Birmingham to Belfast in the XT

After Popham 05, Graham Webster our UK distributor needed to deliver a new XT to a customer in Bolton and another XT to a flight school in Newtown'ards near Belfast Northern Ireland. The Bolton XT was going to Mark and Paula Eardley. Graham drove the trike up in our hired airshow truck.

All that was left now was to deliver the remaining XT to Victor Carmichael, instructor for Northern Ireland Airsports.

After a look at the forecast it was decided we would fly Victor's XT over. This was going to be quite an adventure.

The plan was to fly from Graham's local airstrip at Shifnel, passing through the low level corridor between Liverpool and Manchester. Then over the lake district up into Scotland, and landing at Carlisle before taking the short route across the Irish Sea to Newtown'ards in Northern Ireland.

The day we chose was hardly ideal comfort wise, with gusting 30 mph easterly winds. The conditions however were nothing the XT-912 with the incredibly stable Streak 3 wing couldn't handle.

As we took off out from Grahams local airfield at Shifnel, the turbulence was evident enough. We eventually climbed to an altidude where the air smoothed out nicely. Descending later into the low corridor between Manchester and Liverpool airspace was another story, at just over 1000 feet asl we were getting our backsides kicked and were glad to leave the corridor and climb back to smooth air.

The original flight plan of flying to Carlisle and taking the shortest crossing over the Irish sea was not looking like a good option now, given the conditions, and the terrain we needed to fly over. The wind strength had increased slightly and cloud cover was increasing with the midday thermal activity.

We decided to land just north of Blackpool at Tarn Farm and change the flight plan and head direct to Newtown'ards. The ocean crossing was now longer at 70 miles, but we did have the advantage of a brisk tail wind

We had quite a ride landing at the grass airfield and local pilots were smart enough to be hanging in the club room. Tarn Farm is where Mark Eardley's keeps his XT, the area is excellent for flying microlights, a combination of mountain and beach flying.

After a cuppa with Mark and his flying buddies and a look around their superb hangar, we decided to head off into the wild blue yonder.

Flying straight out to sea and keeping on going is not something most of us experience everyday in a microlight. The Irish Sea is extremely cold at the best of times and this being spring the water temperature is cool enough to make a water landing very dangerous. Even though we did not anticipate our engines stopping we did take necessary precautions. For the crossing we wore survival suits over the top of our normal flying suits. We were also carrying radio, epirb and the mandatory life jackets.

A flight plan was logged and we were in constant touch with air traffic control on route. These guys are excellent and make such a journey a lot safer.

Once we were settled into the crossing the flight very enjoyable. Smooth air and a high ground speed. We eventually sighted the Isle of Man. It was a comforting for awhile, at least until we left the northern tip of the island and were all too soon heading back out to open sea towards Belfast.

The second part of the crossing was quicker and we had sight of land all the way. Soon we were were flying along the coastline of Northern Ireland, my first trip there ever!

Newtown'ards has a fairly large airport and the following day it was hosting a big airshow, Red Arrows and all!

We landed fairly late and in time for the start of pre-airshow celebration party.

Victor Carmichael and his wife Denese were glad to see their new XT. Graham and I were glad to be out of our uncomfortable survival suits and drinking a beer or two.

The following day we watched the air spectacular and after flew two XT's west to Enniskillen, where the airshow was to be repeated the next day.

Flying across Northern Ireland was spectacular enough, flying into Enniskillen was even more so. The area is the start of the longest navigational inland waterway in Europe. A great venue for such an airshow.

That night we toddled off to the local pub and couldn't help sampling a Guiness or three, yes it does taste better on this side of the Irish sea.

We set up the Airborne stand with one XT and the other on the flight line. The airshow was amazing with the Red Arrows, The Harrier, Spitfires, Hurricanes and helicopters performing inside loops and more. The Utterly Butterly wing walking girls entertained the crowds walking the wings of a couple of gutsy looking radial engined Stearman bi-planes. The girls even had a fly with us in the XT's and loved it.

After the airshow we flew back to Newtown'ards. The following day Graham and I flew his XT home. We took the direct route, 100 miles across the Irish sea this time.

As we were late leaving we landed on the way in the lovely Welsh town of Criccieth. The paddock we landed in conveniently had a group of small b&b hotels next to it. After a good nights sleep and a good breakfast, we loaded the XT up and took off for the last leg home.

A good sized crowd gathered to watch our take-off from the small paddock. The flight over the welsh mountains was spectacular and after that it was a relatively short run home to Shifnel near Telford.

We had covered a lot of ground in a short time in some pretty harsh weather conditions. The XT proved itself to me as it has already done with many of our customers. It is the ultimate XC trike, with a perfectly matched wing.

The standard fuel capacity at 70 litres is very convenient and just another great advantage of this aircraft. The GX digital instrument is superb, with it's complete engine and flight management functions. The fuel flow meter helps the pilot fly economically while the accumulated fuel usage meter lets the pilot easily work out what fuel is available in the tank. A test flight is highly recommended, see for yourself!