History

In the early 1980's Peter Sturgeon was building an Evans VP1, a task which took him only 13 months from conception to first flight. He felt that it would be a good idea to join a Popular Flying Association strut (branch), the nearest to his home at Brandon then being the North West Norfolk.

He attended a few meetings and found it all very friendly, but it didn't really seem to match what he considered a Strut was all about. He suggested to the Co-Ordinator that, perhaps, he would like Peter to take over for a while. At first he agreed, but when he realised that Peter's aim was to expand the Strut, his acquiescence was withdrawn.

In retrospect, this was probably the best thing that could have happened, because it enabled Peter to create a brand new Strut incorporating his ideas. It began in a modest way, with early, unofficial meetings being conducted at his home. Being centrally located in the district of Breckland, it seemed a natural choice for the name of the newly-formed Strut.

The first formal meetings were held in local pubs and charges for a room were modest, provided those present made good use of the bar! A few speakers were engaged and some films were hired to entertain the members. At this time Harry and Bob Sage made their appearance at a meeting and made it known that they were setting up an airstrip on their property at Priory Farm.

This seemed to be an ideal focal point for the Strut's activities, and meetings moved from Brandon to pubs nearer the Strip, and subsequently, to the Norfolk Gliding Club. Flying commenced at Priory Farm in 1982 and the first formal Fathers' Day fly-in and BBQ was held in 1983. It has been a successful and well-attended, annual event ever since, but 'temporarily' moved to Tibenham between 2006 and 2008 because of the threat of spreading bird 'flu to the Farm's geese,

Peter subsequently handed over the job of Co-Ordinator to Tom Wilkinson, who also had a spell as Chief Marshal at the PFA Rally. This started the trend for the Strut's regular involvement with the Rally and up to 2006 (when the PFA moved to having several, smaller 'Regional' rallies) it provided a team to help with setting up the exhibition area as well as organising a team of marshals during the fly-in.

Tom had to give up flying for medical reasons and he handed over the reins to Roger Burrows for a few years. The task then passed to Larry D'Eath for the next five years during which time we were able to acquire a second hand Portacabin to act as a clubhouse. The members worked hard to set it up and fit it out to form a very comfortable and welcoming place to meet. A small toilet block was added later and now everything was in place to hold successful flying events.

The Strut continues to hold meetings at the Norfolk Gliding Club during the winter months, but having our own meeting place at the airstrip provided the ideal combination of a warm and comfortable refuge for the winter months, with an additional focus for flying during the Summer. These informal flying evenings are intended to allow members without an aircraft to have the opportunity of a short sortie and owners, perhaps, to experience a different machine to their own.

One of the Summer meetings is designated "Neighbours' Evening". In the interests of good relations with those who live nearby, we invite neighbours for a barbeque and—if they wish—a flight in one of the members' aircraft. Invariably, there are a good number of takers for this offer.

In 1997 the Strut was proud to be voted "Strut of the Year", based on our range of activities and work for the PFA. An engraved cup was presented to Larry by Lord Trefgarne, at the Rally, and is displayed in our clubhouse.

At the end of 2000, Stuart Slater was appointed Co-Ordinator and served in the position for two years, 2001 and 2002. His tenure coincided with an increased awareness of public liability issues and was marked by the implementation of risk minimisation procedures, most notably for the annual Fathers’ Day fly-in.

In 2003, Stuart’s many other responsibilities prompted him to stand down in favour of Mik Horn, although he continued to work on the Committee for a further two years and provide other forms of assistance at Strut events. Mik’s tenure was more brief, for personal commitments – not the least of which was an abrupt move to Southampton – curtailed his tenure. Larry D’Eath stood-in as temporary Co-Ordinator for the first quarter of 2004, pending the more permanent appointment of Paul Jackson. Paul also picked up the monthly newsletter editorship a few months later, after it had been relinquished by Mike Nairn.

During 2004, three new aircraft were built and flown by Strut members: David Hunter’s Zenair CH-601; Trevor Villa’s Sky Ranger; and a X-Air Falcon produced by Tony Emerson and Jeff Ambrose. The score for 2005 included two Rans S-6ES Coyote IIs and a Zenair CH.601HD, while in 2006, members made first flights of a Glasair III Turbine, Europa, Savannah and RV-9 they had built themselves. A bare-frame-up rebuild of a World War 2 Stinson L-5 Sentinel by Paul Bennett and Mike Nice just slipped its first flight to early 2007. Three members gained their Private Pilot's Licence during 2006—one at the age of 62, proving it is never too late to learn!

The year 2006 also saw the Strut continue the regular traditions of the annual fly-in; a Neighbours’ Evening with pleasure flights for local residents; and supplying a team of volunteers to spend a week a the PFA Rally at Kemble erecting temporary buildings and marshalling visiting aircraft. Speakers at monthly meetings covered subjects such as parachutes and parachuting, the Bletchley Park codebreakers, test-flying PFA aircraft, Martin Baker ejection seats and the forgotten air war over Dharfour.

Facilities at the airstrip have been improved considerably of late, following the addition of Internet access for flight planning. Members can now download weather and NOTAMs immediately before taking off and those considering turning up to fly out or in can consult the Strut webcam and weather station from their home computer before making a decision to set out.

Membership of the Strut currently stands at 80, nearly 50 of whom own all or part of an aircraft. In 2006, the Strut founder, Peter Sturgeon was appointed an honary member in recognition of his contributions over many years in both private and professional (aircraft inspector) capacities. Interest in participation in Strut activities has never been higher, and for the first time in many years, the Committee had no difficulty in finding its full complement of 12 members for 2007.

During 2007, the Strut began to organise regular fly-outs of Priory Farm aircraft to other airfields in East Anglia, some to visit air shows, others purely for enjoyment and building up the experience and confidence of younger flying members. The year was a quiet one for constructors and only two new machines were completed by Strut members — one actually a thorough rebuild of an extremely rare Stinson L-5 of World War 2 vintage; the other a CZAW Sport Cruiser. 2007 ended on the stroke of midnight, when the PFA was consigned to history and became the Light Aircraft Association.

Infrastructure improvements continued in 2008 and 2009, most visibly the purchase of a 'new' toilet block to replace the original. Members continiued their aircraft building, including the Strut's second Sport Cruiser, completed in mid-2009. By that time, Priory Farm had 29 resident aircraft in airworthy condition, most flown by Strut members. Many more aircraft owned by Strut members are based at airstrips in the locality.