This page contains brief impressions of airfields
within reach of Redhill.
Index to Airfields
| Small club field on an old WWII airfield at the north-east corner of the Stansted zone. Two grass runways right next to each other which can take a bit of spotting from the air. Slightly isolated location, but a nice friendly clubhouse with bar, restaurant and even a resident cat to supervise proceedings. |
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Click here for the field's UK AIP details
One of two airfields right next to each other on the east coast of the Isle of Wight – the other being Sandown. Bembridge is the home of the Islander aircraft and has a hard runway with a grass one next to it used by gliders. If you’re coming from Redhill the Solent crossing from South Hayling isn’t too far and you get great views of the island and of the Southampton area. Doing an approach over the sea is interesting too if you’re on runway 30. The tower is friendly and although there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of eating facilities on the field itself there is the excellent alternative of the famous Propeller Inn right next to the field. Walk along the perimeter past the gliders to avoid being run over on the road!
Click here for the field's UK AIP details
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Small grass strip a few miles from the eponymous town, just to the north of Hull. Not too bad to find, since there are power lines running towards it from Hull. Slightly isolated location, but reasonable facilities in the small (and warm) clubhouse. Fuel is available too. There are some interesting features nearby - we flew past the Humber Bridge on the way there, and over Spurn Head on the way back. |
Click here for the field's UK AIP details or here for an aerial photo
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Booker is a quite large GA field to the north west of London near Marlow. Mike Cowles and I stopped there overnight in March on the way back from Yorkshire in the Jabiru. It is the home of the British Airways Flying Club so there are lots of light aircraft there in BA colours, and plenty of epaulettes too, but we had a friendly and helpful welcome. There are very good food, drink and fuel facilities too. The airfield is a busy one, with helicopter and glider operations, so keep a good lookout. |
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Click here for the field's UK AIP details or here for an aerial photo
I flew in here on a trip from Denham as a Cirrus SR-20 passenger. 25 minutes from Denham, but only if you are cruising at 140+ knots which would leave even the Jabiru a bit short of breath! Bourn was deserted on the Tuesday evening when we flew in apart from the resident cat which was keeping an eye on things. The field has a hard runway, but it is in rather poor condition and was bumpy even in the Cirrus - your fillings would get a good shaking here in the Jab or a Shadow. Reasonably handy to Cambridge if you're visiting people there.
Click here for the field's UK AIP details
A small farm strip just south-west of Marlborough. The destination for my last flight of 2001 over a snow-covered landscape in a Shadow. Nice little spot with two (fairly short) runways and a friendly welcome in the Cloudbase-like clubrooms. The field itself is a little bit hard to make out against the surrounding fields, but after orientating myself using the roads out of Marlborough I soon found it. Lots of flexwings parked in the barn. A good destination for a decent out-and-back trip, though beyond the limit of a Shadow's range without extra tanks. Popham is probably the best re-fuelling stop if you need one.
Click here for GS Aviation's Clench Common web site or here for an aerial photo
Beautifully
situated on a hill overlooking Shaftesbury in Dorset, but less than 90 minutes
from Redhill by Jabiru. The grass runway can be a little hard to spot – I saw
the flash of the strobe light well before I saw the runway itself. Approaching from
the north helps, as trees shield the runway if you’re coming from the south.
There’s a slight slope on the runway, but nothing too dramatic. Nice relaxed
atmosphere with a welcoming club house and a restaurant which has a pleasant
outside seating area that would be a great place for a summer lunch. Well
placed for an out-and-back journey (I came back via the Isle of Wight) or as a
stop on the way to the west country.
Click here for the field's UK AIP details or here for the airfield's own site
Denham is a small-ish grass airfield tucked under the northern edge of the Heathrow TMA. It's a pretty spot, but is surrounded by built-up areas and has non-standard joining and departure procedures which means that they like you to have some knowledge of the field before you fly in. They are particularly keen that you know exactly where the VRPs are. I flew from there as a passenger in a friend's Cirrus SR-20 which was a great way to learn the layout.
Click here for the field's UK AIP details
Home of the Imperial War Museum’s magnificent aircraft collection. Just south of Cambridge and quite easy to get to whichever side of the Stansted zone you choose to go round. It has a lovely long concrete runway, paralleled by a grass one. The main feature of interest is of course the museum which is well worth a visit for its collections of British and American aircraft. There is also a separate building containing an army museum. You can fly in for the various air shows they have during the summer as Mike Cowles and I did, but you’ll need to book well ahead to get a landing slot.
Smallish club field about ten miles west of Colchester. A well-placed stopping-off point if you're heading up into East Anglia, or possibly a destination for a cross-country trip in its own right, but only if you're in the Jabiru since they don't take microlights. It seems that this is on noise grounds to keep the airfield's neighbours happy. The Jabiru's SLA status and quiet engine gets it in, so Shadows heading up that way should perhaps steer a course for Andrewsfield. Earls Colne itself has a single strip, with two runways side-by-side, one generally not used. Very similar set-up to Andrewsfield. Warm clubrooms with coffee, loos, and a good selection of training books for sale in case you need to swot up on anything before departure!
Click here for the field's UK AIP details
Click here for the field's UK AIP details or here for an aerial photo
I
made an unplanned visit here in December when Redhill got fogged in after I'd
left. Spent a
peaceful afternoon in the sunshine which was slightly ironic given that I was
there on account of bad weather. Good location near the coast at Chichester, and
another favourite for cross-country training flights. Nice big field with
several grass runways. The clubhouse and restaurant facilities are good – I
can recommend the bangers and mash! Good supply of free Sunday newspapers too if
you’re going to be there for a few hours. Not the quickest place to get to by
road, so many thanks to John Tindall for driving all the way from Redhill to
recover me and my passenger.
Click here for the field's UK AIP details
Haverfordwest is the last stop before the Irish Sea if you're heading west from Redhill. I called in there in May to re-fuel and meet up with a couple of other aircraft on my way to Ireland in the Jabiru. There's a nice big concrete runway, a café and fuel available. There were a few interesting aircraft in the hangers too, including a DH Dragon Rapide when I was there. The route to get there from Redhill is a scenic one, crossing the Severn and passing the southern Welsh hills on the way. Haverfordwest is a concession airfield which means that although there is no permanent Customs presence you can use it for international flights with prior notice.
Click here for the field's UK AIP details
Well-known Kent airfield with a wide variety of aircraft types, a small museum collection and a parachute school, so watch for people plummeting from above as you approach! It is familiar to many Cloudbase flyers as a cross-country training destination; a purpose which it serves well on account of the fact that there’s a nice obvious railway to follow all the way there! I had a friendly welcome there and there are good eating and drinking facilities when you arrive. In the summer you might find an air display in progress too.
Click here for the field's UK AIP details or here for The Tiger Club's site which has airfield details
Click here for the airfield's own web site
A large ex-military airfield just south west of Cirencester. It has a hard runway which can (and has) taken 747s, so should present no problems for either the Shadows or the Jabiru. Easy to spot because of all the runways and taxyways so it makes a good destination. Coming from Redhill you will have to pass through the airspace controlled by either Fairford, Lyneham or Brize Norton. That should normally be quiet at weekends, but even on a weekday we got all the clearances we asked for with no problems. Good little canteen in the tower - full marks for the bacon rolls! In the summer Kemble host a big airshow, and there are some interesting resident aircraft, including a collection of military jets.
Click here for Kemble's web site or here for an aerial photo
| Land's End is perhaps somewhere people want to go to more because of where it is than anything else. I went there and back one afternoon in September in the CT simply because I'd never been to Land's End before and wanted to see it. The airfield turned out to be a pleasant spot, with a wide variety of grass runways to choose from. The aero club where you book in and out was friendly, and there's a reasonable cafe next door where you can get something to eat and drink. There is no shortage of great scenery either - I flew down via the south coast and and back via the north, with great views all the way. |  |
Famous as a jumping-off point for cross-channel trips to Le Touquet and farther afield, and once the home of a Bristol Freighter aerial car ferry service which I remember travelling on once as a child. I visited in a Shadow on a cold day in mid-December and was glad of a bowl of hot soup when I got there. Situated in a rather exposed and featureless area of the Kent coast and not that easy to find. It’s close to the Dungeness power station which is currently subject to a 2.5 mile exclusion zone that extends almost to the airfield, so take care on your circuit. Nice hard runway. Good restaurant facilities in the small terminal building.
I set off to Old Sarum on the first flying day of 2002, passing over a beautiful snow and frost-covered landscape for much of the way. From Redhill you have to go through or round the Odiham MATZ and then skirt the Solent zone past Winchester and the Boscombe MATZ before you reach Salisbury so it's a good trip for practising navigation and RT. It's not as nerve-wracking as that might sound, so don't be put off! The approach to the airfield from the Alderbury VRP to the south gives you lovely close-up views of Salisbury and the cathedral as you come in, followed by the Old Sarum ruins themselves. The airfield is an historic WWI base and still boasts some interesting old hangers. It also has a friendly tower and a good café. Lots of GA aircraft here, and also the home of the Shadow Flight Centre.
Click here for the field's UK AIP details or here for its own web site
A
small microlight farm strip just to the south west of St. Albans. Quite easy to
find as it’s tucked in to the triangle formed by the M1, M25 and M10 and has a
big power line running past it. I
stopped there on a late-December circumnavigation of London in a Shadow. Lots of
flexwings and a couple of Shadows tucked into the hangers, plus a small clubhouse
and the very welcome offer of a cup of hot coffee. A pleasant and relaxed spot,
and well situated if you're doing a circuit of the city. The runways have quite
a marked slope; upwards if you’re using 30 or 34. On a hot day with two up and
a full tank in a Shadow you would need to take care taking off if you were on
either of these.
Well-known light aircraft field right next to the
A303 south west of Basingstoke. Home to all sorts of GA aircraft as well as a
microlight flying school. Popham is also the venue for the annual microlight
trade fair in May. It has an interesting offset approach to the main runway to
avoid houses at one end and a petrol station at the other. This requires you to
arrive at an angle to the runway and then straighten up before the flare, but
actually there is plenty of room to get yourself lined up and sorted out.
There's a comfortable, warm and friendly clubhouse with cafeteria and shop, and a
ready supply of fuel. It's an easy journey from Redhill too - almost due west if
you get clearance through the Odiham MATZ. Look out for the gliders at nearby
Lasham though.
Click here for Popham's own site
Recently under threat of closure, but fortunately still operating today. Tucked right in to the edge of the town with buildings on one side and motorway on the other. Perhaps not the most scenic location, but well-placed for some interesting flights over the Thames Estuary, the Isle of Sheppey and eastern Kent. It’s another of the standard cross country targets for Redhill students and is quite straightforward to get to. The Brands Hatch circuit is an interesting feature to head for on the journey. There’s a good clubhouse and café there too for refreshments.
Click here for the field's UK AIP details or here for Rochester's own site
The
venue for the March club fly-out which attracted six people in three aircraft. A
nice field just north-west of Brentwood in Essex and an easy journey from
Redhill. Navigation consists of following the M25 anti-clockwise until you get
there. Stapleford has a hard runway which is good in winter for avoiding boggy
grass. The clubhouse café is good too, with an outdoor seating area for sunny
days.
Traffic is usually quite busy since it's on the edge of the narrow corridor
around London in this area, so keep a good lookout.
Click here for the field's UK AIP details or here for an aerial view
Small
microlight strip on the northern side of the Medway estuary, seven miles north
east of Rochester. Ashley and I stopped in there on a rainy February afternoon
on the way home from Earls Colne for a welcome cup of coffee
in the warmth of the Medway Microlights office, provided by the only person who
was around at the time. It gets a lot busier when it's not freezing cold and
raining apparently! Only a few miles across the water from Southend, yet at the
other end of the scale as far as airfields go and none the worse for that.
Offset approach (like
Popham) to avoid the power pylons which are right beside the strip. The runway itself
is slightly curved, but at 450m it has plenty of space. An
interesting place to stop in at for a bit of a change.
Click here for an aerial photo
A
small microlight strip in the Fens about fifteen miles north of Cambridge. Home
to quite a few microlights, both flexwing and three axis. In spite of being in the
middle of an utterly flat landscape it is also a bit of a hang gliding centre. I
was shown a flex-wing fitted with a tow bar which is used as a tug for aerotow
launches! I visited late on a warm spring afternoon and found only four people
there. It seems like a very relaxed sort of place, and made an interesting stop
on my way to Sywell on another circumnavigation of London.
Check a flight guide before going since there is a noise-sensitive farm not far from the threshold which you need to avoid.
Click here for an aerial photo
Sywell
is a large grass airfield close to Northampton. It is home to a wide variety of
aircraft including a large population of microlights. I visited it in March and
again in April in
the Jabiru and found it made a very good half-day trip, especially since once
you're through the corridor between Luton and Stansted you reach much less
restricted airspace. It's a good halfway point on a circuit of London. I
didn't try the catering facilities, but the tower was friendly, fuel was
available, and there were lots of aircraft to look at.
Click here for the field's UK AIP details
Big grass field on the outskirts of Maidenhead just to the
west of London. It hosts a large range of private aircraft and is the home of
the West London Aero Club who have a fine set of clubrooms there with restaurant
and bar. It’s a nice place to sit outside on a summer evening and watch the
sun going down. It’s right on the boundary of the Heathrow zone, so calls for
careful navigation but then Redhill flyers are used to that. An easy journey
from Cloudbase.
Click
here for the field's UK AIP details or here
for the West London Aero Club site
