Our Jim is a resident pilot at the strip and a retired electrics and avionics engineer and thanks to his efforts, we now have a serviceable electrics system. In the end, it was the generator brushes, a place Jim would have looked in the first place had we not been under the impression that the maintenance people at Perth had checked them!

Jim swapped the old brushes out for a set pilfered from a spare Generator we had and after a bit of messing about ( which included reversing the field in the coils – a long story ) the dreaded low voltage light obediently extinguished with the application of a few revs and, joy of joys, we had positive charge showing on the Ammeter. The system is regulating a little on the high side, but otherwise functioning as it should; Ah, dreams do come true……..

Taking JT up on Tuesday to prove the system and visit a local strip I’ve not been to yet and Jim is coming along for the ride, because as he says, things had become personal with the Auster’s electrics.

If all remains well, we’ll be going for a pint after the flight to celebrate and things will be looking good for the North Weald trip on Friday; weather notwithstanding, that is…..not to mention several other trips I had planned for the summer, but we shall see how things go.

Funny how aeroplanes take on a character all of their own once you get to know them and for the last couple of months, the Auster certainly seemed an uppity old girl, watching us disdainfully with her nose in the air while we scratched our heads wondering what the hell was wrong with the damned thing.

Fingers crossed; that’s the end of that particular little episode and we can get on and fly her. Summer is short in Scotland, and not very summer like at that, but it’s not over yet and there’s some good flying to be had, still.

All hail Jim!