23 November 2021
They say you should always give anything new at least two years… be that a new job, new car, new hobby or even, I guess, a new aeroplane. It’s a policy I’ve always adopted throughout my life and it has served me well. If, after a couple of years I’m still enjoying things, I’ll keep doing it and reassess my feelings periodically. If at any point after those initial two years I’m not enjoying things, I’ll move on. What I have noticed however is that I tend to get restless after around five or six years.
It all started when I used to work in IT and after five years realised I was done with working in an office so then spent three years retraining as a commercial pilot. That led me to taking a job in Asia. I planned to stick with it for a couple of years to gain experience and then return to the UK to fly commercially. That plan changed when I realised flying a Pilatus Porter in the mountains of Papua was rather good fun, so I ended up sticking with it for much longer than planned. But eventually, after six years I got restless and needed a new challenge.
During that time in Indonesia, I embarked on something entirely new to me and purchased a share of the UK’s only airworthy Catalina in 2015. I think you can see where this column is going… as it’s been more than six years since then and yes, I started to feel the need to change in 2020. I honestly never plan to deliberately make big changes every five or six years, but it just seems to be about the length of time I tend to stick at things I enjoy doing before deciding I need to change.
I ended up selling my share of the Catalina just after the Loch Ness rescue at the end of 2020, which wasn’t quite how I planned it. I was expecting another season’s flying with the old girl while my share was up for sale, but when you are made an offer in the middle of a pandemic, I figured I would be silly to turn it down. It wasn’t the pandemic that forced my hand but I suppose it did limit the amount of flying I was able to do, and hence dampen my feelings about it all. Also, my Super Cub had finally become airworthy again and so with a new toy to play with, I realised I didn’t need the Catalina flying any more. It’s all too easy to stick with the status quo rather than make a change but that’s not how I go through life.
“So that’s it, no more warbird flying for me. For now. Onwards and upwards… ”
It has been an amazing five-and-a-half years flying the Catalina and I have met some wonderful people. I bought my share because it is an aircraft that allows you to try your hand at many aviation disciplines – namely seaplane flying, warbird flying and display flying – none of which I’d ever tried before.
It’s a great group to get into as there’s progression if you want it from being a land rated co-pilot all the way up to being a water rated captain. Or you can stick with the simple pleasures of being a co-pilot and enjoy flying without all the extra responsibilities of being P1. In my first year of ownership I gained my land rating as a co-pilot and was able to fly as P2 at a number of air shows that season. At the end of the year the group made its annual pilgrimage south to Bordeaux and the lakes of Biscarrosse for water training. This was an absolute highlight for me during which I gained my water rating. A week in the sunshine with a seaplane in its natural habitat along with splendid French food and wine is pretty much the perfect aviation holiday in my mind.
The following season saw me upgrade to the left seat as well as gain my display authorisation. This was much more of a challenge than you might think as the Catalina is a difficult aircraft to fly well due to its lack of any real directional stability and so requires a lot of rudder inputs to keep the turns balanced. During a display, the amount of control movements needed during a dumbbell manoeuvre are quite extraordinary but something I always relished perfecting. My years flying the Pilatus Porter stood me in good stead for this as the rudder pedals are far from footrests in such an aircraft.
I found it fitting that my last ever flight in the Catalina was flying her all the way from Loch Ness back to her home in Duxford following the engine issues she suffered at the end of the 2020 season. For me the flight south was extra poignant as the sale of my share was going through and so I knew it would be my last trip with her. Channelling my inner Guy Gibson and taking in the dam at Ladybower reservoir was a must – although sadly not as low as him as I kind of need to retain my pilot licence for work…
So that’s it, no more warbird flying for me. For now. Onwards and upwards as they say, and if you’re on the fence about making a change, be it aviation related or not, I say go for it! As they say, it’s better to regret the things you’ve done than the things you haven’t.
Currently dividing his time between a Super Cub and a Pilatus PC-12
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