Light Aircraft Association

The Dunkeswell rally info is now available at
http://www.devonstrut.co.uk/pages/events.htm with airfield details at http://www.devonstrut.co.uk/pages/airfields.htm

Fingers crossed for better weather than last year!

LAA Regional Rally at Dunkeswell, hosted by the Devon Strut. 31st May/1st June 2008.

Do fly in on 31st May/1st June
Usual Devon Strut hospitality
No restrictions, walk airside, camp airside
Know the joining instructions; see www.devonstrut.co.uk/pages/events
Enjoy the spirit of Rallies long ago
Supper on Saturday will be a hog roast
Wonderful Devon beers
Excellent time to meet up with friends old and new
Lots of exhibitors
Looking forward to seeing you there

A few amendments to the arrangements for Dunkeswell this weekend:

The forecasts for Saturday & Sunday look good but the torrential rain we've had during the past week has prevented the grass a/c parking areas from being cut. Consequently, a/c will be parked on the non-active hard runways, i.e. the disused 09/27 and with the forecast for light easterlies / north easterlies the active will probably be 05, so more parking will be available on 17/35, enough for several hundred a/c in total!

The grass runways have been cut and will probably be OK but if you depend on using a grass strip please phone for advice before t/o on 01404-891643

The booking-in tent will now be in the NE corner of the airfield, adjacent to the end of r/w 23 and for visitors by road, car parking will still be on the eastern peri-track but the public entrance to the exhibitions and airside access will be to the north of the air centre / restaurant.

see previous site plan on www.devonstrut.co.uk

Come on down!

Good news about parking on the hard Mike. I think we would have sunk up to the wings. For once the weather gods appear to be playing ball. I think you will be busy. See ya tomorrow.

Steve

I'm picking up a passenger for Project Propeller from Dukeswell on Saturday. Depending what time that wraps up, may have a lookee around afterwards (or a hog roast!) Gets dark late these days...

Thanks to all those concerned in making an enjoyable day, just got back to Sussex from the S/W rally, after a pleasant blast along the south coast.

Cheers Will RV7 G-CETS.

Big thanks to all involved in the event. I have just got back to Derbyshire after a very enjoyable day.

Rod1
MCR01 G-KARK

Looked well attended from what little I saw while making a muppet of myself taxying into somewhere there turned out not to be room to taxy back out again... (At least without intervention of helpful bollard-shifter)

Would have stayed later but was knackered and the prospect of creeping across the Bristol Channel in the haze with the sun any lower did not appeal.

Really enjoyable day. The sun shone, lots of people to talk to and lots of aeroplanes to drool over - all excellently organised by the Devon Strut team.

Thanks a lot guys.

Thanks for the kind comments. Despite the mirky conditions early in the day we had 171 visitors book in today, with 12 having arrived on Friday. The evening revelry was still in full swing when the years and Thatchers cider caught up with me at 23.00 hrs! Early start again tomorrow!

Many thanks to all who came to Dunkeswell for their good discipline, airmanship and compliance with our ground safety briefing. Public access to airside was enjoyed by all and feedback has been very positive.
We'll announce the full list of awards in the next couple of days.

We've booked the date for next year's South West Regional Rally with Dunkeswell and LAA HQ as 4th & 5th July 2009.

I got within 20 miles and had to turn back on Saturday, but I pushed through in fairly dubious conditions today.

Anyway the Rally was running down by Sunday pm but I was glad to go and wanted to say thanks to the organisers.

The return journey tested every fibre..absolutely vile weather and whereas I'm sure it was valuable experience, it did leave me pondering.

Good thing the Storch has those down facing facetted windows. That was the only visual contact with the ground below that I had over Avonmouth.

Gold fish bowl?

bencmaster wrote:I got within 20 miles and had to turn back on Saturday, but I pushed through in fairly dubious conditions today.

Listening to the r/t on Bristol Radar I dont think you were alone in turning back. That fog was twilight-zone-ish! I went above a "corner" of it after a huge detour going in the other direction.

I thought Bristol did a wonderful job phoning hither and thither and asking other aeroplanes to chip with with informal weather reports to try and get an idea of the scale of it.

Thanks to everyone at the Devon strut and Dunkeswell airfield for their excellent organisation of the Regional Rally, a really good job, lots of compliments from many pilots and enthusiasts that I spoke to.
Pity the weather didnt co-operate much on Sunday, hopefully next year it will be wall to wall sunshine all weekend!

I have just posted on Hangar Chat because I wanted a bigger audience....pour encourager les autres....
but it still seems fair to reiterate the thanks on here.

What they said above. A superb weekend that proved how good organisation and good people can produce, with a tiny bit of weather luck*, a whole lot of fun for the rest of us. A special mention here for Mike and those who pulled muscles, strained backs and broke nails on my behalf when I needed help. Thank you.

OK, Saturday, then