Golf Hotel Whiskey

Funny Wernher von Braun song by Tom Lehrer

Writing about Werner von Braun yesterday reminded me of the very satirical song by Tom Lehrer. I’m not sure there’s anything I can add to the coverage of the Apollo 11 anniversary but this is a small, funny footnote. Didn’t Tom Lehrer quit satire when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize, claiming unfair competition? “And I’m learning Chinese, says Wernher von Braun.”

Four checkrides in one

Checkrides happen. It’s an inevitable part of being a pilot. But knowing that doesn’t make them easier or more fun. On Saturday, I had to do four:

JAR Single Engine Piston rating renewal. Somehow, stupidly, I had let this lapse. I can still fly N-reg aircraft on my FAA CPL but I like to keep all my ratings current so I decided to renew it.
JAR IMC rating. This rating lets me fly G-reg aircraft in clouds in the UK. It has to be renewed with a flight test every couple of years and my rating was due to expire later this year but it made sense to renew it now because it doubles up with some of the FAA tests.
FAA Instrument Proficiency Check. You can keep an FAA instrument rating current by performing six approaches, some holds and some tracking in actual IMC (or under the hood or in a sim) within the past six months. However, this is a pretty low standard of currency. You could fly them all in January and then do nothing until July. I don’t think you’d be very current at the end of it. My preference is to fly with an instructor or do an IPC every three to six months. That way I know I’m legal and current.
FAA Biannual Flight Review. I passed my CPL in October 2007 so I didn’t need to do a BFR until later this year but it seemed to make sense to wrap it up with the other stuff because so much of it overlaps.

So off I went with John Page from TAA UK in N147GT to do some holds, tracking and approaches at Southend. The sneaky so-and-so had fixed it with the controllers to switch of the glideslope on my second approach so I had to revert to a localiser-only approach. It wasn’t elegant at first as I had to check the plate for the heights and so on but I made a good recovery and would have landed safely.

This is why I prefer doing checkrides with instructors because you learn something each time. Left to my own devices, I would have done a radar-vectored, auto-coupled ILS approaches and it would have been a cake walk.

Then we went off to the local area for the dreaded compass turns. I can master computers and GPS systems with manuals 500 pages thick. But a simple magnetic compass, a stopwatch and some schoolboy maths does my head in every time. Then some other VFR SEP/BFR type stuff: practice forced landings, stalls, steep turns etc.

After that, recovery from unusual attitudes. With foggles. On the back up instruments. In turbulence. My gyros toppled completely and I was nearly sick but this is good practice. It was a pleasure to get the circuit portion of the checkride over and land after nearly two hours aloft.

Then the paperwork. As Wernher von Braun said “Going to the moon is easy but the paperwork is very difficult.” (His biography was called “I aim for the stars” but some wag suggested that the subtitle should be “…but sometimes I hit London.”) Anyway, I’m back on the top line now and good to fly.

Bruges trip video

My friend Nick made a video of our trip to Bruges on Saturday. It’s really good and shows the flight and the town very well.

Ostend / Bruges (EBOS)

I flew to Ostend Airport (EBOS) yesterday for a visit to Bruges. It’s about an hour’s flight in an SR-22 from Denham. Very pleasant too – up over the Essex and Kent countryside, dash across the channel from roughly overhead Manston to Koksijde airbase and then descending down into Ostend for an ILS approach.

The airport is GA-friendly. We were met by a marshalling van and parked on Apron 3 near a few other training and club aircraft. The van drove us to a deserted customs hall where an immigration official checked our passports. We were out of the airport and in a taxi in about ten minutes. We got special GA tickets so that we could bypass check-in queues on our return.

The journey to Bruges is about 20-25 minutes and cost about €90 each way in a taxi. I think this is pretty expensive and I think perhaps it may be cheaper to rent a car from Avis (who have an outlet at the airport) or to take the regular bus service from the aiport to the town. Landing fees, six and a bit hours parking and passenger charges etc. came to about €65 euros. There is no separate handling and you don’t need to book in advance – a flight plan is sufficient. We would have saved €12 if we had stayed under six hours because that’s how much free parking you get. Overall, though, I think Ostend compares reasonably well on price and facilities with similar regional airports in the UK such as Leeds Bradford, Edinburgh or Newquay. There are a couple of restaurants in or near the terminal.

Bruges itself is very pretty and full of old buildings. On this particular Saturday afternoon, it was also full of tourists. We had lunch in a pretty open air cafe. Moules et Frites (or cheese omellet in my case). Afterwards we wandered around and found some quieter spots. I also found an excellent comic book shop where I bought a Biggles comic in Dutch. Just what I need to help with my studies!

We also found a church that had replaced its pews and confessionals with an extraordinary series of artworks, including a lake you could walk over shrouded in mist.

It really was thought-provoking. It reminded me of the Philip Larkin poem, Water:
If I were called in
To construct a religion
I should make use of water.

Going to church
Would entail a fording
To dry, different clothes;

My litany would employ
Images of sousing,
A furious devout drench,

And I should raise in the east
A glass of water
Where any-angled light
Would congregate endlessly.

Bruges is definitely worth visiting in its own right. In practical terms, Ostend is easier to fly to than Le Touquet and hardly any further. If you take the bus from the airport, it needn’t cost very much. I strongly recommend the trip.

Welshpool (EGCW)

Airport information

Nearest town: Welshpool (2 miles by car), Wales

Opening Times:

Winter: 0900-1700 or SS whichever is earlier and by arrangement
Summer: 0800-1600 or SS whichever is earlier and by arrangement

Longest Runway: 1020m, Asphalt

Fuel: AVTUR JET-A1, AVGAS 100LL

Phone: 01938 555560

Website: www.welshpoolairport.co.uk, Wikipedia entry

AIP: plates and airport diagram

Landing fees: £10 for single engines and £20 for twin engines

Note: Welshpool is a PPR airfield

Airport Map

[post-geocode zoom=”14″]

Airport services

Handling: Mid Wales Airport Ltd. (01938 555560)
Taxis: Yellow Cabs (01938 555533), Amber Cabs (01938 56611), MC2 Services (01938 850545), Stonebridge (01938 555119) Note: Taxis operate out of Welshpool town, not from the airfield itself
Car Hire: Wright Self Drive (01938 559581, www.wrightselfdriveltd.co.uk)
Facilities at airport: Cafe, but this is open mainly on weekends, though coffee is available through the week
Flying Schools: Welshpool Flying School (01938 555560, welshpoolairport@aol.com)
Charters: BJ Aviation – Pleasure flights (01938 555560)

Pubs

Cann Office Hotel, Llangadfan, Welshpool (01938 820202,) Although that is one strange name, the Cann Office Hotel is an unpretentious old pub very popular among tourists and locals alike. Highlights include a beer garden, a piano and a reputation as the place to hear local performers.
Pheasant Inn, 43, High Street, Welshpool (01938 553104). Pleasant enough pub that seems to be popular locally as a place to watch the sport. Level 2 is a disc.
The Horseshoes Inn, Berriew, Welshpool (01686 640282). Serves a good range of beers, but acts more as a family pub. The food here has a good reputation.

Restaurants

Howards Restaurant, Coed Y Dinas (Charlies Stores), Welshpool (01938 555545). At half a mile away from the airport, this restaurant located at a country store and garden centre is one of the closest options available to travellers. Simple but well-made homestyle fare.
Tea Room, Powis Castle and Garden, Welshpool (01938 551944). The tea room at the Powis castle is another convenient option not too far from the airport, if all you want is a brunch-style meal.
Spice, 13, Berriew Street, Welshpool (01938 553431). Pretty good Indian restaurant and excellent value for money.

Golf Courses

Welshpool Golf Club, The Golfa, Welshpool (01938 850249, www.welshpoolgolfclub.co.uk) Around 4 miles away from Welshpool, this is a challenging course on hilly terrain. Visitors welcome but it is advisable to call and check availability.
Welsh Border Golf Club, Bulthy, Halfway House, Near Shrewsbury, Shropshire (01743 884247, www.welshbordergolf.com). This club has 2 9-hole courses, both with great views over mid-Wales and Shropshire. Visitors with booking welcome.

Activities

Powys Castle, (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-powiscastle_garden), the famous medieval castle with its celebrated gardens is about 2 miles away. The Clive museum here with its India collection is worth a dekko.
Rail enthusiasts may enjoy a visit to the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway (01938 810441, www.wllr.org.uk). The railway runs a 16-mile return journey through the beautiful Welsh countryside on a train hauled by 100 year old steam locomotives.
Walkers will be delighted to know that a number of interesting trails are to be found in and around Welshpool, including 2 National Trails, Offa’s Dyke and Glyndwr’s Way. (More details at www.welshpool.org)

Useful Information

www.visitmidwales.co.uk, Tourism information on the Mid Wales region
www.welshpool.org, Information on visiting Welshpool

Leeds Bradford (EGNM)

Airport Information

Nearest town:Leeds (7 miles by car), West Yorkshire

Opening Times: 24 hours

Longest Runway: 2250m, Grooved Concrete

Fuel: AVTUR JET A1, AVGAS 100LL

Phone: 01132 509696 (Admin), 01133 913282 (ATC)

Website: www.leedsbradfordairport.co.uk, Wikipedia entry

AIP: plates and airport diagram

Landing fees: £6.59 per 0.5 metric tonne or part thereof for aircraft weighing upto 3 tonnes and £13.18 per metric tonne or part thereof for aircraft weighing over 3 tonnes

Note: The airport is PPR in winter from 2300 to 0700 hours and in summer from 2200 to 0600 hours.