Organised by Dominique Covre and Henri Faivre

I had decided that during this year’s fly-in I would announce my intention of standing down as European Regional Director. They say it is always best to go out when you are on top. Little did I know how true that was going to be. After a number of years of having to battle through poor weather to attend the annual European fly-in, we jumped at Dominique Covre and Henri Faivre’s invitation to return to the warmer climate of Marmande in southwest France, a pleasant oasis set in the sun-soaked wine region of Bordeaux.

Perhaps we should have known better! A spider’s web of lows flowing in off the Atlantic produced a cold front stretching from the west coast of the U.K. all the way down through the Bay of Biscay to the North African coast, bringing with it the threat of heavy rain, low cloud, occasional thunder storms, and high winds. In such conditions, there was little chance of espying those English gentleman in shorts as promised by Nigel Thomas. So there you have it, the scene was set for another series of challenging flights to make it to our European event.