Keeping It Real with Rory Auskerry - February 2009

Dreams of flying high

Before I left Orkney, I was lucky enough to be taken up for a trip in a beautiful new light aircraft built and flown by Tommy Sinclair. As you can see from the picture, it was a dry, bright day. There was a south-westerly breeze. We were in the air for almost an hour, flying over Finstown, Kirkwall, Deerness, Auskerry and Stronsay. Apart from my flight home in the Flybe Saab aircraft before Christmas, which was after dark, this was my first time in the air for months.

I have wanted to learn to fly from the age of about six when I first remember seeing the Nothern Lighthouse Board's bright red BO-105 helicopter. The chopper used to visit Auskerry several times a year throughout my childhood. It brought engineers, commissioners and replacement gas cylinders for the lighthouse every nine months. More recently, the helicopter landed tons of building supplies and equipment as part of the changing of the light from a gas-powered system to one that now runs on power harnessed by 36 solar panels and stored in a huge bank of batteries. There is also a diesel generator for back up.

Anyway, when I was younger I used to sit for hours watching with fascination that workhorse of a helicopter flying to and from the NLB ship, MV Pharos with load after load slung under its belly. Over the years I had the chance talk to many of the pilots and I was even lucky enough to be taken for a couple of trips around the island. As a result of all this I wanted to be a helicopter pilot for most of my childhood. When we started spending the winter months in our house in Kirkwall, mum arranged for me to get involved with Orkney Flying Club. I used to cycle out most Sunday mornings and the regular guys at the club often treated me to a flight. This only served to reinforce my desire to become a pilot.

After doing this for a couple of years, it was time for me to begin looking at my career options. Before leaving school, I contacted all three of the armed forces to find out if they would take me on and train me to fly. All three of them asked me the same question; have you any history of asthma? I had guessed that this might come up and pose a problem and unfortunately I was right; although I rarely wheeze much now, unless cats are present, my medical records showed that I did suffer with asthma when I was younger.

This, coupled with the fact that I'm six foot four inches tall, meant that all three rejected me. The height was a problem for the air force because their training process meant I'd have to be at least physically capable of flying fast jets as well as helicopters and transport aircraft. Although I have never envisaged myself at the controls of a Tornado or a Eurofighter they insist that you can fit in the cockpit, and be ejected, without the control panel relieving you of your legs. So I had to look for another career!

To come back to my flight with Tommy, it was fantastic to see some of Orkney from the air and to have a go at the controls of his lovely four-seat Jabiru J430. I still get the same buzz from flying as I did as a child and I hope that one day I'll be able to afford to pay for private tuition so I too can fly myself and my friends around for fun.

The debate over Home Education has surfaced in the media again recently after the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) launched a Review of Home Education and a short online consultation. This suggested that home educators are potential child abusers. It also inferred that elective home education should be overseen by the very authorities that have let some families down to the point where they have had to withdraw their children from the state school system. Home-educators have fought to be allowed to home-educate which often means using teaching methods very different from those advocated by Education Authorities, so I think that this would be a backward step.

I listened to the Jeremy Vine programme on Radio 2, (as I often do), when they were discussing this issue. I'm disappointed at the government for showing this level of distrust in home educating families. I don't see any reason why parents who home educate their children would be any more likely to abuse their children than any other adult. I have so far not yet found any evidence to support their claims.

Last week we had the screening for our third year TV studio project. My group decided to make a short drama about a young girl who gives birth to her son in the breakfast room of a Travelodge, accompanied by her mother, three businessmen and a taxi driver who's stuck because of some heavy snow. It's a modern version of the Christmas story and I think it turned out OK in the end.

Although radio is clearly my main passion, I have enjoyed the TV studio modules throughout my course. It's a good opportunity to work as part of a team and I must admit I quite like playing up to the camera. In the end I acted a wise man in the drama despite having never acted anything other than the proverbial village idiot before. I think it went OK and although there were several mistakes, both from the technical side and in the acting, we got good feedback from the lecturers and our peer group after the screening.

Now that semester one has come to an end, I'm looking forward to starting my new modules next week as well as concentrating on putting my CV, audio demo and job applications together. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone taking exams at the moment the very best of luck. I remember how hard I found both the revising and the exams themselves. Cheerio.

Hit The Beach - Tracklisting - 04/02/09

HIT THE BEACH – Wednesday Feb 4th 2009

Thunder – On The Radio
The Verve – Love Is Noise
Teddy Thompson - One of These Days
Wiley Feat. Daniel Merriweather – Cash In My Pocket
Frankie Miller - Over The Line
Queen & Paul Rogers – The Cosmos Rocks
The Stone Coyotes – Fire It Up
Paul Rose - Get Carter
Brookes Brothers - Tear You Down
Bruce Springsteen - My Lucky Day
Molly Hatchet – Down From The Mountain
Delaney & Bonnie with Eric Clapton – Things Get Better

visit www.roryauskerry.com for more information and links to the BBC Listen Again feature.