I know who she is now after a quick Google, I thought she was that singer named after the penguins; Adelie is it? As far as Rheanna being considerably richer than me, most of the population of the country are considerably richer than me. I’m quite happy being an anonymous pauper thank you with half a brain and some integrity rather than a vacuous airhead with a few bob in the bank.

People in films having normal level conversations on airliners instead of ‘What? Eh? Hang on I’ll lean a bit closer.’

I watched a program about the Douglas Skyraider this evening in which the programme blurb referred to it as a jet…………

People being sucked out of airliner windows in action films…er.no they won’t.

Eye witness accounts, mostly of light aircraft incidents where an aircraft has made a forced landing ‘And we were amazed to see this little aircraft come over and crash in that field’….no it didn’t, it just landed there.

The eye witness ‘The pilot was a hero, he avoided all of the houses and schools and managed to put down in a field’. No he didn’t, landing on a school or house usually results in the cessation of breathing for the pilot so he will quite happily plonk it into a field instead of on your cat.

Just pack as much as you can in to every day. I’ve always done that even from being a yoof. There’s only one thing I haven’t done that I want to do and that’s scuba diving, haven’t got round to it yet. I’ve had three close friends die in the last five years, all in their 50’s. I’m 56 and if that isn’t a wake up call to get more stuff packed in I don’t know what is.

I’m always reminded of something my Dad used to say ( he was a bon viveur too) about people’s tombstones. ‘Here lies Fred, buried at 80, died at 30’. He used to say ‘Don’t let that happen to you son’.

Dylan Thomas summed it up rather well

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Who is Rheanna?

There are whole departments in the Armed Forces that are interested in whether stuff is EMP proof…..I would sleep soundly in your bed Jim.

One of the standing jokes when I worked on Firestreak/Red Top was that the Firestreak was sunshine proof as it was all valve technology.

I’ve always dreamed of living somewhere like that, as to the lifestyle and occupations of pilots; I think you’ll find that most private pilots give up an awful lot to be able to fly. Sure there are wealthy people in flying as in all pursuits but certainly the guys at my club aren’t well off, they are just normal guys doing normal jobs who have a total passion for flying.

I’m a guitar teacher, earn enough to get by but I have to fly, a large part of me would be dead if I didn’t and I think that’s what makes most of us contribute to the money pit that is flying.

I often fly into wings n wheels type events (I’ll be at Old Buck next weekend weather permitting) because I think they are a great day out and are what grass roots aviation is all about in this country; but I hope to God that anyone who has arrived by car who sees me climbing out of an aircraft doesn’t think that I’m in some way well off ‘cos I ain’t, I’ve just made the sacrificies that flying demands. Anyone with a national average salary could get a pilot’s license, they just have to have the motivation.

Hi Andy

There’s ‘The Stirling Story’ by Michael J F Bowyer which is pretty good. I think we might have some spare ‘new’ copies in our workshop

John

Is that a different book to ‘The Stirling Bomber’ by M. Bowyer of which I have a copy?

Hi Badger,

General advice usually in big capital letters is DON’T PAY UPFRONT. FTO’s are notorious for going bust then starting up a month later under a slightly different name. So ‘Blogg’s School of Flying’ to whom you have lost 2K becomes ‘Blogg’s Flying School’ and they don’t owe you a penny. I know there’s a notion (and one that it would be nice to believe in) that everyone involved in flying is in it for the love of it but unfortunately it’s not so.

Student starter kit- they look good, I just bought as I went along but I don’t see a problem with the starter kits.

I used my flying school headsets when training and then bought a couple when I passed my skills test. I bought a DC 13.4 and a Transair one that was on offer. You will be told during your training that it’s a good idea to carry a spare headset for obvious reasons. There’s not much difference in sound and mic quality between the Transair and DC but where DC scores (IMO obviously) is that they use mil spec stuff. The RAF use them so that’s a good enough rec. DC also make the pressure suits for astronauts and U2 pilots. They also make brassieres………

Also on headsets there is the hygiene issue, there are some 200 diseases that can be passed on by headsets, so always use the little white socks you can put over the earpieces if you are using club gear.

Good luck with your training, everything seems daunting at first but it will soon become second nature, and enjoy it!