Post by graham on Jan 3, 2016 12:01:49 GMT
2015 started in a way that few of us could have foreseen, with the totally unexpected closing of the old FAB forum where many of us were regulars. From the ashes of that forum, three new ones sprang to life, not least of all "Aviation for All" which will shortly celebrate its first birthday. For me, the most gratifying aspect of the fledgling forum was how quickly so many familiar faces joined up. By the end of the first few weeks, most of the major contributors had joined us and we were airborne!
From a spotting viewpoint, I ended up making 2,948 during 2015, most of these from home where I sit beneath Trans-Atlantic inbounds to LHR and many overflights to and from the continent. Airfields/ports visited were...
BIRMINGHAM, BLACKBUSHE, BRISTOL, CULDROSE, LISKEARD HELIPORT, BODMIN, DUNKESWELL, EXETER, FAIROAKS, FARNBOROUGH, GOSPORT, GLOUCESTER, GATWICK, HENSTRIDGE, KEMBLE, KIDLINGTON, LASHAM, KEEVIL, LONDON CITY, HEATHROW, LONGBRIDGE DEVERILL, MIDDLE WALLOP, NEWQUAY, OLD SARUM, PERRANPORTH, PREDANNACK, POPHAM, SPARKFORD, THRUXTON, WESTONZOYLAND, WHITE WALTHAM, WING FARM and YEOVILTON, a total of 34.
Some of these, like White Waltham and Westonzoyland were first visits so I made virtually everything I saw. Some places continue to be very spotter friendly, such as Dunkeswell, Bodmin and Perranporth, whereas at others, the "welcome" at best can be described as variable.
Highlights - without a doubt the last Vulcan flight as witnessed with several other AFA members at Popham. As always, it was great to put faces to names.
Seeing the Theodore Roosevelt in Gosport Bay, unbelievable and of course, everything on deck was a pot.
The deployment of Wildcats down at Culdrose in March and also in March, getting the tour of Castle Air at Liskeard to see the two South African A109s.
The tour of Farnborough in May where I made 50+ biz.
The New Year's Day tour of Lasham with Jeff, Bill and Bob. Also, the Gliding Champs at Lasham where I made almost a hundred
Walking the Cornish Coastal path from Kynance Cove to Predannack, a ghostyard of rusted frames on this old base where on a hot summer's day ( as it was), you need to watch out for adders.
Ten days on the northern coast of Crete in early June, 12 miles east of the runway threshold at Kazantzakis International. Our apartment was right under the approach and although I only "spotted" for a couple of hours each day, I came home with well over 500 new frames in the book.
I only picked the notebook back up in early 2013, so this was my third year back with spotting. It was superb to see the old logs provided by Dave Allum when he, keithh and I went to the States in 1972 and the opportunity I had to put back together lost logs from two trips to Chicago in 2006 & 2007.
Looking forward to 2016, meeting more of our members and hoping for a slightly better year's weather.
From a spotting viewpoint, I ended up making 2,948 during 2015, most of these from home where I sit beneath Trans-Atlantic inbounds to LHR and many overflights to and from the continent. Airfields/ports visited were...
BIRMINGHAM, BLACKBUSHE, BRISTOL, CULDROSE, LISKEARD HELIPORT, BODMIN, DUNKESWELL, EXETER, FAIROAKS, FARNBOROUGH, GOSPORT, GLOUCESTER, GATWICK, HENSTRIDGE, KEMBLE, KIDLINGTON, LASHAM, KEEVIL, LONDON CITY, HEATHROW, LONGBRIDGE DEVERILL, MIDDLE WALLOP, NEWQUAY, OLD SARUM, PERRANPORTH, PREDANNACK, POPHAM, SPARKFORD, THRUXTON, WESTONZOYLAND, WHITE WALTHAM, WING FARM and YEOVILTON, a total of 34.
Some of these, like White Waltham and Westonzoyland were first visits so I made virtually everything I saw. Some places continue to be very spotter friendly, such as Dunkeswell, Bodmin and Perranporth, whereas at others, the "welcome" at best can be described as variable.
Highlights - without a doubt the last Vulcan flight as witnessed with several other AFA members at Popham. As always, it was great to put faces to names.
Seeing the Theodore Roosevelt in Gosport Bay, unbelievable and of course, everything on deck was a pot.
The deployment of Wildcats down at Culdrose in March and also in March, getting the tour of Castle Air at Liskeard to see the two South African A109s.
The tour of Farnborough in May where I made 50+ biz.
The New Year's Day tour of Lasham with Jeff, Bill and Bob. Also, the Gliding Champs at Lasham where I made almost a hundred
Walking the Cornish Coastal path from Kynance Cove to Predannack, a ghostyard of rusted frames on this old base where on a hot summer's day ( as it was), you need to watch out for adders.
Ten days on the northern coast of Crete in early June, 12 miles east of the runway threshold at Kazantzakis International. Our apartment was right under the approach and although I only "spotted" for a couple of hours each day, I came home with well over 500 new frames in the book.
I only picked the notebook back up in early 2013, so this was my third year back with spotting. It was superb to see the old logs provided by Dave Allum when he, keithh and I went to the States in 1972 and the opportunity I had to put back together lost logs from two trips to Chicago in 2006 & 2007.
Looking forward to 2016, meeting more of our members and hoping for a slightly better year's weather.
