Region 29 September 2016 Porsche Post input - 28/07/2016 - abridged
Committee Chairman
Mike L
Regional Contact
Keith M
R29@porscheclubgb.com
We’ve now had our second meeting at Silvermere and, although there were not as many members present as there were at our first meeting, we still had a very good turn-out for the evening and we are still very pleased with our new venue. If you’ve never been before and you’ve got a bit of spare time during the evening of every second Tuesday of the month, come along and join us.
The events season is now well underway and I would like to thank all those members who have made a contribution to the running of our events so far this year. If you have any ideas for things you would like to see on the calendar for next year, please let the committee know as this is your club and we don’t profess to have the monopoly on ideas.
Recent events
Royal International Air Tattoo, Fairford
David and Marian B report:
PCGB were supported over the weekend of Friday 8th – Sunday 10th July by members from many regions attending this amazing and not to be missed world class annual event. To attract interest the main focus in the PCGB display area was a Porsche 956, which was displayed on a plinth for all to see. This particular 956, which was driven by the late Stefan Bellof, holds the record for going round the Nurburgring in 6 minutes 11 seconds in 1983. This car created a huge focus of interest from the general public, and was the most photographed car on the stand. PCGB also welcomed 23 members’ cars over the three days and seeing so many Porsches at once gave lots of pleasure to many members of the public. Many camera shutters were in operation, with many questions being asked about individual cars. During this event, the stand was marshalled by Chris Seward, Richard Watling, John McGarry and Marian and David Blackmore. They were kept very busy answering questions and enrolling new PCGB members. The area where the cars were displayed, called the Autodrome, was also supported by a variety of classic cars, but it was the aircraft that were the star attractions.
The Royal International Air Tattoo is exceptional both in the air and on the ground, with eight hours of flying displays on Saturday and Sunday (four hours on Friday) and a showground stretching for almost two miles. RIAT supports The RAF Charitable Trust, and is its main fundraising event. The money is used to support Royal Air Force personnel, air cadets and the service men and women who have been deployed for lengthy periods overseas. The Air Tattoo’s illustrious history made it the ideal location to stage the international display debut of the F-35B Lightning 11, which is a fifth generation stealth combat aircraft. This was an amazing display, with the aircraft using vertical landing to demonstrate just one of its capabilities. From 2018, pilots from both the RAF and Royal Navy will fly this aircraft from their main base at RAF Marham and the Royal Navy’s two new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
In addition to the air displays there were many areas of interest. The ‘Autodrome’ already mentioned, the Royal Air Force Village with static aircraft on view, including the A400M Atlas transporter, where RAF display teams could be met. The ‘Vintage Village’ was great for ‘retail therapy’ with music and dance entertainment throughout the weekend. The ‘Techno Zone’ marquee was packed with discoveries waiting to be made including cyberspace and looking inside a Rolls-Royce jet engine to name a few experiences and finally the ‘Adrenalin Zone’, where stunts and tricks were performed by top professionals.
Although very windy, the weather was on our side on most of the three days to give all spectators an amazing view of the very many stunning air displays from many countries, including the Turkish Air Force, the US Air Force, the Belgian Air Force, the Swedish Air Force, the Italian Air Force, the French Air Force, the Swiss Air Force Aerobatic team, the RAF Red Arrows, the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the Hellenic Air Force, the Spanish Air Force, the Polish Air Force Aerobatic team and aircraft from Croatia attending for the first time with their Aerobatic Team.
On Friday the Tattoo had members of the royal family visiting. Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George were seen viewing the Red Arrows team with Prince George having an opportunity to sit in the pilot seat of a Red Arrows aircraft, which delighted him. (Prince William is patron to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight).
So, lots to entertain everyone. If you have any interest in aircraft this event is the place to get an adrenalin rush watching and listening to many amazing flying machines. Bookings for next year (14th-16th July 2017) will soon be available, so check the web site www.airtattoo.com for more details.
Dungeness Sound Mirrors (at Lade Pits Nature Reserve)
Dan S reports:
Saturday 23rd July was a glorious sunny day. We met at the M25 Clacket Lane Services and made our individual ways to Dungeness for lunch at the cafe which is at the Dungeness end of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway – a 15” gauge railway with a fleet of one-third scale steam and diesel locomotives. It was great to see some new faces – we hope you’ll join us for future events. Those of us who took the direct route made the journey in about an hour and a quarter, others who’d taken the scenic route took an hour longer! Chris arrived without Jayne and without his SatNav; nevertheless, he arrived with the first wave having had an uneventful journey.
It’s interesting to be next to the Dungeness nuclear power station and to see the two rows of power lines that make their way from the site to the national grid. A couple of lighthouses are another local landmark. This area must be very bleak in winter but on a sunny day a lot of people make their way to the railway and to the coastal pubs.
The sound mirrors are large reinforced concrete structures which were developed in the 1920s/30s to listen for incoming enemy aircraft; however, by WWII radar made them obsolete. There are sound mirrors in various locations dotted along the Kent coastline, with those at Lade Pits being featured on the TV programme ‘Flog It’ some years ago (since when an increasing number of people want to visit them). This year management of the site, which is a nature reserve, falls to the RSPB (in previous years the Romney council had organised one or two open days per year). There are three differently shaped sound mirrors at the site located on an island accessed via a narrow swing bridge. The island is about half a mile from the coastal road and access involves trekking across a lot of shingle (the general area had been mined for several years for its shingle, resulting in a number of lakes which attract rare birds and the Sussex emerald moth). RSPB members are on site to talk about the history of the sound mirrors and when one lady told us that you could talk normally at one end of the long curved mirror and be heard very clearly at the other end, 200 feet away, we all had to give it a try – many, many, many times!
After visiting the sound mirrors (photos are in a gallery within the R29 Surrey section of the Club’s website), those of us who’d not needed to leave drove back down the coast road to the Pilot Inn for refreshments.
Future events
OCTOBER 9 Visit to Bombay Sapphire Gin Distillery.
No decision has been made yet about a meeting place but this will be communicated through the magazine and the PCGB website in due course.
NOVEMBER 20 Afternoon tea at the Old Railway Station, Petworth.
We’ve been here a few times in the past and it’s a nice afternoon drive out with tea and scones served in the old station booking hall. If you’re too tired to drive home you can always stay in one of the four restored Pullman carriages or one of the guest rooms in the station building! Meeting place and time for this event to follow in due course.
DECEMBER 9 Christmas Party at Silvermere Golf Club
By the time you read this we may well have reached our maximum number of 50 guests, but if there is space available and you want to join us, you won’t be disappointed.
For up-to-date information on these and brief details of other events, please see the Surrey Region area of the club’s website.
Club nights
Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at the Inn on the Lake, Silvermere Golf Club, Redhill Road, Cobham, Surrey, KT11 1EF, starting at 8 p.m.
Keith M
Diary Dates:
SEPTEMBER 13 Club night at Silvermere Golf Club, with raffle.
OCTOBER 9 Bombay Sapphire Gin Distillery
OCTOBER 11 Club night at Silvermere Golf Club.
NOVEMBER 8 Club night at Silvermere Golf Club, with Peter’s quiz.
NOVEMBER 20 Afternoon tea at The Old railway Station, Petworth
DECEMBER 9 Christmas Dinner at Silvermere Golf Club
DECEMBER 13 Club night at Silvermere Golf Club, with Kelvin and his ‘goodies.’
DECEMBER 17 Christmas Carols at the Royal Albert Hall *Fully Booked*