1 Comment

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  by Gordon 10 months ago

  A breezy day at the field in Ballivor... in fact, complimentary bicycle clips were on offer for anyone who dared to fly... that being Angus, Alex, Damian and myself... can’t remember if Steve ventured... Angus had a couple of smashing landings with the Raven, Alex had a hairy landing, Damian had a less hairy landing, twice and I had a perfect landing until the wind blew the Pilatus Porter on its wing and the soft sweet sound of a gentle crack signalled all was not well. The signal was correct.. the bloody dihedral brace has snapped outside of the centre section. It is repairable which will happen if for nothing else other than pig iron !!!
  
  
  
  The Alex, Angus and myself met with Dave Gaffney, Dave Dunne and Gordon at the Trim airfield for their annual BBQ and Fly-in. Once again, as at Ballivor, the wind was a mitigating factor. Lots of light planes arriving and departing. Various Cessna models, Pipers, ultra lights, the Air Corps Cessna 12 and even a twin seater autogyro..! then the big Sikorsky S-61 search and rescue chopper arrived and proceeded to blow everybody’s saled onto the next table. We had my SE5A and Gordon’s Bristol M1C on static display while Angus prepared his Raven for a demo flight with it’s 85cc 3W petrol engine..
  
  
  
  To say he gobsmacked the crowd would be an understatement... they were enthralled with his performance. In fairness to Angus, he was excellent given that is was a new location, a vicious crosswind, severe turbulence from the trees and an audience !! He got a standing ovation when he landed.. I think his best effort was torque rolling from 6” above the ground to around 30 feet through a gap in the trees !!
  
  
  
  We, the RCAC, through Angus acquitted ourselves well and we were well thanked by the organising committee. Well done and thanks to Angus.
  
  
  
  I should also wish Angus bon voyage and the best of luck as he and 2 others head to the US of A next Sunday to represent Ireland at the world F3A Aerobatic championships... go on.. send him a supporting email !!
  
  
  
  Sitting back with the 3rd glass of white in my hand, I reflect on what a good day it was for anyone interested in aviation and particularly model aviation.. this is what it is all about.. !!
  
  Regards
  
  Bill