G-ATIS
"
The Cheeky Cherokee"
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G-ATIS
"
The Cheeky Cherokee"
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G-ATIS Blog May
26th 2007 Cherbourg and Alderney Dave and Malcolm visited Cherbourg to find out from Luc and Edith the dates for the next barbeque. This will held be some time August.
Above: Card for the Cafe at Cherbourg. En route to Alderney Malcolm and Dave flew past the very inlet to which they had ridden on the bikes from Lessay just a few weeks earlier. They then flew North to Alderney via Cap Cartaret.
Above left: Inlet which Malcolm and Dave cycled to viewed from the air Right Cap Cartaret At Alderney they took a walk and as ever filled up with Duty Free fuel.
Above Jose the fueller at Alderney has been there for some time now and always greets you with a smile. May
26th 2007 Tommy Rose While walking around Alderney Malcolm and Dave spotted a plaque to one Tommy Rose Aviation Pioneer. Just who was Tommy Rose?
Above: Plaque to Tommy Rose, Aviataion Pioneer. Tommy Rose flew and
fought on the Western front during the First World War scoring 9 victories. In 1932 Tommy Rose
set up the second regular air service to the Isle of Man called
the Isle of Man Air Service, from Speke, Liverpool. They had acquired
the prototype Cutty Sark G-AAIP which was the first product of Saunders Roe Ltd.
Tommy Rose also competed in the Kings cup Air races in on one of Daves favourite Aircraft, the Miles Hawk Speed 6 G-ADGP. He competed in both the King’s Cup Races and Manx Derby.
Above: Tommy Rose flew G-ADGP throughout the 30s and 40s. On 26th May 1947 Tommy Rose won the Manx Air Derby flying ‘DGP at 181mph around the Isle of Man. May
18th 2007 The
Dams Raid (Operation Chastise) It was third time lucky for Dave Skertchly as he and Malcolm Barton in G-ATIS made it to the Mohne Dam to view the sights of the famous Dam Busters Raid. It was originally intended to be a 2 ship trip however G-BASH became trapped under freak fog, and despite a few hair raising moments in IMC it was G-ATIS which made it to Midden Zeeland and then onwards to Dinslaken and Arnsburg via the Mohne Dam.
Above: Dave and Malcolm on the Mohne Dam A taxi to the Dam and a pleasant evening in the bar with Atilla the Mum then followed. For the rest of the story you will need to attend the show and tell evening scheduled at the PFA Solent Strut in the Autumn! After that you will be able to download the power points from this web site.
Above Left the Mohne Dam as left by 617 squadron, Above right the Mohne Dam as left by the crew of G-ATIS
Above: They made it! Malcolm and Dave shake on it as soon as G-ATIS was safely back in the Hangar. May 5th 2007 Sandown It was the day of the end of term ball at Southampton University and as part of the festivities G-ATIS took 2 engineering students for the Warsash School of Navigation to see just what navigating at 100kts is like, at least that was the excuse. Kirsty, Matt's girlfreind was initially nervous but Dave's smooth flying soon put her at ease but she insisted that Dan should not fly the Aeroplane while she was in it!
Above Left to Right, Dan, Kirsty and Chris enjoyed a flight in G-ATIS from Sandown. April 2007 Lessay Lessay is one of those Airfields one likes to "drop in to", but Malcolm and Dave had never seen the countryside around. The bikes were loaded into the back of G-ATIS and after coffee and a "Jambon et fromage sandwich" at Luc and Edith's cafe in Cherbourg they dropped into Lessay. The airfield has a long wide grass runway which feels as though it has mesh under the grass. This was probably a wartime airfield. The bikes were unpacked and the lads cycled to the beach. They guessed it was 15 miles return but well worth it.
Above: The long wide grass runway at Lessay on right base.
Above Left Dave and Malcolm leaving Lessay for the Coast Right; they made it to the coast, it is just as charming from the ground as from the air. Easter 2007 Halfpenny Green To speak to them you would never believe that Malcolm and Joan come from Birmingham. The more sensible landing fees charged recently at Halfpenny Green, made a trip to Brum on a sunny Easter Saturday for lunch with Joan's Sister a pleasant prospect.
Above Left: G-ATIS at halfpenny Green: Right: right to left: Terry, Jean, Joan and Malcolm pose in front of G-ATIS at Halfpenny Green March 2007 Duty Free at Alderney Dave's Mum enjoys a trip to Alderney. Whether or not this is influenced by the availability of duty free at Alderney Airport we cannot be sure!
Above: Dave and Mum at Lee PFA Rally 2006 The Lads made it to the PFA rally in 2006 and were just as disappointed as everyone else, lets hope the local rally's planned for 2007 are better.
Middle Wallop "I think there is a fly in at Middle Wallop today" said Dave as he called overhead Boscombe Down at FL40, "what do you think Malc?" "Ok by me" said Malc, so this is how they got Middle Wallop in the Log Book.
Yet again Dave bored anyone who was listening with stories of the night fighters which were based at Middle Wallop and were flown by John (Cats Eyes) Cunningham. Solent Strut Fly In G-ATIS was photographed by a fellow Solent Strut Member departing from Old Sarum
Above: G-ATIS photographed from Tiger Moth G-EMSY
Above: G-EMSY photographed by Malcolm from G-ATIS Northern France in a Day Once a year Malcolm and Dave set off to visit as many French Airfields as they can:
Above left: Malcolm at St Omer home of the Royal Flying Corps in France during the Great War right; Dave and Malcolm at Bernay ancient home of the Jodel Tribe!
Above left: Dave at Merville where he bored everyone with stories of the V3 or "High Pressure Pump" guns buried in the hill overlooking the airfield. Right; Malcolm shows off the scenery at Lens, that is right Slag Heaps! Starlight 2006 As ever Malcolm and Dave were at the starlight event flying seriously ill children and their families. A great day was had by all.
Above left; Dave with happy passengers Right; Malcolm with another happy passenger at Starlight 06.
Above; G-ATIS beats round the circuit at Starlight 06 Avranches
Above: G-ATIS again at Avranches behind the flex wings, Dave on fold up bike in front Calais It was a grotty day really, we called final without setting eyes on the airfield which was shrouded in haze below the inversion. Worse still we rode miles on the bikes and found only a village fete and one bar open, worse still no lunch. Calais is not worth a stop unless passing by! Above Right: the only Cafe in bike range of Calais airfield, left the airfield hidden under the inversion Lands End
Above Left: A day at Lands End flown from Lee direct took us over the Cornish Alps, right Malcolm at Lands End, obviously!
Above Left: Over "the facility" at Lands End as it known by the locals Right: One of Malcolm's obsessive skyscapes, this one of cloud streets near Exeter. Isle of Wight The lads were found by Steve Bond heading for the pub as ever.
Caen The weather forecast was foul, but nevertheless the team timed a trip to Caen. A taxi was taken into town where they enjoyed a lunch as they watched the market stalls being packed up.
Above; Arrival at Caen, Malcolm and Joan pose with G-ATIS and a B17 Flying Fortress A quick walk around the Town walls and it was time to return to Lee. This was achieved about 2 hours before the weather closed in, excellent timing.
Above: Dave and Joan on the town walls tour Starlight Day 2005 Starlight day at Popham is the day when the Aviation Community help share the load of the families with seriously ill Children. G-ATIS was there. Malcolm and Dave flew 8 trips and flying 24 children and their parents.
Above: G-ATIS in the line up at Starlight Day
Left: Malcolm with 2 happy passengers, right; Dave with 3 more passengers. Avranches Malcolm and Dave flew to Avranches via Cherbourg and Lessay. At Lessay they were amused by the Aerodrome Charles Lindbergh and they then continues to the quaint airfield of Avranches.
Above; Malcomb at Lessay and Avranches The Bikes were brought out and the hardy Brits cycled up hill to Avranches Town. On the way back they freewheeled downhill at great speed, but were nonetheless overtaken by one of the local urchins on a mountain bike, "La Classe" he called as he passed by admiring the fold up bikes!
Above left: Having a light lunch in Avranches and right with the folded bikes at the Airfield. The PFA Rally 2004 The PFA Rally at Kemble had the worst weather for years. Arriving in pouring rain the crew hid under the wing of a passing Cessna but soon ran back to the aircraft and hid inside while the cockpit steamed up.
Above Left: The obligatory landing Photo which now appears on G-ATIS memorabilia such as crew mugs, Right Malcolm shivers in the snow.
Above: Sheltering from the snow! Friends at Granville Granville is a pleasant enough destination at any time, but this is especially so if sailing friends are waiting with a Winnebago to take you to their Longje for lunch
left; Joan and friends after Lunch. Guernsey At last they felt confident enough to take Joan to Guernsey. The outbound trip was tricky, with low cloud and poor visibility, but the pilots shared the load and won through with just a little bit of instrument flying. A car was hired and a pleasant enough lunch taken in a an Italian Bistro before a trip around the Island.
Above Left; A clear view of Guernsey on arrival after struggling through some "crap" on the way. Right; the Casquettes Lighthouse with Alderney in the background. Malcolm recalled sailing through this race.
Above: Joan Barton seems pleased with the duty free fuel uptake. Cherbourg Malcolm and Dave headed for Cherbourg from some instrument flying practice, and instead found themselves visiting an air display and lounging around on the grass in the sun!
Above Left, Malcolm in a relaxed mood, right; a Beechcraft departing the air display Le Touquet For the next trip they chose the well proven run to Le-Touquet. All went well as confidence started to grow. After riding into town for lunch they returned to aircraft and proceeded up the coast to Calais.
Above; left Malcolm on his fold up bike, Right Dave at Calais The first trip out The first trip out for G-ATIS after having its engine replaced was to Corfe Castle. It was the first time out for some months for Malcolm and co-pilot Dave Skertchly, and was more than a little stressful as they tried to master a new engine, the new electronics and new procedures. Despite this Malcolm got a superb picture of Corfe Castle.
Above: Corfe Castle |
