Laser Engines 40th Anniversary Fly-in

[Jon H]

3 minutes ago, Chris Walby said:

Baldock scale day on Sunday

 

Good lord really? I wanted to go to that but its old warden on Sunday too. ugh. Why is everything on the same weekend?

 

 

[Jon H]

Latest weather seems to suggest 12-13mph and sun with no more than about 20 degrees cross wind. That seems good enough for more or less everything so i am feeling pretty good about it. 

[Ron Gray]

Yep, looking good!

 

 

 

 

[David Davis]

Are the stickers available commercially?

[Chris Walby]

06:00 am weather check!

 

Runway looking good and just getting a trim for tomorrow

 

 

Going flying now with the FW190

[Ron Gray]

Wind looks like it’s down the strip but why have you airbrushed the sun and blue sky out?

Edited June 1, 2023 by Ron Gray

[Moth Flyer 1]

Nice to meet Chris and a couple of other guys at Buckminster this afternoon. Weather was rather cold and draughty but is seemingly set to improve overnight.

 

I`m now settled into my local accomodation. A pleasant enough place even though I had to bleed the room rad and open a closed lockshield valve. Years of hotel staying has taught me to always carry a bleed valve tool, a TCV body and a pair of mole grips......I`ll close the lock shield before I leave. Everybody happy!

 

I hope to arrive at the flying site around 09.00am.

 

Mike

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Have a good one gents, hope the weathers good for you. 🌞

[GrumpyGnome]

Lots of pics please!

[Ron Gray]

I haven’t got any photos but lots were taken. A truly excellent day, a bit windy / gusty but the sun shone and I thoroughly enjoyed myself (and the company!).

 

Hopefully this can be an annual event.

[Jon H]

I have to admit i was generally disappointed but i think mostly with myself. In no small part this was due to being almost wiped out tired before the day began and major rush to get up there following a very busy week and last nights festivities. Add to that one model damaged in transit, another with a very unexpected mechanical failure, and not flying at anywhere near my best irrespective of the somewhat challenging conditions. i found myself more than a little frustrated and not quite in the right frame of mind so apologies too all for not being on song. I am looking forward to having next week off for a bit of a recharge and see what on earth happened to my sea fury. 

 

it was nice to meet some of the voices on the phone thought and hopefully i didnt miss too many people out. 

 

Thanks to all who came and especially those who helped with organisation. I hope you all had an enjoyable day and if we do this again i will try and be a bit more on the ball. 

[Chris Walby]

Just a few comments and apologies if I stepped on anyone's toes as it was not intentional, merely a product of the situation at the time. Can't say I was really expecting Manny to ask me to be point of contact at Buckminster, but knowing Jon would not get to Buckminster until close to 10 was happy to be there if anything should happen (although site staff are more than competent when on site).

 

I thought it went very well with a relaxed flying, no major que to fly and some super Laser powered models flown very well with the conditions at the time. So I would give it a 9 out of 10 and be happy to attend again.

 

Now the 1 out of 10, In life there will be those who complain and I very rarely find they actually organize anything. Okay the flight line could have a couple of marshals, but you would need two or even three people to totally dedicate their day to this + have the authority to do so. I was totally disgusted that at model air people verbally abused organizers/OW staff for whatever reason it is not acceptable. Yesterday there was a short discussion about how to set the flight line up (totally out of my area of expertise) and agreement, then guess what, most people stuck to it and a minority just ignored. The same with people flying and then others joining with inappropriate models as it was not like there was a rush to get your next flight in. With the numbers attending my vote is to keep it as an informal fly-in, but if people what o have greater control then please volunteer.

 

 Well done Jon and all of his helpers for arranging this, best not leave it another 40 years thought! 

 

PS IMHO there is benefit in booking Buckminster early....its in the diary then people can decide if something else comes along and clashes to attend or not. 

 

PPS perhaps a couple of manufacturer demonstration flight slots for Jon to have some fun and the rest of us sit back and see how its done!

[Ron Gray]

35 minutes ago, Chris Walby said:

The same with people flying and then others joining with inappropriate models as it was not like there was a rush to get your next flight in.

I agree Chis but, to be fair, I only saw that happen a couple of times following which I did help out on the control of the flight line (in the end it wasn't really necessary). I think that it was only the first few slots which seemed to be in a bit of disarray, after that things calmed down and in then end it became self managed, although I would say that 'circuit discipline' at times left a bit to be desired! One other thing that I was surprised about was the lack of calling of manoeuvres which is, imo, ultra important when you are flying with others.

 

But these were minor 'niggles' in what was a really good session.

35 minutes ago, Chris Walby said:

PPS perhaps a couple of manufacturer demonstration flight slots for Jon to have some fun and the rest of us sit back and see how it's done!

Jon did have a session all to himself and would have had an other had he not had mechanical / airframe issues!

Edited June 3, 2023 by Ron Gray

[Chris Walby]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Chris Walby]

 

 

[GrumpyGnome]

Some nice pics - thanks. What Laser's in the Valiant ?

[GrumpyGnome]

48 minutes ago, Chris Walby said:

Now the 1 out of 10, In life there will be those who complain and I very rarely find they actually organize anything.

 

I was totally disgusted that at model air people verbally abused organizers/OW staff for whatever reason it is not acceptable. 

 

The same with people flying and then others joining with inappropriate models ....

 

Sadly, some people manage to see the negative in everything.  I find them a drain and try to avoid them!

 

Similarly, some people just have no common decency or manners.

 

Re the inappropriate models - sounds like an indoor flying session!

 

Glad it was a 9 out if 10 though - good score for an initial/one off event.

[GrumpyGnome]

18 minutes ago, Ron Gray said:

 One other thing that I was surprised about was the lack of calling of manoeuvres which is, imo, ultra important when you are flying with others.

 

Do you call all manoeuvres ?  I'll call take off, landing, dead stick, low pass but that's about it..... and that's far more than some club-mates!

[Ron Gray]

Loops, stall turns, Cubans, if fact any manoeuvre that would deviate from the standard flight circuit, obviously I’m talking about when flying with others, in particular those you’re not familiar with!

[Jon H]

1 minute ago, GrumpyGnome said:

 

Do you call all manoeuvres ?  I'll call take off, landing, dead stick, low pass but that's about it..... and that's far more than some club-mates!

 

When i fly with people i know well i do not call as i know they are following me, i am following them. We do our thing and keep track of eachother and we know, within reason, what the other is likely to do next and their broad location in the sky. This changes if the two of us are beating up the patch in our warbirds though. In this fly in/show environment when flying in an new location with people you arent used to flying with calling everything not a standard circuit is very important. I, generally, try to maintain a constant speed when i fly but others do not. They may accelerate to warp speed, or drop to walking speed for a slow pass. Thats all fine, but if those changes are not called and i do not know they are going to do it then it leads to a potential collision. I have had issues in the past when i called for a loop and then found i had to avoid collision as i recovered. when i protested the response was 'i thought you were done'. He expected a quick yank round loop i guess, didnt anticipate my loop taking me in to low earth orbit and didnt track what i was doing. Had he tracked me, or waited for my call of clear it would have been fine. 

 

I missed the morning brief and suspect i would have had something to say about this sort of communication had i been able to get there early enough. I would also have asked for some marshals to guide the flight line but each would have only had to put in an hour of service at most. I was expecting this setup and had planned suitable compensation for their time but it didnt come together due to the unfortunate date clash with my friends stag do on Thursday and my late arrival. 

 

I also noted pilots often spread out over about 30ft with some often stood almost on the runway. This makes communication impossible so we should strive to get together. 

 

Personally i would have liked to have seen Scott's Wellington flown solo on all occasions. He was happy to just go for it, which is fine, but i would have liked to see a dedicated slot for it as it was big and needed room to do its thing properly and i wouldnt be flying that where risk of collision is high. This is why i asked for slot for the sea fury as i know how much sky i tend to use when i fly it. Shame my flying was pants in that slot. I give myself 3/10.

Back to the wellington, it should also have flown alone as, frankly, it was a seriously impressive model and i cant imagine anyone not wanting to take 5 and watch it. The only time i would expect it to have not been alone was if we had an appropriate playmate for it like a Hurricane/Spit of close to the right scale to 'escort' the bomber or another similar model. But again this would be pre briefed and flown with the two pilots in communication. Had it not snuffed it i would have gladly offered the bomber some escort with my fury on a flight or two. 

 

To be clear though, these issues raised here are a case of 'we can do better next time' rather than a complaint that everything was dog do. The wind also slightly limited our options too. After a good sleep i feel more upbeat about it than i did when i got home last night and should we do this again these lessons learned will simply be applied to improve the whole thing. If we go again i would definitely move more towards a show than a fly in as i think the more structured approach would solve the issues discussed. 

 

 

 

 

[Ace]

As a spectator I had a great day, ok the wind could have been kinder but was almost straight down the strip and the sun was out and warm (ish) - A great day and well worth the drive if only to meet a really nice bunch of like mined enthusiasts  👍 Even meet Jon's boss we have heard so much about.

Flying was constant with a large range of aircraft all of course powered by a laser or in some fine examples lasers.  Had the wind been lower, the wish to fly been greater, a slot method would probably have been needed but generally from the sidelines most seemed to be displaying reasonable self discipline.

Having to wait 40 yrs for another one - Nah - such a good promotional activity which generated cohesion around a single common interest - a laser engine.

Summary in one two words - really enjoyable.

 

 

[Jon H]

2 minutes ago, Ace said:

Flying was constant with a large range of aircraft

 

I forgot to mention this, and yes in this respect the event really lived up to my hopes. Everything from a tatty wot 4 to a giant bomber. WWI, WWII, inter war, sport, aerobatic, multi engine. We had it all covered.

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

Some really nice planes thanks for the photos, and YES multi engine ic planes must be flown on their own with no one throttling up on the flight line,

[Nick Cripps]

I thought it was a great day, despite only getting in the one flight with the RV-4 after the exhaust extension tube went AWOL. Thanks to Jon for booking the event, and to Chris who stepped in to do the briefing and set us all off in the right direction.

 

Overall I think it went very smoothly, typical of a fly-in type of event with no egos on show, with everyone happy to join in the spirit of the event. While I agree that the odd model should have an individual slot, if it turns into a "show" then I, for one, would give it a miss. There are plenty of events around the country where you can sit and watch the big, impressive models, so I now prefer to attend fly-ins where everyone has a chance to join in without feeling under pressure to perform.

 

Good fun though, and one everyone there is already looking forward to the next one. Here's a few of the photos I took of the event:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Nick Cripps
Just tidying up

[Jon H]

1 hour ago, Nick Cripps said:

There are plenty of events around the country where you can sit and watch the big, impressive models, so I now prefer to attend fly-ins where everyone has a chance to join in without feeling under pressure to perform.

 

By 'show' i mean the support structure rather than an actual display. Over the morning i have been chatting with the guy who ran the open mic stag do event i went to the night before and problems we encountered with equipment, logistics etc and many of the same issues have cropped up. An open mic/fly in are not dissimilar in the sense that you turn up, fly/play, and then the next person has a go and it is all sorted out on the fly. If everyone has the same model/instruments its easy to just go with the flow and this is how the open mics have run for the last 2 years. But if you have lots of people, big diversity of styles, equipment etc then it has to be more tightly controlled and we discovered this as it was a much bigger event for the stag do with so much more equipment and double the normal attendance. So changes will be made for next time, not to the point of a full air show display/concert, but a middle ground where the vibe is fly in, but the structure is heading towards display. 

 

The only 'show' part was intended for the middle of the day to showcase any exceptional models which arrived and/or specific items like flying all the warbirds together. Given the numbers and conditions that never happened, but say we have 15 folks with 1/4 tiger moths or similar (an Rv4 perhaps??), then they would get a display slot. I really enjoyed my loose formation slot with the tiger moth (apologies, i forget who the pilot was) and with just two of us it took no planning. But if we had 15..yea you have to plan that and brief it ahead of time. If that makes it a show and causes non attendance thats a shame as the idea is still in the fly in spirit to get all involved, but the nature of what you are doing means it has to be controlled to some degree.