February 20th 2011

The Weather Gods smiled on us last week with an afternoon’s flying on Thursday Feb. 17th and a good day this Sunday.  I arrived down at the field on Thursday afternoon with a document for Tim and Jim to sign to find Steve just landed in the Nimbus followed sometime later by Glyn in the PW5.  Tim landed just in time to head off to a music concert having done a bit over two hours.  Conditions a bit trying they reckoned but got better as the day wore on.

A good convergence line formed up on Sunday 30th and Peter Cook made good use of it, flying back and forth between Douglas and the Pouakai range.  Will Hopkirk ran back and forwards between Toko and the ski field.  Best height (Will) was 5400ft.  There were three trial flights, the third a bit more memorable than the others.  Glyn Jackson got yet another hours flight in the PW5 before landing to give Will a turn.  Steve Barham reckoned the day was not much chop, so stayed home.  Bad call Steve, those long wings would have revelled in the conditions.

The hangar extension floor is about half covered in a layer of pit metal.  The rest happening this week.  Steve & Glyn were busy on Friday removing most of the nails from the hitherto outside wall to lessen the work needed when the sheets of iron are transferred across.  Then we will have usable shed.  Whoopee!!

           Stats:                        Aircraft               Time                  Flights

                                            WZ                      2hrs 44m           4
                                            TE                       3hrs 09m           3
                                            IA                       2hrs 40m           1
                                            RWS                           45m            8

In closing, I must note the passing of Lindsay MacCleod who, as manager of PetroCorp in 1995, facilitated the grant of $5000 towards the acquisition of our
Pawnee tow-plane, RWS.  He declined any recognition that we offered his firm.  Malcolm Brown did all the paperwork and the club owes much gratitude to PetroCorp along with Lindsay and Malcolm.