Phase Two of our planning of G-EVIE’s Grand Tour didn’t get off to quite the flying start that we had hoped for and anticipated. We had planned to take G-EVIE on a camping trip to Glenforsa airfield on the Island of Mull, as a miniature trial run to see how packing up the aircraft with tents and sleeping bags would affect our mass and balance, to find out if there was equipment that we desperately needed that we didn’t have, or equipment that we were lugging round with us that we didn’t need to, and just to see how discombobulated we would get after sleeping underneath the aircraft wing for a night and whether it would be a feasible long-term accommodation solution while on tour. However, in order to do this, we needed to go flying but we were being treated to days and days of hailstone, strong winds and poor visibility.
After several failed attempts to even get airborne, and hours poring over weather forecasts, we saw a glimpse of hope in the TAFs and jumped at the opportunity. We bundled all our kit into the back of G-EVIE trying to balance the weight between the back seats and the luggage compartment, and got going on a long-awaited trip. Although flying through the valleys to the North is absolutely stunning scenery, there aren’t too many escape routes, and with a good few isolated showers forecasted for the area, we chose to fly the slightly longer but ultimately safer route over the low ground, routing Perth, Dunblane, Helensburgh, Dunoon, Oban and Glenforsa. We had to make one small weather diversion between Dunoon and Oban, but were soon back on track and all eyes looking out for Glenforsa’s grass strip.
Part of the appeal of Glenforsa for me, aside from the lack of high-vis vests, was the grass strip. I hadn’t yet attempted landing a Warrior on grass and thought it would probably be worth the practise before going on tour. Strip located and runway direction, eventually, determined (the windsock was very variable) I set up my approach and treated Claire to a rather bumpy, but ultimately satisfactory landing. The rabbits hopped to the side of the runway as we taxied passed and parked.
Duke of Edinburgh and Girl Guide training told us to reluctantly put the aircraft and the tent before our stomachs, so we settled G-EVIE down and pitched up the tent next to her, before indulging in a superb meal in the Glenforsa hotel. We went back outside to watch the sun set over the beach and plan the route home for the next day. We were enjoying the paradise of Mull, when a gigantic pair of antlers attached to an even more gigantic stag strutted past. Suddenly the tent seemed a little insubstantial...
Regardless, we survived the night undisturbed and got going again in the morning, a mere half an hour after we’d planned to leave. A tremendous gaggle of geese had settled down on the runway overnight, so we implemented a little of our own bird-scaring while backtracking to take-off.
Claire was flying home, and had planned three potential routes, depending on what the weather was looking like when we got airborne – a high, medium and low ground route. With the wind having turned quite Northerly, the high route was immediately discarded but we managed to fly the medium route for the majority of the trip back, only needing to momentarily dip across to the lower route to avoid some clouds.
Aside from having had one of the most fantastic flying trips to date, it was a useful exercise in preparation for the bigger trip. Having alternative routes planned saves a lot of arithmetic and paper flapping in the air, especially if airspace is busy and territory unfamiliar. We do, however, need to leave at least an extra half an hour of ‘faff’ time to be able to reach our ETD’s. As for the packing, I think it is safe to say it needs some serious attention, and while Claire may have to be encouraged to leave her shoe polish behind, seeing as I went to the effort of taking my toothbrush, it may be a good idea for me to consider a tube of toothpaste too next time around...
