Lack of Moral Fibre

I drove out to the airfield again the Saturday after the hailstorm, and couldn't make myself get in a plane. It was very windy. Death Darcy-Wilkes (Death as in Peter. Darcy as in Mr., and Wilkes as in Ashley. Not his real name, but very like it), the white-haired ex-RAF stunt pilot who wears a tweed three-piece suit when he dresses up, offered to fold his 6 foot 4 inch frame into the passenger seat of a Cessna 152 and hold my hand. The wind was "straight down the runway," but it was the runway I've only used once before, at least two years ago; it's not very long, and you have to come down steeply over a forest. I bailed out. DDW told me I was "showing lack of moral fibre." I said, No, just lack of spine. I suppose from an RAF point of view it amounts to the same thing, but gosh darn it, I'm not shooting down the Luftwaffe. I'm supposed to be doing this for FUN.

The following Wednesday I went back, and braved the same runway in a wind that was almost as stiff as Saturday's had been. Following a truly embarrassing circuit of the airfield (I never came close to the runway), I nailed the next two landings, then flew off over Loch Tummel and Loch Tay. It was a glorious day; there was melting snow on the Cairngorms; I had the sky to myself. And it all seemed worth it.

I booked a flight for the following week (i.e., this week). Now, what I haven't bothered to chronicle here is that the flying club is in the middle of a wee bit of organizational turmoil. The club committee (of which I am a member) has decided, for various reasons, that they are no longer going to use the services of the folks who previously provided them with aircraft rental and instruction. However, because I don't own my own aircraft, until the club provides another rental service, I'm stuck with the old one. So now. The committee are annoyed with me because I'm still hiring planes from the old rental service. The old rental service are annoyed with me because I'm on the committee that gave them the boot. The ex-RAF stunt pilot thinks I'm a coward.

Bleh. I have actually started to have nightmares about the whole thing.

BUT!!!! (This is the punchline.) I've just become the flying club's new NEWSLETTER EDITOR! I am the soul of discretion and diplomacy.

"FOR ANYONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW IT, A RETRACTION MEANS THAT A NEWSPAPER IS CORRECTING ITS MISTAKES. SO FAR THIS PAGE HASN'T MADE ANY MISTAKES."

Incidentally, I didn't get to fly this week after all. It was pouring.

I promise to talk about something other than flying next time I post.