LAA Rally - Sunday 1st September 2019

As a diversion to the lessons posts, this is all about my trip to Sywell Aerodrome near Northampton to the Light Aircraft Association (LAA) annual fly in and rally.  This is the largest fly in in the LAA calendar in the UK and I suppose it is a bit like the UK version of Air Adventure, or Oshkosh, in the USA.

It is about a 2 hour drive for me to get there and as I had a gig the previous night, I was a bit bleary eyed as I set off, but I knew it was going to be worth it.  Once parked up, I made my way in, parting with £12 for the privilege!  The show was divided in to 2 main parts.  The manufactures and static displays and the parking area for all the visiting aircraft.  The parking area was a further £10 to go in to, so I didn't bother.  There was still plenty to see in the other areas and marquees.

I had a wander through the marquees first.  These we occupied by people selling their wares from intsruments and electronics, clubs, magazines, general retailers and so on.   This was useful as I wanted to try a couple of different headsets, namely the Bose A20 and the SEHT SH-10X.  Personally I didn't find the A20's that comfortable, even though they are supposed to be 'the' headset to go for.  I found the SH-10X's far more comfortable and a lot lighter.  They are also £200 cheaper although still £700 for a set.  It is a big investment so it will still need a bit of thinking about before I outlay any cash.

One of the things that I had gone to see was the kit manufacturers as I have long thought that it might be interesting to build an aircraft, not that I can afford to do that but it is interesting to have a look.

First off, there was a 'Home Built' marquee and that was good to see.  Below are a few examples.






There was a Europa (as built in 'A Plane in Born' by Mark Evans) on display and this is an aircraft that I would really be interested in as I think it may be flyable on the NPPL licence and may be affordable once I have my redundancy and my pension payout.  We will have to see.  This is the aircraft that was there.





Another interesting aircraft was the SD-1 Minisport.  This is a single seat home built that could be built in the garage at home.  Again, it could be flown on the NPPL licence but I think I would like an aircraft for 2 for touring or at least sharing.  Here are some pictures.






However, the star of the show for me was called the Seeker.  This is a twin boom, rear engine, single seat aircraft designed and built in a shed and garage!  It has yet to start trail flights but it is not far away from this happening.







All in all, it was a very enjoyable day out and one that I would repeat in the future.

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