It was most unfortunate that our December club meeting had been “torpedoed” by our political masters. They ejected us, most unkindly, from our hall indicating their needs were greater than ours whilst muttering something about an election. Hmmphhh! (Hopefully we can have it back in time for our scheduled 9th January meeting!)
So, having missed out on the 12th, the committee set about making the pre-Christmas fly-in a little more special, laying on an excellent spread in the ‘field clubhouse along with a bit of model balloon busting. Despite days of what seemed like “Biblical” rain leading up to the event, the 22nd proved relatively free of precipitation! A little windy perhaps, but not TOO windy. A number of models headed skyward and completed successful flights, even the odd balloon was burst – as is the norm (!), by our esteemed Secretary, Simon.
The real challenge of the day was of course underfoot; under-tyre too! The grass surface was very slippery and easily churned to mud. In places, grass was obscured by miniature lakes – more anon. The following photos give a hint as to the conditions.
Being aware of the weather conditions leading up to the Sunday, Phil B brought along a model which he thought appropriate; I am not aware of anyone who expressed a dissenting view! Phil kindly forwarded a photo of said model for inclusion here in addition to a few lines of text. Take it away Phil…………….!
It was arranged, our Christmas fly-in would be the 22nd December. The weather had been wet with more rain forecast; now I know the landing strip gets wet, very wet after prolonged rain, so the flying was going to be restricted to the hack…… or was it?
I gave it some thought; maybe, just maybe, I could fly the Catalina off the standing water at the site. I emailed Simon, no response…(Phil’s lost the plot) so I decided to give it a try….. A first at Trigon to my knowledge, a sea plane attempting to carry out a takeoff and landing at Trigon. Help was on hand by Peter to find the biggest puddle! And so it was that the Catalina took off from Trigon, a historic moment in the history of the Phoenix MFC, a flying boat taking off and completing a successful flight over the flooded fields of Trigon.
A great day guys and thank you to Simon and Peter for organising the balloon bursting for a bit of fun and later in the caravan, food, drink and chat, I enjoyed the whole day, if you wasn’t there you missed a great day!
Phil
Indeed, a good time was enjoyed by those who were able to make it. Grateful thanks are offered to those who made the day what it was. ………..and for any worried member, no serious damage was done to our patch!