Dates for the Diary 2015 Sunday 4th January Snowball Meet ‐ Bicester Coincides with Bicester Heritage Brunch and Open Day Saturday 31st January Winter restoraon workshop visit. Snierfield and Bericote Farm. www.vintageaircraftclub.org.ukwww.vintageaircraftclub.org.uk IssueIssue 4848 WinterWinter 20142014 Contact Steve Slater for more details. Saturday 14th February Valenne Rally ‐ Sywell Saturday 7th March Annual Dinner and Awards Evening Lilebury Hotel, Bicester Sunday 22nd March Spring Meeng ‐ Turweston Saturday 18th April Daffodil Rally ‐ Fenland Saturday 2nd May ‐ Monday 4th May Yorkshire Tour VAC/IAC joint event Sunday 15th June Wellesbourne Wings and Wheels July / August West Country Tour t.b.c In associaon with Aeronca Club, more details in the Spring Issue V A C Saturday 19th / Sunday 20th September Sackville Farm ‐ Members event Combined with the balloon meeng Saturday 10th October AGM and Autumn Fly‐In TBA The Vintage Aircraft Club Ltd (A Company Limited by Guarantee) The Journal of the Vintage Aircraft Club Registered Address: Winter Hills Farm, Silverstone, Northants, NN12 8UG Registered in England No 2492432 VAC Honorary President D.F.Ogilvy. OBE FRAeS Vintage & Classic Chairman’s Notes VAC Commiee Winter 2014 With the aircra safely tucked away You might noce that the Sackville than a decade as Chairman, Vice‐ Contents or securely ed down, the December Farm Barbeque date is a lile earlier Chairman and finally Membership Chairman Steve Slater 01494‐776831 magazine is always the me we can than we normally plan. The reason Secretary. The words ‘thank you’ look back at the year past and for that is we hope to combine our seem inadequate! Thanks of course, [email protected] equally, look ahead to the future event with a hot‐air balloon fly‐out, are also well due to Sandy Fage, who Page Title Vice Chairman Peter Wright flying season. Of course for many, which might even mean some has kept the club and the commiee including myself, a highlight was members may wish to stay over on on an even keel as Secretary and Type Club Liaison [email protected] 2 Who’s Who ‘VAC 50’ at Popham, perhaps the Saturday to sample a late‐evening or Treasurer. best birthday party the club could early Sunday balloon flight. More on 3 Chairman’s Notes have hoped for. I know I said it in my that as plans develop. I also would like to pay tribute to two Membership Paul Loveday 01327‐351556 4 Members’ notice last Chairman’s notes, but I make no people who have avoided joining the Secretary e‐mail [email protected] board excuse for saying it again. THANK Finally as I started. A few BIG thank‐ commiee, but who have New Members YOU to so many people, for making yous. First of all to Paul Loveday, for transformed the club’s presence at Newsleer Editor th 5 Sackville Farm VAC’s 50 anniversary year such a his hard work on the magazine and events. Cathy Silk and Vron Tanner stupendous success! elsewhere. Paul is standing aside as ably aided by Dave Phillips, John 6 Nanchang flight test Broad and other members, have Secretary & Sandy Fage 01327‐858138 9 Celebrating 50 years of revoluonised the clubs Treasurer e‐mail [email protected] the Taylor Titch by F1 merchandise offering and, as well as Air Racing in Spain making a significant contribuon to club funds, their display and stand 12 LAA Rally Flight Safety Robb Metcalfe has become a major focal point for 13 The RAF History of de e‐mail [email protected] members new and old. Thank you Havilland Chipmunk all! WK514 / G-BBMO We also enjoyed some fun at 15 Air Experience in a Press & Public Alan Buckley 01908‐503691 Wellesbourne, with the Cub Relaons e‐mail alan@flying‐aerobacs.freeserve.co.uk Nanchang CJ-6 and sproung wing strut broomscks and formation flying some of the commiee donning 16 Internet Drone Halloween headgear to ensure that Ground Visits Steve Slater as above 17 Around and About Not quite as sunny, and definitely vice‐chairman this year, but has All‐Hallows did not go un‐noced, more blowy, was the Club AGM at agreed to connue both with the but for me and many others, one of Co‐ordinator 22 Our current British Wellesbourne. I suspect that we set magazine and to take on the role as the highlights was Ron Webster’s Light Vintage Aircraft another first for as an excuse for a membership secretary. Peter Wright ground‐running of his latest home‐ Flying Events To be allocated for overall control by event Heritage delayed start to an AGM, as a Co‐ordinator. 26 A weekend in Guernsey number of us were sll out on the airfield tying our aircra down! (The - did the earth move for VAC Sales Cathy Silk subsequent into‐wind departure set you [email protected] a new STOL record for Peter Wright 28 The Dangers of High and I in the Cub, followed by what Visibility Clothing was later described as a geo‐ Trophies Steward Rob Stobo 01993‐891226 staonary climb‐out!). 29 Book Review e‐mail robstobo@stonesfield.f9.co.uk Back to the AGM though, and our 2015 calendar of events was of course an important agenda item. Based on member feedback, we are connuing to try to spread events across a wider range of venues including a couple of weekend tours, The aim of the Vintage Aircraft Club is to provide a focal body for owners, pilots and enthusiasts of vintage and classic light one up to Yorkshire and one taking aircraft by arranging fly-ins and other events for the benefit of its members. us into the West Country . In each case we will be sharing our fun and The Vintage Aircraft Club is affiliated to the Light Aircraft Association and supports the General Aviation Awareness their local knowledge with local has agreed to assume the role of built radial engine. Check‐out our Council. members of the VAC, the Vice Chairman and we have another Facebook page for a video of this Internaonal Auster Club and the new volunteer, Robb Metcalfe, who remarkable engineering feat in Aeronca Club. They should make has agreed to take over the Safety acon. Who says AGMs are dull? Vintage and Classic is the quarterly newsleer of the Vintage Aircra Club and as such is a privately produced magazine. The excing addions to our calendar, Officer role from Dave Norris. views contained within its pages do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or the Vintage Aircra Club. The magazine is free more in the next magazine as plans to members, but £5.00 when purchased separately. come together! John Broad is also standing down Steve Slater from the VAC commiee aer more 2 3 MEMBERS NOTICES Sackville Farm Barbecue ‐ 4th October 2014 ackville Farm team always fine food. Around a dozen people did with display smoke and climb away Annual Dinner and Awards S produce the most superb food and drive in and really enjoyed the superb but then flew back to White Waltham. this year was no excepon, all expertly hospitality of the Sackville team. I received an email later from Bob With this issue you will find both the nominaon form for the presgious VAC Awards, and the Menu for the cooked by Tim Wilkinson with saying “We flew up but you had all potatoes, salads etc provided by the Cathy Silk & Veronica Tanner drove gone!” I found this rather amusing as Annual Dinner. Please give some serious consideraon to who should be the recipient of an award and return the rest of the team. The only difference over from the Coventry area with all I had taken a couple of snapshots of completed for to Rob Stobo by the required. Date. The awards will as usual and where possible be presented at this year to previous years was the the VAC merchandise and were his aircra, which I emailed back to the dinner . weather! looking forward to meeng all those him. VAC Ground Events This does raise an important point regarding fly‐ins generally and that is that someone has to be the first to The club will be having the following ground events with full details to be nofied via email arrive. If you fly over and don’t spot January 2015 ‐ RAF Upper Heyford any other aircra then it is quite likely that you might be the first. Obviously February 2015 ‐ Secret Restoraon Hangar “somewhere in the Midlands” at larger aerodromes where many aircra are based there will be other For details of all VAC events contact Steve Slater aircra parked around but at smaller strips this may not be the case. We Members Blog think a PA28 flew up from White Waltham as well but also didn’t come Ron Smith a regular contributor to this magazine has an interesng blog which he shares with his fellow down to see what was going on. enthusiast brother Jim. This site is well worth a visit. www.ronandjimsmith.comwebsite The aernoon sunshine was superb with almost unlimited visibility, just As the VAC have done in the past, the who would be there and to sell some perfect for sing outside the Sackville Other events BBQ date is either the Saturday or the of the super goods. Lots of gis Farm clubhouse enjoying the company The following events have also been nofied to the club. Sunday of the weekend at the start of available as Christmas presents and of fellow aviators. The thanks of the October with a decision needing to be you can of course contact them to buy VAC go to Tim and his friends for all made around the Wednesday before by mail order.