A few cars, motorbikes and helicopters....

[Siko]

Excuse the slight indulgence, but I've been inspired by a few other "Car History" type threads that have appeared recently and thought it may be interesting (or not ) to show my history in the air and on the ground over the last 17 years.

Ok, to start with, I'll skip the Fiesta Xr2i/LX and cut straight to the chase: my first fast bike, a Kawasaki ZX-6R, bought new whilst waiting to start flying training in the RAF. I was so excited about picking up this little beauty that I decided I really didn't want a backseat trip in a Harrier instead and had a fun, but rather slower afternoon. Yes I was a bit of a dick in those days and no, I never got the chance again



Anyway, I took this around Europe twice.....once via Caen to Andorra and back in 5 days, then with a group of seven of us via Bilbao, Barcelona, Monaco and Italy....of the seven only me and one other didn't crash (all ok) Sold to a mate after a very long time, a simply incredible bike that kept up with my replacement bike, a new R1.

After subscribing to the new Evo magazine I bought into them banging the drum on a) The brand new Clio 172 and b) personal imports, so ergo, I bought a new Clio 172 as a personal import from Belgium. What an awesome little car, took ages to arrive but cost about 3-4k less than in the UK. Hoofing great fun and utter hooliganism, I'd have another in a heartbeat. My mates 182 Cup kept up very well with my later 911. Unfortunately I partly ripped the bumper off coming off a high kerb where I had parked her overnight, a judicious use of superglue sorted that out and was such a good job the guy I eventually sold it to didn't believe me when I told him



Shortly after getting the 172 I got the itch for a faster superbike and sold the ZX6R to my buddy, investing in a new Yamaha R1.

Continued....

[Siko]

So, the R1 then....what a simply amazing bike. I was lucky enough to get a backseat trip in a Hawk (not quite a Harrier, but it would do ) about the same time I got the R1 and the sense of fun, speed, terror, involvement and imminent death was on a different plane from the jet....wow! Unfortunately I didn't tour with the R1 and my self-control was so utterly lacking that it was the first vehicle I owned where I genuinely didn't trust myself on it, so it was very very sadly sold along with the 172.....to fund my first (and only) 911!



As described by a mate...."banana vomit yellow interior with old man green exterior", but I didn't care, I truly adored that car Bought second hand for £36k 4 years old....if only I'd known about the engines Plagued by mayo in the filler cap (told not to worry by the Specialist I took it to), sticking spoilers and eventually a blown engine on the M40. But what a car....I even had old Jezza himself pull out in front of me one day in a Ferrari (612 I think). The engine blew up when I was undertaking a MLM and I dare say the 300 or so people who saw it happen on the motorway are still wetting themselves laughing now. Sigh. Anyway, £20k (depreciation and an engine rebuild) later I got shot of it and fell into a succession of sheds.

But what about the helicopters?

Continued....

[Siko]

Started out in a variety of training aircraft, Firefly, Squirrel (AS350), Griffin (412) before I found myself desperately trying to get to grips with the Puma. What a fun little helicopter this was, if it was a car then the equivalent would be an old Beemer 3 series estate. Old and a bit crap, but a whole shedload of fun to fly and I cut my teeth scaring a variety of co-pilots and crewmen witless while I explored the Nr limits of the beastie.



I spent three happy years on the Puma before I transferred onto the brand new (at the time!) Merlin HC3, this was akin to going from the ancient Beemer estate to an RS6 It was a lot of fun, if a little unreliable and I now had two items of equipment which helped me become a better pilot....a) anticipators (Puma in-joke ) and b) a digital map....satnav for your aircraft, oh yes! I spent another three years or so on the Merlin and flew it all over the world (not literally of course ), piccie below is actually of me flying it over Flamborough Head taken from a Dutch Chinook.



Continued....

[Rubin215]

Siko said:

Excuse the slight indulgence, but I've been inspired by a few other "Car History" type threads that have appeared recently and thought it may be interesting (or not ) to show my history in the air and on the ground over the last 17 years.

Ok, to start with, I'll skip the Fiesta Xr2i/LX and cut straight to the chase: my first fast bike, a Kawasaki ZX-6R, bought new whilst waiting to start flying training in the RAF. I was so excited about picking up this little beauty that I decided I really didn't want a backseat trip in a Harrier instead and had a fun, but rather slower afternoon. Yes I was a bit of a dick in those days and no, I never got the chance again



Anyway, I took this around Europe twice.....once via Caen to Andorra and back in 5 days, then with a group of seven of us via Bilbao, Barcelona, Monaco and Italy....of the seven only me and one other didn't crash (all ok) Sold to a mate after a very long time, a simply incredible bike that kept up with my replacement bike, a new R1.

After subscribing to the new Evo magazine I bought into them banging the drum on a) The brand new Clio 172 and b) personal imports, so ergo, I bought a new Clio 172 as a personal import from Belgium. What an awesome little car, took ages to arrive but cost about 3-4k less than in the UK. Hoofing great fun and utter hooliganism, I'd have another in a heartbeat. My mates 182 Cup kept up very well with my later 911. Unfortunately I partly ripped the bumper off coming off a high kerb where I had parked her overnight, a judicious use of superglue sorted that out and was such a good job the guy I eventually sold it to didn't believe me when I told him



Shortly after getting the 172 I got the itch for a faster superbike and sold the ZX6R to my buddy, investing in a new Yamaha R1.

Continued....

Your body positioning on the bike is dreadful; I hope you're better in a chopper...

[Siko]

So, continuing the helicopter theme I transferred back onto the Griffin (412) to be an instructor (if you can't, teach etc!) and spent a happy few years buzzing around Shropshire where I eventually settled down with my family. I also qualified as a Role Demo pilot and carried out many flying displays at various events and functions, although I'll leave the last word on helicopter flying displays to my boss at the time, who brought me thumpingly down to earth after a particularly satisfying display had left me on a high: "Siko, helicopter displays are a bit like masturbation, fantastic fun to the participant, but a bit weird to anyone else watching". He was probably right Note for the geeks: the image below is of a HAR2:



Ok, so having a boss with an immaculate S1 Exige meant that my succession of rotboxes had to go and about this time I disposed of my beloved Mk1 Golf Gti (sigh) to buy a completely reliable Mk1 Mx5.



Ok, if you really don't get sarcasm, then I'll spell it out: this was a truly unreliable bucket of ****. However, like the 911 I truly loved it and forgave its utter, wallet-busting lack of reliability....days of my life were wasted either bump starting it at work or at home, filling the radiator with Motorway Services tap water or exploring the depths of the cooling system in some distress. Rather strangely I was recounting the story of my 911 expiring on the M40 to a mate of mine, on the M40, in approximately the same place in my (reliable) MX5 and there suddenly came a massive cloud of smoke as the radiator, literally, blew off. So came months of stress and pain. But, driving to work on an icy/snowy back road was still the most fun thing I think I have ever done. If I had a big 'like' button for that car I'd be furiously hammering it as I write this When I advertised this it still wasn't truly sorted and I think the HG had gone (I'd changed everything else) but the one chap who came to see it, luckily wasn't bothered about the HG as he bought it as a trackcar project....love to know if he supercharged it or whether he's still kicking it the same way I used to

Continued...

[Siko]

Rubin215 said:

Your body positioning on the bike is dreadful; I hope you're better in a chopper...

Haha it was my buddy riding that....he's an airline Pilot so you'd hope he had some coordination too. But, you are correct, my positioning is no better in my helicopter

[Siko]

Totally out of sequence, my apologies, the Golf Gti Mk1 Bought whilst I was flying the Merlin and after the 911 'incident'. The chap who sold it to me in Leamington Spa demonstrated an absolute masterclass in how to sell a car to a lurning goon, the result being me offering him a wad of cash and him declining it before driving me around Leamington to a cashpoint to get a lot more out. Git. Anyway, amazing car, the only real problem I had was the steering rack totally failing as I drove through the main gate at work one morning...luckily I have Jedilike reactions and/or am really flukey and narrowly missed implanting it in the main guardroom. When I sold this to buy the MX5 I was absolutely deluged with buyers and it sold to the first chap who came.



Ok so jumping ahead to 2010, the MX5 was sold and I needed a reliable car to get me from deepest Shropshire to Oxfordshire every week. But I had no money whatsoever, so, I sold my soul to the devil and got a small loan to buy the cheapest new car on sale in the UK: ladies & gentlemen I give you the Fiat Panda Eco Active 1.1 58bhp However, I was back on the Puma again and I took this photo of the Panda and my Puma as an 'ironic' statement on something or other, not really sure what



I can't really think of anything to say about the Panda, other than.....meh.

[Siko]

Ok so onto the present day, the Panda has now been replaced (but not sold yet...duh) by this little hairdressers wet dream, but I don't care, it is simply massive fun:



Massive spec that came to around £24k when new, I think it is just incredible value for money and taking the banter from my mates is a small price to pay

On the helicopter front I have exchanged the crusty, but trusty, old Puma for one of these bad boys:



Sorry for the cruddy photo. A bit like the jump from the Puma to the Merlin, this S92 is even better than the Merlin and makes it look like a ratty old hire car. Anyway I hope anyone who made it to the end has enjoyed this indulgence of mine, thanks for looking

[gazmk2]

I take it you're at RAF Benson then? I was posted there from 2001 to 2005. Lovely little place and many happy memories there, especially the high speed trip back in a merlin from 28 squadrons first excercise!! Those things can bloody move!

I swear I used to see that golf parked outside B hanger?

Edited by gazmk2 on Friday 22 November 05:14

[Siko]

Yes I was there from 2002-6 and 2010-13, very fond memories of the place. You are quite right, there was an utter minter of a Mk1 outside 'B' hangar, sadly it was not mine, but it did inspire me to own mine. I think it was owned by the adjutant on 606 Sqn, always immaculate and driven in every weather.....top bloke!

[Captainawesome]

You flying for Bristows out of Scaberdeen?

I've probably been flown about by you at some point.


Very convoluted collection there.

[Siko]

Hi mate, great username and collection btw ;-) Yes I fly for Bristows out of Scatsta, mainly service the East Shetland Basin myself.

I would agree with you that it is a very convoluted collection; mainly driven by financial status and requirement for something sensible to commute in. However, I am trying to 'tick' the boxes of as many fun cars as possible

[BarringtonL]

Entertaining read.

[Shadow R1]

Great read.

[Siko]

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated

[GTiFrank]

Enjoyed reading that, nice write up.

[clubsportguy]

Siko said:

So, the R1 then....what a simply amazing bike. I was lucky enough to get a backseat trip in a Hawk (not quite a Harrier, but it would do ) about the same time I got the R1 and the sense of fun, speed, terror, involvement and imminent death was on a different plane from the jet....wow! Unfortunately I didn't tour with the R1 and my self-control was so utterly lacking that it was the first vehicle I owned where I genuinely didn't trust myself on it, so it was very very sadly sold along with the 172.....to fund my first (and only) 911!



As described by a mate...."banana vomit yellow interior with old man green exterior", but I didn't care, I truly adored that car Bought second hand for £36k 4 years old....if only I'd known about the engines Plagued by mayo in the filler cap (told not to worry by the Specialist I took it to), sticking spoilers and eventually a blown engine on the M40. But what a car....I even had old Jezza himself pull out in front of me one day in a Ferrari (612 I think). The engine blew up when I was undertaking a MLM and I dare say the 300 or so people who saw it happen on the motorway are still wetting themselves laughing now. Sigh. Anyway, £20k (depreciation and an engine rebuild) later I got shot of it and fell into a succession of sheds.

But what about the helicopters?

Continued....

You really know how to chose the worse 911 colour inside/outside combo's !! Well it could be worse as I used to work at a Porsche dealership and I was told about a black 911 with Red and Yellow interior !! It was called the Ronald McDonald car. I so wish that I was you flying helicopters for a living, as I remember seeing Noel Edmonds back in the day flying his and thinking it was me. Sadly funds didn't allow for it, So any chance of a flight sometime ??? Ps my PH handle refs to the 911 Clubsport my Fave 911

[jamiem555]

Si, great write up. Not an indulgence at all! That's what the internet is for. Maybe I should post a pic of all the aircraft I've worked on!

[Mastodon2]

Those bikes, oh lord, I'm looking at a ZX-6R or an R6 as my first bike, with the dream machine being an R1.

[Baryonyx]

clubsportguy said:

You really know how to chose the worse 911 colour inside/outside combo's !!

Are you smoking crack? That is a fantastic colour combo for a 911.