Oh dear! Rain.

Months planning; months of email chatter; months of anticipation; (well a month at least) - had resulted in an ambitious route of six legs: Great Oakley, Old Buckenham, Earls Colne, Rochester, Stapleford and home. All this washed away by a couple of days of rain.

But never say die! We all (except Shane) turned up at Andrewsfield bright and early. The optimistic started planning while Shane went back to sleep.

Adrian looks depressed - no flying today. Paul and Darren think positively

Steve and myself have our new GPS units, but have had no time to experiment. Nick takes pity on Steve and shows him the basics. Wingco and Richard, also GPS owners, plot with graphs and rulers. Sam looks on. Sam flew his first solo the day before. Congratulations Sam! We look forward to having rotary wings in the Circus.

Wingco and Richard prepare the traditional way and then the easy way

Loop's Kirsten was due to fly with us (Celebrity Status!). She is busy interviewing anyone who stands still long enough. Wingco and Richard are within earshot and don headphones to 'cut out the background noise'. Eventually Shane turns up - part-timer. Daughter Laura has flying lessons brochures thrust upon her by the devious Wingco. Shane's bank manager is having nightmares, but at least he's still in bed.

Nick teaches Steve how to use his new GPS. Sam, the day after his first solo (not old enough to drink)

Wingco and Richard rehearse their radio calls Jane gives up and prepares the Astra for departure

Chris and then Jane admit defeat and leave. Slowly more people come to the same conclusion and drift away. Kirsten is still going strong though. Unfortunately, work ring 'Andrewsfield, we have a problem here!'. Well I can stare at clouds or sort it out. 'I'll be there soon'.

An Aeronca (I think) sheltering from the rain. JIMH ready to go

A bee does its best to get airborne.Loop's Kirsten

Well some you win and some you lose. This time the weather won. But that's general aviation. Coffee was drunk and bacon sandwiches were eat. And that is part of what the Circus does. See you next time!

[Text: Rob] [Photos: Rob]