Malcolm Porter has led an extraordinary and a charmed life, which has included service in the RAF, the Rhodesian Air Force (after that Country’s unilateral declaration of independence from Britain), flying for some shady characters, running his own micro airline and owning an iconic aircraft, the Jack Conroy conversion of a CL44 into a Guppy. He entertained us with his account of his amazing experiences, the latest of which is his discovery of a local cache of military jets. Having spent some time cutting away the weeds to expose a Hawker Hunter, he’s now using gallons of WD-40 to prevent it’s complete disappearance. He’s quite a remarkable character and we had a most interesting evening.

A group of thirty Scouts from across Worcestershire and Gloucestershire reached new heights as they took part in two days of aeronautical activities at a private air-strip near Pershore. The event was organised by the Scout Association working in partnership with the Light Aircraft Association and aimed to introduce the Scouts, aged between 11 and 14, to a wide range of skills associated with aeronautics.

In all, 31 Scouts, 4 Explorers (who provided catering), 6 Scout Leaders, the District Commissioner and one grand parent were flown by nine Strut pilots: Holt, Monroe, Merriman, Fox, Bradford, Joyce, Nash. Scudder, Fortescue. Aircraft were Emeraude, Europa, Glastar, Jabiru, Rallye, Robin, Thruster.

Derek kindly offered his Emeraude G-SAZZ for the Scouts to marshall. Ground Instructors were: {tba}. Ron Shell (Gloucestershire Scouts, Organiser/Coordinator), Peter Anthony (certificates), John Bean (ground instruction), Ray Lewis (flight line) and Alan Twigg (pilots) camped on the strip throughout the wekend, and lent their hand to anything generally required.