| 8 April 2006 - First visit this year to Isle
of Wight |
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We were determined to take advantage of the
wind not being directly from the North and being a little lighter than it had
been for many weekends. Visits to the Isle of Wight are always good so we
decided to treat ourselves and visit Sandown.
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All went well and we flew West of Lasham, down
past the Beacon at Butser Hill and onto Portsmouth where we called up and
understood landing would be on runway 23 using a right hand circuit. We
flew over the Solent past Bembridge harbour, always a lovely site. |
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Wed joined the Sandown circuit landing on the grass and
taxiing to just by the stream. |
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They were cutting the grass in front of the
restaurant, so we stayed well clear of that activity. We signed in at the bar and took advantage of a
nice mug of coffee before heading up the hill for a short walk. |
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We returned to the clubhouse for bacon baps and coffee which the restaurant offer within 15 minutes to pilots
or their landing fee is refunded. Our refreshments arrived well within the
15 minutes although the peace and quiet of the room was soon shattered by a
couple playing and singing jazz. They were very good if you liked jazz and
did not want to talk to your fellow aviators. So sadly many people took up
their food and braved the cold weather outside for a peaceful meal. We
were obviously not alone in our thoughts. Very sad as the facilities are
really very good without the need for loud music. |
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Having been refreshed we took on the return journey taking advantage of the calm air over the
sea for which we were very pleased. We flew East to Littlehampton along the coast. As soon as we
headed North we hit very thermic weather conditions and my filming went to
"pot". We flew up over Dunsfold and then onto Popham where we
took on fuel and enjoyed a cup of coffee and an amazing home made ginger and nut
biscuit. We chatted to other aviators before flying back home. The
take off at Popham was a little exciting as within seconds of lifting the
tailwheel we hopped into the air, the wind caught the wing and some speedy manoeuvring
by Martin ensured we were safely into the air and homeward bound. Martin
declared that flight was enjoyable but perhaps a little too exciting, but good
practice I reminded him. |
