Sambro Flying Super Hero Action Flyerz, Ironman

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Dan’s ethos is simple – airfields are for flying and flying should be fun, he has no time for pomposity or red-tape” A circumnavigation of the island is usually the favourite though – it’s around 70 miles, or a one hour flight.

The nation of historic naval pioneers welcomes the world to Portugal’s third full-distance IRONMAN race in the breathtaking Atlantic coastal town of Cascais. Historic monuments, palaces, and fortresses of bygone times over one of the most beautiful race courses ever designed for a triathlon.After the second beer he muses: “Maybe I should get potential pilots and mechanics drunk first and then let them sign the contract with us…” Rob will be here in 20 minutes. Just spoke to him. Get on your way,” says Chris, putting the radio aside.

My turn. Full power, release brakes, I am trying to feel if the aeroplane is ready to fly, and I pull the flap-actuating Johnson bar to the 40° notch. I pulled one second too early! The 170 tries to fly but mushes and settles down again. She wasn’t ready! Slight bounce, and finally, we are flying. I stayed in ground-effect and slowly retracted the flaps to the first notch / 10°, and with a safe speed, I started to climb. Then you’ve got a very picturesque island that has a bit of everything. Firstly the Needles, surely one of the most spectacular and instantly recognisable aerial views in the country – thread them if you dare.A big television hangs in a corner. Rob turns on a video, showing the transfer of a former Everts Air DC-6 to Norway. Tomorrow I have to fly to Galena, a small town on the Yukon River, in a DC-6. You could fly up in a small plane. There are still two places left. And then you could stand right next to the runway and take a picture of the DC-6 approaching . What do you think?” Winds were up to around 15kt straight down the runway. CC set orange cones and racing flags on both sides of the runway to create an imaginary competition line. While the technique was going to be similar to what we have been practising, we would add an extra step this time. It was time to use the flaps differently! Only a few days earlier, on the snowy Airport Industrial Road at Fairbanks Airport, a not-too-large sign indicated which company is based there: Everts Air, along with its subsidiaries Everts Air Cargo and Everts Air Fuel.

So where does the name ‘Spamfield’ originate? It all came about because the PFA Rally at Cranfield was cancelled in 2001 due to foot and mouth disease, so some wag came up with the name, and thought it might be a good idea to hold a similar event on the Isle of Wight, but for microlights.The following year it was held at Sandown and the ‘modern Spamfield’ (to use Olympic terminology) was born, and I haven’t missed many over the years. CC performed the first approach demonstrating his technique. He started his approach higher than you usually see in most General Aviation airports. I then take a few photos of the unloading, marvel at the amount of oil under the engines and climb into the aeroplane. Right in the middle of the country sits Kaunas, another medieval town, with winding narrow streets, great food, and talented buskers. It has two airfields: Kaunas International (landing fee: €3) and Kaunas Darius and Girenas, a GA field with more than 1,000m of tarmac. But Dan has made it so much more. If you remember Kevin Costner’s film Field of Dreams where the farmer has a voice in his head which keeps whispering: ‘If you build it, they will come’. Well, that’s exactly what Dan has done.

It’s around 100 miles for us if we fly direct – alternatively we can follow the coast and take in the majestic splendour of Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters gleaming white chalk cliffs stretching away towards Brighton. Many pilots are moving across from costly GA aircraft to microlights and that doesn’t help with our ageing pilot demographic. But it was at least good news for the duo playing in the evening as they had obviously worked out that they wouldn’t need to stray very far from the 1970s!

And that’s the next mistake. At least, it is if you do it without gloves. The icy metal of the ladder and hull sends a searing pain into my hands.