January 2026

In this edition:

  • Would you have done this?
  • Down on the farm 85 last month 12/25 – Tony Palmer
  • Shoreham Launches a Pilot Guide
  • Christmas Dinner Photos
  • Bothered by a Willy Willy?
  • Tony’s Tiger starts a new life
  • EASA introduces ADS-L

Would you have done this?

Would you consider an emergency landing on a busy road? It’s something that our US cousins seem to do fairly often. Here’s a video of one such occurrence that I came across. Amazingly no one died!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-33533821

Down on the farm 85 last month 12/25

Klemm L25C G-ACXE

The Klemm cylinder number 6 is back on. The runway has dried out and I rolled it and it is ready for use.

Prentice G-APPL VR189

No movement

Beagle Terrier G-ATDN TW- 641

The tail wheel and glider tow unit is now back on, I have made a new housing for the tail light which now sports a LED strobe.

Next club night January 7th 2026 at the Longshore by the airport roundabout

Please, PLEASE can we have club members come up with things to do this year!!! Maybe organise trips out to museums, flyouts, someone to do an interesting talk??

For the July 2026 meeting I have booked Paul Smiddy who wrote MOONLIGHT CRUSADERS, Tangmere was the base for many of these flights.

This engrossing history explores the creation, development and actions of the Special Duties squadrons, which carried spies, political figures and documents in and out of Occupied Europe.

In 1940, Winston Churchill famously set in motion the Special Operations Executive. However, the creation of secret agent networks required a clandestine transport infrastructure to support nascent resistance movements in Occupied Europe. With only the moon to guide their way, the daring pilots of 161 Squadron constantly faced danger: their locations could be discovered, German night-fighters and flak had to be contended with and, of course, they dealt with the worst of European weather. Despite these extra risks, these Special Duties pilots were remarkably successful.

Packed with first-hand accounts and expert research, this book dives into the history of the men who flew these dangerous missions and the main aircraft they used – unarmed Lysanders. Author Paul Smiddy, an RAF-trained pilot, explores the origins of the Lysander, the dangers it posed to its pilots and how operational techniques were developed. Facing political interference and limited resources from the RAF, these brave and under-recognised pilots provided a critical role in the war – bringing back agents with important information to help Britain and the Allies defeat the Germans.

Tony Palmer

Shoreham Launches a Pilot Guide

Aimed at people new to Shoreham, but worth a look if you haven’t been recently. It is on the airport website PPR page. Download it as a PDF here: Brighton City Airport Pilot Guide

Christmas Dinner Photos

All by our local paparazzo Tony P. Click on an image to see a larger version.

Bothered by a Willy Willy?

The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority have a distinctive method of getting safety information across in their ‘Crash Comic’ series of videos.

Tony’s Tiger starts a new life

Tony P has sold on his restored de Havilland Canada Tiger Moth DH82C, G-FCTK to Robert Doughton at Dunkswell, where it is available for historic experience flights. Here is a promotional video for the venture showing Tigers in flight. (Ignore my name appearing top left; it’s not my video, just where it is temporarily hosted.)

Full details at tigermothflights.co.uk

EASA introduces ADS-L

EASA has introduced a new variation on Automatic Dependent Surveillance, a ‘light’ version, ADSL-L. It’s a lower power system than ADS-B and not certified – so potentially cheaper. It is intended to be broadly interoperable with existing systems and significantly unmanned systems. Full details here: https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/the-agency/faqs/automatic-dependent-surveillance-light-ads-l#category-regulatory-framework-and-recognition-

PilotAware is already compatable with it. See: pilotaware.com/post/pilotaware-adopts-adsl-iconspicuity

Here is a video introducing it.

Events

Next Strut ‘Club Night’

Wednesday 7th January 2025, 7:30 pm at The Longshore, Shoreham

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