THE SQUADRON RE-VISITS FRANCE 17th-23rd JULY

REPORT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY CAROL RICHARDSON-BUNBURY

Thursday 17th July

Thunderstorms rumbled across southern England for a couple of days but fortunately cleared Bodmin International in time for take off and only slightly delayed the main body of the FAAS flight routing via Bembridge. The Cornish contingent cleared customs at Dinard, a perfunctory business involving little more than a landing fee, but better than a £500 fine for entering France at a non-customs airfield. G-BZZD’s crew arrived in time to see Philip Cardew finishing a delicious bagette and coffee before hustling us off to Avranches.

The short flight over the bay gave us a magnificent view of Mont St Michel before starting to search for Avranches Airfield, not an easy place to find. Could that cropped bit of grass be the landing strip or had the sheep concentrated their efforts there, although free to roam over the whole field? Fortunately we didn’t fly in at spring high tide when the whole airfield, including the bottom two steps to the club house, disappear under salt water.

Syvlie, a flying friend of Sue and Phil Moore and secretary of the flying club, took good care of us and settled us into a superb hotel where, as happened last year, we had a dining room to ourselves and one long table so that dinner was a communal and convivial affair, at the end of which many a FAAS member displayed a remarkable talent for dreadful jokes and might have been lost to flying had the Music Halls survived.

Friday 18th July

Sue and Phil had arranged alternate flying and non-flying days so that we could enjoy to the full both flying and France. Some visited Mont St Michel; some explored Avranches, a delightful old town with views in all direction and musak under every bush in the Botanic Gardens! As lunch time approached the best bar in town acted like a VOR beacon for many and all were reunited for dinner in the evening.

Saturday 19th July

Pre-flight briefing took place in the flying club in preparation for the flight to Cholet and lunch. Phil Moore arranged the take off order and the Senior Pilot insisted on a run through, a wise precaution in the circumstances as the octogenarian crew of G-MALA appeared not have their hearing aids switched on (with apologies to Bernard who is, of course, still a sprightly youngster in his 70s). Eventually we took off in what Phil called ‘potato formation’.

Our flight of 7 aircraft was announced to Cholet ATC as the FAAS so that they no doubt expected a version of the Red Arrows. The collection of assorted aircraft that appeared, and one member’s crystal clear radio message as he over flew the tower that he was having ‘difficulty spotting the airfield’, didn’t quite live up to the advanced publicity. However, lunch on the terrace of the club house was excellent, and improved by the addition of Heather and Alan Bristow and Don Ward who flew in to join us.

The next leg from Cholet to La Rochelle was again in perfect weather and it was decided to announce ourselves as a flight of seven aircraft without mention of the FAAS. Even this threw the weekend Controller into a panic and he insisted on individual contacts and made half the squadron go around. However all was safely accomplished and a fleet of taxis took us to our harbour-side hotel. Pre-dinner drinks by the pool and dinner in a café, were followed by a stroll round the harbour. The whole place was en fete with the harbour road closed and given over to buskers, some highly professional, other students having fun, but each attracting a circle of appreciative supporters.

Sunday 20th July

La Rochelle was full of possibilities for our non-flying day – the hotel pool, museums, galleries, shops, boat trips, and plenty of cafes and bars to refresh the flagging culture vulture. Squadron members gathered at the hotel for pre-dinner drinks, except a small contingent who fell by the wayside to drink just one beer at a bar on the old Ramparts and who, three beers later, decided it was too hot, too far and too late to make it back to the hotel and tottered round the corner to a restaurant, which, had they but known, was only two doors away from that chosen by the main party.

Monday 21st July

Those who visited the Maritime Museum and its Meteo Ship France I the previous day, had eagerly watched the weather forecast on the ship’s monitor, an unsatisfactory forecast as far as our imminent flight to Thouars was concerned. Fortunately, the forecast turned out to be that for the 30th January 2001.

Everyone arranged early taxis to La Rochelle airport, which was as well, as refuelling took for ever, with lengthy pauses while the pump attendant doubled back to the tower to sort out landing fees and fuel payments. Some squadron members did not seem wholly attentive at the pre-flight briefing held on the grass by the aircraft in bright sunshine. A new and improved take off procedure was announced. Faster aircraft were to delay take off so that we arrived at 3 minute intervals, not all together - we hoped!

Lunch at Thouars was again on the edge of the airfield, this time at ‘Le Sun Set Bar’, a delicious and leisurely lunch which gave us time to watch the gliders and to work out how not to get entangled with them on take off. The final leg of the holiday flying to Saumur worked perfectly and the squadron landed in immaculate order to be greeted by another flying friend of Sue and Phil Moore, Chris Ashby, also the manager of a local vineyard.

We were ferried to the Hotel Anne d’Anjou, a traditional building around a courtyard with the River Loire to the front and Chateau Saumur rising impressively behind. It was a little disconcerting to walk along the lane and find a notice detailing the ‘Urgent accident prevention work’ on the mound supporting the chateau, and needed to prevent the chateau descending to the level, if not onto the actual site, of the hotel!

Pre-dinner drinks in the courtyard were a must in such perfect weather and surroundings. A lone Frenchman valiantly defended his table and four chairs in the middle of the courtyard as more and more squadron members arrived, but eventually admitted defeat with a smile and moved to a table on the lawn.

Tuesday 22nd July

The Senior Pilot arrived at breakfast with his lap-top displaying a doom and gloom forecast for the morrow which forced those who had to be back to opt for an early departure to beat the weather. Sadly they missed a fascinating final day. A mini-bus took us to the Chateau Chantieres Vineyard where Chris showed us round and talked about every aspect of growing vines, the vineyard and its owner, whose father bought it in the 1930s convinced that there would soon be another war. He was a manufacturer of wireless equipment and carried on his business in the extensive cellars until betrayed and arrested.

Chris’s wife, Mandy, gave us a truly French lunch of rillettes, pate and cheese, with hot bread and house wine, followed by tarte and coffee. Two of their young daughters helped, but the third, at only 3 months, just wowed the grandmothers. Our return to the hotel was slightly delayed by a detour for a squadron member to buy herbs. Once back G-MALA’s crew decided to fly home ahead of the bad weather, which for some unexplained reason necessitated a re-packing of Arthur Record’s bag in the hall of our smart hotel, perhaps to accommodate herbs. With a crew of four such experienced aviators, G-MALA had some problems with navigation and were last seen at 1630 at Saumur Airport in deep discussion of the DFC (Direction Finding Committee) bearing for England. A decision achieved they set off, and reports one of the crew ‘The Octanagarian express touched down at the ex Royal Air Force station at Kemble around 20.00 hrs. No emergency services were called upon.’

That evening Chris and Mandy joined those of us who remained for dinner at the L’Orangerie Restaurant at Chateau Saumur, from which we could still, I’m glad to say, look ‘down’ on our hotel and Loire stretching for miles in either direction.

Wednesday 23rd July

The squadron dispersed: some to continue touring France, some to make it home that day, some to divert for an extra night in France, but all to make it safely home after an excellent holiday, visiting delightful airfields in interesting parts of France, thanks to a great deal of hard work and expert organisation by Sue and Phil Moore. Let’s hope there will be another squadron trip next year – come and join us, you don’t even have to fly, those who followed by car had a good time, and were most useful!