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Microlighting
Flexwings,
flying stories, useful devices for microlighters, microlighting adventures .
See the Hot News page for latest news snippets heard on the circuits
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A microlight against the backdrop of an
incoming snow shower at Peterlee.
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deregulation
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Many of us are waiting
with much impatience for deregulation of small single seat machines
Well, in the meantime here are some shots of Kev Armstrong's Chaser
with at least two mods - these have been done under the existing mod
approval system but presumably under dereg, Kev could have done them
quicker and cheaper.
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Kev Armstrong's Chaser
Looks the biz doesn't it - particularly the Blade spats he has fitted |
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Side view
A better look at those spats. Note also that the prop has changed colour. |
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front suspension mod
Kev has really sorted the awkward ground handling of the Chaser |
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Trip to Little Knitsley
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Today all 7
microlight pilots turned up at Peterlee, so we decided to have
lunch at Little Knitsley an alcohol free pub about 20 minutes
flying time from Peterlee. Click the thumbnail to see the
strip - right in the centre of the photo. Owner Les, used
to have a golf driving range that shared the same strip as the
microlights, but he had to stop as it was too dangerous - too
many golfers were getting hit by microlights :-)
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Important notice
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... for
microlighters visiting Peterlee. The governor of Durham
prison is nervous that we might be casing the joint and he's
asked us to fly at least a mile away from the gaol. He
understands that legally he can't stop us but apparently it's
disturbing the sleep of the inmates. Today, bacause 6 of
us flew over on our way to Knitsley, the police air support unit
was scrambled (impressively quickly I might add) and circled our
slowest member a couple of times. Apparently they saw
another microlight - some kind of Quik, but couldn't catch it
(worth every penny eh James?). Seriously though lads, I
have told the police that if we are tracking west to pass round
the Newcastle zone we'll pass Durham jail with at least a mile
clearance (the officer asked for a nautical mile, but I have
negotiated him down to an ordinary mile). I was going to
include a nice aerial shot of the prison but ... derr ... that
miight just prove the governor's point, so instead here's a shot
of some recent inmates working on their Colditz Flyer |
Elusive coronas
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You often see these
corona effects when the trike is between the sun and a cloud.
After seeing a brilliant one with a perfect shadow of the trike
contained within, I orbited but only managed to capture this one
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If you are thinking of going to New York
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Many people in the
UK are suffering from an insidious disease called Chronic Lyme
disease. It's even worse in the USA and particularly bad
in New York. The people infected are having great
difficulty because it is politically unwise to acknowledge that
it's widespread - damages the tourist industry doncha know?
I know from direct experience how devastating this disease is
and so I have no hesitation in including a link to a website
that is trying to do something about it. Hopefully the
more links there are to this website the more often it will
appear in search engines and the authorities will then have to
take it seriously. And if you have someone close who has
been diagnosed with ME or CFS, then check out Lyme disease -
some people believe that all ME is late stage Lyme.
www.canlyme.com/nyalert.html
and here's a link to a group of
Lyme sufferers in Europe
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/EuroLyme/
and their Charity
http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/ |
For fishermen
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If you are a sea angling
freak and live in the north east you can view lots of the marks
at low tide by clicking here |
Blade v Quantum - quickie
comparison
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Some personal thoughts
on the Mainair Blade and the Pegasus Quantum flexwing microlights ... and some more
from an about-to-be Quantum owner....
....... anyone like to lend me
their Quik so I can compare the latest stuff :-) |
What's your fuel consumption?
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See if your 582
returns a better average than mine. Click here
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new microlight students start
here
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Potential microlighting students start
here
- how to choose your instructor. A controversial article that I hope
won't upset too many of my friends, plus reviews of older trikes, and some
student experiences |
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New members
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We welcome Dave
Lumsden (Quasar) and Derek Crozier (XL) to our club.
They have relocated from Eshott as it's just 10 minutes from
their homes to Peterlee. Both machines are very smart -
so much so it's prompted one of our older members to post his
wing off to Pegair for an overhaul. Having received the
quote, I think he wishes he hadn't bothered, as he's going to
have to sell the newly acquired wife to pay for it. Good
to see he's so safety conscious though.
There are now 7 flexwings in our microlight club. Based at Peterlee Parachute Centre, Shotton Colliery near the city of Durham
(the airfield is in this year's AFE guide)
..... but please note that we do NOT have a school. For
lessons you need to contact Eshott in the north or Baxby or
Bagby to the south - you can get their details from
www.bmaa.org.uk |
