Events History - 2006

Visit Santa
16/12/06 and 17/12/06

We were invited to pay Santa a visit at Rovaniemi (EFRO) in Finland. Scenery and charts were available via the Finnish VACC web site.

Grand Opening of Members' Bar Extension
05/12/06

Peter Dodds suggested that we all fly in to Gloucestershire on the night of the Grand Opening of our Members' Bar Extension. Starting from other airports, we planned to arrive at EGBJ at about 2130z. It did get a bit busy in the circuit, and a bit crowded on the tarmac. Another very enjoyable session, and there were seats for everyone in the bar.

East Anglian VFR Night
24/11/06

A return trip to Norwich, routing via Southend, Clacton, and Beccles, to Norwich. Returning over Bury St Edmunds, via Cambridge, Luton, and Stapleford. It was a longish trip so it was best to start early and get out one of your faster aircraft if you hoped to complete it. This event was organised in conjunction with the Essex RTS. The outbound Briefing Document and the return Briefing Document were prepared by Tony Driver.

Ireland Trip
19/09/06 to 03/10/06

We made an extended trip to Ireland. Some started from Gloucestershire, others from Biggin Hill to assemble at Liverpool before the event. Starting from Liverpool on 26th September we crossed the Irish Sea, calling at Weston, west of Dublin, and on to Galway. Tim Arnot provided routing details for the outbound Briefing Document. Stephen Naughton provided some information about Flying to Galway. A few of us did some local flying in the Galway area during the week. The return trip to Gloucestershire was on 3rd October, via Waterford, and Haverfordwest. Tim Arnot provided routing details for the return Briefing Document. Peter Dodds provided some general information about what to look for en route. Additional details were provided for club members in the forum.

Bill Casey's Sywell Airshow
13/07/06

We took part in the airshow organised by Bill Casey at Sywell. This was his second Airshow and was very popular. We flew our vintage aircraft for this event, two Tiger Moths, two Chipmunks, a Beech 18, and a Spitfire. Some of us managed to demonstrate our aerobatic skills.

Microlights in Kent
22/06/06

We flew our new microlight aircraft instead of the usual ones for this regular meeting night at Biggin Hill. However, no circuits at Biggin - to avoid causing problems for faster visitors. (We will visit some farm strips in a future event.)

Around Oxfordshire
06/06/06

Tim Arnot helped to plan a club visit to his local area. It started and ended at Gloucestershire airport. Tim provided routing and descriptive text for the Briefing Document.

Exeter and the South West
13/04/06, 20/04/06, 27/04/06, and 04/05/06

Starting on the 13th from our Biggin Hill base, we headed south to clear the Gatwick zone, then turned west to Southampton. After a short break, we continued our flight to Exeter. The outbound Briefing Document was prepared by Tony Driver. On 20th there was a trip from Exeter to the Scilly Isles, with a touch and go at Lands End. The Scilly Isles Briefing Document was prepared by Tony Driver. On 27th we spent some time looking around the Devon and North Cornwall area. We went from Exeter to Plymouth, Bodmin, Lundy, then back to Exeter. The Briefing Document for this event was prepared by Pete Chapman. The return trip was on the 4th May, starting from Exeter, routing via Bristol, and passing between the Heathrow and Gatwick zones. We were joined by some members of Dan Adam's VBFC, aka Clifton Flyers on this, our return flight to Biggin Hill. The Briefing Document for the return to Biggin Hill was prepared by Tony Driver.

Callsign Mayhem
01/04/06

The Essex RTS organised a repeat of last year's successful Callsign Mayhem event. Pilots were encouraged to use very similar five character callsigns using G followed by a combination of the vowels A, E, and O, for VFR flights. The event took place to, from, and between Luton and Southend. More details in the Essex RTS forum on the VATSIM-UK web site. The event proved to be not as popular as it was last year.

East Anglia Round Robin
16/03/06 23/03/06 -and- 30/03/06

Starting on the 16th from our Biggin Hill base, we crossed the Thames to Southend, then followed the east coast to Great Yarmouth, before turning inland to Norwich. On 23rd some of us met at Norwich, and flew around Norfolk. The return trip was on the 30th, starting from Norwich, south and then west passing over Bury St Edmunds to Cambridge. From there we called in at Luton Airport on our way back to Biggin Hill. The outbound Briefing Document and the return Briefing Document were prepared by Tony Driver.

Beginners Night
28/03/06

Peter Dodds repeated the Beginners Night which he supervised at Halfpenny Green (aka Wolverhampton) in June last year. There were only a few members who took advantage of this offer, and much of the time was spent chatting to each other. However, there were 13 club members involved in online activities, some flying, some controlling, and a few observing.

ANNIVERSARY EVENT - IOM
07/02/06 -to- 21/02/06

For the Club's second anniversary we are visiting the Isle of Man, starting from our base at Gloucestershire, we flew outbound on 7th Feb routing via Welshpool and over the Welsh mountains to the Isle of Anglesey, then across the water direct to the Isle of Man. The outbound Briefing Document was prepared by Tony Driver. Between the two dates, members were invited to spend time exploring the Island. On Tuesday 14th our weekly meeting was held at Ronaldsway. We flew round the coast, stopping at Jurby, which was our planned alternate airfield on the outbound trip. The return trip took place on Tuesday 21st Feb, routing back across the Irish Sea to Anglesey, then down the coast to Aberdovey before turning inland to Welshpool, Shobdon, and finally back to Gloucestershire. The inbound Briefing Document was also prepared by Tony Driver.

Solent Round Robin
18/01/06

On this trip we visited the other half of the South East Region. Starting from our Biggin Hill base we made our way first to Shoreham, then over to Bembridge on the Isle of Wight. The plan was to continue next to Southampton, then dodge the gliders at Lasham, and finally across to Redhill, before returning to Biggin Hill. However, this proved to be too ambitious, and nobody completed the trip. A Briefing Document was prepared by Tony Driver.

South East Round Robin
04/01/06

We started from our Biggin Hill base and visited three of the smaller airfields on our way to and from Manston. These were Rochester, Lydd, and Lashendon/Headcorn. A Briefing Document was prepared by Tony Driver.