Paginatitel

It will not necessarily be the longest flight, but on this occasion it coincided with the longest and was also presented to Knud from Denmark. Colette also donated two Galway Crystal gifts to accompany the trophy, which were presented to Knud's flying companions Christine and Evald Bank. Evald is an SAS Boeing 767 captain who no doubt assisted Knud from the right seat.

Sunday morning, we all gathered at the Airport for the short flight to Sligo in the Irish Republic. Mike Sherer was most amused at the antics involved in planning such a short flight. There is a requirement for all pilots crossing the border not only to file a flight plan, but also to ring Special Branch in Belfast giving the aircraft registration and names and addresses of the pilot and all passengers. As we had some twelve planes and approximately 20 passengers, and the Belfast office was manned that Sunday morning by one lonely lady, confusion reigned. Thankfully Selwyn stepped in and got her to agree to take all of our details in one go, only giving the pilots' full details and the number of passengers in each plane.

On arrival at Sligo, a friendly but thorough woman ATC officer positioned us all in line on to final. Sligo has but two Aer Lingus Commuter flights a day to Dublin, hence the requirement for a full ATC service. We got the feeling that this girl had to prove to the powers that be that she could handle congested airspace. May be she was looking for promotion to Dublin.

We all lined up in turn to fill up with duty free fuel. The apron was so busy that some airport workers came out to film the occasion. It seemed that never before had they seen so many planes all together. The airport is situated on the Atlantic Coast and, after a snack in the Airport Bar, some of us took the short stroll over the sand dunes to the peaceful wide sandy beach, and some even went paddling in the cool waters.

As we departed, we heard the inbound Aer Lingus flight call up and request assistance for a wheelchair-bound passenger, quickly followed by a further request for cheese and tomato toasted sandwiches for the crew. Hard life, this Irish commuter flying. Some members had to return home from Sligo, but for the rest an impromptu spot landing contest was arranged for the return landing at Enniskillen. No prizes, but the honour went to Peter Marchant and co-pilot Mike Sherer. The helicopter which hovered overhead on our return, which some said wanted to join in the fun, was later identified as an Army Machine checking that we were all returning with the same number of people, hence the phone call to Special Branch.

During the weekend, much discussion took place on where the 2000 AYA European AYA Fly-In should be held. The only location that was supported with an offer to organise it was for Texel, a small holiday island off the Netherlands Coast. Arie and Beli Timmer from Holland and Danny De Brandt said they are willing to investigate the area, but a couple of problems may need to be overcome. The main one is that Texel is a busy holiday destination which during the Pentecost weekend will become even busier. Accommodation will be hard to find at reasonable rates. If we do decide on Texel we may have to move it away from our traditional weekend again. I would like members' comments soon as to whether they would attend if we again move the date, as well as any other offers of organising the event elsewhere.

Enniskillen proved to be a most enjoyable destination. I can strongly recommend it. The scenery is idyllic, and the people some of the most friendly I have met. You must go there. You deserve it. Sue and I will definitely return.

A very honoured guest for us this year was Colette Whisler from Galway. Colette and her husband Norman were regular participants of Euro AYA fly-ins in their AA1B before Norman died from a stroke after a forced landing accident some four years ago. It was therefore a pleasure to be able to present a new AYA European Trophy this year, the Norman WhislerTrophy. This award, in the form of a plague depicting an AA1 superimposed over a outline map of Europe, was commissioned by his friends in honour of Norman, in recognition for the efforts he and Colette made in attending past events.Many of these flights were made in IFR conditions in their little plane. This award is to go to the person who has made the most meritorious flight in attending the fly-in.