Christchurch and District Model Flying Club
 

MUDDY PUDDLES!

BY GRANDPA PIG

Readers with children or grandchildren can skip the first paragraph

Peppa Pig is the heroine of a cartoon series on the telly. At least once per episode she and her family (George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig, sometimes Grandma and Grandpa Pig as well) find a muddy puddle and jump up and down in it shouting “Muddy Puddles!” They then all fall over on their backs and giggle as hard as they can. (I did say that it was a cartoon…for children). I was walking in the hills in Lanzarote at the end of last year and from miles away came the shout “Muddy Puddles!” from a child who was jumping up and down in perhaps the only one on the island, so it’s quite a well-know production. But I digress.

Trevor and I met up at Strawberry Field in very early January for our first land-based flights of the year. I parked my camper on the grass opposite the barn and with Eric l’ascendeur watching we flew for about 3 hours, and then as the temperature dropped, we gradually began to pack up. I had a bit more battery left for my Auster so carried on for another 10 minutes, the day and the light wind being too good to waste. When I finally landed there was a cheery “Bye” from Trevor as he drove away. I walked to my van and reversed off the grass to the access track…or tried to! The patch of grass I had parked on proved to be just wet enough to cause wheel-spin as I backed up: the very slight incline as grass meets track was also just enough to bring to a churning stop. My second thoughts were of Peppa and how she would have laughed.

Now I’m quite good at driving on snow and poor surfaces, and I actually did my MSc thesis on wheeled vehicle mobility, so I knew what to do. Drive forward very gently on as low revs as possible, then reverse even more gently, keeping the wheels straight to avoid unnecessary “ploughing”. Reversing is best for front-wheel drive vehicles because the weight is over the driving wheels…but as I spun to a halt for the second and then a third time I realised that unless I could drive forwards and out of trouble, I was stuck for the night. Without a mobile phone.

Fortunately I was able to drive forward onto firmer ground, do a large and very clenching* half circle and get back onto the track.

But from now on I’ll park on the hard standing thanks very much!

*You know what I mean.

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