OV-10B Bronco Demo Team


On Tuesday the 13th of March, Bronco Demo Team attended the display pilot seminar organized by the UK CAA (Civil Aviation Authority). RFC Rendcombe (UK) was the location for the 2012 edition and the airfield is well known as the home base of the famous Breitling Wingwalkers Team. The aim of the Seminar is to communicate changes relating to Display Flying, to review the previous display season and improve flight safety through awareness and knowledge.

The aim was to fly over to the venue, but foggy weather prevented us from doing so, so we set of on Monday afternoon by car. After arriving in the “Pancho Barn” at Rendcomb airfield we were welcomed by the staff and it was time for a coffee and a chat with the other attending pilots. At 10AM the seminar was opened by Matthew Hill who welcomed everyone and later made a short review of past season. Vic Norman of Aerosuperbatics welcomed everyone and told us about the rich history and the nostalgic atmosphere the airfield still has. Keith Thomas explained us about the changes that are coming up with the new EASA licensing regulations.

After the coffee break, Gareth Stinger of GAR told us about the new project he has been working on to centralize the documentation of Airshow organizers and display aircraft: www.theairshowoffice.com. As the UK has a large number of Seaside Airshows, Jaime Batchelar of the Royal Navy, made a very interesting lecture about Sea Survival and how to prepare yourself in the case of a ditching. At noon it was time for a break and all the attendances were welcomed for a very nice and varied lunch.

After lunch, Simon Keeling did a lecture on how to read met charts and to calculate the heights and different layers of clouds. This was followed by a explanation of the consequences the London 2012 Olympic Games will have on the airspace and the airshow scene by Lindsey Dawn and her colleagues. That concluded the 2012 edition of the seminar and after a small drink and a cake it was time to shake hands and say goodbye to everyone.

		On the way back, we made a quick stop at the nearby Cotswold airport (former Kemble Airfield), which was until 1983 the homebase of the national aerobatic team, the Red Arrows. Nowadays it houses local aeroclubs and some companies specialized in aircraft maintenance, training, storage and salvage. One of the special aircraft on site is Bristol Britannia XM496, the only Ex RAF fully complete Britannia in the World. This brought back special memories to Tony, as he was one of the crew who flew this aircraft back on its last flights from Africa to the UK.