In this edition:

• Down on the farm 60 last month 12/23 – Tony Palmer
• CAA’s Safety Sense Leaflets
• Film Recommendation: Lancaster Squadron: Journey Together
• Obituary: Roy Newton (1938-2023) – Mike Lodge

Down on the farm 60 last month 12/23

Klemm L25C G-ACXE

We are still waiting for the permit to fly from the LAA. We went to run the engine the other day, it was cold and the engine coughed and spluttered but would not pick up. After going through everything twice it was decided that the left magneto was not producing a strong enough spark. We pulled it out with a view to putting our spare one in, but we took it back to the Magneto guys and it appears that it had lost most of its magnetism. He re-magnetised it and low and behold it is putting out a nice big spark again he also re-magnetised our spare for us. We will refit it in the New Year and try again.

Due to my recent heart operation I had neglected the Bristell NG5 in the hanger. I wanted to check it out and charge the battery, run the engine and give a check over. I needed to check the main gear tyre pressures and then remembered that you had to unbolt the spats, a pain especially as you need to Loctite the bolts back in as they will come loose. I remembered Farry had suggested cutting holes and fitting a blank grommet but with my compressor nozzle it would be a pain. So I gave some thought and went with a mouse hole and had the tyre pressure indicated next to it, pic attached.

Stop press:- Mike Lodge has written an obituary for Roy Newton which is within this newsletter. Unfortunately I have just heard of another death within the local flying community, Martin Emery. Some of you will remember him I expect, his claim to fame being the landing of a laden Boeing 707 successfully with two engines blown off the starboard wing! [See the dramatisation of the incident in the video below.] He also owned and operated SIPA S.903 aircraft G-BGME which has been stored since 1994.

Christmas Dinner

We had our Christmas dinner at the Tollgate Hotel in Bramber on the 6th of December. After many changes of numbers and traffic delays in getting there we ended up with 38 diners eventually. I think everyone enjoyed themselves but we need to consider whether we want to change the venue as 2 courses were priced at £27.95 and they wanted a big chunk extra for a service charge which I negotiated out of and that’s why we went around with a hat afterwards. We could increase the subs to cover it, change venues or carry on as we do now and just get the members to pay up for any short fall?

I had asked last year about the two cups that I had here and suggestions for members to receive them, we only had one answer and that was from Don Lord. So Don did the honours and presented them, see pics.

Richard Griffiths receiving the Beverly White Cup for all his work in producing the newsletter.

Don presenting me the Nick De Bruyne Trophy for my work with the strut.

When you come to club night in January please bring some cash for subs and we can discuss the above and what direction you want the strut to go, suggestions please for the coming year?

Tony Palmer

CAA’s Safety Sense Leaflets

The CAA has been updating the Safety Sense leaflets that give advice on GA related issues. They are certainly worth having a look at, even if you think you know it already. It’s surprising what you forget, or sometimes what you never knew to begin with. Case in point, Leaflet 32: Occurrence Reporting for General Aviation; I’ve had a notion that if something bad happens I ought to report it to somebody, but just what and to who was a bit vague. Well after reading that leaflet, no more!

Check out the updated leaflets as they are published here: caa.co.uk/general-aviation/safety-topics/safety-sense-leaflets/

Film Recommendation: Lancaster Squadron: Journey Together

“A story dedicated to the Few who trained the Many….” Made by the RAF as a propaganda film in 1944 it follows recruits through their training and eventual deployment in a front-line squadron of Avro Lancasters. They fly their first night mission over Berlin. All does not go well, but good training saves the day! The flying scenes are very authentic. The film uses RAF personnel, so spot many famous actors as very young men in service. Highly recommended.

Obituary: Roy Newton (1938-2023)

We’ve sadly lost one of the last links to postwar all-wood plans home-builders: Roy was a veteran member of the EAA/PFA/LAA after he had got the flying bug in the early sixties at Panshangar. Starting off in an Air Coupe, he grabbed every chance to get ‘affordable’ airtime by moving to Austers, Miles Messenger, Turbulent, Wittman Tailwind, Tipsy Nipper, Tiger Moth, J3 Cub, Jodel and Aeronca Champion, before finally piloting his beloved Taylor Titch for the first time in 1986- he had spent 18 years in the build, having paid John Taylor’s newly widowed Eve £12 10s for the plans! He then went on to fly G-BARN regularly for nearly 4 decades, right up to his untimely death.

Roy was a meticulous and but cautious engineer and pilot, who was always ready to help fellow aviators like me with his vast experience without any sense of bragging or being patronising. The South Downs and Beachy Head will miss his silver pocket-rocket flying very low and very fast over the waves, only to soar up over the Seven Sisters.

RIP Roy.

Mike Lodge

Events

Next Strut Night is Wednesday 3rd January, 7:30pm at The Longshore. Come along with ideas for activities next year!

For a list of events go to the website Events page.