HOBBIES
Continuing our series of what locksmiths do when they are not – well, locksmithing – we meet BARRY MEECH, who 15 years ago watched a TV show on gliding, couldn’t wait to get started and is now permanently hooked.
THE SKY IS THE LIMIT FOR GLIDER BARRY
Barry Meech is a man who likes variety. Originally a carpenter by trade, Barry, who is 51, left that industry around 22 years ago to follow a career in survey- ing, then pursued field management and got into senior management. Tat was fine for a while, but the day
came when Barry decided he really wanted to be “back on the tools” and he spontaneously booked a locksmith train- ing course. He enjoyed it so much that he quickly booked another, and then de- cided that this was a job he could really take to. “Tat was six years ago,” said Barry. “It
was a very busy year in which I decided to take the MLA exam – which I passed (with a few re-takes). Since then I have been busy enough, but I have never relied on one source of income. I am lucky enough to have several commercial customers but I have to admit that the domestic mar- ket is not as busy as it used to be. More people are asking just to buy the locks and fit them themselves, so we decided to open a small unit, which will double as shop. It works well and stops me getting earache from my wife, Tracy, who was less than thrilled at me using our lounge as an office!”
“When I got to the top I just screamed with elation!”
Tracy and Barry are approaching their
Silver Wedding anniversary in 2012. Te couple, who live near Grantham, have two daughters, a son and three grandchil-
dren. We asked Barry why gliding – and not golf? “I have always had a keen interest in
aviation,” he said, “but never had the money to learn to fly. Ten about 15 years ago, I saw a TV programme on gliding and was totally hooked. Tracy bought me an ‘experience’ flight and the rest - as they say - is history. I joined our local club (Buckminster Gliding Club based at the old Saltby Airfield ) a fortnight later. Tat was 15 years ago. “Initially, it took about six months of
spending one day a week at the club, nor- mally a Saturday, learning about the air- craft, how to carry out daily checks, help- ing out setting up the airfield, and waiting patiently for my chance to fly in the two- seater, with an instructor,” said Barry. “Ten one Saturday we were doing lots of check flights and my instructor asked me ‘do you feel ok, no headaches? ‘ I replied ‘no’ and he said ‘ In that case then it is about time you went off and did this on your own.’ “So I did, and that first solo flight was
probably the most relaxed I had ever felt. I strapped myself in, carried out all my checks and away I went. All the way to the top of the winch launch. When I got to the top I just screamed with elation! Tis was what it was all about! But then real- ity set in and I realised it was entirely up to me to get the aircraft safely back on the ground. I set myself up to come into land and touched down smoothly just as I had been taught. It was probably one of my better landings! I was greeted back at the launch point by the chief flying instructor (cfi) or (AKA god) who presented me with my solo ‘wings’. It was one of the best days in my life. “But with all the many things you are taught, rather like driving, the real learn-
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ing does not start until you start flying on your own and I soon progressed through my ground exams, further flying exams, which is when I earned my “bronze badge” - quickly to be followed by a five hour solo flight, a height climb to over 6,000 feet and a solo cross country flight in excess of 50 km landing in a field near Boston in Lincolshire. “Needless to say, these exhilarating
flights were later finished off with a few beers in the club house afterwards!” “I suppose it is a fairly unusual hobby, and lots of people say to me, ‘oh, I would not fly without an engine’ but in fact it is one of the safer forms of aviation sport. We take safety very, very seriously. When you are at 4,000 feet thermalling with the birds it’s a fantastic feeling and if you have had a bad week at work it is a superb form of stress relief.”
Putting something back Last year Barry decided to put some-
thing back into gliding in return for all the pleasure it has given him, and took the Basic Instructor’s course. “Tere are some great instructors out
there who have taught me a lot over the years and I thought I could do the same for others. It was pretty intensive flying, but now I get immense joy out of teaching other people the basics of flying in a two seat training aircraft. “People who have never flown before come back with huge grins on their faces after we have landed - and yes, they are given the chance to take the controls and actually fly the aircraft for themselves,” he explained. “But I still like to fly solo, I like the soli-
tude and being at one with nature.” Barry tries to get to the club at least once a week and fly, even in winter.
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