Sunday In Wales

We have had some good flying weather over the last couple of weeks or so and I am pleased to have taken advantage of it to get some good trips in.

Janet has not been flying with me for about a year now and so Sunday seemed a good day to get her up again. I was a little concerned about the thermal activity which can cause us to have a rough ride and the wind was also gusting which adds to the problem.

However, she was feeling brave and so off we went. At Barton I set about checking the plane over and all was well with no fuel uplift required until we arrived at Welshpool. Good, I don't have to pull her to the pumps.

We were soon on our way taking the low level route again then turning towards Welshpool and climbing to 2000 feet. There is high ground around Welshpool but we were vood VFR and the only snag was the headwind was slowing us down to around 110 knots groundspeed and that feels very slow.

I has handed over by Shawbury Radar, who were working due to the Cosford airshow, but there was no response on the radio from Welshpool. They were outside sunbathing I expect!
I positioned on a long final for runway 22 and landed with no sign of any other traffic.

I pumped 40 litres of fuel into HALC's tanks and Janet paid by cheque as no credit cards are taken. I parked her next to a Turbo charged Piper Lance and after a quick drink we set off to walk towards Welshpool along a road with no pavement which made for a hairy walk. Most drivers were very considerate but the blind corner was a bit scary!

Getting to know you as Arrow meets Lance.....

Decking where the air-ground radio operators sun themselves at Welshpool

After walking about a mile we came across a garden centre where we had some lunch and a drink. Good value for money and Janet even bough a couple of bedding plants. Because it was so hot we decided against walking further into Welshpool town but would certainly try it next time.

We got back to the airfield to see a new arrival: a third Welsh Air Ambulance that had just arrived that afternoon. Read about it here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/5069604.stm

It looked very good in the afternoon sun and should be a useful asset although it's just for the next three Summer months.

We met a nice guy who was plane spotting at Welshpool who had been coming to the airfield for 35 years. That is real dedication. We chatted for a while before it was time to head off back to Manchester. But not before a quick photo of me posing in front of the aircraft. Just don't make any comments about my knobbly knees!!

On the return trip that headwind turned into a tail wind and we were soon belting along at 135 knots and before we knew it were landing on Barton's 27 Right once again. A quick ice cream and then it was off home for the next world cup game.