Struts 4U

Anne Hughes rounds up Strut news & views

Above Scouts and Brownies on their visit to Audley End airfield with YES.

Left The Oxford Strut Enstone Pie-in fly-in

Below left and right Two scenes from the Cornwall Strut end of season fly-in at Bodmin.

As we creep towards the end of the year, we can report on fine weather for September / October’s flying over much of the UK and Strut events that took place in the sunshine. Two Struts had organised a ‘Pie Fly-In’ as a way to warm up the members after a flight. At Enstone 40 aircraft arrived at the invitation of the Oxford Group Strut for its Pie-In, and enjoyed an excellent social event, with the added opportunity for some to try out the Spitfire simulator. The Oxford Group are planning to add more fly-ins to its calendar next year.

Food played a major part in Devon Strut’s Fly-In on 24 September, courtesy of Branscombe Airfield and Campsite, where it ran the Strut Branscombe Autumn Fly-In and BBQ. There were 21 arrivals despite an uncooperative wind. For those who did arrive, Tony’s Kitchen was in full swing, supplying breakfasts of bacon and egg baps and burgers for lunch.

The Cornwall Strut held its end of season fly-in at Bodmin on 10 September and held a two minute silence for HM Queen Elizabeth II.

The day included some pleasure flights and one notable passenger was Dot, who usually spends her time in the kitchen feeding all arrivals with a menu, which includes Cornish pasties and bacon butties. Tribute was paid to the many Strut members who supported the fly-in – as marshals, booking in visitors, and preparing and serving meals.

Pete White also shared news with us about the many school groups which get the opportunity to enjoy time on the airfield and said that more helpers are required to support these events at Bodmin. It is always a rewarding experience to see the excitement on young faces as young people are introduced to the world of aviation for the very first time!

Stewart Luck, YES Strut, also ended the season with a group of local Brownies, who spent a day at Audley End Airfield learning about navigation skills from Jim Johnson, and finding out how aeroplanes fly. Paper aeroplanes were involved and the Guild of Aviation Artists was keen to demonstrate its skills to the children, as it was holding a painting day at the airfield.

This visit was followed by a visit to Audley End of 28 scouts from Thaxted, plus leaders and adult helpers. Some enjoyed flights and all learned about navigation, radio procedures, flying a circuit and how to pre-flight an aircraft.

In 2018 we were really pleased to include an article in this column about the re-start of the West Midlands Strut, which holds its meetings at Halfpenny Green in the Control Tower’s Navigator café. Originally the Strut was formed in 1976 but disbanded in 2015. A tremendous amount of work has been put into organising and running the Strut, which has a membership of about 30. Stuart Darby and Graham Wiley were instrumental in re-starting and running the Strut for the group from 2018 and many interesting speakers ascended the stairs to give their presentations in this excellent location.

Sadly, Stuart and Graham are unable to continue running the Strut for various personal reasons but would be sorry to see things come to an end. Although meetings and gatherings are temporarily suspended, if you think you could help with getting the Strut up and running again please get in touch with the Strut Coordinator, David Millin at david.millin@sea-sea.com Thanks go to Graham, Stuart and all who have supported the WMS over the last four years.

You will see by looking at the calendar, and contacting your local Strut, this winter groups are returning to the monthly presentations and social gatherings that have been missed so much while Covid restrictions were in place. Some Struts may hold a few Zoom presentations, but most are back to local venues, and look forward to meeting up again. If you haven’t already done so, check to see where the nearest Strut is to you and you will be made welcome by other LAA members who will be keen to hear all about your involvement in aviation. ■