UK Instrument Rated Private Pilot and Instrument Flight Instructor
I had planned to fly home directly from Glenforsa today, but the weather forecast for down south looked terrible with both strong turbulence and icing risks. So rather than sit in a washing machine for a couple of hours, we decided to extend our holiday by at least one night, enjoy some of the better weather here, and (depending on the weather) my wife would have the option to take
Continue reading
One of the primary goals of this trip was to visit Iona. It’s not a terribly easy place to get to, so being able to land on Mull is a great advantage. We had stayed at the Glenforsa Hotel before but not explored the island, so we allowed a few days to do that. You could potentially visit Iona by bus and ferry but there is only one possible timeslot
Continue reading
Plockton is a small harbour village on the west coast of Scotland, close to the Skye bridge. It’s one of the most scenic airfields I have visited with an enjoyable walk down to the picturesque seafront. I’ve been wanting to visit for years but each time I’ve tried in the past, the weather has been terrible. The airfield is owned by the Highland Council and operated by PDG helicopters. The
Continue reading
I was keen to depart Glasgow promptly before the military activity NOTAM’d to start at 1315z began. Although we would not be flying in a Danger Area, it seemed prudent to have landed (or be about to land) before the action started. We climbed aboard at 1200z and took off at 1215z for our planned one hour flight. I had filed IFR for this leg even though almost all of
Continue reading
With lockdown restrictions easing and hotels reopening, I was keen to plan a longer trip. Foreign travel bans remain for nearby countries but within the UK, Scotland beckoned. My wife and I agreed in March to take a week’s holiday mid May by which time restaurants and hotels should have reopened. Our itinerary was a few nights in Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides followed by a few nights in Mull,
Continue reading
Lockdown restrictions have eased, removing the “Stay at Home” order and allowing private leisure flights within England to resume. Instruction awaits the next stage of relaxation, and many flying clubs and airfields remain closed until then. Some, such as Kemble, have already indicated they won’t accept visitors for a couple of weeks after that, to allow enough time for residents and club members to regain currency (both legal and practical)
Continue reading
Recent sudden UK government announcements in the run-up to Christmas have been quite shocking and upset many plans. I am fortunate to live in a Tier 2 area and so can still fly, but who knows for how long. Today, I had intended to fly solo to Caernarfon in Wales and even called to confirm they were open the day before, but this is no longer permitted. So today I
Continue reading
Voted number 1 scenic airport in Europe, the tourist marketing photos of Donegal Airport are stunning. What they don’t mention is that it rains at least ten months of the year and it’s quite a tricky airport to land at in bad weather. It’s also nowhere near Donegal city. But the scenery really is stunning especially when the sun does come out and the locals are very friendly and welcoming,
Continue reading
COVID-19 restrictions make it difficult to fly abroad for pleasure. The closest European countries require quarantine on arrival or return, and this may change at short notice. Ireland on the other hand has much closer links with the UK and as part of the Common Travel Area has far fewer constraints on travel. My wife and I took a week’s break, visiting both North and South Ireland by landing at
Continue reading
I had filed IFR from Inverness to Gloucester, with a fuel stop at Kirkbride near Carlisle as on the way north. The weather on the morning itself looked good, I wasn’t in any particular hurry, and so I thought I’d make the most of the day by flying VFR around and down the west coast. Inverness to Kirkbride I’ve flown down the Great Glen before, over Loch Ness and Loch
Continue reading