The aftermath of Storm Betty did little to deter those who gathered on the airfield and with only minor interruptions from a line of squalls that passed through the area at about mid-day, we enjoyed a good day that saw over 9 hours of flying time.

The first 45 minutes of the day were taken up with the annual mandatory Airfield Access Permit brief in the club room and many thanks to ATC Shawbury for making time on a Saturday for a central brief.

Thanks to those members who restored the fleet mid-week to Hangar 4 following the RAF Shawbury Families Day. In preparation for our return the hangar had been thoroughly cleaned and we count ourselves very lucky to enjoy the facility.

We have a number of members progressing their qualifications and first off was Nick Lewinton who re-signed off his aerotow rating, in the process of which he’s progressed from the Chipmunk to the Motor Glider (some may say that is deffo not progress!). Nick took the club single seaters in tow for his practical training. Many congratulations Nick.

John Luke is also working toward his aerotow qualification and is gradually building up his hours in the Motor Glider. Having fixed a flat tyre John took KE off for an hour.

We do enjoy seeing families on the airfield and today we welcomed family Mellor from Cosford. Libbie was flying today and for her trip we placed her in the very safe hands of Ameila. Afterwards, there was an excited family reunion on the airfield. We think we may see a very excited Libbie again in the not too distant future.

The forecast squall line arrived at around 13:45 and bringing everyone scuttling back to the airfield for a 30 minute halt to proceedings; just time to get on the bus and check your socials!

Whilst Will and Geoff M plugged away in the two seaters……

…..Alan took Sophie for spin training in KE. Sophie is just getting into her stride with her BI training for which she is making use of the club simulator to rehearse the “patter”.

With winds picking up, the last two flights of the day were taken by Amelia and Ian in R22. Ameila is engaged in the BGA Aerobatic Badge Scheme where she is working towards the “Sports” level badge. They took aerotows to 5,000ft to enable Amelia to get in some practice for the scored sequence that makes up the badge. From the ground it all looked very graceful.

The triangle device attached to the wing helps the pilot to more precisely move the horizon to a particular vertical or 45 degree angle.