Last Solo

I went flying again today; it might have been my last solo flight because I have a small problem in one eye that has me downgraded (unable to fly as a pilot) for a couple of months.  I went to see a RAF medical officer after this trip knowing that he would have to remove my normal pilot category – hence the trip in the morning before the axe fell, as it were.

By the time I get my category back I might have passed my 65th birthday at which point the rules change: the increased risk of a cardiac event once past that age means that I will never again fly solo.  I shall be able to fly as a captain and teach students, but only those who are able to take control and make their way home if I collapse at the controls.

But it was a lovely day for the flight, the visibility limited only by the curvature of the earth, and no one getting in the way.

One of the Extra photos is of a derelict house that I spotted while practising a forced landing, near the pin on the map.  Another Extra is two small children and their grandmother examining the contents of a net after sweeping it through the pond, a source of almost infinite interest.