Learning to fly, one mistake at a time
My reviews and experiences of visiting airfields with grass runways. Grass runways can be slippery when wet and of variable condition. Always check the AIP and with the airfied before attempting to land.
There's a running joke in our house. We don't talk about Kemble. Mention it and Caz rolls her eyes, Jack grins into his tea, and I suddenly find something else to look at. Which is odd, because we have been to Kemble. Twice. So why the silence? Well. It's a good one, and enough time has passed that I think I'm finally allowed to tell it.
Read more: Airfield Review :: Kemble (Cotswold Airport) EGBP
Most airfields tolerate you. Sandown wants you to have a nice day, and it has rules to make sure you do. No hi-vis. No miserable people. There's a skeleton running the complaints department and a space rocket parked where you'd expect a windsock. I've flown in five times now, first as a nervous student, most recently with one of the share group taking turns at the controls. It's the place I'd send anyone who reckons British GA has lost its sense of fun.
Read more: Sandown (EGHN): the Isle of Wight airport that bans hi-vis and miserable people
A delightful little airfield in Suffolk with a good reputation for food, helicopters and parachuting. Air/Ground radio, friendly atmosphere, and on this visit, my shortest runway to date. The runway is normally a tarmac and grass mixture, around 450m of concrete with a 150m grass extension, but on the day we went the grass section was closed. Tarmac only. Less than 500m of it, apparently. That was the airfield's own answer when I rang to ask, by the way. "It is less than 500m." Very helpful. Thanks for that.
An airfield 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. It is also owned by the film director Guy Richie - you know the one. 'Snatch'. 'Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'. 'The Gentlemen'. I think there is a theme here. So I am going to love this airfield. Yes Mr Richie Sir.!!
There is a dog at Earls Colne. His name is Zak. Do not feed Zak. There are signs. There is staff guidance. There is, I suspect, a long and grumpy history. More on him below. The other thing worth knowing before you fly in is that the tarmac strip is only 10 metres wide, which plays a properly nasty trick on your eyes the first time you fly an approach to it. More on that below too. Earls Colne in May 2023, with Jack in the right-hand seat. Lovely day out.
