Wings

A few of us met up quite early at the Merevale lay-by so that we could ride together on the mile or so to Charity Farm, Baxterley. We had to wait a few minutes while a huge fire truck negotiated a couple of tight turns on the farm drive and this highlighted the fact that Geoff N was having a bit of trouble finding neutral. (More of that later.)
This Sunday turned out to be one of the hottest sunny days of the year so it was fortunate that Tony R had taken a gazebo to the venue the day before. The gazebo was a popular place to be as it provided some very welcome shade. There were a lot of people there as the event was proving popular for old and young alike on such a nice day. Many people had come as a whole family to enjoy the day. We had several generations of the Vincent family there as Rob S introduced us to his son and Tony R had brought along his grandson on the pillion.
There was a great selection of vehicles to look at in the field that we were parked. We had the Vincent twins ridden in by local members and Geoff’s friend rode down from Yorkshire on his immaculate Black Shadow. Along side our Vincent’s there was a selection of vintage/classic bikes. The Austin 7’s were there in force and there were two three-wheeler cars, one with a BMW flat twin engine plus the venerable B.S.A. piloted by our own Judith and John L. Other four wheeled exotica included model “T” Fords, a beautiful Bugatti, a rare Calcott built in Coventry and a make I had not seen before, a Crossley.
Steam power arrived when a traction engine hissed and rumbled in having been driven from Fillongley. This enhanced the already great atmosphere although perhaps a little over enhanced when stoked to get steam up at the end of the day and a change of breeze direction gave us a double dose of “atmosphere”.
Two magnificent shire horses provided real horsepower to give wagon rides throughout the day.
The air show also had lots of variety starting with a stunning acrobatic display from a Christen Eagle bi-plane. Other features included formation flying by 7 Tiger Moth’s, twisters laying smoke patterns, kites performing acrobatic routines, radio controlled model aircraft, a Rapide (de Havilland not Vincent) and late in the day a P51 Mustang. The Mustang stayed much longer than anyone expected giving an extended treat of both sight and V12 sound.

What about the clutch problem mentioned earlier? The “Show” didn’t start until 1.00 pm so we pooled tools and investigated Geoff’s gear selection problem. The clutch was the most likely culprit and this was one of the areas that Geoff has not yet investigated as he works his way mechanically through what is, to him, a new bike. Removal of the clutch cover revealed a conversion to a three spring Norton clutch that was much improved by stripping out the plates, de-greasing, re-assembling and adjusting the springs to get a more level lift. Geoff did a short test ride around the field and was now able to find the previously elusive neutral. Eddy.


Real Horsepower.	Checking out the Vincent Bikes.

Steam Power.	Rob and Tony do synchronised kick starting.

Bangs, Smoke and a Tiger Moth.	Lots of aircraft on show including this pretty Cessna.