The cockpit of a 1917-18 DH-9

I have been looking forward to firing up the BBQ for some time and now we have arrived at the first of our Summer meetings. Thanks to the welcome from Clive and Michael Porter at Croft Farm we swing into action on May 13th. The evening changes this time around as we are including the first of our Junior Flyer days, as mentioned before, we are making a big push to introduce some of our younger generation to an aviation interest and hopefully the journey of a lifetime. For most of us pilots it all started with making model aircraft, it just got bigger!!

Bring the kids along for a free BBQ and model flying ( BBQ starts at 5.30pm for the kids ). Please confirm to Mike the numbers (info@carouselgolfing.com)

Adult members – please confirm numbers to (info@carouselgolfing.com / £6.50 per head ( includes drinks ) 6pm start.

The presentation aircraft booked in for the evening is an immaculate DH Tiger Moth with Jeremy Liber presenting the information on "how to fly it" (he flies pleasure flights at Duxford, so he knows his stuff!) All weather dependent of course.

Start time 7.30pm. I hope to see you there.

PS. Please let me know if you have any flying models you can bring along, the more the merrier!

Blue Skies – Mike

Building a Stolp Starlet

Barrie Towers, it turns out, is a bit more than the builder of a prize-winning and very pretty little Stolp Starlet, he’s what’s known in the light aircraft builders’ fraternity as a Repeat Offender. In a previous life he was a prolific builder-owner-flyer of microlight aircraft, and the Starlet is his 8th build and he completed it from plans in 2 years. Even to those who have never built, it’s obvious that building from plans is a more onerous task than assembling a box of parts. Those of us who have built from a kit are in awe of anyone who has to source his own materials and then convert them into parts before he can assemble them into a flying machine.

Not only that, but, if you’re going to build from plans, building one whose structure is largely welded steel tube makes the task yet more onerous. At each joint the tubes have to be cut and filed to fit the curvature of the mating tube or tubes. This is difficult enough when the joint is 90° but most of the joints are at an angle to their mating part and many are at a point where 3 tubes come together. Barrie was wise enough to use an accomplished welder to make the joints and judging from the photos he found a really good one. The completed structure was protected from corrosion by painting with a 2 pack epoxy paint.

The wings are of wooden construction which involved making a considerable number of ribs as well as spars and ailerons. He side-stepped the knotty problem of the cowling for its Rotax 912 engine by buying and modifying the cowls from a Zenair kit, but had to bite the bullet when it came to the turtle deck. He located the only other Starlet in UK and took a mould from its fuselage, covering it with industrial cling film before taking a female mould directly from it. When it came to the undercarriage he splashed out on some Grove alloy legs, pre-drilled for brake lines before they were bent to shape. He also paid up for a custom welded alloy 50 litre fuel tank.

Going back to the engine for a moment, Barrie was at a local fly-in when some unfortunate buy flew his Rotax 912 powered a/c into a tree. Barrie was able to buy the wreck which provided an engine (but one requiring a strip check) and all the instruments he needed.

On completion it took a further 3 months to complete the necessary paper work.

Pete Montgomery did the flight testing which revealed the need for a small adjustment to the tailplane incidence but that was easily achieved by installing a spacer to its mount. Barrie and Stolp won a well-deserved award at the following LAA Rally.

For his successful build, excellent workmanship and engaging talk at our April meeting he deserves are hearty congratulations.

P.S. As his long-suffering wife, Clair, was in the audience I refrained from asking what his next project will be.

Qantas Engineering Reports

Alleged reports filed by Qantas Airline Pilots and the Engineering Responses - A short series.

Pilot: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.

Engineer: Evidence removed.

There's nothing so dangerous as a determined idiot.

Chapter One

A job came up from a small charter company that was also owned by one of the flying club owners to use the Piper six seater twin that was based at the aero club to take professional divers to the north east of England and Scotland who were to go on to oil rigs. The trip started at Leicester and then to fly to Norwich to pick up some of the divers and then on northwards. I was needing some extra income so I jumped at the opportunity and as I was to be paid by the flying hour, it looked like being a long day and profitable.

The aeroplane itself was an extremely good workhorse, it had a reasonable autopilot and wasn’t a demanding plane to fly. Upon reflection at that time I was blissfully unaware of something called flight time limitations. These were rules put in place by the aviation authorities to restrict the amount of flying hours one could do depending on the number of crew. The object was to restrict the possibility of fatigue which could cause the pilot to make mistakes that could be deadly. It all depended upon the number of take-offs and landings in one duty, how much previous rest the pilot had and length of the duty day and length of rest before the next duty period. A single pilot had more restrictions than a multi crew. Had I been aware of those rules I would not have been able to carry out the planned day but ignorance could be bliss and deadly, I was to find out the hard way they weren’t there for nothing.

It was a reasonable day weather wise with a few fluffy cumulus clouds however a warm front was expected to be moving in from the Atlantic later in the day from the south-west with rain and low cloud.

I had been up early in order to do the route planning and fuel up the plane to maximum for the long day, squeezing in the very last drop it would take. At that time there was a fuel shortage and operators could only obtain a limited amount of fuel a day. Fortunately at Leicester we had our own fuel storage and fuel pumps so hopefully there would be enough on board to carry out the planned day.

The flight to Norwich was good and I landed around about 10am, I went inside what was then a small terminal to meet up with the five divers who I could see had a large amount of equipment with them. Because the plane was quite loaded with fuel I had to be careful of the maximum take-off weight, so I had to begin by weighing the divers equipment on the terminal scales. It appeared we were going to be overweight by quite an amount, so what to do? Lead weight belts had to be offloaded amidst a lot of grumbling from the divers, but after I had explained the reason they grudgingly accepted the decision. We were only just less than the maximum weight and so I had to load up their items evenly in both the front and rear baggage holds. These divers weren’t skin divers but serious divers that would operate at extreme depths below the oil rigs doing jobs like welding and repair work. Theirs was a close knit fraternity and they all knew each other and depended on each other for their lives. I knew there were extreme risks in their work and many had died a terrible death in the dark waters several hundreds of feet below the surface of the cold North sea, which was why they were paid such a very good salary. I suggested we all went to the toilet as we didn’t have one on board and our next stop was Manchester a three hour flight where two of the divers were getting off and another one was getting on. I went back into the terminal and collected the divers and went outside to get them boarded, I saw they were all wearing overcoats, I asked them why and the answer I got was “don’t know how cold it’s going to be in that plane of yours,” an odd remark I thought as surely they would be used to being cold in the North sea. I shrugged off the comment and got the plane ready for take-off. I hadn’t flown this plane at these weights before and also this was the first time I had flown out of Norwich. I was a little concerned although the charts suggested I should just be ok at this weight to get airborne by the end of the runway. I quickly briefed them all on safety procedures and made sure their lap-straps were properly done up. I lined up on the runway and opened the throttles to full power and slowly started to accelerate. I knew we were heavy and it would take longer to get to reach flying speed. I could see the far end of the runway approaching as our speed seemed to increase agonisingly slowly. I was now beginning to wonder if we should abort the take-off or continue to accelerate. By now we had gone past a point where we could stop safely before the end of the runway, I was committed. The hedge at the far end of the runway became larger and larger. I resisted the temptation to try to get airborne at too low a speed and then stall and crash. The speed continued slowly to build until we had just enough speed to safely transition to flying. The hedge came dangerously close to our wheels but miraculously some-how we just cleared it by inches. I raised the landing gear to reduce drag to enable us to very slowly inch our way to cruising altitude. Now my heart rate began to drop back to normal as I contemplated what could have happened. The outside air temperature was around -4˚C so I decided to put the heater on before it got too cold inside, It soon became a nice warm 24˚C. I could see the divers were getting uncomfortably warm and starting to undo their coats. That was when I realized what our problem had been, they had all gone back in the terminal and put on their weight belts under their coats knowing I wouldn’t see. I called them all the idiots under the sun and told them never to try a stunt like that again as it might have got us all killed. The rest of the journey to Manchester continued in complete silence.

When we landed at Manchester two of the divers got off with their equipment and two more people bound for Aberdeen who had been drinking in the terminal boarded without any excess baggage so I knew we were well within our take-off limits. It was getting on for 3pm as we set off now for Aberdeen and because it was warm and comfortable inside the plane it wasn’t long before they were asleep. We droned on through the sky without any turbulence until about two hours later we started our approach to Aberdeen. I woke the passengers and asked them to ensure their seat belts were fastened, suddenly one of the passengers in the rear row shouted out “I need a pee. Hang on it won’t be long until we land,” I shouted back. “I can’t I’m desperate,” he pleaded. I racked my brains and then came up with an idea. "Take the life jacket out from under your seat and use the bag it’s in, but for God’s sake be careful and don’t spill any," I shouted back. I then carried out one of my smoothest landings ever, the relieved guy at the back of the plane thanked me profusely and asked what he should do with the bag. "Ok after we come to a stop and the engines have stopped, very carefully carry the bag outside and throw it away." I replied.

Chapter Two in next months newsletter

02/05/2025 Cardiff Airport

Charity Fly-In. Also on the 3rd May.

Fun-filled Charity Weekend.

03/05/2025 Microlight Trade Fair

Popham 3-4th May. PPR required.

10/05/2025 Pooleys Air Weekend

Compton Abbas.

Pooleys Air Weekend Saturday and Sunday.

PPR required

07/06/25 Bristol Strut Fly In

Oaksey Park. BBQ and cake Stall

PPR required

Oaksey Park Fly In

From Angus Macaskill

I am proposing a cross-channel trip to le Touquet, LFAT, mid-June. (We ourselves will continue on to Paris and the S of France.)

Essentially it is a one-way trip to Le Touquet where we (Angus Fiona) will stay the night, but with informal 'help' / hand-holding for those returning late the same day or heading back home the next day. We ourselves will continue on south via a day in Paris; strut member could also join us for further legs towards Annecy.

Customs are much easier on weekdays (alternate airfields needs 48 hrs PN at weekends) so our most likely depart UK day is Wednesday 18th June.

Backup departure dates are Thu/Fri/Sat (21st June)

On a thoroughly informal basis we will share such knowledge as we have acquired from our previous trips! Please advise any interest via am@angusmacaskill.com

The website has a page dedicated to METAR and TAF reports. Check out the METAR page. In addition, you can subscribe to an automated service that emails you every morning with the latest METAR/TAF report from Gloucestershire airport. Go to the Contact Us page, enter your details and select 'Newsletter' as the Reason and you will be added to the circulation list. You can unsubscribe any time by sending a similar message with 'Unsubscribe from METAR as the subject.

The new 'Permit to Fly Revalidation System' was released on 15th April. Click HERE to watch the 'How to' video.

AIRPROX and Mandatory Occurrence Reporting

Mandatory Occurrence Reporting requirements are detailed in UK Regulation (EU) 376/2014 and associated UK Regulation (EU) 2015/1018. Whilst most UK ANSPs/Aerodrome fully understand their reporting responsibilities there are still occasions, specifically when an AIRPROX has occurred, when the correct reporting action is not being carried out.

Clarification on the actions required by an ANSP/Aerodrome, when in receipt of a request from the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) for information relating to an AIRPROX, is available on the CAA web site: Airprox Investigation and the Occurrence Reporting Regulations.

CHIRP General Aviation FEEDBACK Edition 103

CHIRP GA FEEDBACK Edition 103 welcomes two new faces to CHIRP: Nicky Smith, Director Aviation and Bill Dean Deputy Director Aviation.

Edition 103 includes 7 recent reports with themes varying from thoughts on accommodating limitations in air traffic services to how a poor attitude in aviation has the potential for serious consequences. There’s a blast from the past in an entertaining ‘I Learned About Human Factors From That’ (ILAHFFT) article with a serious underlying message that will never grow old about assumption. Finally, our new Director offers some thoughts about preparation for Spring flying.

Just a reminder that if you’d like to know more about CHIRP, then watch this video where CHIRPs Advisory Board Chairs explain all.

GA Pilot Licensing & Training Simplification Phase 3 Consultation: Detailed Policy Proposals

Following the completion of CAP2335 – General Aviation (GA) Pilot Licensing & Training Simplification Phase 2 in Spring 2024, and the submission of the Opinion and Instruction documents to the Department for Transport, we are now publishing a suite of three consultation papers setting out the detailed changes to AMC and GM across three of the regulations: Aircrew, Part-BFCL and Part-SFCL.

The consultations close on 6 May 2025 and this is your opportunity to provide any comments.

CAP3075 Protecting the Future: Trials and Simulation of Downwash and Outwash for Helicopters and Powered Lift Aircraft presents the results of research carried out by the Flight Operations department of the UK Civil Aviation Authority to expand knowledge of downwash and outwash at helicopter operating sites.

CAP3075 also provides initial verification and validation of downwash simulations for eVTOL aircraft, called for in CAP2576.

CAP1926 - UK Guidance for Operators/Pilots RNAV Substitution has been updated to:

* Remain harmonised with ICAO Doc 8168;

* Highlight operational considerations due to the UK’s DVOR Rationalisation programme;

* Ensure continued industry focus on the risks associated with the loss of GNSS capability

Five months remaining to convert Sailplane Licenses and Ratings

From 30 September 2025 it will be mandatory to hold a Part SFCL SPL licence to fly Part-21 Sailplanes.

All pilots whose recommendations are sent to the CAA by 30 June 2025 are guaranteed to have their licence issued by 30 September 2025. Applications submitted after this date will be assessed on a first-come, first-serve basis and may result in pilots being unable to exercise privileges temporarily.

Holders of existing British Gliding Association (BGA) Gliding Certificates should contact the BGA directly regarding conversion to a Part-SFCL sailplane licence (SPL). Pilots that hold either a LAPL(S) or UK-issued EASA SPL will have their licences reissued as a UK Part-SFCL SPL when they next apply to the CAA for a sailplane licensing service, or if they apply to the BGA to add additional privileges to the Part-SFCL SPL.

For further information, see our dedicated Sailplane webpages.

Good afternoon All

Please be advised that the Manager of ATS intended to host a safety evening for operators on the 6th of May, but this has had to be postponed to the evening of the 20th of May.

The MATS will be discussing AIRPROX events, Runway Incursions, Volume of Traffic etc. and hopes you will be able to join him.

Details of times and location to follow soon.

Any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The Newsletter archive now has the entire newsletter collection from 2024.

Take a look at the Sales and Wants page of the website and grab yourself a bargain. Don't forget, this is a free service to any of our members.

The May Strut meeting will be held on Tuesday 13th May at Croft Farm. There will be a BBQ starting at 6:00pm but you must let Mike Waldron (info@carouselgolfing.com) know if you plan to attend the BBQ itself.

For those of you who would still like a downloadable, off line version of the Newsletter, Click Here

January 2025	February 2025	March 2025
April 2025

Scramble sculpture at the Heart of England Forest

Gloster Strut Newsletter