EuroFOX Microlight Fly In - Popham 2023

With the event nearly being cancelled as a result of bad weather, a few die-hard pilots manage to make it to Popham for the EuroFOX fly in.
In this this episode I fly to Popham for the event, meet an 'honorary' EuroFOX pilot & admire the incredible aircraft on display before departing to Kent to leave G-COCG at the factory for a service and instrument panel upgrades.
Join us for the adventure!
A huge thank you to the organisers of the event from the Daedalus Aviation & Heritage Group who worked so hard & gave up so much of their time.

[@rogermarsh9632]

I do love these videos. Unpretentious and accessible inspiration to fly.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

That’s such a thoughtful comment! Thank you very much sir 😊👍🏼 Humbly received but greatly appreciated 🫡

[@ShortField]

Congratulations on hitting 1k subs Geoff, so deserved. 👏👏👏

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Thank you so much boss, that means a great deal to me coming from you 🙏🏻

[@MichaelRhodes-w3k]

My first time on your channel, really enjoyed it. Thank you.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

It’s great to have you onboard 👍🏼 Thanks so much for watching, I really appreciate it 🥳

[@comeflywithlee433]

Keep up the great videos

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Thank you sir 🫡 Wilco 👍🏼

[@jonnytailwheel]

Geoff thanks for arranging the day with Ben and others. Glad we managed to attend and as you say the best weather was later on after we left. I’m sure you’ll love your new panel. Keep up the videos. So professional.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

You are a gentleman sir! Hopefully we can spend some more time chatting the next time we meet 🤞🏼😊 Thanks for your kind words of support too 👍🏼

[@GolfFoxtrot22]

Hi Geoff, you keep rubbing in the cockpit heating....I'll remind you of that in the summer when you are cooking in your greenhouse :)..Oh Eve, join the many that have gained their pilots wings. Popham looked amazing. Until next time......

[@FlyingDarkLord]

😂 Thanks Giles! Yup, it has to be said, come those days of summer time heat & I’ll be desperate for your flexwing version of air conditioning! Perhaps then you could show what ‘proper’ flying is like 😉👍🏼 We’ll have to continue to work on indoctrinating Eve into joining our ranks… she seems a very involved ‘passenger’ so surely it won’t take too much persuasion 🤷🏻‍♂️ Popham was great fun, pity that the weather stole our thunder, but there’s always the trade fair 🤞🏼

[@GolfFoxtrot22]

@@FlyingDarkLord turn the auto pilot off and let go of the control column....I'm sure she will have a go then. hehe

[@FlyingDarkLord]

😂 nothing encourages a behavioural change like the fear of imminent death!

[@GolfFoxtrot22]

@@FlyingDarkLord but please don't tell Eve I suggested it, I would be fearful for my well being.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

😄 with good reason!

[@tomtilley3162]

it's a pleasure to watch these video's thank you so much for sharing .these fly in's are awsome i hope theres more in the future.if ever we could meet i would chat with you all day i find it fascinating the world of light aircraft such as yours any way all the best from skegvegas and thanks again

[@FlyingDarkLord]

I really appreciate your support of the channel 😊👍🏼 These videos have given me a great opportunity to meet & chat to like-minded individuals, such as yourself, about the best topic in the world… aviation! 😄

[@LetsGoFlying]

Great video! I had hoped to get down myself but it wasn’t to be! Looking forward to seeing the new panel!

[@FlyingDarkLord]

I’m so excited about the upgrades 🥳 We MUST organise a ‘collaboration’ or something like that together soon! 😂

[@crisjpalmer]

Best video yet Geoff, despite the awfull cameo appearance lol It was great to finally met you and catch up with some of the others. Hopefully there will be some more events like this over the summer, so we can tag along again. Chris

[@FlyingDarkLord]

😂 the videos made better by the interview with that handsome chap with the S7 😂 Great to have met you, thanks for coming along & chatting to me! Hopefully see you again this season 🥳🎈👍🏼

[@crisjpalmer]

@@FlyingDarkLord 😃

[@ShortField]

You are a very decent interviewee, very entertaining mate. 👍👍👍

[@crisjpalmer]

@@ShortField I promise to do better, when I hit the prime time spot on the Short Field channel 🤣🤣🤣

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Terry will probably be kinder to you on the edit too 😄😉

[@rogerclarke3291]

Such a Beautiful looking plane and nice landing.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Thank you sir 🙏🏻

[@ShortField]

Chris is becoming a legend, us Essex boys love our strip flying :-) Great video Geoff but I have a complaint! You promised me a landing video into Lukesfield, I know, you ran out of battery, when we meet up I will give you my spare one so you can get it next time 🤣🤣🤣 Good job sir.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

You are 100% correct! I ran the cameras & soooo frustrated as I was just MINUTES away from landing when they died!!!! 🤬🤬🤬 Thanks for watching sir! Cris was such a decent chap! We should all get together for an Essex episode!!! 😄

[@ranbirsingh7666]

Geoff, Great video 👍 shame about the weather, hopefully if be a-lot better for annual Popham microlight fair end of the month .

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Thanks for watching again 🥳👍🏼 The weather for the trade fair is always a worry 😳 Hopefully this year will be a good one 🤞🏼

[@ranbirsingh7666]

@@FlyingDarkLord look forward to upgrade instrument panel video 😎😁

[@PilotCaptainRay]

So pleased it went ahead for you Dark Lord… I was watching on the day and thought you may be fogged in at one point !!😮 Turned out better than I thought in the end….😅 As always, a great video, with much valuable content 😊 Also love the hedgehog on the mouthpiece….. you don’t see them so much, these days… 😜 ( does it have a name ? )….. Hope the refit goes according to plan… I was flying on Saturday, and saw the gap where the ‘Blue Angel’ is usually located…… seemed lost without her !! Well done again…👏 Keep ‘em coming, sir…. Captain Ray 👨‍✈️

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Evening captain 🫡👨🏼‍✈️ The ‘hedgehog’ or ‘dead cat’ was a huge mistake!!! 😂 My word, it tickled so much that it was almost a distraction. I fitted it to try & improve the audio a bit more, but instantly regretted it! Trust me, it will be a brief cameo for that thing!!! 🦔 I’m glad you got to fly on the weekend 🥳 With the weather being what it is, there seem so few opportunities 😡 Paul texted me to break the bad news that my aircraft was missing! 😳 The hangar does look empty without it… I’m sure when I get back I’ll find some random piece of farm equipment in its place! 😄 I’m looking forward to the panel changes & also some better weather! Thanks for commenting, it doesn’t feel like the video is ‘complete’ without your stamp of approval 😉👍🏼

[@jetranger5058]

Super video again Geoff really look forward to them especially as lm not too well at mo gives me something to look forward towards

[@FlyingDarkLord]

I’m sorry to hear that 😔 I hope you get well soon 🤞🏼 I’m really pleased to learn that the videos have provided you with a bit of a distraction whilst you are recuperating 👍🏼

[@michaelblomfield1504]

Nice video as always Geoff👍

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Thank you so much sir! Great to have you on board! 😄👍🏼

[@kevchilton908]

Smashing video, Geoff 👏👏👏 Shame the weather wasn’t better for you but it sounded like a great success anyway. Hope the modifications go according to plan and you get the plane back soon 👍

[@FlyingDarkLord]

That’s kind of you sir 👍🏼 Thanks so much for tuning in again 😊

[@FSMadness]

I love Popham was there on Friday. Such a great atmosphere

[@FlyingDarkLord]

It’s a great airfield & seems to make a significant contribution to promoting aviation, gotta love it! 😊👍🏼

[@clearprop]

It was great to finally meet you, sir! I have the other view of that rather lovely zoom climb on takeoff - it looked like great fun from where I was standing. Hopefully see you again before too long. 👍😁

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Thanks sooooo much for coming along sir!!! OMG it was wonderful to finally meet & learn more about you! I was disappointed that we didn’t get more time to chat, but hopefully we can remedy that in the near future 🤞🏼 I’m hoping you’ll be posting new videos of you flying soon 😉

[@clearprop]

@@FlyingDarkLord Flt Lt Giles Fowler VC has some content about my first instructional flight which I think he's going to release tomorrow. I was confronted with his roving camera before I'd even unstrapped... 😉 Still toying with the idea of documenting my journey but want it to be 'different' somehow. We'll see.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Giles is a good man! I’ll be looking out for that video! You absolutely MUST make that series! I have TONNES of people requesting my ‘training’ videos because so many want to know what’s involved, but I didn’t record anything during my training. It would be such a popular series & would help out so many people… DO IT!!! 😄👍🏼

[@clearprop]

@@FlyingDarkLord You might persuade me yet... 😉 Genuinely though, thank you for the encouragement.

[@FlyingSteveUK]

Great video again Geoff and the interview segment is a nice idea. I met Chris at a recent LAA Rotax course where we passed around bits of engines and ate flapjacks! We would have joined you on the day, but the weather didn't encourage me to drive down, let alone fly in! Good to have Eve back on duty for a bit of narration this time ...and as transport manager! 👍 Hope the panel work goes well and you can find a lift back down to Luke's Field 🤞

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Hi Steve, good to hear from you sir 👍🏼 Cris was a super chap with a great sense of humour & so easy to chat to! The aviation community is a small but fantastic one! It’s wonderful to discover these connections & develop friendships with others who share the same passion 😊…although no flapjacks at Popham 🤔 The weather was not great & I don’t blame you at all. I think the turnout would have been significantly greater if the weather had played ball 🤷🏻‍♂️ I like it when Eve gets involved… hopefully the weather will improve soon & more opportunities will present 🤞🏼 I’m looking forward to getting my plane back & enjoying the benefit of the new toys 🥳 I hope to bump into you again this season. Please say hi to Lily for us 👋🏼😊

[@FlyingSteveUK]

@@FlyingDarkLord Thanks for the reply 😁It's such a specific interest that it does make it a small world, I guess. Made smaller by KZbin of course. Lily says hello back with a special 😘for the flying Pup! See you out there...just need the weather to settle again.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Will pass that on 🐶 See you soon 🤞🏼

[@jurofox]

Very well put together video, would have love to attend :) So many taildragger Foxes! They sure look good.. Cant wait for the panel uprageds. Happy flying!

[@FlyingDarkLord]

We would have had a greater turn out if we didn’t have such awful weather & a change in the scheduled day, but that’s aviation 🤷🏻‍♂️ Glad to see your aircraft is back in commission & I’m looking forward to seeing your videos back again 😊👍🏼

[@conradcurtis8583]

Very enjoyable video Geoff. Was gonna fly along with you in G-DBIN but events conspired against me. I’ll tell you all about it at SV next time we meet.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Hello sir, absolutely, will chat to you at SV, KZbin is not really the best forum for more personal matters 👍🏼

[@gt-av8r]

Great Film Geoff, with one thing or another i couldnt make it....hopefully meet up next time..

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Thanks for watching sir, next time boss! 😄 We will get there 👍🏼

[@fellebelle21]

I'm very curious about the new setup of your device. And as usual, I found it more than worthwhile to watch your video. I noticed that radio work in the UK is slightly different from that in Belgium.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

We want to do some flying to Germany (passing through Belgium) either this year or next & so we are also curious about the difference in radio communications 😊👍🏼

[@fellebelle21]

@@FlyingDarkLord Well, it's not like we wouldn't understand each other, that's certainly not the case. And I'm convinced that no one will comment on it. It's just something I noticed. Be sure to let us know when you're flying over. I know several ultralight pilots in our club in Brasschaat who also follow you. For me, it's definitely something to look forward to.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Very true, I think the communications are not too different 👍🏼 Also, thank you so much. We wondered if there would be somewhere ‘friendly’ we could stop en route, so that’s fantastic! We may well take you up on the offer & stop in to say hi 😊👍🏼

[@cryptodoodle7506]

Just recently came across your channel and have watched a few of your videos, wondered where you were flying from then noticed it was Combe Bisset! As a Salisbury guy myself I'd love to say hello one day, can't stick one's nose up at looking at a nice aeroplane.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Fantastic! Thanks for watching! Hopefully it’s interesting for you to see places you recognise? Would be great to meet you 😊👍🏼

[@ghoflyer]

Glad to see a bit more on the ground. Makes the video better. There was some sort of animal attached to your face though? :-)

[@FlyingDarkLord]

😂 don’t worry, it will be the one & only time you’ll see that animal! It was so annoying it’s definitely GONE!!! 😂

[@michaellane2501]

Been looking forward to this video coming out! Glad to see it went well despite the weather. Nice change with the naration with eve! Look forward to seeing your changes. When do you get Charlie golf back?

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Thank you very much sir! 😄👍🏼 I really wish I’d spent more time chatting to & interviewing other EuroFOX owners, as there were some amazing examples there with some very unique features. But, I’m still learning this KZbin malarkey so hopefully will get better with more experience 🤞🏼 I liked having Eve narrate, was interested to see what people thought, so I greatly appreciate your feedback. I’m not sure when CG comes back 🤔 I suspect it may be another 2-3 weeks, but I don’t want to rush them 😊 Collecting it will probably be my next video, so a delay in content production to be expected 😄 Thanks for watching sir 🫡

[@michaellane2501]

@Dark Lord always great videos! I think you have it sussed, really. Yeah no rush on getting the plane back at the moment with weather like it is at the moment.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

You are a gent 🙏🏻 The weather is terrible 😭 I hope that this is not setting the tone for the rest of the spring & summer 🤞🏼

[@pbvincent]

Geoff you make great videos. May I ask how you decided on EuroFOX rather than....EV97, SkyRanger, C42 etc etc etc? You may have spent days (months) poring over comparative spreadsheets but I realise most decisions are not made like that! What did it for you? Thanks.

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Hello! That is a difficult question to answer in the comments section, but I’ll do my best 😄 Soooo, I wrote a list of all the features that were important to me in my dream Aircraft & the EuroFOX was the only one that met ALL my criteria. My criteria were as follows… - Easily foldable wings - Trailer transportable - UK build, service & parts availability - Inexpensive to buy & run - Complete control over colour & spec - Complete control over avionics choice - Excellent build quality - Mild/forgiving handling - Luggage compartment accessible from seats - Good visibility - Tricycle gear - Looks like a ‘proper’ plane - High wing - Control column where it ‘should’ be - Good reputation - Good resale value / Depreciation resistant The EuroFOX ticked all those boxes 😊👍🏼 Hope that helps 😉

[@pbvincent]

@@FlyingDarkLord Thank you!

[@thewhimpolar]

That's a beautiful colour combination and did I read or hear right that the eurofox planes run on mogas? If this is the case what is the availability of it and are other fuel types possible to use?

[@FlyingDarkLord]

Thank you very much 😊👍🏼 Yes it can run on both Mogas & 100LL but it performs better & is kinder to the engine to keep it running on Mogas. I carry a Jerry can & fill up at local car fuel stations which normally aren’t too far from airports/airfields. I’ve never run mine on anything other than Mogas but lots of people do. Running them on 100LL reduces their time between rebuilds so stick to Mogas if possible 👍🏼

[@thewhimpolar]

@@FlyingDarkLord Just another question sorry, are the colour combinations from a set of limited colour choices or can you specify bespoke colours and combinations?

[@FlyingDarkLord]

No problem 😊 You can choose ANY colour from the RAL palette… they do advise against having all black wings though as this absorbs heat & causes problems with the fuel & fuel tanks. You can also have lines, waves, patterns etc… the more you do the more expensive it gets though. Most people stick to two colours which is pretty standard. I went for RAL 5007 blue & solid black (as you can see) 😊👍🏼

[@kkiwi54]

I wouldn't have thought that you'd need "permission" from Popham Radio to depart on the base leg - or for anything 🤔

[@FlyingDarkLord]

That is true

[@paullanham1014]

I’m considering reporting you to the society for the protection of small farm creatures… fancy sticking a field vole on your headset mic!

[@FlyingDarkLord]

He was soooo fluffy!

[@louandcolinsaviationnonsen478]

Looks like you had a fun day. We always enjoy your videos and agree 100% with @rogermarsh9632

[@FlyingDarkLord]

I’m always delighted to have you both on board 😊 Thanks for supporting the channel 🙏🏻