RALLY REPORT

Good crowds, plenty of aircraft arrivals, and a strong exhibitor attendance saw a very positive return for the LAA Rally, in our 75th Anniversary year after having had to cancel the 2020 event. The Rally team did a great job in what were, at times, very trying circumstances – but for their efforts, and those of the volunteers, the LAA staff, Sywell Aerodrome and of course numerous others, we would not have had an event. So, let’s start with the thanks, because it is all too easy to take the hard work put in by so many for granted.

I arrived on Thursday morning and the new exhibition layout with open fronted units was pretty well complete. Main Neil Wilson’s aerial shot of the Rally on Saturday afternoon shows it was up to its usual high level of popularity! The new layout was a precaution in case Covid problems precluded using the enclosed marquees we have used in the past. It proved popular with exhibitors and attendees alike, although some did comment that wet and windy may present a few problems. However, the weather was kind to us over the entire three days. Speakers’ Corner was moved to the ‘Hangar 2’ Conference Centre, again as a Covid safety measure, although it is also a much more suitable location than a marquee. We had some very good speakers – the people, not the subwoofers and tweeters – I particularly enjoyed the aircraft design discussion with Barry Plumb, Lyn Williams and Ivan Shaw.

Our regular columnist Martin Ferid presented two popular talks on air touring, and special thanks go to Garmin, which once again kindly sponsored the facility and also presented on two days, with their Manager of Europe, Middle East and Asia, Trevor Pegrum, coming over from Germany for the show.

The revised air/ground arrivals system worked well and although it seems fashionable at the moment to moan about the CAA, we must be thankful that it worked very hard with our team to resolve a problem that was not of its making. Without its approval we wouldn’t have had an event, so thank you CAA.

Left The Chilton is such a lovely little pre-war design so it is no surprise that it has proved popular with plans builders. This is Chris Barnes’ Walter Mikron 3 powered example, which was a prize winner at the 2017 Rally.

Above This Yak 3UTI is owned by Bob Davy and is a training version of the Yak 3 WWII Russian fighter. One of the smallest of the WWII fighters the Yak 3 was well regarded by its pilots as its excellent power to weight ratio made it a very good dogfighter. Photo: Neil Wilson

The Authority has also been a regular attendee at the Rally for some years and was once again present in force, willing and able to answer questions on all manner of issues.

On the subject of hierarchy, Grant Shapps MP, Secretary of State for Transport and a keen advocate of recreational flying, was once again a welcome attendee, flying in in his Saratoga.

Foreign arrivals were expected to be badly hit by the travel problems still extant across Europe and so it turned out, in fact it also prevented a number of foreign exhibitors from attending. However, we did get into double figures of foreign arrivals, so thank you to all those who made the effort, it was great to see you. In all we had around 800 arrivals by air and 3,000 by road, so it was a fairly typical attendance, which was reassuring given the circumstances. It was certainly great to meet up with so many old friends, the Rally is, of course, as much about people as it is aeroplanes.

Let’s take a stroll around the Rally to give those who were unable to attend a bit of a taste of what was a most enjoyable weekend. ■

Above Great to see this trio of Taylor Monoplanes down from Sleap, they made quite a sight as they were lifted high by their tailwheels and walked to the fuel pumps. Photo: Neil

Above This beautiful 1936 Focke-Wulf Fw 44J Stieglitz was restored by Richard Menage and lives at Bagby. Designed by the renowned Kurt Tank, the prototype of this two-seat trainer and sport aircraft flew in 1932, this J series being the last of the line and powered by a sevencylinder Siemens-Halske Sh 14a radial piston engine. Photo: Nigel Hitchman

Above Brit Alistair Roxborough lives at Verchocq Air Park in the Pas de Calais region of France and has recently bought this Océanair TC 120. Designed by Remi Tissot, the aircraft is deliberately intended as a homebuilt DR400, construction being slightly different. The main alteration is that although the wingplan is very similar, the trademark Jodel/ Robin crank of the outer portion has been eliminated. The first example flew in 1996 and perhaps a dozen have been built, some, including Alistair’s, certainly using a DR400 fuselage and empennage. Alistair’s machine is powered by a 120hp Lycoming O-235 and first flew in about 2011; he reports that its performance is very similar to that of his former Jodel DR1050.

Left D-KROX is the first of the Aerobility Grob G109B Able motor gliders to return from Germany totally refurbished. Aerobility will operate the aircraft within its fleet and also sell the aircraft in collaboration with Grob Aircraft SE and Southern Sailplanes.

Above The SNS-7 Sorrell Hiperbipe is staggering, and I don’t just mean its negative staggered wings. This example has been around since 1993 but this is the first time I have seen it in this stunning black and silver paint scheme. It is currently owned by Aerosprite Informatics Ltd., of Dursley in Gloucestershire. The type first flew in 1973, having been designed by Tim Sorrell as a capable aerobatic machine with the comforts of a cabin aircraft. Power is courtesy of a Lycoming IO-360 and the fuselage and empennage are of welded 4130 steel tube and the wings are of wood. Photo: Nigel Hitchman

Certainly an eye-catcher is Andrew Beggin’s polished Sling 2, a lot of work but also a weight and expense saver. Andy was one of the early Sling converts, having been involved with the 70th Anniversary Rally build project when the South African factory brought over a flat-pack Sling kit and, with a team of volunteers, built the aircraft in eight days and flew it on the Sunday of the show. Andy’s aircraft has the Rotax 912iS and an Airmaster prop. Also at the show was the UK agent’s latest demonstrator, the four-seat Sling 4iS which is powered by the 141hp Rotax 915iS. The aircraft is currently awaiting final approval with a number already in build. Photo: Brian Hope

Above This Christensen Opus 3 flew into the Rally from Renne, in Denmark via Rendsburg in Germany with a total flight time of 4 hours 20 mins. Fitted with a 125hp RR Continental O-240-A it cruises at a TAS of 150kt burning 25lph.

Below The first of the line in terms of Dick VanGrunsven’s now ubiquitous kit aircraft was the single seat RV-3, of which only four have appeared in the UK. It is certainly rare to see two examples together, nearest is Flyer editor Ed Hicks’ -3B, originally built by Ian Glenn, and behind is G-BVDC , Robert Hatwell’s -3 built by Dan Calabritto. Photo:

Above The Vintage Aircraft Club’s Liz Inwood Taildragger Scholarship is presented to its lucky recipient at the Rally each year. The award provides a sum of money to carry out their tailwheel difference training and this year VAC Chair Anne Hughes presented the award to 22-yearold Alistair (Ali) Laurence, seen above beside LAA CEO Steve Slater’s recently restored Piper Cub.

Ali has been enthusiastic about aviation since he was a youngster, Popham being a favourite local venue for him and his grandad, Barrie Jay, who is well known in aviation enthusiast/photographer circles. He has also been a regular visitor at the Souch family’s Aero Antiques and showed me a picture of himself as a ten-year-old standing by the almost completed fuselage of the fabulous Mystery Ship. Naturally, with Ron and Mike’s enthusiasm for Moths and all manner of vintage aircraft, he yearns for the day when he can have a Moth of his own.

Ali gained his PPL at Lee-on-Solent when he was 17, just a month after passing his driving test, and that put the final seal on him deciding on an aviation career. With the help and encouragement of his parents and grandad, he completed his frozen ATPL via the integrated route, his completion unfortunately coinciding with the severe decline in commercial aviation as a result of the pandemic. Undaunted, he has been able to save some money in the interim by working in Covid testing but has recently started a flight operations job with jet charter company Channel Jet, with the promise of a flying job in two years.

In the meantime, he has a taildragger course to complete and is keen to do that in a vintage type. Let us know how you get on Ali, I’m sure we all wish you and so many other young ATPLs all the very best for the future as the world’s commercial aviation industry continues on its road to recovery. Photo: Brian Hope

Above and right Out in the exhibition area was the recently flown first UK KFA Safari, Sprite Aviation’s demonstrator, which is powered by a Rotax 912 fitted with an aftermarket turbocharger. The aircraft is effectively an enlarged Kitfox variant, and I think has a very appealing and purposeful look. The type certainly has a good record operating in the hot, high and tough African bush. Sprite’s Graham Smith says that the aircraft can be built for as little as £40K including vat and delivery, provided that you are careful with your spending and obtain a used engine. Francis Donaldson will be flying the aircraft soon for a Light Aviation flight test report, so keep an eye out for it before year end. Photo: Brian Hope www.spriteaviation.co.uk

Above The Homebuilders tent, once again kindly sponsored by LAS Ltd, had a definite vintage feel to it this year with Geoffrey New’s Avro 504L, G-EASD, taking centre stage. The workmanship looks good enough to go into an art exhibition, the wings and empennage being well on the way to completion. As was not unusual at the time (the 504 was designed in 1912), little glue is used in construction, the structure being rigged with numerous turnbuckles and wires.

The fuselage is a mock-up, the aircraft having been built for commercial purposes in 1920 and having three seats. It was shipped to Sweden in 1921 and plied its trade up the Baltic coast until in 1927, it crashed on a remote frozen lake. Uneconomic to repair, it was put into a nearby boathouse where it remained for many years until repatriated to the UK. Photo: Neil Wilson Above Also in the Homebuilders tent was Phil Hall, who you may recall from the August 2020 issue of LA has been working on a supercharged 147hp LOM M 332 engine conversion for Gipsy-engined types like the Tiger Moth and Chipmunk. Unfortunately, the Gipsy is now a very expensive engine to overhaul, and with parts becoming ever more difficult to get hold of, that situation is unlikely to get any better.

The pandemic opened concerns about production, but LOM recently confirmed that the engine will still be available as a refurbished unit and may also go back into production. As a widely used engine in the former Eastern Bloc, it’s future seems reassured. To the left is a mock-up Tiger Moth firewall and the alloy conversion plates that accept the LOM engine into a standard mount. It is a straightforward conversion using the original cowlings, and only the eagle-eyed cognoscenti will readily notice the modification. Photo: Brian Hope

Above This is the second time Dirk Verdonck has brought his Onex (a single seat Sonex) to the LAA Rally, he came with it still in primer in 2018, just a couple of months after the first flight. Although on the Netherlands register (they are helpful with kitbuilts), Dirk is from Belgium and the aircraft is based at Moorsele (EBMO). It remains the only Onex flying in Europe. Dirk came via Calais and cruised at 100kt at 2,850rpm on his 2180cc AeroConversions VW. He had some impressive figures for a big bore VW, which can be a difficult engine to cool; in the cruise his CHTs are 155C, his EGTs between 600 and 650C, and his oil temp typically runs at only 68-75C. The latter is almost certainly because he has installed the oil cooler on the top of the engine, so no high-pressure air enters the lower part of the cowling, other than that transitioning through the cylinders from the upper cowling, thus the cooling airflow through the cowling is optimised. Barry Plumb, who had a lot of VW experience with his Plumb Biplane, was with me when we were chatting with Dirk and was very impressed with his figures. Dirk is currently building a two seat Waiex, a Sonex with a V tail. Photo: Brian Hope Above It is always great to welcome enthusiastic young members into our world of recreational aviation, but we must always remember that we enjoy it today because of the work of the many who went before us. Wandering back to the Aviator bar for a cold drink on Sunday evening, I happened upon this little group of old timers, no doubt discussing the old days of the Rally and their own flying exploits.

On the left is Ernie Horsfall, until very recently still an LAA Inspector, a Jodel aficionado who still posts occasionally on the Jodel List, and one time member of the PFA Executive Committee… and he’s still only 103 years young! Ernie was able to attend the Rally thanks to his friend Brian, third from left, who kindly brought him down from his home in Lancashire.

Next to Ernie is Don Lord who is certainly in his nineties. Don has owned a number of aircraft, including a Currie Wot, Jodel D11, Vagabond, Kitfoxes various, including the Alan James built Mk 5 Rotec radial engined example that Don flew to the RSA Rally, a Rans S6 or two, and no doubt some I don’t know about. He also served on the Executive Committee and has been a long-time active member in the Southern Strut. On the right is David Faulkner-Bryant, Chairman of the PFA from 19721989 and its President from 1989-1992, who was undoubtedly one of the key people in the growth of the Association. He was also a very keen continental tourer, most notably in his Currie Wot. Wonderful to see you gentleman, as bright and enthusiastic as ever. Photo: Brian Hope