This section of our website is our news archive. Items in this section will be kept on the website for around 2 years before being consigned to the 'archive box'.

April 4th 2008, 0600 hrs. An articulated lorry departs the Walford area of the Forest of Dean bound for Shobdon. By 0900 hrs it has arrived and by the end of the day Robin DR400 G-BKDJ has been delivered to the engineer overseeing the restoration project ready for final assembly and test flying.

So, we have a short wait now for the CAA surveyor to inspect everything before full assembly can be completed. Hopefully by the end of April/early May test flying can begin and not long after the aircraft can join the club fleet.

Below, the hole in the top decking caused by             The wing stripped ready for the spar mod
water

Below, the fuselage during repair                                              and covered and painted

   Below, the wing ready for painting                                     and loading up for Shobdon

        On the lorry for Shobdon

February 2008

• Members' Achievements 2006 First Solo                                                             Richard Webb 16/04/06  Rob Debois 03/06/06  Ed Reed 01/07/06  Phil Taylor 06/08/06  Phillipe Garang 15/09/06  Joel Troughton 20/10/06  Mark Walters 29/10/06  Jan Heath 06/12/06  Ian Brown 17/12/06 PPL Joe Edwards May 06 Freddie Greenall July 06 IMC Rating Des Rocks                 2006 Night Rating Des Rocks                 2006 Mark Walters             2006 FI Instrument Roly Robinson Daniels Trophy Tim & Jim Miller                                2006 Returning to the Fold after a long lay off John Maclaren           2006   December 2007 We were delighted to see ~50 club members with family and friends at the pre-Christmas gathering at the Club on 17 December.  There was a very good social atmosphere - people were even heard talking about things other than flying! - and an excellent buffet and drinks were enjoyed by all.  The raffle was drawn as the sun was setting.  I am told it wasn't a fix, but the first ticket to be drawn was for one of the Club instructors.     Our congratulations this month go to:       Jan Heath for achieving his night rating; and     Tony Chapman for his first solo.   Quiz Night - 28th April 2007  27 Club members and guests eagerly took on the challenge of Phil's sometimes devious questions on a diverse range of subjects.  Seven teams - "Smarties", "Slightly Intoxicated", "Three Musketeers", "Prunes", "Question Marx", "Brabazon" and "The Gals" - fought an intense battle with only a few points separating the leading contenders with the lead changing hands for most of the competition.  A hot buffet of chilli con carne, jacket potatoes and salad with trimmings followed by profiteroles was served at the half way point.  This was much enjoyed by all and set us up for the second half.  Congratulations to the winners Prunes - Manuel Queiroz, Jill Francis, Lesley and Bob Hart.  It does appear that experience of global circumnavigation and building Concorde did come in handy on the night!   Cosford - 19th May 2007 Brian Aston provided a coach to transport 22 Club members, families and friends, for a pilgrimage to the RAF Museum at RAF Cosford. Unfortunately, despite having at least 15 Pilots on board who have all, reputedly, passed their navigation tests, our journey took about 15 minutes longer than anticipated due to an unplanned cross country diversion through rural Shropshire! (For future reference the museum is located off Junction 3 M54!) Upon arrival some of the group decided to take a breakfast break in the Aviator Restaurant which has expanded since we last visited. The rest ploughed on into the hangars. The logical route took you first into the "Test Flight" area where some legendary examples of prototype aircraft reside, lovingly preserved. The Fairey Delta, used for Supersonic trials and it's "drooping nose" idea was later used in the wonderful Concorde, The impressive BAC TSR2, which, test flights revealed, could have wiped the floor with the rest of the world in the fighter-interceptor-bomber role, had the government of the day allowed it to go into production, the stainless steel Bristol Type 188, the English Electric Lightning, an open cockpit Gloster Meteor used by Martin Baker for ejector seat testing, another Meteor with an extended nose with a prone position cockpit, and many more were on display. This hangar also holds a fascinating educational section with hands-on displays on the principles of flight and includes a model C130 Hercules where you can practice cargo drops at different speeds onto a target area, not as easy as you might think!  The next hangar holds the "War" section where a huge variety of warplanes reside from the enormous Lincoln Bomber, developed from the ubiquitous Lancaster,with a diminutive  Folland Gnat sheltering under it's wing, to a Mk1 Spitfire, the oldest still in existence. Examples of a Hawker Hurricane, North American P51 Mustang, a de Havilland Mosquito and even a Messerschmitt Komet, rocket propelled interceptor sit side by side. Across the apron to the "Cold War" hangar a magnificent architectural masterpiece with sweeping curved metal roofs. Covering over 8,000 square metres, the new landmark building is a highly innovative design by architects Fielden, Clegg, Bradley, with exhibition design by Neal Potter. It takes the form of two massive triangles divided by a central walkway, representing a world divided by opposing ideologies of the democratic countries and the communist bloc. This unique exhibition tells the story of the Cold War period, from the national, international, social/political as well as cultural perspectives. The aim of the exhibition is to inform and educate present and future generations about this important period in modern history and to give a reflection of what life was really like.  A major feature of this unique exhibition is Britain's three V-Bombers: Vulcan, Victor and Valiant, on display, together under one roof, for the first time. A number of the 17 aircraft on display are suspended in flying attitudes. Other innovative features include interactive kiosks and audio-visual Hotspots that focus on key aspects of the Cold War such as the Berlin Airlift, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Space Race. The exhibition also includes armoured fighting vehicles, a section of the Berlin Wall, missiles, model submarines, an iconic statue of Lenin and life size Russian (Matryoshka) Dolls. Symbols of everyday life include the VW Beetle, the Mini and the Trabant. Moving on into Hangar 1 for the "Transport and Training" display. This extraordinary collection holds types which most RAF pilots would have had hands on experience including the Auster, de Havilland Chipmunk, Jet Provost. Also on display are examples of the diminutive Mignet "Flying Flea", Hawker Cygnet, Percival Provost T1 and others. Some WWII Missiles are on display including the German V1 Ramjet "Doodlebug" and the V2 Rocket which caused so much damage towards the end of the war.  The transport section includes the beautiful de Havilland Comet 1A and a fine Douglas DC3. An Armstrong Whitworth Argosy C1 dominates one end of the hangar, and a strange combination of a Junkers Ju52, a Tri-motored monoplane, in corrugated construction and fixed undercarriage, in the original British Airways (pre BEA/BOAC) livery. Many other examples of transport aircraft some still in service today are on show.  A fine collection of aero engines surround this hangar. This collection spans the age of powered flight. Over 40 different engines are represented, from the Gnome rotary used in early biplanes, to the Turbo Union RB199, the turbofan jet engine which powers some of the modern-day Eurofighter prototypes.  Following regular comfort and refuelling stops at The Aviator we reassembled back at the coach for our journey back to the club which was achieved without the use of any GPS assistance! Everyone who commented to the author said they had thoroughly enjoyed their day, including the non-aviators amongst us!  If you would like more information please visit. www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford.  Richard Crosby 28th May 2007 Sunday 19th August. The weather strikes again! Our planned Fly In is scuppered by low cloud and drizzle. However, some 50 members, Gloster PFA Strut members and friends enjoyed a grand barbecue. Maybe next year will be better........ Treasure Hunt Report 2007   The event this year took place over the weekend of 8/9th September.  By tradition the treasure hunt is set by the previous year's winners, who were Tim and James Miller.   This year the competition was split in to 3 sections.  Section A had the competitors completing a written test of airmanship, questions ranging from listing Restricted Areas (Temporary) for the day to working out the take off distance of a Beagle Pup under various conditions.   Part B involved plotting and flying a route, finding eight points from the air scattered to the North West of the Airport.  At each of these points, the teams had to answer questions relating to features on the ground.   Part C involved a timed quick aircraft recognition test with the teams trying to identify 50 different aircraft from silhouettes.    The morning of the 8th dawned with some fog patches and low cloud, down for most of the morning to 1600 feet.  Never the less two teams took part and managed to complete the competition.  The rest of the teams were luckier and had good flying conditions throughout.   The answers to the flying section were generally of a high standard this year, the aircraft recognition answers varied from fairly hopeless to 37 of the 50 planes correctly identified (Phil thinks he managed 49 but he wasn't competing this time). The Beagle Pup take off calculations, using its graphical system, caused some head scratching, with only a couple of the teams coming close to getting it right.   At the end of an enjoyable weekend's flying, congratulations went to the overall winning team "Noble Ox". Consisting of pilot Francis Brownsill, navigator Ken Cattell and their Jodel.  The team had flown in to Gloucester from Inglesham, a strip near Fairford to take part in the event.   Special mention should be made to John Holder, a student pilot who took part single handed treating the flying section as a navigational exercise.  Despite being on his own, John came second overall, leaving the top 3 places as follows:   1st place             Team Noble OX 2nd place            Team John Holder 3rd place             Team Veal / Farrugia   Example question from this year's competition: -   Part B Question 5 Fly from point 4 to point 5 at 52º10.10'N 002º 42.27'W which is an ornamental garden with two identical buildings in its ornamental ponds.  What shape is each of these buildings and how many gables are there on each of their roofs?        Tim Miller Cotswold Aero Club celebrates it's 80th  year of operation this year, but it is a celebration that is tinged with sadness OBITUARY - Tina Mathews Chris,  or Tina as most of us affectionately knew her, represented the very heart of Cotswold Aero Club. Having been involved in the club's activites for many years, she learnt to fly there, married the CFI, became co-owner of the club and was - for all of us - the one person you would always guarantee to see whenever you arrived at Cotswold Aero Club. All day, every day, seven days per week Tina was there to welcome members, guests and newcomers alike. She always made time for everyone - especially whenever we needed it.

  If ever a club member had concerns about his or her flying - and let's face it, which of us doesn't, from time to time? - Tina was always there with a positive, reassuring approach. Nothing was allowed to stand in the way - Tina would always find something encouraging in any situation, inspiring confidence in those around her.

  Her own health gave problems for several years, but in typical Tina style, these problems were always borne without complaint. The summer of 2006 saw her hospitalised for many weeks, but then a breakthrough seemed to come from it all, and she appeared to be very much 'on the mend'. Those of us who had been privileged to have known Tina for many years were delighted to see the vitality and energy returning to her. She came out of hospital, ignoring the professional advice to stay at home and rest (as only Tina could) and returned almost immediately to 'her' club house.

  A collective sigh of relief was quietly breathed by us all - Tina was back with us, and in greatly improved health that seemed to be going from strength to strength.

  But our celebration was destined not to last, because in the afternoon of Friday 19th January 2007 Christina Rose Mathews was taken from us - suddenly, and forever. She died where she would have chosen to die, doing just what she wanted to be doing at the time - at her desk, dealing with a club member's enquiry.

  Of course, Tina being the person she was, she leaves behind an incomparable legacy. Cotswold Aero Club will always feel her influence - and already, we are discovering how her voice so easily comes to mind at times when we need reminding about things we should be doing. Or not doing, as the case may be!

  Which probably sums up the very best attribute of all in Tina. She had that rare knack of being able to offer warm, supportive encouragement to us all - whilst at the same time, and almost without our ever realising, she kept us from stepping too far out of line.

   R2112