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07/08/03
Page 13
Roundtrip flight from Beachy head to Herstmonceux castle,
Mt Caburn, Brighton Marina and back along the coast to Beachy
head. A total of 50 miles.
This was the day that I broke the flying famine which has
afflicted me for the last two months or so. I hadn't flown
due to a combination of weather, long grass in takeoff fields
and having my K4 rewired. Today was one of those very smooth,
light wind days that you don't get often in the UK. One of
those late summer gentle days, just perfect for flying the
wasp/K4.
Graeme Blakemore had organised a field that we can use at
Beachy Head and he was here with his Booster and Discovery.
We planned to fly a triangle route along the coast to Pevensey,
north to the castle and then back to the takeoff field. When
we got to the castle I realised that I was using a lot less
fuel than I thought I would. I knew this because I was using
my new 'fuel view mirror' which I'd clamped onto the vario
strap. This gave me a great view of the tank and I could see
exactly how much I was using. This was a first for me as previously
I'd always had to guess at my fuel level as I couldn't see
the tank above my head.
I knew that I had plenty of fuel left so I decided to extend
the flight plan. I turned west over the castle and headed
towards Brighton. We flew directly over Mt Caburn and then
SW towards Telscombe. ( I realise these names mean nothing
to you if you don't know the area but I need to write about
something ).
Graeme pulled out at this point and headed back. He didn't
know how much fuel he had left as he couldn't see his tank
in the back. I could see mine though with my new mirror and
knew that I had plenty.
I flew on to Brighton Marina and turned just over the eastern
side of it and headed back along the white cliffs. I've flown
along these cliffs quite often now and I always think of the
pilots who flew in the Battle of Britain who were glad to
see these cliffs as they came back from sorties over Germany.
I can just picture the Lancasters and Spitfires coming back
after fighting the 'Hun'. The strains of a certain Vera Lynn
tune made famous in that time tends to drown out the sound
of the wasp engine behind me.
I made it back to Beachy Head with about .75 of a litre left
in the tank. I'd covered 50 miles in two hours and had a really
nice flight. The wasp engine ran flawlessly and the K4 was
a dream to fly.
All in all. A very nice day.
GLIDER: AIRWAVE K4
POWER UNIT: WASP
DISTANCE FLOWN: 50 MILES
FUEL USED: 4.25 LITRES
Here are some of the in-flight photos. Click them to enlarge.
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