Goodwood - not so good?

[Small Pilot]

Thought I'd take advantage of the Free Landing Fees offer in June 'Pilot' so flew down to Goodwood on Sunday. Came away feeling a bit disappointed. Why?
1. Very bumpy grass runway (bounced a bit on arrival and departure), roughest grass r'way I've experienced in a long while.
2. On arrival at the desk I handed in my voucher only to be greeted by moans of "it shouldnt be free... Pilot are going to pay...We dont need to offer free landings to attract people here.....Pilot never asked us to put it in" etc etc. Told the normal fee was £14 (is this true?) Well good for you if
3. Went to the clubhouse - £2.40 for two small glasses of cola (rip off!)
Not sure I would be happy to pay the 'normal' rate to land here and went away thinking I'll go back to Shoreham next time which IMHO offers far better value, and some nice smooth tarmac.

One plus point tho - the lady ATCO was VERY busy all afternoon but kept it professional and efficient, despite the best efforts of about 2 or 3 pilots who continually failed to listen out and stepped over everyone else's transmissions even when told to standby!.
Anyone else been disappointed by Goodwood? or is there a case for the defence?

[Dan Winterland]

Took my mum for a flight last week. It was a toss up between Goodwood and Old Sarum from the free vouchers page. Glad I went to Old Sarum.

Delightful airfield with a history in a very pretty part of the country, nice restaurant, good club atmosphere and delicious strawberrys and cream. And no complaints about using the voucher.

Strip is grass, not overly long and a bit undulating, but more than adequate for a PA28. Shall be visiting again.

[Evo]

I've got no connection with Goodwood other than flying from it. :)

1. I'm guessing you were on 14/32? It has bumps, but not big enough to prevent the King Air air-ambulances operating off it. I've seen better, i've seen worse too. Bumps are part of life on grass, and if you bounced then maybe time for some Ex.13h revision ;) :)

2. I agree, you shouldn't get moaned at for that. Someone cocked that up, but it's between Goodwood and Pilot. I think £14 quid is the usual landing fee for non-Goodwood-based aeroplanes (that's what Pooleys says). You'll have to ask someone else to justify it.

3. The restaurant is very expensive, but there's a pricelist. Think it's too much, don't go there. I tend not to, and a 30p cuppa is only a very short walk away :)

Finally, the FISOs are excellent, I agree, but it's a bit harsh to blame Goodwood for sombodys cr@p RT :rolleyes:

[capt_sparky]

Very bumpy grass runway (bounced a bit on arrival and departure), roughest grass r'way I've experienced in a long while.
Obviously you're not based at White Waltham... landing at Goodwood is like landing on carpet by comparison :D

Have always found Goodwood a very pleasant and friendly airfield to visit. Have used free landing fee vouchers from Flyer magazine in the past and never encountered any problems.

[Zlin526]

Goodwood can't be that bad. I saw a few posters in the Belgrano the other day advertising the CAA fly-in...An Ag-cat with 3 women hanging off it....

[172 driver]

Breaking cover...

Sorry you didn't feel welcome on Sunday - you are welcome whether or not you're using a free landing fee voucher.

We don't generally get complaints about the runways; they're not all billiard table smooth but I get many more positive comments about them than negative.

Your comments about the catering prices are noted. The independant caterer sets the prices and we think the food quality is well above average for a GA field.

Anyone who would like to make their own mind up is welcome to come in using a Pilot voucher and judge for themselves!

Alastair Mackinnon
Aerodrome Manager, Goodwood

[paulo]

Been there once on my qualifying, and though it was great.

I'd never done a grass field before. Lady ATCO was great, v.helpful on ground manoevre, v. friendly going for sign off even though she was busy as hell.

It wasn't the Ivy, but it was well kept, picturesque and just that little bit "smart", with the decking and everything that you'd hope for the $100 (lasagne, it worked!) that is all too often a 'caff' portacabin/1960s/rubbish affair.

HR - Horse Racing - Goodwood - EGHR :-)

[Monocock]

Goodwood...........One of my favourite airfields. As far as I'm concerned you get what you pay for. If you want to visit a place like Goodwood then I believe it is fair to be expected to pay for the experience. The £14 landing fee is a fraction of the total cost of the jaunt there in any aircraft. It might be twice as expensive to land there compared to a lot of other fields but let's face it, it's more than twice as nice.

Can't say I find the grass bumpy. It's always immaculately groomed whenever I go in there and I can think of plenty of strips with more uneven surfaces than Goodwood. Are you sure you didn't just stuff up the landing and then blame it on the surface?;)

I won't allow myself to get in to my "defend the landing fee" mode. they have to be charged and they will always be charged. They will rise with time (as everything else does) and one day if you really need the assistance of the airfield operators and their team you might be prepared to pay a lot more than £14 for it.

£1.20 for a glass of Coke? You could have gone to the local pub in Christchurch and paid £1.50.........

If this post carries any hint of sarcasm or hostility it is not intended. What I do hope is that one day it will be accepted that airfields are not charities, they are operational businesses. It is not compulsory to use all of them but if we don't, the half mil' charts will be looking rather lean of them in a few years time.

I have no ties with Goodwood so carry no bias.

[rupetime]

I was there on Saturday morning doing circuits, r/w 06 didnt seem too bumpy but this is my first experience on grass!

The touch and go's are cheaper at Goodwood but i would agree on the cost of the food - £5 for a bacon baguette, call it a bagette but its still a sarnie in my eye's and £5 is a rip off.
rt

[Julian]

White Waltham is one of the 3 airfields I fly out of. You dont rotate the aircraft, you just get launched into the air off bumps in the runway you would expect Chris Bonnington to use for training expeditions! Definitely the worst I have come across.

Made up for by the fact the place itself is excellent once you get in there, great staff and nice bar! :ok:

[poetpilot]

Visited by ground transport recently to inspect an aircraft. General impression, well run, friendly. Talked to Air Traffic about doing static run-ups & taxying on the apron ... very co-operative.

Got a light lunch, a wee bit expensive for a tight-fisted norfenrner, but very good quality.

Nice place! Must visit by air soon.

[Aussie Andy]

Well I'll add my voice to those defening Goodwood - lovely place, and I found the grass there sssmmmmoooottthhhh, especially as others have said wrt White Waltham (which is kinda fun anyway - the airfield, not you or the aircraft, makes the actual launch decision !). And the restaurant at Goodwood is better than most - you gets what you pays for, and I'd rather have something decent on offer than the usual turbid tripe, even if a bit more expensive!

There ;)

[paulo]

And if anyone needs their perspective correcting, there's always the fine fare of "Happy Landings" at Wycombe... :yuk:

[SimJock]

.. i'm glad I'm not the only person who uses the free landing vouchers as a way of discovering new places, you sometimes feel a bit of a skinflint when handing them over but hey I reckon they want visitors if they do free vouchers.. I used the Flyer voucher to go into Derby this week, what a friendly field :-)

Good PPR telephone briefing, met by the chap from the 'tower' with a hand shake, "welcome to Derby", friendly people in the clubhouse etc.. thoroughly recomended.

Even the grass runway was top notch compared to Shorehams lumpy old 07/25, a little short perhaps but manageable..

The direct clearance through East Midlands Class D was a bonus.. thanks chaps !