You have got me on that, what was I thinking of!

Swap?

Hi Joe

Have the Maintenance but not the brochure. Fancy swapping it for an English Electric Lightning pilots manual?

I am ex 11 Sqn Lightning pilot and my aircraft ended up in a front drive at Callington Cornwall but I do have some manuals rescued from the last days of RAF Binbrook.

Always like flying light aircraft and when time and money permitted back in 1985 would drop in at the RAF Cranwell flying club and float about in the Tiger Moth. The Tiger guru back then was an old man called Dickie, ex driver, knew how to fly the Moth and a real gent.

The Tiger harder to land than the Lightning in my opinion. You just pointed the rocket at the numbers checked the descent and cut power as the tyres touched, the Tiger all together more lively!

Hi Tony, yes have flow with the doors open but the stills above all taken via sliding panels in side windows. The video last year has some shots with the side doors open in flight but would remove doors and floor for a photo shoot. FG has a floor mounted camera door for vertical shots but for normal flights we keep a plywood floor in the rear.

Did a tour of Snowdon this afternoon. Popped into Sleap, fuelled up and then routed Chirk, A5, Betys Co, A5 pass round Bethesda and off to Snowdon (peak clouded out) then home via Denbigh Moor and Jubilee Tower. Will post some pictures later.

Had an experienced friend fly it at St Athan on Saturday post 50 hr check. Then we drove down yesterday and took a couple of the St Athan engineers for a shake down along the coast to Porthcawl. Tweeked the radios to get i/c balance right and eliminate background noise. Oleo still a bit soft after ok landing, checked pressures, decided seals still bedding in and took the aircraft back to Ashcroft.

By way of a change headed north to Brecon and climbed to 5500 feet to get above the clouds and save a bit of fuel on the way home. Pleasant trip with plenty of breaks and started descent abeam Long Myndd weaved around other GA aircraft in the Sleap/Chester triangle and landed safely at Ashcroft after a 1hr 25min transit.

Thanks to all at St Athan & Horizon for their efforts to get the Dornier sorted. A good place to keep a vintage aircraft.

Spot on

‘If the aircraft is to bear military markings permission must be obtained from the Ministry of Defence or the appropriate foreign government and sent to the CAA, Aircraft Registration section. One exception to this is aircraft wearing United States Air Force markings as the US Embassy have granted permission for UK registered aircraft to wear their authentic markings as long as the aircraft type is no longer in USAF use or in their service inventory.'[/QUOTE]

I am not averse to cocking a thumb at the establishment but felt it unwise to go against the CAA and so we dropped the idea of German markings. Rex Ford did suggest a half way house of a war bird paint scheme with registration on the fin and rudder but would prefer to get permission from the Portuguese for a drab green jungle scheme.

Main priority to get the aircraft sorted and paint scheme further down the road. It is thirsty on fuel but carries four plus gear and can safely get in and out of short strips. Very well suited to the UK GA environment but not a long distance tourer hope to do more with it this year.

Hi oz

Will be interesting to see if the CAA reduction of red tape brings costs down too. Somehow I doubt it! Installed a 12v car winch to pull the aircraft into the hangar tail first, works well and runs off a car battery. Shades of GR1 being towed into a HAS back in Germany.

Stopped and walked back to measure landing roll, about 180 paces say 200m. Impressed given there was little headwind.

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