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Chapelle-ès-Pêcheurs
The Parish Church of St Brelade is a romantic Norman stone structure, dating from the 11th century, a reminder of French government of Jersey. I paused to look at the stained glass windows but I was much more interested in its neighbour, The Fisherman’s Chapel. The Fisherman’s Chapel is a chantry, a medieval pay-for-prayer chapel…
Read more… 12 Apr 07
Not quite how I had planned it.
From my notes We arrived at the station where I tried to buy a Day Rover, unlimited travel on both the electric train and the steam train. “It’s a special event” said the unshaven man at the counter. “I can do you a return to Ryde and you just get off at Smallbrook Junction.” I…
Read more… 31 Mar 07
Locals just call it “the Island”
I’m finally getting around to organising my photographs and the shots from the Isle of Wight are rapidly appearing on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/landing/sets/72157600034671389/ Did you know there was an Isle of Wight County in Virginia? I first realised that I might have gone astray when I saw that “the Isle of Wight Museum offers Indian artifacts,…
Read more… 29 Mar 07
Keep the Runway Lights On
The weather played along: I was able to fly every evening last week. A minor hitch came up with the the plane being an N-reg (registered in the US). We sorted it out by using this darling TB10, a friendly, light plane that seemed eager to please; not something I’d ever say about the Saratoga!…
Read more… 20 Mar 07
Fly by Night
Next week I’m back in the saddle, getting to grips with the Saratoga and all her quirks after a quiet winter. I’ll be flying at Kidlington in Oxford, as they are friendly to general aviation, convenient from London, and have lights.Night rating, here I come. Flying VFR at night is, well, as different as night…
Read more… 8 Mar 07
Vraic
Vraic is seaweed and seaweed, on Jersey, is life. The agriculture on Jersey, including the famous Jersey Royal potato, owe their success to the fertilising from the sea. The harvest lasted around two months in the Spring and records as far back as 1299 show that it was frequently the cause of quarrels and criminal…
Read more… 2 Mar 07
Accident Analysis
Fatal SR22 Stall on Final at Barwick LaFayette
On the 20th of March, 2025, a Cirrus SR22 crashed in LaFayette, Georgia during an instructional flight, killing both the pilot and the flight instructor. It was a good flying…
There Is a Parachutist in Front of You
On the 15th of June 2023, a light aircraft crashed into the runway at Aversi private airfield in Denmark. The aircraft, registered in Germany as D-EPRR, was a Cessna TU206G…
Demystifying
Someone has to write the TAF
It turns out that there a person sitting there deciding what the weather is going to do. Which seems obvious, except that I had somehow never asked msyelf who “someone”…
The Pilots, the Probes, and the AF447 Verdict
On the 21st of May 2026, the Paris Court of Appeal convicted Airbus and Air France of involuntary manslaughter for their roles in the crash of Air France flight 447,…
History
The CIA's Shark Screen
Today we have a guest post from the CIA! In their archives, researching something completely different, I found the answer to a question I never thought to ask. I immediately…
The First Jet to Land on an Aircraft Carrier (Deliberately)
“The Vampire was the first jet to land on a moving aircraft carrier deliberately.” This quote from Airshow Luke, our MC at the Legacy of Liberty airshow, made me almost…
Fun Stuff
Petrified, Petrified, Petrified
There’s been some interesting reporting in the UK media about a “near disaster” over Canary Wharf involving the captain having to intervene (the horror!) after air data systems failed on…
Aviation Stories You Might Have Missed
I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season. This week, I’ve put together a compilation of interesting items in the press that you might have missed while enjoying…
