Lotus Elan Central

by **Stef** » Fri 26.08.2011, 16:32

Some you you maybe interested in a Beer fest held in Nortants first weekend in September.

Sywell is a lovely small airfield with an Art Deco style hotel/bar/restaurant. Not far off the A14

The weekend will have a Beer Festival http://www.aviatorhotel.co.uk/beer-festival.php

And an aircraft Rally organised through the LAA

Just booked into camp over (even though it is 7 miles from where I live). It is a fixed price of £30 for however many nights BUT ... If you can book ASAP you can get it for £20

Link: http://www.lightaircraftassociation.co. ... mping.html

The Book online link has now been take down so please call using the number at the bottom of the page. Or just be happy with £30 turn up and pay option. Or be posh and use the posh hotel facilities.

:cheers:

by **John_W** » Fri 26.08.2011, 19:14

Stef,
I'm afraid it's a bit far from me, but it looks like a brilliant place. Go for it.
John

by **Stef** » Fri 26.08.2011, 22:46

C'mon John, what's Aberdeen to Kettering? :roll:

by **Stef** » Sat 03.09.2011, 15:29

The event is massive!

Gonna have a fab day!

Not too late to join in either

Pics to follow

by **Stef** » Sun 04.09.2011, 13:07

Well I was so surprised to see the scale of the event, people had even travelled from abraod to join in!

Camped up on Saturday around 3pm and wished I'd got there sooner.

I've always liked Sywell airport, very unique and welcoming and it seems to be a favourite place for many of the pilots I spoke to.

A few unique craft turned up, got a pic below of one of them. Also thought it really cool to fly in, park and pitch a tent on an airfield!

Some beautiful cars also turned up, TVR's taking most of my attention, especially a beautiful Yellow Griffith which the owner has had from new, after owning several other TVR's! Brought back memories of the fun I had with mine, noise, tunnel runs, donuts... Aaaahh

Failed to get my offered flights on Sunday as the drizzle came in which was a shame.

The beer fest was HUGE! Hangar One is, as you would expect for a hangar, massive! And it was packed inside. As the evening was so lovely though I stayed outside with a good bunch of pilots who also happened to be petrol heads :-D

Got a very cool glass and sampled most of the local beers I haven't had before. Got back to the campsite to a roaring fire and starlight, and strange bird noises coming from the woodland!

Fab people and an entertaining event. Will have to make note of it earlier next year and see if we can get a group going!

Here are some snaps:

Sywell camping.jpg

Retro seat.jpg

Hangar One night.jpg

Hangar One again.jpg

Fountain.jpg

Cool plane.jpg

Beer and Blipi.jpg

Aerodrome.jpg

Aerodisplay.jpg

by **Bolsom** » Sun 04.09.2011, 15:37

Looks good! Like the plane. Is it a 'very easy' (if thats how its spelt).
I see one near where we stay each year in Florida. I seem to remember
they had a beetle engine and were a 'kit' aeroplane. Some considerable
incentive to get the build right first time!

by **Stef** » Sun 04.09.2011, 20:20

Ah, so as a light aircraft owner, could you be tempted to fly the pond to next year's event?!

Getting my own PPL would need to be an long term ambition, although I might finish my glider training or paragliding, powered paragliding ideally, would fit in an Elan that way! :-D

http://www.bhpa.co.uk/paraglide/

Time and money, both of which I would need to prioritise over a million other things I want to do! :roll:

by **John_W** » Sun 04.09.2011, 21:01

Stef,
Your weekend at the airstrip looks fantastic. One of the advantages of living in the crowded south I suppose. I wish we had something similar up here, but I guess there's just not enough people to support it.

Here's some pictures of paragliders I took a couple of months ago near Buxton. Looked great hanging lazily in the air catching the updraft off one of the great limestone scarps in the area, and impressing the tourists no end. I didn't manage to get a shot of the rescue helicopter because the police ordered everybody off the hill while the air ambulance crews shovelled the bits of a couple of them into the helicopter to see if they could put them back together again. It was yellow and very noisy. (By the way, the guy in the photo on the right hand side of the website is twenty-three.)

You could try parapenting (as they call it in France). A few years ago we arrived in Chamonix to do the Vallee Blanche to be met by our guide (also a parapenting enthusiast) looking like the invisible man, swathed in bandages with one arm and one leg in plaster and bruises all over his face. He introduced us to the substitute guide he had arranged for us after he parapented into terra firma when he didn't mean to.

Or you could have a go at hang gliding. One of the guys who worked for me at my last company used to regularly achieve top three places in international competitions. I wondered why his leg was on at that funny angle. Actually he never seriously hurt himself. Not even when his machine collapsed in April and he fell a few hundred feet. That's the good thing about Scotland - his fall was broken by deep snow and trees. Trouble is that now he's done it he thinks there's no serious consequence from falling a few hundred feet out of the sky.

Talking about things being broken, one of our hill-walking mates (very intelligent girl, lecturer at Cranfield, ex-city-type Porsche owner, likes TVRs, etc etc) turned up at a party years ago sporting a forearm decorated with cross-stitching and containing metal plates as a result of her micro-light pilot activities. She has one of the nicest pair of knockers one could wish to ogle and a proclivity for wearing low-cut party dresses, but when I was talking to her I couldn't take my eyes off her arm.

My vote is for you to stick to Blipi or learn to fly something with an engine. Or preferably two. :-D

John

by **Stef** » Sun 04.09.2011, 21:20

Cheers John!

Cracking pictures! See, in Scotland you have the natural wonders of your local geograpy to enjoy all year around. Roads are like a private race track and the mountains... ohhh the mountains. So lucky. Must get up to your lands again soon.

Have done a Paracend in Chamonix, loved it! And a free fall... Both awsome experiences and IMO the best way to get down from a mountain. Chamonix was beautiful with the glaciers and scenery. Did white water rafting and tobogganing while in the area too, great activity place! Oh, and the tunnel to get there, really deserves TVR treatment :wink:

Feel reassured for now that Blipi and car driving will be all I will likely to stick with just for now. Just missed out on an Isetta by £100 Friday :shock:

Gutted. Would that be safe enough for you??! :-D

by **John_W** » Sun 04.09.2011, 21:37

Stef wrote:Have done a Paracend in Chamonix, loved it! And a free fall... Both awsome experiences and IMO the best way to get down from a mountain. Chamonix was beautiful with the glaciers and scenery. Did white water rafting and tobogganing while in the area too, great activity place!

You are beyond any sensible advice and there is obviously no hope for you.

Stef wrote:Just missed out on an Isetta by £100 Friday Gutted. Would that be safe enough for you??!

Not enough room between you and the scene of the accident.

Stef wrote:Must get up to your lands again soon.

You are always welcome and we won't even make you sleep in the garden.

John

by **Stef** » Sun 04.09.2011, 21:54

Hee hee!

Cheers John, possibly combine Callander Classics with a trip next year. We shall see!

by **Bolsom** » Mon 05.09.2011, 19:52

A microlight might be a good way to go. The ones with a partially enclosing body look good, although a 200ft drop will still kill you. :shock:

I also went white water rafting a few years ago. It was on the Ochoee in Tenessee, which was used in the olympics. It has 3 grade 4 rapids - great fun!
These days I only get to the UK about once a year, but if I am there at the right time I'll keep it on my list.