The day a glider joined the Bears

 As they wouldn't know which entrances they were going to use until a week before the event, I had to call them so we could agree when and where Don would be able to get onto the site. I phoned and was shocked to be told it wasn't possible to use the agreed site, but they didn't seem to be able to explain why. The debate went on, until she asked, "has it been approved?" I explained I'd agreed it with the chief pilot, the senior air traffic controller, the public area manager and that its location would be passed on to the fire crews. "But did any of them approve it?" Well, no, not in so many words, who could approve its presence? "I don't know!" At this point, I was almost reduced to tears, I needed approval, but nobody seemed to know who could give that approval! Fortunately, I have a few good contacts at Old Warden, and the best one just happened to be in that day. She was finally able to call me back, having not only got approval, but also agreed a new and much more suitable location for the glider, in a much more crowded area and alongside the children's play area.

The officials were still rather wary of the glider though, insisting it had to arrive at a specific gate by 9am at the latest, or it wouldn't be let in. It was thus with some trepidation that I drove onto the Airfield that morning. I first realised why my previously agreed location was now impossible; they'd built a new access road right through it! - Why couldn't they have just said, instead of appearing uncooperative? It's at this point I must mention Bear Ernest Branson. The new access road had completely changed the visitors approach to the airfield, so, instead of our row being tucked out of sight, we now had every visitor driving right past a large and temptingly empty prime parking area! If it weren't for Ernest's spirited defence in the face of many determined and occasionally abusive drivers, we wouldn't have had our reserved parking spaces and would have been scattered around the airfield!

As I walked towards the hangers, I was pleased and relieved to see the gliders nicely displayed and with a small but enthusiastic gathering of children, complete with charity donating parents in tow. They'd had a few problems getting set up, mainly from officials demanding to know if they had "approval" to put the glider there, but now Don and Tony Heritage were having a great time loading children into the glider's cockpit. Their efforts during the day raised £58 for charity. To show the officials' earlier concerns hadn't been entirely unjustified, a woman came up demanding that two aircraft on the flight line be removed immediately, as they were restricting the view from her favourite spot! As I'm now the Bears' Events Manager, I shouldn't be writing about the problems of events organisation, I should be telling you how easy it is and how more of you should be having a go at organising your own event. Well, with all the help I got from other Bears, most of the event was straightforward to organise, but challenging enough to give me a feeling of satisfaction when it actually happened. If you're thinking of organising an event, or just want to talk over the possibilities, please give me a call.

I shall finish as I began, with the glider. When the show ended, I headed back to the car, past the glider. Don decided I should sit in the glider, but my legs aren't nearly as useful as they used to be and I thought that despite my love of aircraft, I was never going to sit in the cockpit of an interesting aircraft again. Don became even more determined, saying the cockpit area was very strong and that he and Tony were well capable of helping me in and out. They then basically lifted me in and, as I sat there revelling in my surroundings, I realised that Yes, it had Really been worth it!

Dave Peat Membership No 181