Airfield Review :: Compton Abbas EGHA

Where is it?

You will find it on top of a hill in Dorset. It's grass. That's most of what you need to know to understand the rest of this review.

How we ended up there

Well this was our second attempt to get to Le Touquet. The first one ended up on the Isle of Wight thanks to the weather - a bit of a difference between France and Sandown. This one was meant to be the proper checkout flight over the channel with Jack in the right seat backstopping my mediocre flying. The plan was France for lunch.

Well that was the plan but as you can guess it did not go to plan. A Houston we have a problem moment put paid to that and we ended up at our maintenance field instead. The full story of that 'Do you wish to declare an emergency' is in the video at the foot of this page.

The little red ight got tweaked and KK was happy again. We were on the ground, the day was still ours, and neither of us fancied admitting defeat for a second time. So we got the chart out - yes we carried one, picked Compton Abbas as the food was supposed to be good, rang for the usual PPR and took to the skies. Please don't complain about PPR. It is quite normal here in the UK. Their airfield their rules.

The approach

Compton Abbas sits on a hill at a little over 800ft. The book says expect turbulence on the approach. It is not lying.

On the way in, keep an eye out of the window for a knobbly giant with a knobbily stick. The Cerne Abbas Giant is just up the road and visible from the cockpit on a clear day. Yes, that knobbly giant. We made a whole video about it back in 2022, back when Compton Abbas was just Compton Abbas and Guy Ritchie hadn't bought the place yet.

They ask for an overhead join at 2800ft on the QNH and the radio is Compton Abbas Radio, which means you are on your own when it comes to circuit traffic so keep your eyes outside. The mix on the day included the odd Spitfire, which tells you something about who flies in here.

I came in a little fast and a little long. The bushes at the end were there if we needed them. We didn't. But they were there.

On the ground

PPR on the phone was easy. Booking a table for lunch was not. Booking a table for food is done through the airfield website and on a Thursday the next available slot was Saturday, which is information worth having when you are hungry on a Thursday.

Parking was at the far end of the field, so a long walk. I'm told that heels not recommended. Landing fee paid via an iPad - (very modern) at point C. Fifteen pounds, which is genuinely reasonable.

The cafe

Now the cafe is a proper destination. It is also working through some growing pains. Ten minutes in the queue, then told to find a member of waiting staff to order food. Tables are first come first served. We snaffled one and asked for a menu, which got queried until I dropped that we were pilots and that I had watched Mr Richie films. The staff were very helpful from then on.

(Only the pilot bit was true.)

Lock, stock, and two smoking barrels of pulled pork, mind. They do actually have a smoker on site now. The rabbit was off. There was a brief panic about whether we'd got the last Victoria Sponge in Dorset. We had. Burger and chips came in at sixteen pounds, which beats a Maccie D's by some margin.

The PA28 and the hammer

Walking back to KK we passed a chap attending to a PA28 propeller. Master switch on. Beacon flashing. Hammer in hand.

Tell me how many ways that picture was wrong. I mentioned it on a flying forum and he actually popped up - stuck starter motor it seems.

Going home

Hilltop grass strips give you a different sort of takeoff. The slope worked in our favour this time and KK was happy to be pointing back towards the sky. Three legs flown, no Le Touquet (again), but one nice burger ticked off so it wasn't a wasted day after all.

Verdict

4 out of 5. The flying side is brilliant. The cafe needs to bed in and probably needs a couple more hands on a busy day but it will be worth visiting again.