Recently I had driven over to my local airfield at Sywell for a spot of lunch and a few photographs. How then did I  ended up having quite an emotional day, courtesy of some members of the Thomas Castle Aviation Heritage Scholarship Team?

Sywell Airfield

Well, let me explain.

Sywell Airfield has an Art Deco hotel on site and also a great restaurant. It is a wonderful place to watch planes and helicopters arrive and depart, especially over a lovely lunch.

The Aviator

As there are fantastic lounges, seating areas and decorative touches, it is a perfect place to take a variety of photographs.

After spending a little while doing so, I was very peckish so headed into the restaurant to have some lunch. One fabulous burger later and I was good to go.

The Pilot’s Lounge

The weather had perked right up so I went outside to sit in the afternoon sun, viewing the planes landing.

I noticed two older style planes much closer to the buildings, as if they were ‘on display’ and wondered if it might be possible to get a photograph with them.

Cheers!

It so happens that I was wearing era appropriate clothing so I hoped my luck might be in. There were two men occasionally walking around the planes, completing what I assumed were safety checks.

Now was a good opportunity to ask if it was possible to get a photograph with one of the planes.

A Perfect Backdrop

The answer was unfortunately that we would have to speak with Ian.

Ian? Who and where did we find him?

A Photo Opportunity?

As it happens there were quite a lot of people coming and going from the airfield and as I had no idea who Ian was, it looked to be an almost impossible task.

And then, fate smiled down. One of the gentlemen, Simon said I could go over to the plane and he would get some pictures for me.

Tom’s Beloved Tiger Moth

I literally was so excited I thought I was going to burst!

After taking several photographs, Simon started telling me about the plane, a beautiful red Tiger-Moth which was owned by Ian and his son, Tom Castle.

Vintage Aviation At Its Best

Together they had rebuilt the de Havilland Tiger Moth (registration G-ANTE) and Tom gained his Private Pilots Licence and finally flew the plane solo.

Tragically, Tom was killed in an aerobatics training accident when he was only 30 years old. As he was such a beloved figure around Sywell, working on many planes including Spitfires and Messerschmitt’s, it was a great loss.

Thomas’ Beautiful Plane

Tom was not only a pilot, he was also an exceptional engineer in the vintage aviation sector. Ian placed the Tiger-Moth in trust so it could be used to offer young aviators the opportunity to come into contact with Heritage aviation.

In order to do this, and honour Thomas’ life and passion, The Thomas Castle Aviation Heritage Scholarship was set up.

Just Wonderful

Experienced Pilots volunteer their time to give young people opportunities that they would never normally receive, including working on the Tiger-Moth, replacing and repairing parts and in many cases, the opportunity to actually fly it!

Simon was so enthusiastic about the scholarship and we talked for quite a while about it. I was absolutely touched to hear just what Ian and Thomas’ friends and colleagues had created, especially when spoken about with such passion.

Pilot’s Uniform

I didn’t think it was possible to become more emotional, however Simon told me that in the rear seat of the Tiger-Moth was a brown leather jacket. This was just visible and I wondered what the significance was.

Simon said that Thomas was his best friend and when he passed away, Ian gifted him Toms leather flying jacket. Every time Simon flies in the plane, he wears it in honour of Tom.

An Absolute Honour

Well, that was it. I completely became overwhelmed by this beautiful tribute; I may have had to mention that I cry at  Andrex adverts and not to worry, I wasn’t completely unhinged!

I just couldn’t help but think that it was a completely fitting tribute.

G-ANTE Up in The Air

That every time his beloved Tiger-Moth goes up into the clouds, his jacket goes with it and there is still a piece of Thomas Castle in the aeroplane along with the passion, love and pride he had for his beloved G-ANTE.

I have to be honest, my heart broke a little when Simon was telling me the history behind the plane, only to be soar again when I thought of all the people that The Thomas Castle Aviation Heritage Scholarship have helped to get involved in aviation.

Those Magnificent Men….

The photographs that Simon took were fantastic; the history and story of Thomas Castle and his Tiger-Moth was even more special, all because I asked to have a photograph in front of a beautiful old plane!

If you would like to find out more about the Scholarship or the work that the Castle Family do at Sywell, click on one of the links in this blog.

…In Their Flying Machines

Finally, my thanks go again to Simon, Ian and Thomas Castle for restoring this amazing plane to its full potential and glory and allowing me to be photographed with such a vintage beauty.

Till next time,

SPSG xxx