Victory for Vans at Old Buck Fly-in

GLORIOUS sunshine and an airshow atmosphere made the 10 June RV fly-in at Old Buckenham Airfield a memorable day out for both visiting pilots and spectators.

By mid-morning there was a healthy selection of the popular homebuilds on the grass, ranging from the RV6 and its variants, through to a newly-finished RV9A.

Alan Weal, who flew in with Viv West in G-RVSX, is currently building an RV7. He told LOOP,"I flew in with Viv from Shoreham. I've got about a year to go on mine and I'm about 18 months into the build.

"There's a worldwide community of people building RVs. It's really close-knit," Alan added.
The Vans 'Squadron', as it's known, has a website where homebuilders can exchange knowlege and get advice. Alan said, "I was stuck with the rivets and this bloke came over after work to give me a hand. He showed me how to do the first two or three and I then had the confidence to carry on by myself."

Chris and Jim Shanley flew in from Middlesborough in a pristine, recently completed RV9A, but announced that they'll be putting G-CDMF up for sale.

Jim told LOOP, "We finished building it six weeks ago! I built it mainly for my wife to fly but we've got an RV6 and we tend to go to these things together anyway."
Also there was David Broom, who heads up the RV group in the UK and built the eye-catching G-RVAN.

Local RV pilot Stan Hodgkins gave the crowd an aerobatic display in his distinctive G-DUDE RV8, complete with mock bullet-holes in the tailplane! In total, 16 RVs battled the crosswinds and flew in for the event.

The parachute school on the airfield was also busy, with several drops throughout the day, keeping families on the ground entertained.

The icing on the cake was a four-ship flypast courtesy of the European Luscombe group, stopping briefly at Old Buck as part of their 60th anniversary tour (see club news, page 43).
Airfield owner Paul Layzell, who bought the airfield in 1993 and has recently put the airfield up for sale was pleased with the turnout. We asked whether the airfield's future was safe. He told LOOP, "I'm discussing different offers, although I'll only consider dedicated aviation people."

W: www.rvuk.co.uk
W: www.oldbuck.com

Words: Kirsten Corrigan
Photos: Helen Rowlands-Beers