Well……….things didnt go to plan.
We had some terrible thunder storms last night and when I collected him from his house, it was still raining and not looking very good at all. It was then I decided to spill the beans and as a result, he seemed at first a little shocked and then quite upset over what was (might) happening. On the car journey up to Eggesford we just watched the weather going from bad to worse and back again and in a way I thought it was a wasted trip.
Upon arriving, it slowly started to clear and as a result, we started to get organised. One Auster 9 had left the following day and so 2 others, 2 AOP.6s and the Broussard were to join it at Netheravon. In the end one 9 pulled out and then we had terrible problems getting my Dad into a 6, as he’s not the young man he used to be and was therefore finding it difficult to swing his legs in. So, we swapped the 6 for a 9 and he easily popped into the P2 seat and I had his 6 seat.
We all took off and headed east, but upon reaching the Honiton area it started to look a little bad with low mist and the remains of a storm over Exeter heading our way. Five minutes later and the 6 I was in headed for home, whilst the others managed to fight their way through and reach their destination.
So……he arrived back with some 3 hours of Auster 9 flying under his belt and had a wonderful time at Netheravon, trying to remember the site and taking in the atmosphere. Its such a shame that I wasnt there to record the day, but the one thing you cant book is the weather. Perhaps we’ll try again in two years time.
He hasnt stopped talking about it since.
Will try and post what photos I did take over the next couple of days.
Best wishes,
Martin
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