Page 108 - Demo

106%u2018Woods?%u2019 or was it %u2018Wudz?%u2019 I asked several times to %u2018Say again%u2019, while doggedly doing what any aviator does, flying a short range aircraft %u2013keep heading towards my destination. Eventually, I clued up that the aforementioned %u2018Lodz%u2019 was in fact this mystical place %u2018Wudz%u2019 but, by this time, I was well down-track and, in the now further-reducing visibility, and I was locked on to a railway line that I knew went absolutely straight into Warsaw %u2013 I was not going back to Lodz!Suitable bleating about fuel again did the trick; we were allowed to edge our way towards the airport, and held on a very wide base leg for runway 33. I could see a Boeing on finals to land, and was surprised when, almost immediately, we were given clearance to make our approach. I was actually concerned about wake turbulence, but this worry was quickly overtaken when the controller made it clear that this was not an approach to land but to %u201cplease make a flypast of the ATC Tower%u201d %u2013 a beat up in other words! I pushed the throttle up, noted that the Spitfire had slid up into wide echelon starboard and, having located the tower to the west of the main runway, flew past pretty quickly but at a height and distance that I felt was not unreasonable for doing something that would normally get me locked up. I called %u2018Downwind to land%u2019, but was met with a further call from ATC, asking for a further fly-by, but this time %u201ccloser and lower!%u201d I said this would be the last pass, as fuel was now beginning to get a bit low, and I was also mindful of the increasing number of airliners holding above. Closer and lower it was, and the balcony of the tower had a large crowd of people waving enthusiastically.....Lord only knows who was controlling the aluminium cloud above Warsaw. There was a tightening crosswind; however, while the touchdown was a knot or two fast, it was a %u2018greaser%u2019 .... but, ever-ready to prove the superiority of machine over man, the Buchon swung really hard to starboard and, despite full left rudder, was still heading some 20 degrees off the centreline. Large civilian airports have one very important feature which military airfields do not %u2013 high speed exits from the runway. An exit was conveniently lined up with my independent-minded aircraft and, to the casual observer, my departure from the runway was no more memorable than for being a bit fast!