We last left you with the news we were weathered in at Bodmin for another day ! Since then mobile signals and internet connections have been rarer, so please forgive the delay.
It’s now the Wednesday evening following our return to Kemble on Sunday, here is the rest of our Fly-UK story.
Despite being stuck in Bodmin we had a great time there. The club members, the airfield management (Mark) and Michelle (catering) made us most welcome and helped in many ways. For example hangerage was provided, lifts into town, lifts for picking up a can or two of fuel, breakfast stuff left out in the kitchen for us etc etc.
Wednesday night we enjoyed a meal with some of the founder members of the club and enjoyed many tales of foreign flying tours and amusing scrapes.
On Thursday we were joined late afternoon by 2 other aircraft from our home base of Kemble. The weather had improved enabling them to get down and join us having had a rough time in North Wales.
G-KEJY piloted by my old instructor Mike Oakley with trainee pilot Steve and G-???? Phil Shepherd in his Sports Cruiser. Phil had just fancied popping down to say hi and didn’t stay much longer than the time taken to have a cup of tea and buy a dozen eggs. Pardon? Yes, buy a dozen eggs, from an enterprising and hot pants clad local girl who had wandered by to seek the position of egg supplier to the airfield kitchen ! Apparently the eggs made it back to the Cotswolds in one piece too.
G-KEJY and ourselves decided that as the weather had calmed and it was still early that we could depart, fly around Lands End and return to Roche airfield , which is only a couple of miles from Bodmin !
We also heard another microlight was coming, a Sky Ranger Golf -Juliet Tango. So we left a note for them.
We had a fantastic flight, blue sky, few clouds, evening sun. Our route took us out to the North coast near Perranporth, over Portreath and down towards Lands End then we crossed over and returned via the South Coast. Our ground speed on the way down was only about 40mph but on the way back around 75 at times, yep still windy aloft!
Roche is a great little airfield, basically a great big hay field with three very tidy runways mown into it, a few small individual hangars, a static caravan and a toilet with a double glazed front door !
We landed around 9pm. threw up the tent and dashed to the pub missing food, but fortunately we’d eaten at lunch time so a snack from the garage en route sufficed.
Steve and Myron from Golf-Juliet Tango based at Gloucester’s Over Farm airstrip joined us and we had a good natter over a few beers.
Roche was Ellys 2nd ever night camping under canvas ! I dont think she relished it much but we slept ok. I think FlyUK and the enforced 60mph fresh air consumption had worn us out by then.
We awoke to a lovely sunny morning…
Ian often finds it a herculian effort getting out of bed but took things a step further that morning… (cheers for the pic Mike)
A cereal bar and half bottle of water later and we taxied down the airfield to be as near to the road as possible and walked to the garage for a can of fuel, twice
Having fuelled up we departed into the crisp morning air en route for Halwell, just inland from Torbay in Devon.
I meant to ask them how they make it so creamy, but sorry, I forgot.