It had to happen. The weather turned. Seemed okay to start with as we took off from Abbeville:
As we neared the coast the cloud got lower and thicker so we climbed above it. There were plenty of gaps and we coasted out at 4500′ with views of Boulogne.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zplgztbjvkangoj/PVWW%20A%20Change%20in%20the%20Weather.mp4?dl=0
By half way across the gaps had gone and we had to descend through cloud at the coast near Folkestone. It was only 20 seconds or so but seemed rather longer. Over Kent the cloud base got lower and with the rising ground of the North Downs ahead we diverted to Headcorn.
The reception there was excellent, as usual. The flight plan was closed and we had a British breakfast in the café.
We decided to press on after a couple of hours and the last leg was not very pleasant. Below 1000′ AGL with much cloud to negotiate and the occasional opposite direction traffic passing by. At this point it became clear that there was a fuel issue with the Tecnam. The left tank was not supplying fuel. Our eyes remained glued to the right tank gauge as the contents drained away and we considered possible diversions as we continued north west. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ezpvyua5tr06frq/PVWW%20Headcorn%20to%20Finmere.mp4?dl=0
Right base Runway 10 at Finmere – home at last!
As it was we landed with about 4 litres in the right tank. Turned out to be a fuel vent blockage in the left tank. Other than that, both planes performed brilliantly throughout the trip.
Nick and Mark about to depart for their home bases:
See the next page for the figures and our thoughts on the airfields visited.
Peaks, Valleys, Water and Weather 