Trust is a funny thing - you only realise how important it is when it's not there. The MPs expenses scandal shows that to perfection - I suspect many people were, up until a few months ago, happy to address a letter to their MP as "The Honorable .......", but not any more.
However, that's not really why I'm musing away this afternoon, rather some thoughts on how I've lost (or so it seems at the moment) a sizeable chunk of money invested for my retirement. Having managed to save some cash over the last few years I had a review with my financial advisors and decided that as I am approaching retirement I should become rather more cautious with any investments and was given an interesting leaflet from DRL (Defined Returns Limited) which offered a 100% guarantee that my capital was secure and would pay me a %'age of the rise in the Footsie over a period of years, but if the index fell would then just pay me back my original capital.
What could go wrong with that?
Everything as it turns out!
Despite the promises in the brochure that this investment was suitable for those who needed to protect their capital it turns out that DRL invested the money with Lehman Brother in the Netherlands. That seems to be significant because despite the brochure saying that DRL and Lehmans UK WERE protected under the financial services protection scheme, Lehmans bv weren't. So when Lehmans went down in the US and the rest of the empire followed there went my dosh.
All may not be lost - so many people have complained about this to the Financial Ombudsman Service that they are conducting a special investigation/review into the matter - an action group has been formed with a website and blog at http://missoldinvestments.co.uk/ and there is an early day motion laid before parliament - so maybe, just maybe all is not yet lost.
Sunday 14 June 2009
Wednesday 29 April 2009
Is this the future of Light Aviation?
Whilst I'm still a comitted member of the G-BXWP flying group (see www.allianceaviation.org for details) we do seem to be having difficulty in getting new members for the group, having lost 2 over the last few years, and that together with the increased cost of aviation fuel, maintenance, parking, landing fees etc. etc. just makes me question how long the situation can continue.
So whilst at Barton (or City Airport Manchester as it is now pretentiously named) a few days ago I had a wander around and took a look at the other aircraft there. One type definitely caught my eye - a composite construction, high wing, tricycle undercarriage design that just "looked right" - so a few enquiries and what I had been looking at turned out to be a CTSW from Flight Design of Germany. The microlight school at Barton, Mainair, owns & operates G-CERA so a call to their owner & chief instructor Chris Copple who I've known for many years soon had me booked in for a flight.
Here it is, parked on the apron at Barton:
With Chris in the right hand seat, he took me through the pre-flight briefing then we started up and taxied out to the hold for runway 20, did the checks, lined up then full throttle and away we went. WOW - almost before I'd got the throttle fully open we were airborne and climbing out, maintaining 80 kts in the climb and with what seemed an impossible high attitude we saw well over 1,000 fpm on the electronic altimeter. 
Yes that's right - the instruments aren't instruments, it is a flat panel display with a representation of an airspeed indicator and rate of climb - the altitude is shown in digits and by pressing various buttons you can see all manner of information that would traditionally be shown on analogue instruments (and yes those are my feet below the panel!!)
Leaving the circuit we headed out to the North West and did some general handling, straight & level, turns left & right, then a climb and a power off clean stall. I have to report the aircraft handles well, no tendancy to drop the nose in the turn and the stall, at about 40kts, was quite docile with a little buffet and gentle "nod" down of the nose. Push forwards, apply power and the stall recovery was straightfoward with very little height loss.
Then Chris suggested I try a PFL - this from around 2,000' - so I pulled back the power, trimmed for the glide and selected a field, had I been in the Cherokee6 I would have now been starting to sweat, however in the CT the main issue seemed to be to keep choosing another field as we sailed past my first choice then my second one - this aircraft really does want to glide a long way!
Then back to Barton and into the circuit, a standard overhead join, descend and set up an approach to 20 for an intended touch & go which I didn't manage - once again, like the PFL I just couldn't get the height off (once again too used to the Cherokee6) - so turning it into a low approach and go-around instead, off we went for another try. This time it was successful, though I rather ballooned it before touching down, so off again perhaps third time lucky? Nice approach, to all intents and purposes a glide approach with 40 flap, just a touch of power to offset the sink before the hedge, straighten up for the crosswind and hold off, hold off, hold off and this one turned into a good one (well any one you walk away from .........!). Taxy back in, shut down and my first flight in a micro-light was over.
So my impressions?
This seems an excellent little aircraft, were I starting from scratch then there's little doubt this would be right there in the frame rather than the Grob or C150 that I actually started on. Depending on the future of the WP group then I could well be interesting in the CTSW or more likely its larger brother the CTLS - although still a two seater, this moves out of the microlight category and gives around 300KG useful load, is slightly larger and more stable and really does look the part - but who knows what the future might bring?
So whilst at Barton (or City Airport Manchester as it is now pretentiously named) a few days ago I had a wander around and took a look at the other aircraft there. One type definitely caught my eye - a composite construction, high wing, tricycle undercarriage design that just "looked right" - so a few enquiries and what I had been looking at turned out to be a CTSW from Flight Design of Germany. The microlight school at Barton, Mainair, owns & operates G-CERA so a call to their owner & chief instructor Chris Copple who I've known for many years soon had me booked in for a flight.
Here it is, parked on the apron at Barton:
With Chris in the right hand seat, he took me through the pre-flight briefing then we started up and taxied out to the hold for runway 20, did the checks, lined up then full throttle and away we went. WOW - almost before I'd got the throttle fully open we were airborne and climbing out, maintaining 80 kts in the climb and with what seemed an impossible high attitude we saw well over 1,000 fpm on the electronic altimeter. 
Yes that's right - the instruments aren't instruments, it is a flat panel display with a representation of an airspeed indicator and rate of climb - the altitude is shown in digits and by pressing various buttons you can see all manner of information that would traditionally be shown on analogue instruments (and yes those are my feet below the panel!!)
Leaving the circuit we headed out to the North West and did some general handling, straight & level, turns left & right, then a climb and a power off clean stall. I have to report the aircraft handles well, no tendancy to drop the nose in the turn and the stall, at about 40kts, was quite docile with a little buffet and gentle "nod" down of the nose. Push forwards, apply power and the stall recovery was straightfoward with very little height loss.
Then Chris suggested I try a PFL - this from around 2,000' - so I pulled back the power, trimmed for the glide and selected a field, had I been in the Cherokee6 I would have now been starting to sweat, however in the CT the main issue seemed to be to keep choosing another field as we sailed past my first choice then my second one - this aircraft really does want to glide a long way!
Then back to Barton and into the circuit, a standard overhead join, descend and set up an approach to 20 for an intended touch & go which I didn't manage - once again, like the PFL I just couldn't get the height off (once again too used to the Cherokee6) - so turning it into a low approach and go-around instead, off we went for another try. This time it was successful, though I rather ballooned it before touching down, so off again perhaps third time lucky? Nice approach, to all intents and purposes a glide approach with 40 flap, just a touch of power to offset the sink before the hedge, straighten up for the crosswind and hold off, hold off, hold off and this one turned into a good one (well any one you walk away from .........!). Taxy back in, shut down and my first flight in a micro-light was over.
So my impressions?
This seems an excellent little aircraft, were I starting from scratch then there's little doubt this would be right there in the frame rather than the Grob or C150 that I actually started on. Depending on the future of the WP group then I could well be interesting in the CTSW or more likely its larger brother the CTLS - although still a two seater, this moves out of the microlight category and gives around 300KG useful load, is slightly larger and more stable and really does look the part - but who knows what the future might bring?
Wednesday 28 January 2009
HSBC - no improvement!
I wrote last year about my experience with HSBC following the theft of my credit card http://bartonflyer.blogspot.com/2008/03/hsbc-what-bunch-of-tossers.html - well the saga continued as, despite my thinking that I'd cancelled the card and was no longer a customer, some months after the episode, statements started arriving showing my balance of £0.00
After ignoring these for some 6 months, I finally decided to ring them and find out why they thought I was still a customer. Once again the automated system asks me to key in the card number, then my date of birth then it tells me I can't use that service as I haven't registered for it and don't have a security number (which of course I knew from the start!), by pressing enough buttons on the telephone I finally get to speak to a human being in the Lost & Stolen section. A pleasant enough chap but completely unable to help as the card is already known as being lost or stolen - well of course - it was me that reported it ... Doh!
Transferred to general card services, another helpful human being then confirms for me that the card is marked as stolen and HSBC know that I don't have a replacement card but that she cannot accept an instruction to cancel it by phone (why not - I don't have it, there are no transactions on it, there is no balance on it!) and I must write in to HSBC with an instruction to cancel.
OK, I'll do that, what is the address? HSBC's heplful human refers me to the address shown on the back of the statement.
I turn my statement over and guess what? Got it in one - there is no bloody address on the back!
Another interesting discussion ensues - I'm sure the helpful human thinks she's dealing with a congenital idiot as she keeps telling me the section on the back in which to look - I'm staring at it now - THERE IS NO BLOODY ADDRESS!
Just for reference if anyone else does need to contact this abysmal organisation the address is HSBC Bank plc, Chartwell House, 365 Chartwell Square, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS99 2UU
So, letter written, correctly addressed and successfully posted!
I wonder what will happen next?
After ignoring these for some 6 months, I finally decided to ring them and find out why they thought I was still a customer. Once again the automated system asks me to key in the card number, then my date of birth then it tells me I can't use that service as I haven't registered for it and don't have a security number (which of course I knew from the start!), by pressing enough buttons on the telephone I finally get to speak to a human being in the Lost & Stolen section. A pleasant enough chap but completely unable to help as the card is already known as being lost or stolen - well of course - it was me that reported it ... Doh!
Transferred to general card services, another helpful human being then confirms for me that the card is marked as stolen and HSBC know that I don't have a replacement card but that she cannot accept an instruction to cancel it by phone (why not - I don't have it, there are no transactions on it, there is no balance on it!) and I must write in to HSBC with an instruction to cancel.
OK, I'll do that, what is the address? HSBC's heplful human refers me to the address shown on the back of the statement.
I turn my statement over and guess what? Got it in one - there is no bloody address on the back!
Another interesting discussion ensues - I'm sure the helpful human thinks she's dealing with a congenital idiot as she keeps telling me the section on the back in which to look - I'm staring at it now - THERE IS NO BLOODY ADDRESS!
Just for reference if anyone else does need to contact this abysmal organisation the address is HSBC Bank plc, Chartwell House, 365 Chartwell Square, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS99 2UU
So, letter written, correctly addressed and successfully posted!
I wonder what will happen next?
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