CEO THOUGHTS

By Steve Slater

Where does one start? After all the tribulations of lockdowns and social isolation for us all, it was truly heartwarming to see so many fellow members and friends back together at Sywell for the LAA Rally.

The event was a success from so many points of view. We had near perfect weather (with apologies to those further north and south who had to battle through the clag), which always helps create a good feeling at an event like this. We had a busy airfield, with around 780 aircraft arrivals over the weekend, with the airfield accommodating more than 420 aircraft on Saturday afternoon alone.

We greeted around 3,000 people through the spectator gates and enjoyed a busy exhibition area with both new types and some great heritage displays, reflecting our 75th Anniversary.

Of course, there were some things that didn’t work as well as we would have liked. As many are aware, we share a great deal of operational responsibility with Sywell Aerodrome in exchange for the gate revenues and landing fees. It, like the rest of us, has had some significant challenges in coming back after the Covid lockdown, which was reflected in it struggling with some of the key areas of infrastructure and ticketing.

It is a credit to Michael Bletsoe-Brown and his team that they rose to the challenges presented and found answers to the problems that came up, not least the unprecedented queues at the main entrance on the Friday. Thank you Michael, Amy and the rest of Team Sywell for sorting it – with apologies and a thank you to all those delayed, for your patience.

It was amazing to think that it was only in late July that we made the final Covid-based ‘go-no-go’ decision on this year’s Rally. Special thanks have to go to Paul Fraser-Bennison and Chris Thompson who, when it became clear that Sywell couldn’t provide its customary radio service, put together a team of experienced air/ground radio operators and made the necessary safety case to the CAA to gain their endorsement. That was no mean feat, not least because they did it in less than six weeks flat!

Equally heroic was the Rally set up team under Paul Lawrence. The ‘LAA Rally Workers Strut’ certainly lived up to its name this year, with sterling efforts to set up the campsite, ran by the Andover Strut, parking and the exhibition marquees. We had the added challenge of ensuring a ventilated, Covid-safe environment this year. We achieved that by creating the open-sided marquees which attracted a lot of positive comments, but meant additional electrical wiring and associated partition work. They literally pulled out all the stops to make the new layout work as well as it did.

A big thank you too is due to Penny, the admin team and the whole of LAA Engineering who absorbed the Rally preparations into their everyday workload – and they still turned up smiling for the three days of the Rally.

Finally and, although it seems unfair to name a single individual, a massive thank you is due to Eryl Smith, who although a long-time volunteer, was at the helm for the first time as Rally Chairman. Through all the challenges, through thick and thin, he kept smiling. And even after being royally entertained by the LAA Vale of York Strut on the Saturday evening, his stamina was such that he was still the last man standing as we cleared the site at the end of the Rally.

I can personally endorse that, as he and I finally finished our FOD walk on the airfield at 1830 on Monday!

From an aircraft point of view, my personal highlights were the Innovators’, including the Nuncats electric aircraft project, Mike Whittaker’s ‘Plank’ flying wing and Ivan Shaw’s ISA-80 Seeker project, which was the subject of a packed Speakers’ Corner talk by its designer on the Saturday evening.

In fact, no less innovative was one of the stars of the LAA 75 celebratory aircraft display, Bill Cole’s HM.293 Flying Flea, making an appearance 50 years after attending its last Rally, while appropriately in the Association’s anniversary year, the Best Vintage trophy winner, Frank Cox’s Fairchild Argus, also rightly claimed the HRH Prince Michael of Kent Award for the Best in Show.

But, more than anything else, this year’s Rally was about people. I can’t put it better than Europa Club secretary Bob Hitchcock who called it ‘the best loneliness remedy, even mental health remedy’. “We ought to better recognise the need for companionship,” said Bob. “For lots of the older members visiting, the Rally this year was the first event they had risked since lockdown.

“I didn’t realise how many chatterboxes we had in the Club. Zoom lockdown sessions did a lot to help, but there is nothing better than creating an environment where people can truly socialise, surrounded by delightful aircraft.”

Looking ahead, I’m aware there’s been speculation on whether the Rally stays at Sywell in the future. I’m not being drawn on that. It’s a great location, we’ve still got a few washup meetings to go and there have been some interesting ideas bandied about.

In the short-term, we’ve got our ‘LAA 75 Fly It Day’ to look forward to on Tuesday 26 October – the actual anniversary date of our Association.

And I am sure that thanks to the 2021 Rally’s success, we can look back on a 75th Anniversary year to remember! ■