Gyroplane Day at Kilrush

Wednesday July 8th saw a gathering of gyroplanes take place at Kilrush.  Originally planned for Limetree, it was moved to Kilrush on the day due to the strong crosswinds at Limetree.

First to arrive was Bensen B.8M EI-BSG.  First registered on January 1st 1986, BSG is Ireland's oldest active gyroplane and was trailered in from the owners home.  Fitted with a Mc Culloch two-stroke engine of 72hp, BSG made many flights throughout the day.  

Out of the trailer and ready for its blades

Spotless and rare Mc Culloch engine.

Instrument pod on BSG

Standby ASI!

Also trailered to Kilrush was Rotor Flight Dynamics Dominator EI-FLA.  Fitted with a Rotax 582 and based at Spanish Point, FLA is one of four Dominators currently in Ireland.

The only gyro to fly into Kilrush on the day was Limetree based ELA-07 EI-EES. The heavier and more powerful two-seater was able to cope with the crosswind that prevented the lighter gyros from flying at Limetree. 

With the three machines assembled and ready, flying got underway at lunchtime with the strong westerly wind providing perfect flying conditions from runway 29 until late in the evening.

BSG heading out to the runway.

 

Another gyro enthusiast arrives back from a trip in EES

 BSG on short finals.

 FLA taking off from 29

Also present on the day, but not flying, was Kilrush based Magni M16 EI-FFZ

New Residents in Kilrush and Limetree

A recent arrival in Kilrush is Spezio DAL-1 Tuholer PH-MJC.  It arrived a few weeks ago on a trailer from the Netherlands and was reassembled over last weekend.  Originally built in 1969, it was based in the UK for many years as G-NOBI before moving to the Netherlands in March 2009.  Its powered by a Continental C125 producing 125hp.

Meanwhile back at base in Limetree, a new arrival is ATEC Zephyr EI-CZA.  After a few years of inactivity in Galway CZA was roaded in Limetree last week and had its wings refitted. It should be flying again in the very near future,

June 3rd 1941, The original "Iolar" was lost at sea.

On June 3rd 1941 De Havilland 84 Dragon G-ACPY, operated by Great Western and Southern Airlines Ltd,  was lost enroute from St. Marys, Scilly Isles to Lands End, Cornwall.  Having left St. Marys with a pilot and five passengers on board the aircraft never arrived at Lands End and an immediate search was launched.  Only one body was recovered, that of a passenger who was washed up on the beach near Portreath.  Four of the passengers were from the same family, Mr John Leggitt, his wife Sheelagh and their two daughters, Jeannie (age 11) and Romalita (age 9). Also lost was the pilot, Capt William Anderson DFC and Mrs. Georgina Griffith.

Later investigations into the loss concluded that the aircraft was attacked by a Luftwaffe Heinkel 111.  Its left engine was set on fire and the aircraft crashed into the sea.

This aircraft was the former EI-ABI "Iolar", the aircraft that made the first flight by Aer Lingus on May 27 1936 when Capt. O.E. Armstrong and five passengers left Baldonnel, Dublin at 9am for Bristol Whitchurch.

A photo of EI-ABI can be viewed here  EI-ABI 1936 .

Photos of  G-ACPY  -  G-ACPY 1939   G-ACPY 1938

Breitling Wingwalkers at Kilrush

The Breitling Wingwalkers and their two Boeing Stearmans made a quick stop in Kilrush on their way back to the UK from the Abbeyshrule Flightfest.

Fuel tanks filled, engines started and ready to depart.

 N5057V taxying to runway 29.

 SE-BOG following.

SE-BOG taking off into a very strong westerly wind.

The two Stearmans turning southeast heading for the coast.

Kilrush Visit May 24th

A quick visit to Kilrush on Sunday morning brought no surprises.  Quite a few of the residents had left for the ILAS Fly-In in Wexford but some of the more colourful ones remained.

EI-BCJ Falco F8L - for a short history of this aircraft click here  Irelands Falcos

EI-FFZ Magni M16 Gyro

G-CPII Mudry CAP 231

N799CD Cirrus SR22 GTS

OK-TUR-22 Roko NG4

EI-FDC PZL Koliber 150

An interesting car boot sale find.

I found this at a car boot sale a while ago. 10 Euro is all it cost and it works!

Its a Short & Mason MK XIIIB Altimeter.  1930s or early 40s vintage.

A visit to the National Museum Of Ireland.

The National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks, Dublin has a large collection of historical artifacts covering the history of Ireland.  Among these are two aircraft moved from the Irish Aer Corps Museum in 2006.

 

De Havilland Vampire T11, c/n 15563 was the 260th Vampire Trainer built .  Built at the De Havilland factory at Broughton, it was delivered to the RAF as XE977 on June 7th 1955.  Withdrawn from RAF use in 1963 it was donated to the Irish Aer Corps as an instructional airframe on August 30th 1963.  Assigned the serial number 198 when delivered to Baldonnel, it wasn't applied until years later when 198 was placed on display outside the officers mess at Baldonnel.  Eventually it was moved indoors again to the Aer Corps museum and then moved to the National Museum in 2006.

Miles M14.A Magister 1, c/n 1028 was one of a batch of 50 ordered by the RAF and built by Philips and Powis Aircraft Limited. Ten of these were diverted to the Irish Aer Corps and never entered RAF service.  Delivered new to Baldonnel on March 22nd 1939, 34 flew until March 1952 when it was transferred to the Aer Corps engineering school as an instructional airframe. Restored in 1981 it was moved to the Irish Aviation Museum at Dublin Airport until 1996 when it returned to Baldonnel.  34 along with 198 moved to Collins Barracks in 2006.

Another item of aviation interest on display is a World War 1 era airspeed indicator.  Built by Wilhelm Morell in Leipzig these anemometer type indicators were fitted to many aircraft at that time. 

Taylor Monoplane EI-BKK is flying again.

Visitors to Limetree Airfield over the last few months will have seen long-time Waterford resident Taylor Monoplane EI-BKK being prepared to return to flight after many years grounded following a landing incident at Waterford in early 1991.  On Tuesday April 21st last, following an inspection by the Irish Aviation Authority,  BKK was issued with a new three year permit to fly.

Originally built as G-AYYC, BKK was first registered to the Kirby Flying Club in Leicester on 7.5.71 and first flew on 11.8.72.  She flew very few hours with no flights logged between June 1973 and February 1980.  When exported to Ireland in January 1981 she had only flown fifteen hours in the previous nine years.

Over the next ten years BKK flew another sixty five hours mostly while owned by the Waterford Aero Club. During the summer of 1982 she had both wings repaired with new leading edges fitted and new fabric fitted after a taxiing incident.  A new prop was also fitted on this occasion.  In May 1987 she was repaired again, this time receiving a new undercarriage leg.  Unfortunately BKK was damaged again in May 1991 which put her out of action for the next nineteen years.

Restored by J.J. O'Sullivan between 2005 and 2010, BKK flew again on 18.4.10 before being sold to a new owner who only logged three flights before selling her to the current owners in December 2014.

1600 cc Ardem Volkswagen Conversion 

Powered by a zero-timed 1600cc Ardem Volkswagen Conversion BKK cruises at 100 mph while burning only 9 litres per hour.  With its 27 litre fuel tank BKK has a still air range of 200 miles plus a reserve, more than enough to travel anywhere in Ireland.

The fuel gauge that never lies!

The tiny cockpit is surprisingly comfortable. 

Antonov 124s in Shannon

With all the recent media hype around the recent visit of the Antonov 225 to Shannon its easy to forget that its not that long ago that Antonovs were a very common sight at Shannon.  

In 1990 Volga Dnepr Airlines was established in Ulyanovsk as the first private airfreight company in Russia, primarily to operate the fleet of Anotonov 124 Ruslans built by the Antonov Design Bureau.  In 1997 a line maintenance base was established in Shannon.

All maintenance was carried out on the disused taxiway on the eastern side of the airfield near the Westair hangar.

The early versions of the engines fitted had a very short time between overhauls and this resulted in a lot of engine changes taking place.

It was common to have two or three aircraft on the ground at once with each missing at least one engine.

A line of three or four 124s is an impressive sight.

With 24 wheels per aircraft, wheel changes were another popular job!

With an outboard engine on one side removed, the 124 developed a serious lean to the other side.

In September 2006 the maintenance operation was transferred to Leipzig/Halle in Germany but 124s are still regular visitors, stopping for fuel on long transatlantic flights.

Piper Cubs at the Birr Breakfast Fly In 2015

On Sunday last, April 19th, the Ormand Flying Club held its annual Breakfast Fly In at their home airfield in Birr, County Offaly. The day started off misty with low cloud but it soon burned off to leave a  warm and sunny day, perfect for Cub flying.

Some low cloud lingered on the trip down but it was easily avoided.

I was the first to arrive in India Oscar but was soon joined by around seventy other aircraft including six other Cub types.

Piper Pa18 Super Cub EI-BID

Piper Pa12 Super Cruiser EI-CFH

Piper J4 Cub Coupe EI-GDJ

Piper Pa18 Super Cub G-PIPR

 Piper Pa18 Super Cub EI-ELM

Piper Pa18 Super Cub EI-DTS

The flight home was into a strong easterly wind but the earlier mist and cloud had gone to leave perfect conditions for some low 'n' slow flying.

70 mph @ 500 feet

Back at base, ready for the next mission.