So rather than just giving up, I decided to take Vera to Duxford to see the Concorde prototype which is in the museum there.

A quick call to Duxford to PPR and try to get some circuits in is met with “you can’t train here unless you have an instructor, so you can only do a straight in approach and land” .. Shame but c’est la vie.

I tell Vera we’re going to go flying, and ask her if she would like to see Concorde .. this seems to go down quite well

Off we go for what should be a 30 minute flight (going the long way round, via Cranfield’s overhead at 3,000 feet).  We get to Duxford to find a fairly quiet circuit, and we’re given #1 to land.

As we line up on right base I spy a Cessna coming straight in, and he is now also given #1 to land – after a little confusion on the radio we decide it is safer to go around as even in an 80 knot glide we’re going to overtake these guys.  We then go around only to find another aircraft joining the circuit, and then we go around as they’ve lined up a pleasure flight to depart and we’re going to conflict with them .. so 20 minutes in the circuit and 3 go-arounds, we finally get to land!

The walk round the museum is as awe enspiring and amazing as I remember from my pre-PPL days when my instructor (Ches) first took me there to get a “day away” from circuits.

I take Vera onto Concorde and we look at the TSR21 and a decide we definitely need to come back and spend a whole day here in the not too distant future!