Hotspot

This is Andy Best's most expensive plane (I think), and also one of the biggest. It is a Graupner Hotspot with a Jetcat P80 Turbine motor. I cannot convey in words the atmosphere when this plane is around. The first real public showing of it in Guernsey was at the Delancy Park display in July, but its first 4 flights were in the UK, in the most capable hands of one Mr D Wiltshire. Before the plane was flown, there was a lot of discussion at our flying site as to whether it take off from our runways, but come the day of the first Guernsey based flight, all the worries went out the window as it lifted off the grass just after the midway point of our shortest runway.

In the air, it looks a little like Concorde, with the delta shape and the plain white underside, and the sound of it whistling through the air, with the smell of jet fuel as it pulls away is absolutely breathtaking.

When the time came to land on our 'short' runway, things went a bit awry. Andy throttled the turbine back, extended the U/C and the Airbrake, and she sank like a stone into the rough, about 20 feet short of the runway. Unfortunately the U/C didn't go back up quickly enough and were damaged. But other than that it was a successful flight.

The next flight after this was even better, and it landed on the runway, but again damage was sustained on the undercarriage. They seem to be a bit of weak point on this aircraft, but then again, they probably weren't designed to land on a grass site full of Rabbit holes.

So, to sum up. An awesome plane which in flight could be mistaken for a real one, and one we all hope to see much more of next season.