Apart from the excellent range of local strut member fly ins, we enjoy many further afield.

One of our favourites is to Belle Vue, a nicely kept farm strip in Devon, a really friendly do on Saturday with the opportunity to camp over to Sunday. This year with the added bonus of a possibility of joining the fly in to Lundy. This has been on our “to do” list for some years but tales of a rough strip, dodgy weather etc have worried us in the past.

This year we felt bold! I’d talked to Peter White for an excellent and encouraging briefing. The forecast seemed OK so we headed west on Saturday with an uneventful flight to Belle Vue and a chance to catch up with past acquaintances. Sunday dawned damp and overcast with little wind so after breakfast and a chance for the tent to dry we set off. We coasted out for the over-water flight with a lowish cloud base (1000 ft) but no hills and a reasonable horizon. Soon we spotted Lundy. We became part of a steady stream joining the circuit and identified the tricky to spot strip. We approached over a granite wall towards the lighthouse, landing slightly uphill.  It was bumpy with more rabbit holes as the runway continues. Marshals directed us to a parking space some way off the runway amongst a very varied collection of aircraft.

 Then off to find a coffee before a wander round the island in the clearing skies and sunshine. After a circular walk on the southern part of the island we stopped for a pleasant lunch at the only pub before walking back to the aeroplane, taking in the restored lighthouse on the way.  The views from the top were spectacular.

The take off was uneventful.  Although we had planned to break the flight home a stiff tailwind pushed our Eurostar along at 130 mph for much of the journey encouraging us to keep going. So another superb weekend away and some fuel left in the tank.

In all 84 aircraft attended the fly in, one of the best ever.