Mrs camlobe and myself spent the last week of September getting away from it all. In a narrowboat doing the Leicester ring. No, no, nothing perverse about this at all. It is not a funny act or dance. Honest. (For the nautical amongst you, from Barton Turns on the Trent and Mersey to Fradley Junction, south on the Coventry, onto the Oxford at Hawksbury Junction, change at Braunston Junction for the Grand Union, turn at Norton Junction up the Grand Union Leicester line to Trent Junction, back onto the Trent and Mersey to Barton Turns)
Thing is, Didn’t actually get away from it at all.
On Saturday the 23rd just North of Coventry, a Moth (Gipsy or Tiger, couldn’t tell from where I was but it had a DeH tail) flew slowly by in beautiful skies, the cumulus scatered around at about 5000 ft. Lovely sight and sound.
On Sunday (I think) going past Husbands Bosworth, the Chippy aerotugs were working as hard as the winch, trying to get the gliders up below the biggest cumulus which just happened to be above the airfield. A sky full of graceful glassfibre dancing on their wingtips straining to stay in the middle of the best lift. Chippy’s roaring over our heads towing expectant non-powered bretheren up towards the rotating stack of participants. A busy piece of sky.
On Monday, someone in a Citabria/Decathelon/similar enjoying aero’s above us. You could almost hear the gleeful sounds of the crew rising in creschendo with the engine on each loop entry.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were very similar to the previous three days with plenty happening to catch my interest.
Needless to say, throughout the week, Mrs camlobe continually berated me for paying more attention upwards than I was forewards. She was absolutely right, of course. The responsibility of piloting a brakeless, 58 foot long, 20+ ton lump of steel requires far more concentration than I was committing.
Didn’t stop me sneaking the odd, occasional glance though.
Just wondering, how many of my fellow forumites have tried to ‘get away from it all i.e. aviation’ and happily failed?
By: bloodnok - 10th October 2006 at 10:52
i find it hard to get away from work.
i worked on hawks and tornados whilst in the raf, and work on C-130’s now. but originally from near fairwood airport, swansea, you end up see all of the above either in the circuit, or just flying round.
where i live now is near two large american airbases, so i end up with endless streams of f-15’s and assorted heavy’s, in the other direction is the local battle area, so when they are playing you end up with loads of helicopters of all descriptions flying round.
so in the end whether i’m just heading home for a quit weekend with my folks, or just coming home from work, its hard to get away from all the flying stuff!
By: wv838 - 10th October 2006 at 09:15
Funny thing… while waiting for a group of sea cadets coming to play with the J41 sim, we were standing on the apron watching the endless stream of easyjet 737’s going in and out of Liverpool. What struck me is that no matter how many times I see an aircraft take off or land – it’s like the first time, every time. It amazes me.
By: ollieholmes - 10th October 2006 at 03:07
I just dont escape. Anywhere i go at the sound of an aeroplane i look around/up/down.
By: JDK - 10th October 2006 at 02:38
Also its amazing how a Herc at 200 ft sounds just like a bayler about to break. – The number of times I stopped the tractor before that one finally sunk in was large.
I can just imagine it… 😀
By: Scouse - 10th October 2006 at 01:18
I can’t resist looking up at the sound of an engine either, and following a plane as its silhouette changes, even tho’ it may be a bog-standard 737.
She who would like to be obeyed asks me how I can tell the difference between a 737 and an A320 at two miles’ range. My reply that one’s 737-shaped and the other’s A320-shaped leaves her none the wiser, though.
Otherwise I get away from aeroplanes with motorcycles, and get away from motorcycles with aeroplanes. I think I’m not the only one…
Failing that, I go the opera when they’re in town.
William
By: wessex boy - 9th October 2006 at 21:41
There was nothing like sitting on a boat, drink in hand, moored up on a summers day by the green in Coltishall, watching the Jags break and run in…sadly no more 🙁
By: Aeronut - 9th October 2006 at 11:20
I aws with my sister and family walking around the farm in Worcestshire they had just decided to buy. Having just remarked how quiet it was compared to their current smallholding near gatwick the Red Arrows flew over in formation weell below a 1000 feet.
It was a portent. Little did we know it would be a busy area for low level flying. I’m still amazed at seeing F3 Tornados with no external tanks dog fighting at low level with the burner on. Also its amazing how a Herc at 200 ft sounds just like a bayler about to break. – The number of times I stopped the tractor before that one finally sunk in was large.
My brother in law was also a little miffed at A10s using him as a target of opertunity whilst he was ploughing.
By: wv838 - 9th October 2006 at 10:53
I think you’re right… you can’t get away from it. As soon as you hear an engine overhead, you just have to look up.
Early last year, swmbo decided that we needed a weekend break and she booked us into a little cottage in bedgellert. Now while I love the area around bedgellert, I wasn’t too keen on this because I was busy playing with simulators, the jetstream and trying to stich two lumps of grumman yankee together to make one whole one.
Reluctantly though, I agreed to the trip and we set off for our long weekend break. We met up with the cottage owners to get the keys (they lived just the other side of a little waterfall from our rented cottage) and it turned out that the owner flies a sea king SAR from valley. swmbo’s eyes rolled as long conversations about helo’s began.
Being a yank, swmbo wanted to see a castle and so I took her up to caernarfon. She had a wander around the ruins, did a little shopping, and then I said I just wanted to pop around to caernarfon airport. What she didn’t know was that Bill Turnbull was waiting at the museum there for me and after a quick cuppa we spent the next hour or so wandering around Caernarfon museum’s sea hawk 🙂 swmbo was not impressed.
I just hope her next weekend jaunt is near somewhere like brooklands or duxford 😀
Roy.
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October 8, 2006 at 6:04 pm