The 17th of December 2003 marked the centenary of the famous Wright Brothers flight. This was an occasion that aviation fans all over the world intended to celebrate. At Phoenix Microlights, Watnall we were no different. Here's our story.

 

The 17th Of December was approaching, it was no secret, every calendar I had seen had it listed, there was no reason to expect that this would not happen, I've yet to see a year when a date forecast did not arrive on time. This year though there was reason to await its arrival with more excitement than previously, we would be able to celebrate that it was exactly 100 years since the Wright brothers made the first controlled, powered, heavier than air flight at Kitty Hawk. We wanted to mark this occasion by the most appropriate method we could find, namely FLYING. Some of us were on an official day off, others re-arranged shifts, some even pulled a sicky, however we did it, we intended to fly.

 

By about 1000 hrs a few of us had gathered on site in weather which was crisp if just a little hazy, this would soon clear. Light winds on the ground indicated it was going to be a good day. Whilst the haze thinned out a little the time was put to good use by doing a few running repairs to the aircraft, nothing drastic, just those little jobs that need doing every now and again. By 1130 the haze had cleared nicely, nice enough now for Brian, Rob and Leigh to take to the sky. The air was lightly turbulent up to about 700' after which it was so smooth we could have been flying along rails.The sun was shining, there was not a cloud in the sky and the mist still visible in the valleys to the west and north with the tips of the nearby Peak District poking up through it made for a wondrous sight. There was a strong wind from the south west but it was not a gusting wind and only our slow progress over the ground, if heading into it, gave us any indication that it was there, turning to fly in the opposite direction made for an exhilarating sensation as the aircraft swooped around and raced off at a great rate of knots.

 

It was an absolute joy to be flying on such a special day and we all felt privileged to able to enjoy it. We could see other aircraft types all making the most of the day, the sky was very busy for a weekday with pilots up there having as much fun as we were as they made their own aircraft dance all over the sky.

 

We were expecting others to arrive on site by midday so we had to put our excitement on hold and land to greet the later arrivals, John, Dawn, Eric, Kai, Andy, Dean and Roger all eager to be airborne.

 

The other aircraft were pulled from their cosy resting places in the hangars into the bright sunshine and rigged, pre flight checks done and a top up with hot tea (for the crews!) and we were all ready again. One after the other we took off into still fantastic conditions, it really was one of those days where you just had to say WOW. Cold on the ground but a temperature inversion meant that at 1500' - 2000' we were actually quite warm. By now there were about half a dozen of our microlight aircraft all happily bimbling about the same bit of sky, waving to each other as we passed, those who were able took photos, those who couldn't just enjoyed the views and the sensations. All being eternally grateful to the pioneers of aviation who made such a pastime possible.

 

John and Rob had a flight with an added bonus in the afternoon. Whilst happily floating about the area they were joined by a military jet! A Jaguar had seen then and came over to say hello. Dropping off as much speed as he could he stayed with them for less than a minute before giving them a friendly wing waggle, lighting the gas at the back end and whoosh, he was gone.

 

When we flew we looked at the people on the ground, people who had probably looked at microlights flying overhead before and said to themselves "I'll have a go in one of them - one day" and never have, Boy, were they missing out today, the best flying conditions in weeks and on the centenary day made it all so special. I just hope that those people make the move and get that first flight booked. When you find something so good you need to shout to the world how good it is and let others have the same feelings. So, all you folks who have yet to fly, DO IT, give your local microlight school a bell and get booked in, don't waste any more time.