Firstly, thank you so much do Damian Cox (CEO Wildstone) for the opportunity to fly in his gorgeous red XA-42. The XA-42 is a carbon fibre, unlimited aerobatic aircraft with a 6 pot 315HP Lycoming. It accelerates quicker than my Octavia vRS and rolls quicker than a cheese down Cooper’s Hill. I wasn’t concentrating on…
Aerobatics practice…
I flew solo aeros for the first time in months this weekend. The Citabria climbs soooo much better with nobody else on board! The flight was to run through a few portions of the 2016 Club Sequence. I flew a loop, into a half cuban followed by a stall turn into a roll. I’m getting…
Aerobatics Rating Test
I finally completed my aeros rating test on 11 September 2016. I flew first with CFI Dave, flying individual manoeuvres, spins and then a sequence. After this was complete we dropped into Oaksey Park, popped 10 litres in each tank and I took off alone to fly the sequence (loop, hammerhead, half cuban, roll) followed…
Upset Recovery Training
This was a fun flight, but I was slightly nervous beforehand! We covered: Spinning (done before but Dave needed to see again) Inverted stalls and various recoveries Tail slides This session was all about gaining the confidence to know when you’ve cocked up, and then to deal with it safely. The spinning section was relatively…
Back in the saddle
After months of no aeros due to a u/s aircraft, I finally strapped a Citabria to my back in August after Freedom took delivery of a second example, SE-LJP from Sweden. CFI Dave and I took off one August evening and ran threw some of the basics again. First off was a step-by-step fly through…
Draycott Farm
After months of not doing much flying due to my girlfriend and I buying our first house, I’m finally back exploring local strips. I kicked off 2016’s farmstripping by flying about 15 minutes South East of Oaksey to Draycott Farm, a strip that I have always wanted to visit. I first remember seeing it on…
Battle of Britain Day: 15 September
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” I managed to get down to Goodwood with my father for the Battle of Britain mass launch on Tuesday 15 September. This day is Battle of Britain Day in the UK, as we remember probably the most ferocious…
Oaksey Park
Oaksey is the airfield where Freedom’s Citabria is based, just outside the Kemble zone to the South East. Whilst not a ‘farm strip’ in the traditional sense, it still is a privately owned airfield that most PPL flyers won’t ever know much about. The runways are in excellent condition but there are various things to…
Farm stripping: Ledbury
Trip report: Ledbury is an 830m strip running 07/25, on the edge of the Gloucestershire/Herefordshire border in proper ‘cider country’. Privately owned, the airfield has two hangars housing a small number of GA aircraft. It’s a pretty clear approach and a fun strip to fly in to, past the orchards and vineyards along the way….
steerwithmyrear 