This reminds me of loitering outside a chemist as a teenager, plucking up the courage to go in and buy a packet of Durex. I’m orbiting just east of Reading in my RV-7 going through the same kind of emotions as I steel myself to call Heathrow Radar and request a Special VFR clearance through the London CTR. I’ve never requested one before and I’m nervous.
Yesterday I was at home lazing in a deckchair enjoying the fine weather and wondering which newspaper column deadlines I was in danger of missing when I thought I heard a light aircraft overhead. Our house is in Hampton, Middlesex which is well within the CTR. Often when I’ve heard what I thought was a single-engine light airplane it’s turned out to be the ears playing up, and it’s just a Robinson navigating the heli route along the Thames, or a turboprop at high altitude in the airways.
This time, however, I was right because I saw clearly a high-wing Cessna single going overheard at what looked about fifteen hundred feet or so−at any rate low enough to make out the paint scheme. Rushing inside for my field telephone, I immediately got onto a tracking app and looked for the Cessna. Not difficult as hardly anything is flying, of course. It turned out to be a Cessna 150 out of Blackbushe. Fascinated, I tracked it across Richmond Park, Putney, and over southeast London.
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Denne historien er fra July 2020-utgaven av Pilot.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Hybrid-Electric ‘Hawaii Bird' Makes First Flight
Electric aviation company Ampaire flew its second technology demonstrator on 10 September. The aircraft is a refined version of its Cessna 337 ‘Electric EEL’ hybrid-electric power conversion.
Rare Rearwin
Made in tiny numbers by Piper and Aeronca standards, the beautifully-engineered Rearwin Skyranger proves to be a delight waiting to be discovered
Dr Hill's new helicopter
You’ve seen pictures of concept helicopters before, and most of them never rose from the paper… but this one has a better chance than most of flying in the real world. It’s the Hill HX50, and the designer describes it as a ‘disruptive’ entry into the small helicopter market, offering a step-change for the better in safety, performance, comfort and elegance.
Make mine a turbine!
To say aviation and turbines is a happy marriage is true−albeit mainly in the airline, business aircraft and helicopter world. Light aviation, especially the ultralight segment, remains essentially a turbine free field−apart from noble exceptions, in the form of single-engine jets and ‘experimentals’.
Industry experts say...
Representatives from a selection of Approved Training Organisations look forward to the future of Commercial Air Travel and prospects for professional pilots after the pandemic
Flight training
News from the clubs, schools & ATOs
First airline job
... won and lost after just eighteen months in the right-hand seat. Reflections on the rewards of the hardest work in a lifetime
Safety Matters
Safety Matters and Safety Briefs are based on the AAIB Bulletin and UK Airprox Board reports, with additional material from the US National Transportation Safety Board.
Donegal wins ‘most beautiful airport' - again!
Donegal in Ireland has been named as the ‘world’s most beautiful airport 2020’ – for the third successive year – in a major vote by more than six thousand ‘flying fans’. The award is given as part of the annual Scenic Airports poll conducted by private jet booking service PrivateFly.
Come to Sweden!
A French pilot retires to Sweden, where he enjoys great weather, blissful flights and barbecues – and invites British flyers visit this GA-friendly country
