My daughter flies me back to Headcorn
Returning to base after lunch at Lydd in the PA28 (G-SEXX)
Before we departed for Lydd, I phoned in advance to find out the current weather and wind conditions, runway in use as well as what facilities were available to us. I was told that the cafe was open and available for me and my daughter to eat our packed lunch. On arrival, I was quite surprised to find that the nearly all of the facilities including the cafe were closed and not a table or chair in sight. It was clear that it had been closed for some time and when paying the landing fee I was told that the cafe had been closed for a number of months and hadn’t reopened since COVID restrictions were lifted.
So I asked where I could eat my lunch with my daughter and I was extremely grateful when we were both invited to make full use of the executive lounge including complimentary snacks and refreshments.
When we had finished our lunch, we made our way back to the aircraft and prepared for our flight back to Headcorn. After checking over the PA28, we both boarded the plane and started up the engine and obtained our taxi clearance.
While taxiing to runway 21, I noticed that my daughter was pretending fly the plane and she wanted to know what it felt like to fly a plane.
We departed from runway 21 and shortly after take off made a right turn on a direct track towards Tenterden where we were asked to report by air traffic control.
With my daughter still wanting to know what it was like to fly a plane, when at a safe cruising altitude and clear of other traffic, she got to feel the controls under my careful supervision with my hands fully on the P1 control column.
We very quickly approached Tenterden where we reported to air traffic control and requested frequency change to Headcorn’s air/ground service. At this point we also started our descent.
Runway 10 was still in use, but with Headcorn being a busy airfield with lots of general aviation, Spitfires, wing walkers and sky diving, joining the left hand circuit from the south can be tricky at times. Listening on the radio to the position of other aircraft it seemed best to join the circuit on the crosswind leg where there would be a gap between other circuit traffic and departing aircraft.
The timing worked out perfectly and we slotted in to the circuit nicely. Now for the hard bit, getting the PA28 on the ground without my daughter complaining of a bumpy landing. As we approached the threshold she gave me my instructions “don’t make it bumpy”. Even with that added pressure of having my biggest critic beside me, I managed to touch down smoothly.
We pulled up on the parking stand, shut the engine down and completed all the paperwork, it was then time for us both to enjoy a well deserved ice cream before heading back home and calling it a day.
Watch the video on my YouTube channel: