View Full Version : The next big fly in - where and when?
Greetings,
Well it's a new year, the days are slowly getting longer - it's time to think about the next Pprune fly in...!
Last year we had Duxford on the 4th April. Where this year and what date? Personally I would like somewhere that accepted all types including non-radio and microlites and had unrestricted movements so we could give the odd 'ride around'.
I quite liked Duxford though - perhaps we should do that again..?
Comments please and can we make this a sticky?
Kingy
Where? Midlands (somewhere fairly central) with Taildragger-friendly grass runways. When? As soon as we get some decent wx.
Howzabout that then?
Flyin'Dutch'
3rd Jan 2004, 00:01
Leicester?
6 RWYs grass and hard and a decent caf.
FD
S-Works
3rd Jan 2004, 00:06
Gets my vote, but I would liked to have actually flown somewhere!
Cafe is great, fuel is cheap and nice place to visit.
somewhere with slightly longer grass runways...?!? :eek: ;)
iainpoll
3rd Jan 2004, 00:13
EGSG?
Grass and tarmac available, friendly radio operators, very nice (referbished) club house & bar.
S-Works
3rd Jan 2004, 00:16
Christ how much more room do you need on grass!!
If you want grass I would assume dragger and there is nothing I have ever seen that struggles at Leicester!
Leicester is very central so maybe would allow for the more northern people as well as those from the south?
Taildragger with a dodgy ASI, so i'm landing fast... :)
335m seems short, but I reckon it is fine - doubt I ever actually use more than that. I'll practice short-field, or hassle shortstripper to fix the ASI...
As for the location, central seems fine to me. We've done quite well for fly-ins down south, and as long as it's not more than a couple of hours from the south coast i'll come.
Can you fly into Shuttleworth? How about there, or, what about doing some kind of themed fly-in. The local kids hospital here gets bikers delivering eggs there. How about we do something similar around easter, a sort of easter-egg-fly-in for a local hospital?(wherever we end up going).
(I will sticky this in a few days or so. Too many up there right now so I will bin one soon. This will be good enough to keep itself on the first page for a few days yet.) :)
Flyin'Dutch'
3rd Jan 2004, 01:01
Can you fly into Shuttleworth?
You can, but there is only the one RWY which can be used by visitors.
Not sure if you can get fuel.
Happy with anything suggested so far.
Hope to make it to a few fly-ins this year; mind you no relatives or mates likely to die on me unlike in 03 so that looks a bit more promising already!
FD
S-Works
3rd Jan 2004, 01:08
Shuttleworth is nice but the runway is as rough as an old boot and it is unlicenced and I am noy sure about fuel.
If we stick with a licenced airfield it might make it a good cross country for some of our training posters?
Leicester seems the best choice so far?
knobbygb
3rd Jan 2004, 01:16
I'm up for Leicester too. Fancied going there at some point anyway. Derby has longer grass runways, but is further North. Also, there were a few people on another thread recently fancied Coventry....
Are we talking early April again? Good excuse to celebrate BST, if nothing else.
MikeSamuel
3rd Jan 2004, 01:16
Leicester sounds good. The clubhouse is ideal for a meeting place and there is a good view across the field so people should have some good photo oppourtunities of PPRuNers landings!
The idea of a fly-in to Coventry was being bounced around a while ago...No grass but one big runway. I'll be up for either when there are seats going! :)
MS
S-Works
3rd Jan 2004, 01:29
Derby, has longer grass runways but much more difficult to fly in and out of with difficult landings for the unwary. Run by the nicest familly you will ever meet, real aviation enthusiasts and all round good guys and gals.
I would bet if wanted to do a fly in during the summer they would put on a BBQ and camping for those who want to stay.
I suggest Leicester for the first bash and plan for Derby as a next one?
Might as well try and do a whole programme fro next year!!!!
Shaggy Sheep Driver
3rd Jan 2004, 01:51
Derby or Leicester good for me.
SSD
Flyin'Dutch'
3rd Jan 2004, 01:52
Bose-X is obviously very keen on Leicester!
For those who want to go to Shuttleworth have a look at this forum (http://www.pprune.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=86) Some are having a meet-up/fly in on either 21 or 28 Feb.
FD
S-Works
3rd Jan 2004, 02:01
Well I am based there.........
I was just thinking that it was very central thats all. It seems a lot of people dont make the bashes because they always seem to be south somewhere.
I was also trying to be considerate to out student posters who might enjoy a fly in as encouragement in there training.
But at the end of the day I don't mind where it is, I have an airplane and can soar with the birds!
Fly Stimulator
3rd Jan 2004, 02:16
Is there much daylight in April that far north?
Whirlybird
3rd Jan 2004, 04:18
Leicester is good - nice place, good cafe etc.
Derby is lovely, but probably a bit too challenging for low hours pilots.
Or how about Shobdon - central, hard and grass runways, microlight friendly, excellent cafe and food.
Flyin'Dutch'
3rd Jan 2004, 04:48
Shobdon is great but only one direction of RWYs
FD
Gertrude the Wombat
3rd Jan 2004, 05:59
Leicester was my last "foreign" visit so wouldn't clock up a new airfield for me. I've never landed at Duxford ... but it's so close one would hardly have time to get above circuit height from here!!
Diamond 'katana' geezer
3rd Jan 2004, 08:28
Heading a bit further north now, but what about Gamston/Retford?
Nice long runway, VOR, and maybe if we ask nice a trip around all those new Diamond aircraft :ok:
Geez
Flyin'Dutch'
3rd Jan 2004, 15:38
Never been there so would be keen to go to GAM; take it they do have a decent caf?
FD
Gamston or Shobdon would be new ones for me - if it's not on a Sunday, I'll try to be there!
Lifts available from EGMC...
Arclite01
3rd Jan 2004, 23:18
What about Cranfield or Peterborough ?
Flyin'Dutch'
3rd Jan 2004, 23:29
Peterborough Conington or Sibson?
Either one fine by me although I have never been to Sibson and believe it can get waterlogged so we'll have to take the time of year in account.
Conington has no grass (AFAIK) but a nice cafe and very friendly folk.
Cranfield is among the less cheap GA fields and not sure if they have all year grass but am sure that one of the locals can inform us.
FD
Leicester, Old Warden, or Shobdon are my favorites so far.
If we decided on Shobdon, perhaps a few of you could drop into our place on the way back - it's not far...
I am going to introduce another option which may not be suitable for the big one but would be a great destination for the more adventurous another time ... How about Lundy?
Kingy
Flyin'Dutch'
4th Jan 2004, 00:38
I would love to go to Lundy at some point.
I know I guy who went in a C172 so should be ago in my Condor, but the state of the Lundy RWY is a bit of a legend or so I have been lead to believe.
QDM has been there.
FD
PS: where is your place?
Skypartners
4th Jan 2004, 00:40
If you guys want to come to CVT I'll try and sort out a landing deal. We can also arrange a walking tour of the classics. The place is dug up at the moment ahead of the launch of commercial services so I think April onwards would work.
Marc Bond
Skypartners
FD,
Eastbach, Forest of Dean.
Short, hilly and tricky on the wrong day, but beautiful!
Kingy
I'd be up for Gamston: Done Leicester/Duxford / Cranfield too many times. Gamston has VOR/DME on site:- couldn't be easier!
Has anybody considered Sandtoft EGCF: went there for another forum fly-in once: sh*t weather: only one other pilot made it: from Leicester I think.
Only prob is that us southerners will have to buy a Northern map.
Sandtoft has a nice hard runway, excellent caff (at least it did 3 years ago) and shed loads of nice RAF controllers nearby to help you if you get lost.
I'm restricted to weekends at present 'cos of the day job but with sufficient notice(at least 8 weeks ) I can take a weekday leave.
Looking forward to it.
BTW F. Dutch: how's the FAA/IR going: can't post on the other list as it rejects my HTML.
Safe flying
Cusco
knobbygb
4th Jan 2004, 02:03
I'm a regular at Gamston, and nice, friendly and easy as it is, I wouldn't have thought it'd make a particularly good fly-in venue. It's a bit 'commercially oriented' - loads of Diamond stuff and a couple of biz-jets based there too, but not much else of particular interest. £10 landning fee and I don't think they'd be particularly keen to allow multiple landings for that either. There's a nice coffee shop upstars inside the Diamond offices (open to the public), but you can't see the apron or runway from there.
I think Sandtoft would make a better venue than Gamston - much more of a GA field with a bit more going on.
Then there's Wickenby, just a bit further south on the edge of the Scampton MATZ, which is an ex WW II base with a small museum upstars in the old control tower, and a nice homely cafe/bar downstairs. Again, not much else going on though. Reasonably length (and quite bumpy) hard runways, and a nice grass parking area with picnic tables etc. (it WILL be sunny, it WILL be sunny...)
Or how about Skegness. Unlicensed, and no cafe on site, but there are several nice chippy's (Chip SHOPS, not chipMONKS) 10 minutes away and we could all crash out on the beach! 750M of grass in the middle of a caravan park with a nice hill to sit on and watch/jude each others landings. It might be a bit nearer for the southerners too.
My vote would go for Gamston or Coventry.
(Not concerned about proximity of chip shops ....!)
Any day would be OK, though Saturday or Sunday would need a goodly bit of notice.
Shaggy Sheep Driver
4th Jan 2004, 02:08
I was going to take the Chippy to Lundy last summer; I already had me doubts, and was finally talked out of it by someone who has been.
I don't mind the short rough strip, but to avoid a long over-water sector means a big detour south for us northerners with fuelling stops both ways - and the overwater bit is still considerable. Main consideration was that if anything went wrong (we were suffering some rough running and occasion 'missing' at the time as those who witnessed our departure from G-VFWE will testify) on Lundy there are NO facilities. Could be an expensive retrieve.
Still fancy it, though :)
SSD
Nah:
I think we southerners should come norf:
Well, norf if you call the midlands norf; kinda norf, not real norf.
None of this airy- fairy pink aviator highlands cr*p: I can't afford two new maps.
Any way I haven't got a kilt.
My vote's for Sandtoft, but I'll go with the (norf) swell.
Safe flying
Cusco
Hey Kingy:
How long is your strip?
Have you ever had any Arrers in?
Sounds like a challenge/kiss of death.
Cusco
Hey Cusco,
Sorry mate it's certainly not Pa28r friendly, we have two runways 250ish and 350ish metres. They are one way strips too - one end of the 250m run is 85ft lower than the other for example!
A C172 will just about go in and out if very light and I've watched, heart in mouth, a laden C150 just about make it over the fence - never again!
It's all in the AFE guide if you want to have a look.
If you can blag something more suitable (Cub, Maule, Harrier etc) you are very welcome to visit but PM me first for PPR and a brief because being surrounded by valleys on three sides often creates some weird local curl-over effects.
Kingy
PS lets not make it too far north - my fastest plane is slower than your approach speed - It'll take me two days to get there!
Very busy at the moment but will be back to normal tomorrow. I will then post a poll for you lot to vote on. Should be on about 3pm-ish. Then we should start looking at setting a date for this.
To start with though, how about the first week in April?