OFFICE BEARERS

CHAIRMAN                    
David Martin                  
Tel. 07597 301748

DEPUTY CHAIRMAN                    
John Parker                   
Tel. 07970 568425

SECRETARY                   
Allan Black                   
Tel. 07512 022949

TREASURER                   
Duncan Pickard                  
Tel. 01334 870203

TALKS CONVENOR             
Graeme Hogg             
Tel. 01334 653043

COMMITTEE MEMBERS     
Jim Lawrence                
Maurice Shepherd           
David Sinclair 

ASSIST. SECRETARY        
Vic Broad

ASSIST. TALKS CONVENOR        
Bill Bowman

TALK RECORDERS         
Vic Broad      
Tony Miklinski                
Brian Murray                  
Graham Pirie

...........................

Wednesday

24th September 2025

10.00am

Talk: 'Silverburn Flax Mill'

Presenter: Fiona Young

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Club News

Secretary email: macblack.author@gmail.com

Chairman, David Martin, was pleased to welcome one of our own members to present a talk on 10th September in the Castlehill Community Hall. It would be Maurice Shepherd who would be the speaker today with a talk entitled ‘Flying around Fife’. Maurice has been a member of Cupar Probus Club since 2011 and is credited to be the one who ensured the continuity of our club by introducing and fostering the use of Zoom during the Covid period.

Flying around Fife

Many years ago, Microsoft Flight Simulator brought a flying experience on a computer to anybody with the appropriate memory and software although the picture on the screen was simple and slow. Maurice Shepherd brought along Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 which is the latest virtual reality of flying an aircraft with real time speed and instrumentation.

He started with a helicopter hovering over the Tay Road Bridge and gently landing on it. The picture shows the helicopter from behind and in a panel on either side, flight  and engine controls are clearly shown. Next was a yellow Tiger Moth biplane about 20 feet above the Tay flying upriver towards the Road Bridge and passing underneath to the other side.

Maurice mentioned the other airfields in Fife by having a basic trainer, a Cessna 172 four seater taking off from RAF Leuchars and flying across the Old Course and St Andrews itself. RAF Leuchars is now a major Diversion airfield and RAF aircraft of various types use it for pilot familiarisation flights.

Landings were taken by the Cessna at Fife Airport, south of Glenrothes and Portmoak glider airfield to the west of Glenrothes on the shores of Loch Leven. For a comparison, a Jetson four prop drone was shown buzzing around the old Crail airfield and the environments.

Finishing with fast aircraft, a Pitt Special aerobatic aircraft did loops, rolls etc above Leuchars finishing with a fast jet, a US Navy CF Hornet which headed south from the Tay estuary at 1000 ft and increased speed to 790 knots which would have created a sonic boom all over Cupar in reality.

Jim Lawrence proposed a vote of thanks which was received with hearty applause.

Brian Murray