G-ADRA Hinton-in-the Hedges, 1998

Registration

G-ADRA

First Flown

31 Dec 1994

Builder

Arthur Mason

Owner

Arthur Mason

Based

Finmere, Bucks

Engine

A-65

Hours Flown

320+ hrs

NOTES:

First flown by Alan James from Finmere, Bucks.

Swiss silencer to be fitted in due course?

Finmere Easter 2002

Arthur caught using the latest copy of Popular Flying to re-build/design his exhaust!!

Pietenpol Gathering - Sywell - May 2000 Special Report by Arthur Mason

Article first appeared in Airborne no 2 (reproduced by kind permission of AJ)

Pietenpols are not renowned for being ladies' machines, they are noisy, draughty, ungainly for boarding and exiting, and above all the helmet and goggle messes up the hair. Of course, for us men, all this and oil stains as well takes us back to the times when ladies would have swooned over such 'heroes'. For a lady, a cold grey day with gusty showers is probably not the ideal one for her first-ever flight in a Pietenpol! So it was with some misgivings on my part that I went ahead with the hair-test and headed out with Trisha to the Internationally prestigious Pietenpol Rally at Sywell. This might be a bumpy ride, perhaps I should have waited for one of those glorious summer evenings when a Pietenpol floats effortlessly and gracefully a few (hundred) feet above the Cotswolds.

You see, I have secretly worshiped Trisha for fourteen years, and we have always been best friends. Her engagement to a long-standing boyfriend was akin to hand swinging a Pietenpol, - 'On?' 'Off' 'On?' 'Off' 'Still on?' 'OFF!' Now after her recent divorce, it was my chance to win her heart again! But first, she would have to meet my other love - G-ADRA! I really hoped they'd get along!! We'd departed Hinton-in-the-Hedges a lot later than intended, which may have been an advantage. I was not as cold as I had feared. They grey stuff kept in the distance and sunshine followed us around. The moderate wind was kind enough to give us a smooth ride. And so it was we arrived overhead Sywell with the sight of two Pietenpols already on the ground. I suspect Alan's G-BUCO had been there since the crack of dawn, and Dave Hanchet's 'BWVB was parked along side. Now it's etiquette to land on, or before, the runway numbers, and I was pleased with my neat little three-pointer with a few feet over-run, - just a little too much to turn immediately left into the parking area, which meant carrying on up the runway and around what seemed like miles of taxiway to get there. Well, in the world of Pietenpols you're assured of getting an overwhelming reception - and this was no exception! It's always a thrill to me to witness this enthusiasm and my personal apologies if the initial effect on me is a blur of faces - it takes a little while for my brain to come back down to earth before recognition sets in! So was Trisha impressed? Well, I can certainly count on you lot, - she felt like a movie star!! And, apart from the fact that due to some lack of communication along the way, she thought we were still at Hinton, she enjoyed the flight too!

After many 'Hellos' to old friends and introductions to new ones, during which we'd learned we'd missed an excellent lunch, we went away and booked in at control and decided on a sandwich at The Aviator Hotel before planning anything further. We found a quiet corner in this 'roaring twenties' establishment and were subsequently joined by Pietenpollers, old and new armed with photo-albums, bits of Pietenpol, and plenty of conviviality. Had this been any other type of meeting, much of this may have gone straight over Trisha's head, but it says a lot for the kind of people that Pietenpollers are, that she was enjoying every minute of all this enthusiastic chat and felt quite at home. Meanwhile people began to drift homewards, and us three Pietenpols flew off together in the direction on Hinton. Of course, needless to say, someone started a 'dog fight' en route and above the noise of my engine I could make out squeals of laughter from Trisha in front who later confirmed she was overcome by this new experience!!

So there you have it! Pietenpollers are wonderful people!! Pietenpols remain unique, and perhaps they are a ladies' aeroplane after all! Trisha and I would like to thank Alan, the organiser, and everyone who attended, for making it a super day for us, and in particular those who signed the 'certificate of merit' for her, (awarded for flying in G-ADRA at sub-sonic speeds only), in secret, and awarded to her at the end of the day! (Oh what an old romantic I am! ) As a quick post-script, shortly after this, Trisha flew with me to a rather smart barbecue on a private strip. Whilst waiting for her to turn up at our usual half-way meeting point, I noticed a shop full of these artificial flowers that are of such good quality that they are better than the real thing! Being the old romantic I am, I shot inside to buy a single red rose. Inside the shop was a lady at the till, and an inconspicuous elderly man quietly admiring the impressive display of flowers. Picking out the best rose, the lady apologised for the price, (£5.50!), but, 'At least the petals won't fall off!' "Good, I don't want them to get blown off". "Blown off?" "Yes, it might be a bit windy when I present it to her". "It's not windy today". "No, but", (entering the realms of fantasy now), "She's a very special lady and she's going to be sitting in the front seat of an old open-cockpit biplane, with me in the back. Half way through a loop I'm going to pass it to her and ask her to marry me!" Before the words "How romantic" had left her lips, the old boy shot to life and said "Well I'm blowed!! I did that to my wife forty years ago and we've been married ever since!!" (It's True!!)

Arthur Mason