Pilots who lunch – The first fly out of the year

As always, the day before the trip we carried out all the preparations; NOTAMS, weather and of course making sure the helicopters were prepped and ready for an early start the following day.  Joining me in HERZ was student Danny with his wife Cresida and Capt. Dhillon headed up the KWPW with Capt. Langdon on the outbound leg and student Ethan on the return.

Beautiful weather was a surprise 😂 a tiny bit of haze but other than that a clear blue sky. Our crews settled on taking the scenic route there, out of Elstree, down to Olympic Park via the Lee Valley reservoir and into London City control zone. ATC was super helpful and allowed us to fly along the Thames all the way to the QE2 bridge, we then changed to Southend. ATC equally accommodating allowing us to transit through the CTR. Great view of the world’s longest pleasure pier at Southend. We then turned towards Bradwell Power Station up to Harwich and Felixstowe.

A wonderful coastal flight all the way to Lowestoft and then it was time to refuel and Beccles was the perfect spot. Helis ready and with hungry pilots we headed back to the coast. Over the border to Norfolk and the seals! Hundreds of them, lying on the beach before we turned inland at Cromer to The Gunton Arms.

After site recce (terrific confined area practise here) and while keeping a look out for the deers we made our approach and land. Shut down and paperwork complete it was time for lunch.

The Gunton Arms is a traditional pub located in extensive historic park. The chef cooks local produce some of which from the deer park itself and much of this is on an open fire.

With pilots now fuelled it was back to the helis for pre-flight checks. Ready to depart, the return journey was more direct but to keep our AV-venturers skills fresh we routed through the American airbases Lakenheath and Mildenhall  again ATC were very friendly, allowing us fly relatively low, parallel with the runway getting us up close to their aircraft. Over Cambridge and a fly-by at Duxford and the classic land away route back to base.

So, how did our pilots do?

“Danny did a good job; he’s height and speed control for most of the journey was spot on. He was thinking ahead and aware of everything that was happening plus a lovely approach when landing at The Gunton Arms. Overall, only a few inputs from me required and a little bit of help on the radio but otherwise a well executed flight” – Capt. White

“Capt. Langdon and Ethan handled the Cabri G2 with confidence and control, showing great coordination throughout the flight. A smooth approach into the Gunton Arms from Chris and a good job on the way out from Ethan” – Capt. Dhillon