11
SPEAKER_03: Well, there was uh an important first flight anniversary of a first flight last week.
40:16
SPEAKER_03: There was.
40:16
SPEAKER_05: Uh Spitfire was 90 years old.
40:18
SPEAKER_03: It was, yeah.
40:19
SPEAKER_03: And uh uh Spitfires.com has have got this marvellous plan to uh fly they they've they've they've taken their two seater and they've painted it in the colours of the very first.
40:29
SPEAKER_05: I saw this.
40:30
SPEAKER_05: This is magnificent.
40:31
SPEAKER_05: Because they've it's I've I've seen some models in the past of of the prototype Spitfire, but they seem to have got this this bang on.
40:38
SPEAKER_05: It's like the colour.
40:39
SPEAKER_06: What caught Dave's eye, not what caught your eye?
40:41
SPEAKER_05: Because the cut the colour and the markings look amazing, don't they?
40:44
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, it is.
40:45
SPEAKER_03: It's yeah, it's in the uh same colours and markings as as the the one that first flew in 1936.
40:51
SPEAKER_03: Uh it was called K5054.
40:53
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
40:54
SPEAKER_03: Um anyway, the one they the the one they they've they're flying, which is a two-seater, they're gonna be flying it around the UK during uh uh April.
41:02
SPEAKER_03: Right.
41:03
SPEAKER_03: And they're gonna go to various places that are important to the to the flyer, to the Spitfire, and including um uh starting from Eastley, which is now Southampton Airport, which is where the where the first flight was made.
41:15
SPEAKER_03: And uh they're gonna be they're gonna be auctioning off the back seat of the two-seater for people to come and fly in uh with with the uh the money was very used, going to two aviation-related charities, the Mark Long Trust and the RAF Benevolent Fund.
41:30
SPEAKER_05: And I think that all the flights, or certainly most of the flights, have some kind of RAF participation, don't they?
41:36
SPEAKER_05: They do.
41:37
SPEAKER_05: So there's there's like potential for being information in a Spitfire with various elements of the RAF.
41:42
SPEAKER_03: Of the BBMF, yeah, the Battle Memorial Flight.
41:45
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and and some jets and sorts of stuff.
41:48
SPEAKER_05: I looks amazing.
41:49
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
41:50
SPEAKER_05: I've seen some of the predicted prices.
41:52
SPEAKER_05: It's like Oh really?
41:53
SPEAKER_05: Well, it's uh it's not gonna be cheap, is it?
41:55
SPEAKER_05: It's not cheap anyway, isn't it?
41:57
SPEAKER_05: Well, uh 20 minutes in a Spitfire is what, close to three grand.
42:02
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and I think uh auction estimates on these on all these flights, which were up to like one hour ten, were like were like four.
42:10
SPEAKER_05: Oh yeah, yeah.
42:11
SPEAKER_05: Was like between like five and ten thousand pounds predicted.
42:14
SPEAKER_05: So as good a bargain.
42:17
SPEAKER_05: Well, I suspect it's not gonna be that that low cost, is it?
42:20
SPEAKER_05: But what an amazing that is a that is a real once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
42:24
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
42:24
SPEAKER_03: So there was also an anniversary of a very important another very important first flight last week, which kind of got missed.
42:31
SPEAKER_05: Ah, well, anything that you go up against a Spitfire is going to be.
42:35
SPEAKER_03: It's a Gloucester Meteor.
42:37
SPEAKER_06: Oh.
42:40
SPEAKER_03: Well, the first flight Yeah, anything what I found interesting here was the first flight of the Spitfire was in 1936.
42:48
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
42:49
SPEAKER_03: The first flight of the Gloucester Meteor was just seven years later, in 1943.
42:55
SPEAKER_03: What a transition from a piston-powered aircraft to a jet-powered aircraft.
43:01
SPEAKER_03: It's just incredible.
43:02
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
43:02
SPEAKER_05: And y you think the Spitfire at the time was cutting edge.
43:07
SPEAKER_05: Cutting edge.
43:07
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
43:08
SPEAKER_05: But that is a dine that's a real hold my beer, isn't it?
43:10
SPEAKER_05: That is a yeah, to to go from yeah, to cutting edge fire uh piston fighter to I'm cutting edge.
43:16
SPEAKER_05: I know, you know, I'd I'm better than cutting edge.
43:18
SPEAKER_05: I'm inclined to meteor with my yawn comment, but um I know at the time the meteor was an amazing jet.
43:24
SPEAKER_03: It was, yeah.
43:25
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, but six six years?
43:27
SPEAKER_03: Seven years.
43:28
SPEAKER_05: That's unreal.
43:29
SPEAKER_03: That is, yeah.
43:30
SPEAKER_03: And it was in service by the following year.
43:32
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
43:32
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
43:33
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
43:33
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
43:34
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
43:34
SPEAKER_05: Very good.
43:35
SPEAKER_03: They didn't hang around then by you.
43:37
SPEAKER_05: Well, there's uh d war is a word, the the the drivers of war.
43:42
SPEAKER_05: Fantastic for developing stuff.
43:43
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
43:44
SPEAKER_05: So uh which just leaves me.
43:46
SPEAKER_05: And uh uh I found this rather remarkable thing.
43:50
SPEAKER_05: Uh we got sent an email.
43:51
SPEAKER_05: Uh it was uh from a team that had just finished designing what they call their dream hanger.
43:57
SPEAKER_05: Um it's uh it's For uh it's for a guy called uh Timo Fatl Fatkulin.
44:04
SPEAKER_05: Um I always get these terrible names to pronounce.
44:07
SPEAKER_06: Uh uh Tim It could be Burse, it could be TC, do you want to read it?
44:10
SPEAKER_05: I know, yeah.
44:11
SPEAKER_05: Uh Timo Fat Fatkulin, I think.
44:13
SPEAKER_05: Um anyway.
44:15
SPEAKER_05: Tim.
44:16
SPEAKER_05: Uh Tim, because it's uh he he leads a team called AeroTim.
44:20
SPEAKER_05: Uh he has uh it's uh uh unique athletes and creatives based in Ukraine and they're into aerobatics, freestyle motocross and skydiving.
44:29
SPEAKER_05: That's gonna I just just makes me tired reading that.
44:32
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
44:33
SPEAKER_05: So but anyway, they've created freestyle wine drinking, thank you.
44:37
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
44:38
SPEAKER_05: They've created a multifunctional aircraft hanger, and this is uh what they call their dream space.
44:44
SPEAKER_05: Now it is a little bit grey.
44:46
SPEAKER_06: It's actually Ed's dream space, this isn't it existing.
44:49
SPEAKER_05: But you're saying I am a grey person.
44:51
SPEAKER_06: It's not just a little bit grey.
44:52
SPEAKER_06: Everything in it, I think, is a shade of it.
44:55
SPEAKER_05: It is what you would call limited palette on the materials, isn't it?
44:59
SPEAKER_06: But um but if you stood in there, we'd lose you.
45:02
SPEAKER_06: Oh that's because you'd just thanks.
45:04
SPEAKER_06: Where's Ed?
45:05
SPEAKER_06: Oh, I can see his head.
45:06
SPEAKER_06: It's floating.
45:07
SPEAKER_05: But for I know this is this so this is a a fusion of of you can kind of you've got cruise station, it's got a kitchen, it's got uh somewhere to sleep, and you can wake up and stand and look down on your airplanes.
45:22
SPEAKER_05: And I have to say, that floor looks like maintenance perfection.
45:26
SPEAKER_05: And I am a bit of a I do love a perfect maintenance space.
45:30
SPEAKER_03: I reckon it's going to become a a James Bond 07 uh scene at some point.
45:35
SPEAKER_06: It is, it does look a bit bond villain, doesn't it?
45:37
SPEAKER_05: It's a layer.
45:38
SPEAKER_06: Yes, it's not a it's not a hanger.
45:40
SPEAKER_05: It's not a layer, it's not a hanger, it's a layer.
45:42
SPEAKER_05: But uh yeah, no, it's uh yeah.
45:44
SPEAKER_05: Maybe I would have a few more soft furnishings.
45:47
SPEAKER_05: Would you?
45:48
SPEAKER_05: What colour would they be?
45:49
SPEAKER_05: That would be great, clearly, Annabelle.
45:52
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, a fantastic thing.
45:53
SPEAKER_05: Maybe not everybody's dream, but uh it's nice to see people out there making their fancy hanger spaces.
45:58
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
45:59
SPEAKER_05: So very good.
46:01
SPEAKER_03: Events.
46:01
SPEAKER_03: Events, yeah.
46:02
SPEAKER_03: So right on at the moment, uh, is an event called Verticon.
46:05
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
46:06
SPEAKER_03: That's the trade industry show for helicopters and IVITOS and do you think they'll have any more new helicopters or have we exhausted that?
46:12
SPEAKER_03: Well, I I I I don't know.
46:15
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I wasn't expecting three.
46:16
SPEAKER_03: I wasn't expecting No, no, it's that's quite a lot for one year.
46:19
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
46:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so that that's on at the moment, that's on for this rest of this week.
46:23
SPEAKER_03: Um still on this this month, the whole of this month, is an aerial treasure hunt being held at Gamston.
46:29
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
46:29
SPEAKER_03: And you mentioned about Campenhaud, but I have no idea what you were talking about here, so Ah, yes.
46:37
SPEAKER_05: It's in the notes, apparently, she says.
46:40
SPEAKER_05: And Dave's like, yes.
46:42
SPEAKER_06: But let me like, let me help you.
46:43
SPEAKER_05: But it's okay.
46:44
SPEAKER_05: Uh Annabell's research.
46:47
SPEAKER_06: Um they're holding a fly-in weekend on Saturday the 20th, and Sunday, the 21st of June.
46:54
SPEAKER_06: Um, as well as it's like.
46:56
SPEAKER_05: That's a save you date.
46:57
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
46:58
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
46:58
SPEAKER_06: And as soon as we've got more information on that, Dave will share it.
47:03
SPEAKER_06: Or he'll forget.
47:04
SPEAKER_06: And I'll share it.
47:07
SPEAKER_05: Fantastic.
47:07
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
47:08
SPEAKER_05: Well, that's that kind of wraps up the show for this week.
47:11
SPEAKER_05: It just leaves me to say uh thank you, Annabelle.
47:13
SPEAKER_05: Happy birthday again.
47:14
SPEAKER_05: Thank you.
47:15
SPEAKER_05: Uh thank you, Dave, and thank you, viewers, for watching, and uh also Sky Demon for supporting us.
47:20
SPEAKER_05: We couldn't do it without you.
47:22
SPEAKER_05: So, anyway, uh join us um next week uh for the Flyer show and uh in the meantime, fly safe.
47:29
SPEAKER_05: Bye.
47:30
SPEAKER_05: Bye.
47:32
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