12 May 2021
In the days when I had access to a larger hangar – and more income – trawling the classifieds was a pleasurable pastime, there to identify something interesting, rare or different. I’d get on the phone, then get in the car and go and look, and if the subject lay over the water, I’d enlist my then hangar partner Geoffrey and his certified Robin, and head off to France or Belgium, or Germany or wherever. If Geoffrey was busy, I’d book a cheap flight and a hire car. It all seemed so easy then, and it was fun. The chase was a large part of the enjoyment, not to mention the challenge of flying something unfamiliar back to base.
“I note Kazakhstan is currently on the Government’s amber list…”
I remember standing in front of a pleasant German chap and a half-tidy orange liveried Bolkow 207 hangared at Bad Marienberg, a grass strip about 50 miles east of Cologne. The 207 is a big wooden taildragger with two huge gullwing doors that access a pair of bench seats, like an old Cortina, and boasting a big stick connected to rods and bellcranks rather than cables. And it had a Lycoming 0-360 swinging a constant-speed Hartzell, all of which helped to make it a very capable, thoroughly nice aeroplane. And for some reason, they didn’t seem to be valued in the country of their manufacture, something which had made it easier to own a couple already. “OK, it’s fine thanks,” I said. “I’ll take it… Let’s do the paperwork and then I can get on my way. I’d like to get across the Channel before dark if possible.” The vendor looked nonplussed. “But… you can’t… take it… now…” “It’s OK,” I reassured him, “I’ve brought the cash…” That was a detail which only seemed to increase the chap’s consternation and there were several increasingly animated calls via his mobile, after which he sounded almost disappointed. “Well… I suppose it is OK for you to take it…”
I left Bad Marienberg, and headed for Dahlemer-Binz on the edge of the Eifel Forest near the Nürburgring (and another good place to see some rare types), fuelled my new acquisition and its pilot, filed a flight plan and headed into Belgium, past Spa circuit and round Brussels, then into France to clear customs and refuel at Calais. I was back at Sturgate for 1845 after four hours and 35 minutes airborne. This was in the days before EASA but I already knew the German authorities were perfectly happy for me to operate the aircraft on the D-register in the UK (as were the CAA), provided I found someone with a German licence to sign off the annual. Happy days, which I note from my log book were 20 years ago…
I haven’t done much of that kind of thing for some time, rather the sensible option which is to concentrate on existing projects, but since the wait for paperwork required by officialdom is now being measured in years rather than weeks, I’d quite like something to fly. But… in a six-week trawl, the UK classifieds revealed nothing to suit my needs. A couple of the smaller Jodels (right kind of aeroplane and right price but I know I wouldn’t be happy with 65hp), plenty of VLAs priced anywhere between 30 and 120K, and several RVs which have always been outside my price range. Strangely, that also applied to the two Austers which I went to see. Not sure I really want an Auster, but like many other types they seemed to have rocketed in price – which is only right as I’ve always thought they were undervalued – but why did they have to do it now after all those years… Where were the 10-grand fliers that I used to fix up and fly for a while, then roll on into the next one?
An RF4 with the uprated engine, was a bit more than I intended to spend, but looked good value. The only reason it’s still for sale though, is that it’s in Sweden. And, there was a Murphy Moose, a sort of mini-Beaver, offered for a bargainsome £17K. Equipped with a now familiar 360hp Russian Radial and paddle-blade propeller, it was built in 2010 and had obviously sat outside for a while, but it looked tidy enough and is very definitely a lot of aeroplane for seemingly little money. Just two obstacles facing my ownership then. First, it’s in Almaty which is on Kazakhstan’s border with Kyrgyzstan next to China and a mere 4,344 miles away by road. SkyDemon revealed a more promising 2,976 nautical and a transit through Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Germany. Not sure about the politics of that, or the ability to get fuel. I note Kazakhstan is currently on the Government’s amber list though, and I’m willing to bet that if the right currency changed hands, the Moose could be made to appear in kit form on the back of a truck just over the Polish border. There was a time when I’d have done exactly that… Second problem then, is I’d need to get it past the authorities. Of the two, and on recent form, the former seems like the easy bit.
Luckily, I’ve had an email saying the fuel tank for my Messenger is ready, so maybe the problem has been averted.
There is, though, still that D-registered Emeraude which wants a bit of tidying, but has an 8.33 radio and a new ARC. It’s based near Bremen and the map says 330 miles with a stop in Holland, which is always a pleasure. I could fly it for the rest of the year before I start wrangling with officialdom over the winter.
Thought I’d kicked a habit, but I might just see what they say on 17 May…
Working vintage aircraft and cars make Mark particularly happy.
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