Sambro Flying Super Hero Action Flyerz, Ironman

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The IoW is a very special place – it’s the nearest you can get to flying abroad without actually leaving the country” At the end of the private tour Rob asks, “Do you guys actually like beer?” And, again, we nod. “Anything else would have scared me. I mean… you are Germans. So… for a beer tonight?” Only a few days earlier, on the snowy Airport Industrial Road at Fairbanks Airport, a not-too-large sign indicated which company is based there: Everts Air, along with its subsidiaries Everts Air Cargo and Everts Air Fuel. OK, SkyDemon refused to play ball, stubbornly repeating that our ‘subscription had expired’… OH NO IT HADN’T!

OK, you get the picture – the Island is definitely a place worth visiting, so if you can wrap that up with flying into one of the best airfields in the country along with a flotilla of other aircraft and then have a party, what’s not to like? He continues: “But I can tell you, this is not a museum. We make our living off these old planes. And we use them because they are very suitable for our purposes.”It was time to see what that ‘turn’ was all about. The canyon feels tight, not much space to turn, is what I thought. We are flying on the updraught side of the canyon. “Are you ready?” asks CC, “Full power, full flaps, and turn. Minimum 45°, 60° is better, remain coordinated.” We’re at 60° bank angle in a perfectly coordinated turn, and CC removes his hands from the yoke showing me how effortless this manoeuvre is. Suddenly the canyon didn’t feel so tight anymore. We complete the turn ‘on a dime’, with plenty of space to spare. Winds were up to around 15kt straight down the runway. CC set orange cones and racing flags on both sides of the runway to create an imaginary competition line. While the technique was going to be similar to what we have been practising, we would add an extra step this time. It was time to use the flaps differently!

This is a full-size replica of the UK’s sole entry into the ‘space race’ of the late 1960s. Quite large components were built at Cowes and the engines subsequently tested near the Needles. In addition to the Fairchild, there are countless other decrepit aircraft, mainly DC-6s. Some are still intact, others are without propellers or engines – some minus wings. And then, there’s Druskininkai, a bumpy strip in the spa town where half of Eastern Europe ‘takes the waters’. Druskininkai sits close to Belarus, and as you tune into Flight Information, you share the frequency with Belarusian MIG pilots on their training sorties. I’ve often wondered if it was one of those MIG pilots who forced the Ryanair Boeing to divert to the Belarusian capital Minsk, just so that the arrest could be carried out on one of its passengers, the independent journalist Roman Protasevich? I then take a few photos of the unloading, marvel at the amount of oil under the engines and climb into the aeroplane.

We also take a look at the apartments for pilots and mechanics that Everts makes available if required. “If you are unhappy with your accommodation, you can also stay here with us,” the 61-year-old suggests. He got the Auster dismantled and shipped to Lithuania, and then tasked local mechanics to rebuild it, replacing all the wood, and the metal, and the wiring, and, above all, the fabric. When I turned up to look at it, I thought it looked resplendent in yellow and blue. And it was also impossibly cute. I think all vintage aeroplanes are – as they sit on their tailwheels, they look like puppies begging for a biscuit. Well… as for me… I’d like to fly a DC-6. At least fly with me. Is there something that could be done…?” I ask cautiously. Away from the capital, the south-east where our Auster is based, is Lithuania’s answer to the Lake District. You take off, turn south and immediately find yourself cruising over a glacial landscape, with miles of blue lined by pine forests. The only thing missing are the fells – Lithuania is a very flat country.