ForgotYourPhone.com

Over at Brighton Beach today to fly a promotional banner for www.forgotyourphone.com.

The Jubilee Bank Holiday Monday started with awful weather but improved just enough to get airborne to Brighton for a display at 3pm.

Here's a look at Brighton Beach from the pilot's perspective.

Save the QDG

Saturday proved to be a bit of a trial thanks to the weather.

I made an early start off towards Wales with a banner asking the public to "Save QDG - Wales Only Tank Regt,' before any of the airfields at the other end were open, relying on a reasonably positive forecast and low  cloud lifting for around 9:30.  So making my way off towards Kemble to take on fuel for the job and skirting  around London on instruments, I wasn't too happy, when I called-up Kemble on the radio from about 20 miles out and heard they had a blanket of fog and a ceiling of 300 feet.

Everywhere else for miles seemed much the same and with limited diversion fuel and needing to make a decision I had to drop into Oxford for a full instrument approach, which popped-me out of the cloud at 500 feet above their runway. Just enough time to land, take-on coffee, full tanks and then jump back into the clouds towards Wales, hoping it would be a little better when I arrived, given the call I had made earlier, on the ground at Oxford to the owner of the small private airfield  at Abergavenny.

It wasn't. Descending from 6000 feet over the Severn Estuary, visibility was non-existent, which gave me quite limited options, as on the opposite side of the road from Abergavenny, there was a rising, 2,000 foot mountain or in this case, a cloud with a very hard centre.

Using both GPS units in the aircraft, I spiraled down looking for a gap in the thick cloud cover and eventually found one, quite close to the ground on the eastern side of the airfield; dropped quickly into it and managed to find my destination, more a stroke of luck than judgement.

After that most of the day was spent sitting at the airfield waiting and hoping for the weather to clear sufficiently to get airborne over Cardiff. The first schedule, which was a parade from the castle went out of the window and so did the second, which was the start of the Wales vs Barbarians match at the Millennium stadium but by 3pm, the cloud base had lifted just enough to get going and catch everyone coming out of the match; tens of thousands of red shirts, pouring into the surrounding streets and so everything worked-out in the end.

It just goes to show that even the most accurate aviation weather forecasts can be completely and utterly wrong, which is how unwary pilots encounter unpleasant and unexpected surprises. Here's a short video of the pick-up so you can see the conditions.

Congratulations Steph & Christian

A wedding at Aynhoe Park today, a fabulous sunny day in May but with very gusty wind conditions.

It took three attempts to get the banner flying from Turweston but in the end and a little late, we managed to put the aircraft right over the wedding reception at the right time at this spectacular wedding venue near Banbury.

It all worked-out in the end and as I commented to air traffic control when I finally managed to get the banner airborne without a problem: "Miracles do happen."

Happy Birthday Betty

Airads was over the town of  Colchester, early on Friday morning with a special birthday banner for Betty. It's a pity we can't deliver breakfast as well!

A Woburn Abbey Birthday Message

Hardly what you might call a regular day today, which started-out with a 50th birthday banner for the Duke of Bedford at Woburn Abbey,

This job had taken some planning, not only keeping it a secret from the Duke and most of the estate staff but also creating a landing strip adjacent to the 'Shoulder of Mutton Pond' for me to operate from, organising a five minute private road closure, liasing with the police and keeping the deer away while I was working.

As it was, the weather was far from great and when I transited over the 26 runway numbers at Luton, the visibility was awful and getting worse all the time. In fact, without my GPS, I doubt I would have found the abbey at all.

I dropped into the rather tight and bumpy runway with the light wind all over the place and had immediate help to set-up the banner. Ready to go in ten minutes, I got airborne for a display right on time although the conditions were at their visual minimums.

Afterwards, the Duke and Duchess came out to meet and thank me and kindly helped  collect up the banner and I took his small son (pictured) for a brief ride, which I'm sure he enjoyed.

After that, it was another very misty transit over Luton and back to Rochester to refuel and then on to the next job for the afternoon, which involved locating and photographing, in equally poor visibility, the Sussex houses of celebrities Jordan, Adele and Cabinet Office Minister, Francis Maude, which are all within two miles of each other and Jordan and Maude as neighbours. Why I had to do all this I think you may find out in the Mail on Sunday!

Airads Over Warwick Castle

A very special day for Richard and Yana at Warwick castle on Tuesday, when an Airads banner 'popped the question.'

Richard wrote afterwards: "Thanks again for all your help, the day was fantastic, everybody was congratulating us and the owners in charge of Warwick Castle even came over to where we were sitting to congratulate us and bought us over a free bottle of champagne too. It caused a stir and put a smile on everybody's face -more importantly I will get brownie points for this for the rest of my life;)"

Kim Pops the Question on Leap Day 2012

Congratulations to Kim and Brian after a successful flight over Dartford on Wednesday 29th February.

Kin used the opportunity of an extra, 'Leap' day to use the traditional right of a woman to propose to her partner and Brian was duly ambushed by an Airads banner over the pub-garden on what turned out to be a fabulous spring afternoon in Kent.

Romance was very much in the air once again with a little flying help from Captain Cupid and Airads

Worth Waiting For

We finally managed to fly a snow-delayed Valentine's banner from Karen to Andrew, over at Compton Abbas airfield in Dorset on a glorious, spring-like Saturday afternoon.

A very special message and I'm sure the result was worth waiting for!

We Only Had 10 Men

Airads was busy this afternoon flying a banner with the message "We Only Had 10 Men" for the Derby vs Hull match this afternoon.

We did have some last minute issues with the police attempting to prevent the flight after complaints from the rival fans but in the end, it all went ahead without a hitch and from the look of Twitter, to some amusement by both sides.

The weather deteriorated badly as the flight progressed and it was only luck that the aircraft managed to get to Pride Park before it closed in.

As one might expect, lots of good media coverage for the flight.

A Flying Football Message for Steve Kean

Airads were in action once again this afternoon for football fans and it was over Elwood Park with a message for the Blackburn Rovers manager, Steve Kean

The plane circled Ewood during the first half of the match against Chelsea, with the message - reading simply 'Steve Kean Out' - bumping along behind it.

We were delayed for a quarter of an hour by a bird strike en-route, described by some as 'Fowl Play' but all credit to Peter, the pilot for getting it there and back without incident.

There's been considerable coverage online and it has appeared on the TV sports reviews.

Liverpool vs Manchester United - Bonjour!

Seen before the kick-off over the Liverpool vs Manchester United match at Anfield this Saturday. Guess who?

"BONJOUR 19X ICDJ" was the message!

Maisy Behave - Big Brother House

Another Big Brother House ambush flight this afternoon, with a plane banner saying "MAISY BEHAVE YOURSELF LOVE DAD!"



I'm losing count. There was Jade, Ulrika, Maisy and I can't recall who the other one was over the last six years!

Meanwhile, I was being shadowed by Baron Von Richthofen - see photo

Indian Summer Marriage Proposal at Fairlop Water

It's getting steadily hotter out there and our congratulations go to Jaspal and Simi after a fairy tale Airads flying  marriage proposal at Fairlop Water in Essex yesterday afternoon. A special day and an Indian summer to remember!

Here's a photograph of a very special bouquet for the lucky lady!

Wicked Wednesday at Northampton

A 'Wicked Wednesday' promotion over the University at Northampton today. I wonder if anyone in the town 'didn't' see the banner!