Flying Report Sat 8 Aug 26
Not a lot of our readers will know that 8 August is International Beer Day and International Cat Day but neither Beer nor Cat appeared at Hangar 4. However, it was also the day that we were delighted to welcome Alan back on the launch point at the end of his posting in North Carolina.
A blisteringly hot and dry day on the airfield and a reminder of the acronym for SHAWBURY.
Airborne, and you either fell out of the sky or were lucky enough to find a booming thermal that took you from 2,000 – 5,000ft in a single climb!
A welcome newcomer to RSGC today was MEF gliding bursary student Bella. So, Bella was the perfect candidate for John Luke to continue building up his IFP hours in R22.
We placed another of MEF gliding bursary students, Ajay, in the capable hands of WgCo Biggles Haynes and they took two trips.
Another of our MEF gliding bursary students Lewis is making great progress and he took 3 trips to High Key under the watchful eye of Alan. Lewis is well on the way to going solo.
RAF Shawbury based Army pilot Will is on holding pending the start of his course in October and he joined to club for this short period. Already a solo pilot and PPL holder, Will took a check ride in R22 with Alan followed by a solo trip of over an hour. Top job Will.
By now there was a lot of low level turbulence making launching uncomfortable and a real challenge for students although some revelled in the conditions.
Amateur!!
Bella, having had her introductory trip with John then launched into these conditions with Nigel (It’s a little known fact that only 5 babies were named Nigel in England and Wales in 2025!)……
……and another of our MEF gliding bursary students Matthew flew with Geoff M.
With money to burn in his pocket Rob took the Astir off for an hour and reaching over 4,500ft on his trip, whilst Mike Osborn flew in R22 with his carer who had brought him out for the day.
A wildfire on the horizon reminded us of the need to heed the dry conditions and to ensure that we were both fit to fly and conscious of our surroundings. Plenty of water on at the launch point helped.
Great day out and thanks to all our youngsters for your pushing and pulling in the airfield – that’s teamwork!
Club News
Fri 21 Aug 26. RAF Shawbury Families Day. No flying displays but as part of the RAF Shawbury family we will place an aircraft on static display for selfies and photo opportunities. Volunteers please to set up and man the stand during the day, please log on.
Winter Flying Programme. The Winter flying programme kicks in in September when we revert to a Sunday flying day schedule.