Aero Club members hope to be able to spread wings further
FLYING for pleasure outside Bailiwick air space is back on the cards as Covid-19 restrictions are eased.
Recreational, maintenance and engine health flights have been allowed since Monday [08/03].
A number of restrictions are still in place, including for flight instructors, who currently are not permitted to provide lessons.
One pilot who was able to make use of the easing of restrictions however was Guernsey Aero Club chairman Paul Guilbert, who took to the skies for an enjoyable day out over the French coast.
‘It’s nice to be able to fly over Normandy and, like the other day, fly down the French coast past Granville round St Malo and back up,’ he said.
‘Pre-lockdown we were only really allowed to fly to Alderney and the last time I did that was back in November, probably because of the weather.
‘The visibility wasn’t that great the other day either and I could have been anywhere really, so although it’s good to be able to get back out again, hopefully soon there’ll be much more to look forward to.’
Flying a 40-year-old Cessna 182, Mr Guilbert is more accustomed to going further afield, such as to Luxembourg and the Isle of Man, as well as France, Jersey and the UK. However, one of the rules still in place at the moment is the requirement for all journeys to begin and end at the same airport, with no possibility of a day trip anywhere other than the skies.
‘I would usually fly at least twice a month,’ said Mr Guilbert.
‘My normal trips are in the summer for the markets for a weekend jaunt, while my UK trips are very often puppy pick-ups for people wanting their pets, but it hasn’t been allowed for a while due to rules around self-isolation.
‘Other than that, the Isle of Man was really the only other place we were able to go, which I did once with my son.’
The club, which was founded with the main objective ‘to foster an interest in aviation’ with a variety of flying and social activities throughout the year, has more than 200 members, an estimated 30 of whom are pilots.
Mr Guilbert said they were now looking forward to being able to land somewhere else.
‘In the last few weeks we’ve been able to fly in the Channel Islands, but what everyone is looking forward to, for the first time this year, is the ability to land anywhere other than back in Guernsey,’ he said.
‘We’re hoping Alderney and Jersey will be a possibility soon, though we’re resigned to the fact that for some places if they were opened up we will most likely need to self-isolate.
‘It’d be a lovely surprise if the UK became a possibility, too, but I can’t see it happening any time soon.’
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