In this edition:

• Down on the farm 65 – Tony Palmer
• Minimalism from the 1930’s
• Manston ‘Last Chance’ Fly-in – Richard Griffiths
• Enjoy hearing very loud aero-engines close-up?
• Petition for Last Chance Fly-in at RAF Colerne
• Events: Chilsfold Farm Fly-in date

Down on the farm 65 last month 5/24

Klemm L25C G-ACXE

We have given the girl three flights recently and she did not miss a beat. Tony Berryman did a short shake down flight to check that all was well with the work carried out. He then returned and then Jim jumped in without shutting it down and flew over to Deanland for a landing and a local flight. They returned and I swapped over and went back to Deanland for another full stop landing with the engine running. We returned to Palmersfarm and landed, I then took off and did the landing and we then checked it out after 95 mins of continuous running and found that the plane was not covered in oil as much as it was before. It’s definitely getting better, we now intend to refit the oil pump with a different sealing system and see if that removes one of the last leaks!!

I have recently purchased a new toy which needs some TLC and to get it back to flying condition. Tony Berryman had mentioned a Percival Prentice in a hanger in deepest Kent when we had been talking about David Bird’s Prentice rebuild. Anyway it came up for sale so I went to look at it with Jim and decided it was too good to let rot away or get broken for spares, so I bought it.

Jim and I went over and picked the horizontal tail plane, lower cowling, spats and all the little pieces (and some not very little). The tail plane is about 1.5 metres longer than a Bristell NG5 wing!! In fact it has a wing span of 46 feet!

There was a nest with eggs in the cockpit (there is got be some there!!), the second time I went there were hungry chicks waiting for dinner and on the last trip just one left, so when we move it they all will have flown the nest.

It had an unusual life as it was a Pre-production model that left the factory in 1947 and was shipped to Canada for winterization trials in Edmonton (where my Merlin came from). It returned about 10 months later and was shipped back to the Percival factory and then on to the parachute test facility where it stayed until 1958 when it was sold off. It was never used for pilot training. More info later.

Tony Palmer

Minimalism from the 1930’s

Built by Jess Dixon of Andalusia, Alabama. Reputedly could fly forward, backward or straight up or hover in the air. Runs on road or flies across country. 40 H.P. motor, air cooled, speeds to 100 m.p.h. More detail here: https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/jess-dixon-and-his-flying-ginny-an-untold-helicopter-pioneer.16514/ Love how these early aviation pioneers managed to keep their trilby firmly on.

Manston ‘Last Chance’ Fly-in

The LAA Kent Strut managed to organise a ‘last chance’ fly in at Manston airport last weekend. Hopefully not really the last-chance, as the current owners of the site have just won a legal challenge to reopening it for aviation as a cargo port. It will be developed over the next couple of years, and let’s hope they let GA back in then.

The landing fees were donated to the Martha Trust charity, Brain Tumour Research and The RAF Manston History Museum. The local paper reported that 101 aircraft flew in over the weekend (theisleofthanetnews.com/ ). I was there on the Friday and there was certainly a constant stream of aircraft. I believe the Saturday had a Dakota and a Dragon Rapiede in attendance.

The arrival briefing was basically, keep radio succinct and join straight in for the runway in use. It was surprisingly straightforward. The runway direction changed just after I landed and caused no fuss.

Below some random photos, of the airfield and the ‘Manston RAF’ and ‘Spitfire and Hurricane’ museums, both well worth a visit. Click the right and left arrows to view.

Richard Griffiths

Enjoy hearing very loud aero-engines close-up?

Then you’ll love this; Gatwick Aviation Museum is having an ‘Engine Run Day’ on Saturday 27th July 2024. It will feature both the Shackleton and Lightning. Bring your own ear-defenders! More details at: gamc.org.uk/

Petition for Last Chance Fly-in at RAF Colerne

Colerne airfield, just to the west of Bristol was closed to aviation in 2019 and is scheduled for closure in 2025. It has been run down for a number of years and is destined to become a housing estate. I’ll declare a personal interest; as a kid I regularly attended air-shows there, travelling from Bristol on the back of my dad’s Vespa motor-scooter. I also remember the brilliant aviation collection that was held on the site, until it was dispersed (Nevill Duke’s record breaking Hunter, the experimental prone piloted Meteor, etc.) As an ATC cadet in the 60’s I remember muddy days on the RAF Regiment assault course. I managed to bag Filton for my log-book (where my dad worked on Concorde) before it closed, and I’d really like to get Colerne in it too.

There is a petition to get the MoD to temporarily open Colerne airfield for a general aviation charitable fly-in, like the recent event at Manston. The organiser is looking for two thousand signatures before presenting it. Well, it might happen. If you’d like to add your signature the link is: change.org/p/temporarily-open-colerne-airfield-to-general-aviation-for-a-charitable-fly-in

Richard Griffiths

Events

Fly-in at Chilsfold farm on Saturday June 22 (if weather is bad then 23)

If you want to fly in please talk to Farry to get PPR and a briefing on 07801068210. The runway is orientated 08/26, all circuits to the North, please do not overfly the house on the approach to 26. It starts at about 11.00 onwards until the last one leaves, probably about 17.00? Food and drinks will be provided. If the weather does not play ball on the Saturday then Sunday the 23rd is pencilled in. If you are driving in no problem but please park in the taxiway down to the hanger as directed.

Next club night Wednesday 5 June at The Longshore, Shoreham

When you come to club night on Wednesday, please bring some cash for subs (£25) if you have not paid already!! And we can discuss the events and what direction you want the strut to go, suggestions please for the coming year? Just a night to chat. Tony P

We have an invite to go to the Wings Aviation Museum at Unit 1 Bucklands Farm, Brantridge Ln RH17 6JT (near Hayward’s Heath area) , I will need to find out who wants to come to arrange a time and date and if it viable for them to open for us. Please consider this and let me know next Wednesday or contact me by phone, text or email. Nobody has contacted me, so I assume no one is interested? Tony P

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