She's arrived in Bristol!

Betty the Beech coming into land Bristol International Airport

This afternoon John - co-piloted by Phil - flew Betty skillfully into Bristol airport (with Simon Wringthon in the control tower, thanks Simon!) where the thirsty bird got refueled and checked so that she is ready for her big departure tomorrow morning!

We are planning to load up the balloon just around 8.30-9.30 with a departure heading North to Wick in Scotland for ca 10-10.30! 

If you want to wave us off, come to the little cafe at the South side of the airport! We'll see you there! Keep fingers crossed!

What a day! Two balloons flying side by side over Betty the Beech followed by a formation photography shoot with a Yak!

It's far too late now to write much and my brain and body have nearly given up but it was an incredible day of stunning weather and two wonderful flights in a balloon and the Beech! 

This was a day that both Phil and I had waited for a long time.

And it couldn't have been better! At 6am Darren Lewington himself opened the crash gates at Gloucester Airport for the balloon teams (thank you Darren!) and within 45 minutes both balloons lifted off slowly into the beautiful clear and warm air. 

Winds were perfect for many air to air/balloon to balloon/aeroplane shots and we even managed a change over so that Anne could also have a ride. 

Many thanks to our great team with Anne Herbert, Tash and son Harry, Charlie Sanger-Davis and Steve Richards as crew, pilots Nick Dunnington flying the Cameron 0-56 G-DKGM, me and Phil in G-CIND. 

Coming back to the airfield though the mood suddenly turned sober and serious as John and Roger had found several issues with the aeroplane. And if that wasn't enough trouble, John heard that his mum aged 87 had slipped and broken her hip! All not good and a great worry.

Despite all those adversities John carried on with the proposed plan of a formation photography sortie with Andrew Holman-West in his Yak taking Richard Paver, a well-known aviation writer and photographer.

 At 12pm the Beech 18 and Andrew's Yak took off with myself and Nick Dunnington on board. A stunning formation flight up to Worcester followed.

Whilst the rest of us returned to Bristol by mid -afternoon, engineer Roger worked hard on trying to mend the final issues. Bless him! It was the hottest, sunniest and nearly longest day of the year!

So enjoy those photos and more to come hopefully soon!

THE BEECH FLIES AGAIN!

THE BEECH FLIES AGAIN!

Today was the big test for the aeroplane and a check of what 10 weeks of tough maintenance have done to improve every part of this 65-year old aeroplane. 

 I am glad to say, that all pilots and passengers on board (as well as the aeroplane!) seemed to have had a great time and all are safely down on the ground again after their circuits at Staverton.

  Tim Darrah, a very experienced Beech 18 pilot, had kindly flown in together with Bob to assist John in getting familiar with this particular aeroplane and we thank both of them very much for this!

refuelling the aeroplane

getting ready for take off

watch this video by Anne Herbert as John and Tim take off:

https://www.dropbox.com/pri/get/Betty%20the%20Beech%20photos/Video%2016-06-2017%2C%2014%2005%2034.mp4?_subject_uid=94219813&w=AAA7kve2I1Cmy_sJPP7UqiRqAPK8yOnrqpbevza5ujyLJg

it was a lovely day with many interesting aircraft taking to the skies

and the final landing as seen through the cockpit:https://www.dropbox.com/pri/get/Betty%20the%20Beech%20photos/Video%2016-06-2017%2C%2014%2014%2042.mp4?_subject_uid=94219813&w=AADLux0fvm_mWHlVBq1O8OhhIQdXhBaaMBlAVpuj3bzs2A

Betty taxing back to her hangar

The team complete: Pilot John Herbert and his wife Anne have arrived from South Africa!

BETTY THE BEECH IS READY TO FLY AGAIN!!

Betty getting a clean wash at RGV Staverton

It's too late now for me to write a long story about today's events but I have to say that it was certainly the best day for many in this long Beech saga! Things are indeed getting very excited now with D-Day only being 4 days away!

John and his wife Anne have arrived after their 24 hour journey from South Africa. It's lovely to see them after many months of emailing and remote phone calls.

Despite their lack of sleep, John was keen to get up to Staverton to 'meet' Betty!

John and Anne checking the instrument panel

And there she was: her silk body glittering in the warm sunlight freshly hand-washed by RGV manager Stuart Vincent!

Stuart polishing Betty whilst talking on the phone managing his business! He said that he thoroughly enjoyed washing the aeroplane as it was the perfect excuse not to sit in his office.We don't blame him for this!

....but after a while that job gets exhausting as well?

John seemed to be pleased with what he saw during this first inspection and we are very much looking forward to welcoming Tim Darrah back again tomorrow for a first round of test flights in the Gloucester area. Look out for the Beech!



Interview with Phil Dunnington about his life's dream: 'On the Beech':
https://youtu.be/EOsiFsVvwOo

Phil finally to be seen with a cheeky smile!

Listen to John's first impressions about 'Betty the Beech':

https://youtu.be/NMbZ5mMg3OI

John talking to Tom Watson the engineer

And hear what Anne has to say about this whole crazy idea:
https://youtu.be/uTwe5156I18

Anne seemingly enjoying herself in the cockpit

Final preparations before the Trans-Atlantic departure ex Bristol Airport!

Betty the Beech flying a display at the Chalke Valley festival 

It is getting increasingly exciting! In only 11 days we hope to be on our way to start one of the greatest aviation adventures: an unprecedented attempt to fly our 65-year old 'Betty the Beech' (a Beech 18 - G-BKGM) around the world with a first sector crossing the Atlantic via Iceland, Greenland and northern Canada.

Phil and Allie Dunnington in their light-weight basket

'Bristol Airways' at Chambley, France

This in itself has been done before, but it was Phil's idea to carry a small hot air balloon - a Cameron 0-56 (G-DKGM) - inside the aircraft in which the team will attempt to fly in locations where nobody has flown a balloon before!

Phil flying G-DKGM in Bristol

Follow our story on this blog and see you on the 20th in the morning at Bristol airport for our departure to Wick!

For some videos on this project scroll down to previous pages or watch those short videos: https://vimeo.com/167936306 by Quintessence films and this one by BA pilot Kevin McDonald (USA): https://vimeo.com/167637048 

The new balloon in matching colours to the aeroplane

Test packing of the balloon into the aircraft

Time is literally 'flying' now! Only 17 days to D-day!! (departure ex Bristol planned for the 20th of June!)

Phil and Roger discussing the 'ladder'

Betty is still at RGV in Gloucester undergoing some final repairs, whilst we are sorting out paperwork for the aeroplane's insurance, pilot's licences, visas, entry permits and another million things. 

figuring out what type of ladder we should take. Not this one of course!

Yesterday we went up to see progress and chat to the engineers Roger and Tom.

One question mark is still what ladder we should take? A folding ladder that Phil had previously bought was too short, but the new one turns out to be too bulky.

Looking at the remaining space in the aircraft once the balloon and we are in, it won't leave room for much else! (save your knickers for another week!)

But the ladder was only a minor issue. Getting our small ultra light-weight O-56 hot air balloon in there, was a much bigger and more complex issue. 

Despite previous trails, we were surprised on how much space the entire kit will still need. 

struggling with the 'sleeping-bag' cover

One seat for sure will have to come out.

Phil's idea of a 'sleeping-bag-type' of balloon cover also proved tricky as the material of this brand-new envelope was so slippery that we struggled to get the fabric into the zip bag.

Last but not least, we found a solution to fit everything into the aeroplane but this plan will need to be checked once we got the weight-and-balance to do. 

Hei ho, there is never a boring minute with this project!

failed attempt! Back to the normal envelope bag for now

Test flight in G-DKGM from Ashton Court

getting ready for take off

Following a couple of frustrating cancellations due to weather conditions, Phil and I finally managed to get airborne again.

G-DKGM inflated in Ashton Court

Today we wanted to test the improvements made by Cameron Balloons to basket, poles and hoses.

fabulous views over Ashton Court and the Bristol Channel

We inflated the balloon at 6.20am and were airborne over Bristol by 6.30. Cruising along at 4kt Phil steered G-DKGM towards Hengrove and managed to land her in the park.

Phil coming into land at Hengrove park

Caroline Fox - our brilliant driver - was there on the spot and since it's such a 'baby' in terms of weight and size we were packed away in no time and enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the Lockside cafe in Bristol (the landlord even opened up early especially for us, thank you!).

Caroline and Phil enjoying their well-deserved brekki

G-DKGM in matching colours to Betty the Beech