Familiarisation Day. Limetree. Sunday

As most of you know by now, the Microlight Familiarisation Day in Limetree is this coming Sunday. The day will start at 13.30 with a short address and will be an informal day to familiarise non microlight people with all aspects of microlight aircraft and typical microlight operations.

The IAA are currently validating 40 licences and 20 permits. Our thanks to them for agreeing to handle all that in less than a week. The knock on effect is that it means that we are looking at quite a busy day. To this end we really could use some help from the membership on the day. We will require marshals, people to help out answering questions and any other jobs that might crop up. If you are interested please contact either myself 0868745854 gmmta@yahoo.co.uk or Padraig 0872225925 alfromaviation@eircom.net. It is important that if you offer your services you can arrive at the field by 9.30 for a briefing and also so that we know in plenty of time who we have to work with.

It is amazing how much effort and work Gerry Deegan and the Laois Flying Club have put in to make this happen and I'm not sure any amount of thanks would cover it. There will be sandwiches, tea and a BBQ along with a bouncy castle for the kids. Parking areas have been mowed, spectator and public areas fenced off, extra toilets ordered etc etc.

If you plan to drive Limetree is situated between Mountmellick and Portarlington and not too far from the M7 motorway. Details of the field can be found at www.limetreeairfield.com. For those planning to fly everything you need is on their site. Be advised that there are power lines on the approach to runway 36 but that these lines are buried either side of the threshold so the actual approach is clear except for a low hedge. Please pay heed to the marshals after you land.

Should there be any incident or other reason to hold aircraft on the day the alternative, if needed, will be Clonbullogue, EICL, home of the Irish Parachute Club. It is essential if you decide to go there that you contact them on 128.55 at least 6 miles out as they are active with parachuting up to flight level 130 at the weekends. Clonbullogue is situated 9 miles north east of Limetree and Avgas is available.

If anyone requires fuel on the day fuel runs will take place on the hour. However, you must notify one of the marshals when you land so that your name and quantity of fuel you require can be put on the list for the next run. Nobody except pilots/aircraft owners will be allowed airside unless accompanied by a pilot/aircraft owner or a designated marshal. Non radio traffic should join overhead and observe proper procedures in the circuit.

This will be a day to show off your aircraft and flying skills, (not the ones you learnt from the Red Bull Air Races on the tele when the weather was bad ), but the ones you learnt during your training.

Lets have a good, safe day with plenty of flying and plenty of craic.

See you there

All the best
Paul

It was a very successful day considering the weather on Sunday morning. This prevented another 25 aircraft, mainly flexwing, from attending from the north and the UK. The weather however, improved significantly before lunch and the aircraft started arriving. There was 1 flexwing, a GT 450, which left Dunkeswell last Sunday, routed up to Stornaway in Scotland before arriving in Limetree early afternoon via Newtownards. He then flew all the way home to Devon via Waterford early Monday morning.

There was a very well defined theme to the event, Microlight Familiarisation, and it was great to see the numbers of interested people attending both by air and by road. There was a significant attendance by the officers of the IAA, including the CEO Mr Eamonn Brennan, who all got to fly in a selection of microlights. AAIU, NACI and AOPA also attended although with the event clearly defined from the start it was disappointing that the board of AOPA felt that it should be used as a recruitment platform. With the day that was in it this was unsolicited and highly inappropriate and risked losing the whole concept of the day.

Once again Gerry Deegan and the members of the Laois Flying Club excelled with the organisation on the day leaving us to do what we came to do, show off microlights. We really cant thank them enough.

Even the kids were catered for with a bouncy castle and there was plenty of food to go around. The resident aircraft eventually went to bed just as the sun went down having grabbed the last of the smooth conditions.

We would envisage that this would become an annual event and would hope to see even more people next year. Thanks to everyone for attending and making the day what it was.

All the best
Paul

Just a special note of thanks to one of our members.

At the very last minute we encountered issues with the catering. All those people needing feeding would have caused quite a considerable problem. It turned out we needed a BBQ............and quickly!!!!

As some of you may already know, Mattie Tormey's mother passed away on Saturday. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mattie at this difficult time. Despite this tragedy in his life Mattie insisted on taking the time to make his BBQ available for the event. He took time out to get the equipment ready and left it for collection so that it could be hooked up and towed away.

The catering problem was ours, not Matties and, quite frankly, blended into insignificance with the personal grief that Mattie was faced with but by his own insistance he literally saved the day. This really does say something about the man.

Naturally, Mattie could not attend the day on Sunday. On behalf of everyone in the NMAI, we would like to send our condolences to Mattie and his family and offer any assistance to them.

We will always be eternally grateful to Mattie and hope to see him soon.

All the best
Paul