Monthly Newsletter – June 2026 Edition

Welcome

Well, summer finally felt like it had arrived in May, only to promptly disappear again at the start of June. Hopefully you all managed to get some flying in while the sun was shining and the winds were behaving themselves.

We received some really positive feedback following the first newsletter last month, along with plenty of contributions for this edition. A huge thank you to everyone who sent in photos, stories, suggestions and updates. The aim has always been for this newsletter to reflect what's happening around the airfield, and that's only possible with your help. As always, if you've got a story to share, a photo you're proud of, or something you think fellow members would enjoy reading about, please send it over for next month's edition.

May Runway Rundown

The warm weather may have come and gone, but that hasn't stopped the steady stream of jobs being tackled around the airfield.

The club house benches have all been given a fresh coat of paint and the fence around the apron has also been smartened up. The firepit area has had its brickwork rebuilt, and we're very grateful to Arthur for donating a couple of firepits.

After much planning, perseverance and a fair amount of water pistol work, we're pleased to report that the battle with the swallows in the main hangar appears to have been won. With one challenge behind us, attention has now turned to the never-ending battle against the weeds!

Behind the scenes, both mowers are now back in action. Dave repaired the tyre on the Honda mower, while Andy Edwards kindly serviced the Ransomes mower, helping to keep the airfield looking its best throughout the busy summer season.

As always, there are plenty of projects on the go. If anyone has access to spare top soil, we'd love to hear from you as we continue improving the grounds around the club.

The WMC website continues to grow and is quickly becoming a valuable resource for both members and visitors. Over the past month we've added airfield information, calculators, events information and much more, with new content being added regularly. Please check out the calculators section and send any feedback to Debbie, error spotting is always rewarded with a free bacon bap!

One of the biggest additions to the website this month is the new weather station. A huge thank you goes to Alex Porter for getting this up and running.

The weather station provides real-time local conditions directly from the airfield, including wind speed, wind direction, temperature, pressure and other useful information that can help pilots make informed decisions before travelling to the airfield.

If you haven't visited the website recently, it's well worth taking another look. Not only is it becoming a useful tool for existing members, but it's also helping introduce new visitors and potential pilots to Wiltshire Microlight Centre.

You can find everything at:    www.wiltsmicrolights.com

From the BMAA

BMAA Club Night

For the next in our series of club nights, coming up soon on Wednesday 10^th June at 19:00, our featured airfield is going to be St. Michaels airfield in Lancashire, a lovely location just north of Preston. We’re going to learn all about why it’s worth visiting  (for example, there’s a great event happening there the following weekend), and how to do so efficiently and safely.

We’re also going to be joined by a representative from the RAF who provide our Distress & Diversion service, those lovely people who provide help when things start to go wrong in the air. My wife and I were very grateful for their assistance very early in our flying career, and so we’re going to learn from them what they can do to help us, what services they offer, and what they’d like us to do to help them.

As usual, we’d very much welcome questions from everyone as part of our club night. This time, we’re going to experiment with a different technology, and so it will be hosted on Microsoft Teams rather than Zoom which we’ve used in the past. The joining details are as follows:

 Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/325076070253551?p=5c9sKEZ1Jp5VXgKTw6

Meeting ID: 325 076 070 253 551

Passcode: Ba2Xe7ug

We look forward to meeting you all online then.

On the Horizon in June

·        On the evening of 24th June, we will be hosting the Severn Valley Microlight Club Fly-In at WMC.

This event is open to SVMC members only, although a number of WMC members are also members of Severn Valley and will be attending. Due to parking limitations, aircraft numbers have been capped at 25 visiting aircraft. If you are planning to attend and your aircraft is based at Yatesbury, please let the organisers know when booking. As your aircraft is already hangered on site, no additional visitor parking space will be required, helping us maximise the number of members who can attend.

We look forward to welcoming our friends from Severn Valley and hope for a pleasant evening of flying and socialising.

·        On Sunday 28th June, we will be hosting the Thruster Muster 2026, welcoming Thruster owners and enthusiasts from across the country.

Thrusters have played an important role in British Microlighting history, and events like this are a fantastic opportunity to see a wide variety of aircraft, meet fellow owners, exchange stories, and celebrate one of the most iconic aircraft types in our sport.

We hope to see a fantastic turnout and a flight line full of Thrusters on what promises to be a memorable day.

A reminder that annual WMC membership fees fall due on 1st July. Membership is £120 for the year. Thank you to everyone who continues to support the club and help us maintain and improve the facilities at WMC.

 Beyond the Runway

Spamfield 2026 - At the end of May, a group of WMC members headed across the Solent to attend the annual Spamfield Fly-In at Sandown Airport on the Isle of Wight. The WMC contingent included Dan, Dave, Mark, Debbie, Arthur, Sue, Mike, and Will along with his son, making it another well-supported club outing.

Sue and Arthur joined for the day before heading home, while Mike embraced the traditional fly-in experience by camping under his wing for the night. The remainder of the group enjoyed slightly more luxurious accommodation in nearby caravans and hotels.

As always, the trip was about much more than just the flying. One afternoon saw the group jump on a bus into Sandown town where we enjoyed lunch overlooking the beach before spending some time exploring the seafront and arcades.

Back at Spamfield, the evenings provided plenty of entertainment. A live band kept everyone entertained and a notable quantity of Shimmery Vodka also disappeared on the first evening, although those involved remain unwilling to discuss exact quantities. All in all, it was another fantastic weekend of flying, socialising and making memories with friends old and new, we're already looking forward to next year's trip.

Cockpit Corner

This month's Cockpit Corner is brought to us by Robin Kraike, who has taken on the ambitious project of restoring G-TSOG, a striking Sherwood Ranger biplane with quite a story behind it.

G-TSOG was issued with a permit to fly by the LAA on the 23/02/2017, having been constructed during the previous two years by teenaged school children in the town of Goole (Yorkshire), under the supervision of Jack Milnes, an ex-RAF electronics engineer. I’ve yet to discover where the funding for the aircraft build came from, but an engine (a D-Motor LF26) was donated by the manufacturer.

OG then competed 84 logged flying hours during the period Feb 2017-June 2020, taking many of the build team up before increasing engine unreliability forced the project to hand the aircraft over to the Light Aircraft Company (UK agent for D-Motor) for investigation into the issue.

After a number of months (11?) at Little Snoring and for reasons not made clear to me, D-Motor then demanded that the engine should be returned to them. The TSOG project declined to do this, and OG was transported back to Doncaster airport, where it remained hangared and untouched until Tony Hughes got wind of it and bought it in August 2023. During this period, it appears that the ECU was removed from the aircraft, rendering the engine inoperable.

Tony road transported the aircraft down to Yatesbury and shortly afterwards had her on display at the site of his and Sue Harvey’s wedding (blessing). Three weeks later, Tony succumbed to the prostate cancer that had been late diagnosed and was gone. 2 years on, Sue (with help from others) had been working hard at clearing up (out) Tony’s legacy of new and used aircraft parts and engines that he’d accrued during the 25yrs of WMC at Yatesbury.

She contacted me in August 2025, asking if I would be interested in helping out with restoration to airworthiness of a CT2K (amongst other tasks) in my capacity as a BMAA & LAA inspector, and it was then that I became aware of this rather cool looking bright red biplane tucked away in the far corner of the hangar with its wings neatly folded.

At the time, I was only vaguely aware of the Sherwood Ranger type and Sue related to me how Tony had bought it with an unserviceable engine which he planned to replace with a Rotax 912 in due course. Obviously, that was no longer going to happen, and after a bit of bargaining with Sue, I bought this wonderful machine – selling my only recently acquired (and airworthy) Pegasus Quik to fund the purchase. I was smitten! ☺️

So. Eight months down the line, I have given up trying to get the Belgian D-Motor company to engage with me, have saved up my pennies and bought a used Jabiru 2200A four-cylinder engine (from Sue), taken from a wrecked thruster that Tony had stored out back since 2009. As the engine has 830hrs behind it, I plan to carry out a top end overhaul and carb service before nailing it to the front of my aeroplane (more pennies to be spent on engine mount, cowling set and new propeller).

 Hoping to have ‘Ruby’ airworthy and permitted by the end of September (this year 😉)

Robin (Biggles) Kraike                                                                                                                                 5^th June 2025

Ground Control

Please Switch Off Lights & Fans - please help keep costs under control by ensuring lights and fans are switched off when not required. The little things make a big difference over the course of the year.

Spread The Word - We're seeing more visiting aircraft and visitors coming through the gates, which is fantastic. Please continue promoting Wiltshire Microlight Centre wherever you go. Word of mouth remains one of the best ways of introducing new people to the airfield.

A final note on airfield administration: Terry's recent decision to start appearing on Fridays and Sundays instead of his traditional Saturday has left many members questioning what day of the week it is. Also not helped when Steve thoughtfully entered 2024 into the airfield logbook. We can therefore confirm that, while flying operations remain entirely normal, our collective grasp of space and time may require further investigation.

WMC in Focus

So many lovely photos have been submitted, here are three of our favourites. Top right was taken by the family of one of Julians students of G-OSPH and G-CGNI heading off into the sunset. Bottom left is G-CJOT landing at Lee-on-Solent airport. Finally bottom right is Mark and Dave flying over Stoke Golding after visiting a SVMC Fly in.

Final Approach

As we head into the busiest part of the flying season, it's fantastic to see so much activity around the airfield. From fly-outs and visitors, to ongoing improvements around the site, there always seems to be something happening at WMC.

A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed their time, skills, stories, photographs to help make the club what it is. Whether you're cutting grass, fixing mowers, organising events, helping with projects, or simply putting the kettle on, it all contributes to the friendly atmosphere that makes WMC such a special place.

June promises to be another busy month, with the Severn Valley Fly-In, Thruster Muster and plenty of opportunities to make the most of the longer evenings. Hopefully the weather gets the memo. Until next month, fly safe, enjoy the summer, and remember that if Terry turns up on a Friday, a Sunday, or any other random day of the week, please don't be alarmed. It's probably still Saturday somewhere.

Blue skies, The WMC Team