Flying Visit...
To the Club, its Officials and Members.
On Tuesday evening of this week (16th September 2008). Myself, as captain, with my co-pilot Colin Taylor, on a flight from Weston airfield in the Republic of Ireland to our base at Clitheroe in a Gazelle helicopter, encountered very bad weather immediately upon coasting in at Portpatrick.
The severity of the weather caused me make a precautionary landing at your club. As nightfall was approaching we were then unable to continue our flight.
We were met, upon arrival by "Gordon" who directed us to a safer landing site as we had inadvertantly touched down in the "Wrong place" as it were.
Gordon seemed to take our unannounced landing in his stride and offered us some food and drink in the bar, which he was running. We of course were very grateful for this and the meal and the setting were superb. Various club members approached us and all were very kind and understanding about our predicament. Shortly thereafter, it became obvious that we were going to be your guests overnight!
Gordon immediately arranged us accommodation in a guesthouse nearby and after another drink we marched down the road and retired to our very comfortable beds.
In the morning we returned to the clubhouse, to be met again by Gordon. The weather was still atrocious and so we went into town and appreciated the sights and views and the cuisine in a couple of the cafes.
Later in the day we decided that the weather had eased enough for us to be able to take to the air once more. However, after its soaking overnight, the helicopter flatly refused to start. Our further attempts simply flattened the battery as jet engines demand a massive amount of power to start. This left us in an ever deepening predicament, we were now stuck on your golf course with the day drawing on and the problem of how to achieve "Ground power" to start the helicopter.
Once more, to our rescue came Gordon! who arranged for us to "Borrow" the 24 volt battery charger from the local RNLI lifeboat station. Which he brought up to the clubhouse and helped us to connect to our lifeless battery. Alas, this proved to be futile and I was beginning to wonder if the helicopter was about to become a permanent fixture on your course when Gordon miraculously came up with the idea of connecting a bus, with a 24 volt system, to the stricken chopper in a last ditch attempt to get us on our way. A while later, out came another club member, the bus company proprietor, whose name, to my shame, I have forgotten. (Dougie of McCulloch Coaches) He cheerfully announced that the bus was on its way!
After a couple of tries, to my absolute amazement, the jet engine suddenly screamed into life!! Because of the time of day, we hardly had time to say our profound thanks to the small crowd of cheerful helpers as we lifted off and screeched out of the area.
Our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who was remotely involved in our predicament and subsequent rescue! However, our "Guardian Angel" throughout the whole adventure was the wonderfully unflappable Gordon, who, we learned, was also a crew member on the lifeboat. The world would be a very sad place without men like Gordon, whose humour and total ability to cope with anything that the situation threw at him, was outstanding. He certainly deserves a medal!
Flying in helicopters, initially with the armed forces and latterly as a civilian, in many places around the world has enriched my life with a myriad of human stories, but rarely have I encountered such a public spirited and helpful community as in those two days in Portpatrick Golf club......God bless ye all!
Roger Griffiths.