| Event type: | Meeting |
| Date: | 18th September 2025 |
| Time: | 2:30 pm |
| Venue: | Kenilworth Methodist Church |
| Organiser: | |
| Cost: | Entry is free to u3a members. Non-members are welcome for a nominal charge of £1 |
Speaker: Clive Sutton
Kenilworth u3a member Clive Sutton tells the story of how as a boy he dreamed of piloting his own aircraft. Following a long career in aviation and automotive engineering, including seven years in the RAF, he eventually did so.
How did he fulfil his dream? What did it cost and what expertise was needed? These are just some of the questions Clive will answer as well as telling us about the people he met and the adventures he had and still has in flying the aeroplane he built himself - with a little help along the way!
Post meeting
Many people have built planes, usually small models out of balsa wood or plastic, but the speaker at our last Open Meeting, Clive Sutton, built a full size plane out of glass fibre in his garage and back garden at his home in Kenilworth. Luckily the wings of the plane were demountable!
According to Clive all you need to build a plane is the kit of parts, an instruction manual, spirit level, bathroom scales, sanding block, tape measure and an electric drill. Sounds easy!
Clive’s first foray into flying was at school in Rhodesia when he built plastic hand gliders that could be elevated by towing behind a motorbike.
He joined the RAF in 1971 and at the age of 40 learnt to fly. Once qualified the world was his oyster when he hired planes for days out but soon realized that other pilots had the same idea and queues to fly often happened. So Clive wondered whether he should have a plane of his own.
He checked the market for a second-hand kit of parts and eventually settled on a ‘Europa’ plane which appeared affordable. The shell was constructed from resin, glass fibre cloth and araldite glue. After further searching he found a second-hand kit of parts that had begun to be assembled, but the owner, unfortunately, developed a heart problem so was unable to fly. Clive therefore took over the challenge of completing the build.
Clive explained that the cost to build the plane and get it flying was in the region of £45K – not much more than the cost of a new car! Operating and maintaining the plane is about £3.5K per year.
The resin and glass fibre body of the plane is extremely strong and light but did require a significant amount of time, glueing, sanding and filling before painting. Luckily Clive had a ‘beautiful assistant’ to undertake some of these time consuming activities – his wife, Helen.
When the structure was complete the Rotax 4 stroke 912 engine could be installed. Then the essential instruments of airspeed indicator, compass, altimeter and clock were fitted. Other instruments were optional extras.
Obviously, regulations apply to building your own plane. Budding pilots need to be a member of the Light Aircraft Association (LAA) which is regulated by the CAA. So, when Clive’s plane was assembled it was time to demonstrate to the LAA that the plane was airworthy, initially by ground taxiing then flight testing. The first flight of ‘G-Yeti’ was in 2017, since then the plane has flown Clive and Helen around the UK to visit family and friends, over the Alps to Venice and other far-flung places.
The inevitable question was raised – does Clive have a parachute? The answer was - no, apart from during the initial testing of the plane. If the engine does fail, the plane will glide to the ground and ideally land in a convenient field!
A very enlightening and interesting talk by Clive, on a subject very few of the audience had any knowledge at all.