A recent visitor to the Skypark apron

We extend particular congratulations to Paul Jones who successfully completed his PPL Skill Test and to Peter Wood who obtained his IMC rating at the start of June.

On 24th June the School took part in the annual Gloucestershire Airport Open Day. We were slightly concerned that the initial drizzle would deter the crowds, but we needn’t have worried as the event was a great success as evidenced by the large numbers who attended. G-BFEK drew a queue of (very) young aviation enthusiasts keen to have their photo taken behind her controls, and G-BIMT and G-BEZO were used throughout the day for 15 minute trial lessons conducted by Richard Thwaites and Kim Hampshire. A huge thank you to all those who helped on the day, in particular to James Connolly, Richard Clark, Jamie Turner and Adam Knights who not only briefed the trial lesson students but also chatted to visitors and kept the children entertained!

Our stand at the Open Day (with friend!)

Back in the classroom, members passed the following exams in June 2012:

Craig Parker - Metereology

Richard Clark - Air Law, Human Performance and Limitation, Communications, and Navigation

Bob Pearce - The Aeroplane Technical

Mark Gwilt - Air Law

For those of you planning trips in July, a reminder that Olympic airspace restrictions start on Saturday 14th. The sanctions for infringing these are severe, so please make sure that you familiarise yourself with the restrictions in good time. Close to home, crossing procedures for the Brize Norton zone are also affected. We have the details at the School.

Whilst our new students got off to a solid start in April, those approaching the end of the PPL course were hampered by variable weather conditions. We had hoped that Adam Knights would achieve his Qualifying Cross-Country flight this month, and that Jamie Turner would complete his trip to White Waltham, but luck with the weather has not been on their side. However, on the theory side, students have yet again achieved excellent results. Exams passed in April were:

Rowland Slatter – Air Law
Jamie Turner – Flight Performance and Planning
Tim Van der Hooft – Meteorology
Bob Pearce – Meteorology
Ian Hollingsworth – IMC written exam
Kirk Daly – Navigation

The diary is filling up fast for May (Saturdays are now fully-booked, meaning we can take reserve bookings only), so please book early to avoid disappointment!

Race week passed by smoothly as the restrictions to flying were minimal and, in any case, persistent fog and haze during the month meant that many lessons were ground-based. The seemingly glorious sunshine at the end of the month brought poor visibility and haze with it, which presented an ideal opportunity for ground school and exams. Five exams were successfully completed, namely:

Dion Robertson – Navigation; Meteorology
Craig Parker – Navigation
Kirk Daly – Human Performance & Limitations
Jamie Turner – The Aircraft General & Principles of Flight

Our students had success in the air, too, in March. Paul Jones completed his Qualifying Cross Country at the start of the month, and Dion Robertson successfully completed his First Solo at the end of the month. Adam Knights has been trying to get his Qualifying Cross Country done, but has been consistently thwarted by the weather. Here’s hoping he is successful in April!