Sunterra needed to present consistently right across its global sales base. With thousands of holiday properties, all of which were being constantly refurbished and developed...
Numbers can be a great persuader. If you want to make a pitch based on extra profit or cost savings, it's great to be able to prove your point.
The Cub Comes Home
When Clarkson, Hammond and May pitted a 140mph Cessna 182 against a 250mph Bugatti, the car won. We pitched a 75mph Piper Cub against a 154mph Vauxhall, then a 155mph Bentley, then a 120mph Jeep and only the one with knicker elastic in the steering beat the plane home.
This trip was my introduction to the world of blogging. Since my blog made the move into something resembling seriousness, the story's become a bit buried. So, in answer to the complaints from readers who claimed they couldn't find find it, here it is in full.
You'll be glad to know it has bugger all to do with presentations.
The Background
It’s a Shaw family tradition to be fascinated by old aeroplanes. My first attempts at graphic design consisted of attacking my brother’s 1942 copy of Aircraft of the Fighting Powers with a biro. (I also threw his model of a de Havilland Vampire into the fire; another Shaw tradition is that I’ve always been an evil little git). The brother in question bought a Boeing Stearman some years back. Predictably he wouldn’t let me near it with a ballpoint or a lighted match, so all was well until someone landed it ungently on its top wing. Two years on, the CAA still can’t be convinced that it should fly again.
A sad, sad Stearman. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt
So Martin started a quest for a Piper Cub. They’ve suddenly soared in value, so after looking at a lot of high-priced projects he felt himself very lucky when he found a genuine beauty for sale at sensible money.
In the foothills of the Pyrenees.
A Cub can stay airborne for a safe two hours or so. At around 70mph, that puts your fuel stops no more than 140 miles apart. So the plan was born. Adrian Hall-Carpenter - unfeasibly tall, but a true gentleman for all that - was recruited for his flying experience, boundless cheerfulness and willingness to listen to profound bollocks for a thousand miles at a stretch.
My job was to provide ground support in the form of jerry cans full of fuel and baggage porterage. You’ve seen the films – you know I’m the one who’s going to get eaten by the lions don’t you? Yeah, right…
It took us three tries, but gave us a great experience to look back on. What follows is the blog I texted back to the UK. The photographs were taken on my phone, so quality’s not a strong point.