"Flying a plane gives you a tremendous feeling of freedom. You learn to trust your senses, balance and vision, in vintage planes like the Tiger Moth."

". . .why do I want to fly old planes rather than modern ones? Flying a plane gives you a tremendous feeling of freedom. In vintage aeroplanes like the Tiger Moth you only have a very limited range of instruments and are quite exposed to the elements.

Unlike in a modern plane you learn to trust your senses like your balance and vision rather than flying the plane by checking an instrument panel. In a sense you can feel how the plane behaves and act accordingly. Also, flying the Tiger Moth is quite a challenge and is considered very difficult in comparison to modern planes. Finally, I am very proud of keeping a little bit of aviation history alive. Flying is the only motor sport where women have contributed from a very early stage and I enjoy following in the footsteps of flying heroines and role models such as Amelia Earhardt."

Silke Sheppard
Schlumberger Cambridge Research

" . . .why do I want to fly old planes rather than modern ones? The old planes are a bigger challenge to learn. A tail-dragger is harder to land - it's easy to bounce on the front wheels and risk a dangerous stall near the ground. Once you can fly a Tiger, though, you're well on the way to flying other craft of similar size because it's so tricky. The other reason is that it's a very open, obvious airplane. You can see how it all works, and there's nothing on it that's a "black box". I like to learn the principles this way.

"I've no license! I'm a student pilot. It takes several years of spending weekends waiting for the weather to clear before you're learned enough for your license. You need one license for small planes, and then certification for each kind. It's like having a driving license for cars (but not trucks), and then needing an extra license to drive a Ford, another for a General Motors, etc.

"Why do I want to fly Tiger Moths? It shouldn't be allowed. The Tigers are immaculate and shouldn't be touched. Their rarity should preserve their use for nothing less than State occasions. Yet not only can one fly them, one can learn to fly them with no previous flying experience. You are given the control of a 50 year old aeroplane - the kind of thing you might see in a museum. There are no parachutes, no automatic controls - just you, some wood and metal, and the air. The surface of the earth looks insufferably two-dimensional from up there.

"You also meet some wonderful people. Cambridge Flying Group is a great place to be even if the weather is too bad to fly, with stories from fluffed landings to fluffed relationships."

Tim Jervis
Schlumberger Alumni