Page 106 - Demo

104YOU DID SAY WARSAW! (A Saga Continued)With that first shake of the head on rising from my pit, where...? Ah, Bautzen, east of Dresden in Germany, and still one leg to go to get my steed, a Buchon 109 (RR Merlin-powered Messerschmitt 109) to Warsaw. I was in company with a Kiwi chum (mate!), who was flying a Mk IX Spitfire, and we had started this trek yesterday in Sion, Switzerland. Over breakfast, John and I looked at a rather grey overcast sky but, ever optimistic, we decided to get to the airfield and prep our aircraft. Our friend in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) Tower was again most helpful, and got as much met information as he could for our flight across Poland to Okecie International Airport at Warsaw. Still very overcast, and with poor visibility, we rolled our aircraft out of their old, soviet-style shelter, more in hope than expectation %u2013 the 10 o%u2019clock clearance was going to be a push (in decades of flying had I not learnt!). The yellow stripe down my back, which was getting wider with advancing years, won the day, and it was back to our friend in the Tower for another cup of coffee. But, within the hour, the sky was much brighter, if still overcast, that lemminglike desire to %u2018get on%u2019 overpowered the yellow stripe and, by 1115, our two Merlins crackled into life.Anyone who thinks aeroplanes don%u2019t have moods has never flown a 109, and today my aircraft would obviously rather have stayed warm and snug in its shelter. The wind was not bad, but a little off the centreline compared to both sorties of the previous day. The aircraft did a vicious swing as the tail-wheel broke ground, which gave me an unrequested view of one side of Bautzen airfield, followed immediately by the scenic vista on the other side of the airfield, as it went the other way. With a mental note to stick pins in an effigy of Willy Messerschmitt later, for not providing an adequate rudder, I wrestled the aircraft airborne. Pretty it was not. John quickly slid up in the Spitfire, and I could see him positively laughing %u2013 you can go off Kiwis. However, there was not enough time to mentally debrief the