Gamston - 21/04/13

In an earlier post, I waxed lyrical about the joys of visiting Retford-Gamston on a sunny Sunday morning, so the arrival of the first warm, sunny Sunday morning of the year, a craving for coffee and an excellent bacon baguette, and a feeling that if I didn’t get to take some aircraft photos soon I’d forget how to use the camera, were ample enough reasons to pop down the A1 to Gamston for the first visit of 2013.

Happily, the food in the Apron was as excellent as ever and there was enough aeronautical activity to keep me out of mischief for an hour-or-so.

 As we arrived, Flight Design CTLS G-CGEC had just landed, visiting from its farm-strip base in Cambridgeshire.

At last! I’ve been after a photo of III Sky Arrow G-BYZR for ages and today was my lucky day.

 

Unidentified Piper PA32R Saratoga. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t read the registration under the wing – any clue as to its identity greatly appreciated!

 Diamond Executive Aviation seem to be going from strength-to-strength at Gamston. Here, one of their DA42 TwinStars, G-DSKY, gets airborne from runway 21 on a training flight.

Another Gamston resident that was nice to capture in pixels was Stoddard-Hamilton Glasair RG G-BKHW.

 

 Still displaying the ‘Blue Poole’ design on the fin, from its time as part of the British Airways Flying Club fleet, is Piper PA38 Tomahawk  G-BMVL.

 

 G-BYSI is a PZL110 Koliber 160A, a Polish license-built version of the ubiquitous Socata Rallye. The leading edge extensions that contribute to the type’s exceptional short-field performance can be clearly seen.