SCHOOL NEWS
logo

LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION FOR INCE BLUNDELL

West Lancashire Microlight School based at Ince Blundell airfield near Merseyside had some interesting visitors early August in the form of a BBC film crew.

CFI John North and FI Richard Thornborough were both involved in the filming of the third series of the popular programme COAST.

The schools new fleet of Quik GT-450s were utilised during the filming, with John’s aircraft being used as a camera ship, whilst Richard and the programmes presenter Neil Oliver formatted alongside.

With nearby Southport's rich Aviation history spanning some 90 years, this stretch of coastline is of particular interest. There was an airstrip located on Southport beach for many years with flying schools and Air services offering passenger flights from Southport to Blackpool, the Isle of Man and Ireland. In the 1970’s the Birkdale sands airstrip was moved seawards to facilitate the building of the Coastal road and there encountered the first mud patches, which increasingly plagued subsequent pleasure flight operators. In 2001 the Civil Aviation Authority declassified it.

NEIL2

The skies above Southport were once again graced with a historical return of a De Havilland, five seater, Fox Moth Biplane, which was brought in especially for the filming, being a type that was previously operated off the beach many years before.

The school’s GT-450 again provided a camera platform to capture some arial shots of this graceful old lady as she floated along with her gypsy major purring away.

The programmes presenter Neil Oliver was very taken with our wonderful sport, showing a great deal of interest in the training requirements for a license, he commented, "Out of all the various types I have flown in during the making of Coast, the flexwing has been by far the best experience."

WHAT'S HAPPENING
HOME
QUIK
CLUB NEWS

January 2008

This year saw the annual dinner dance return                                                                                   to the Prince Of Wales Hotel Southport with                                                                               thundering success . Club members and guests                                                                            were treated to a fantastic three course meal                                                                                and good entertainment lasting into the early                                                                             hours. The wings presentation went well and                                                                           considering the weather over the past year the                                                                              new pilot numbers were pretty good. A special                                                                         thanks must go to all who helped make the evening what it was.

 

coast
CLASS OF 2007

The system is up and running and I can vouch is somewhat addictive with many a dawn chorus heard. In addition to Ince airfield we have also added St Michaels, Warton, Walney Island, Blackpool and Welshpool to name but a few.

You really can fly any aircraft you wish from a microlight to a present day jet fighter, the scenery looks great spread out across three monitors and gives you a real feeling of flight.

Already we have had students taking advantage of the realistic scenery giving an ideal opportunity to practice cross country flights etc.

We have an Air Creation trike to represent the flexwing aircraft and also the foxbat and eurostar to represent high and low wing 3-axis.

The software allows any location, weather or situation to be simulated, from building storms to engine failures. The next phase will be RT role play and possibly courses in the future, allowing RT procedure to be conducted with the visuals to match.

The Flight Simulator hires out at £30 per hour or £10 for twenty minutes, this                                                        being actual on screen time.

During the session you will be accompanied by an operator who will be able to                                                            create various scenarios and assist if need be.

It's cheap flying that actually works, you can get so much from simulator                                                               practice, whilst its no substitute for the real thing it's pretty close.

G-SIMM up and running!

Click image to view clip.
colour
background