Airfield "Whitelist"

[Captain Smithy]

In response to the "Aifields Blacklist" thread, it's time for some optimism!

What about a thread for good airfields then.

My additions:

Cumbernauld
Dundee
Fife
Oban
Perth
Prestwick

Add as necissary...

Smithy

[Flying Boat]

Jersey
Guernsey
Alderney (If you pay attention to the tricky approach on 09 & don't worry about the fence from the other thread)

Most French Airfields especially Cherbourg (Luc & Edith), Dinard (When Ryanair is not there), La Rochelle, Limoges, Lessay, St. Brieuc

And, a few years ago, Ostende & Luxembourg (4km runway)

[NQWhy]

Kemble
Dunkeswell
Gloucester
Wellesbourne
Caernefon (EGCK as I can't spell it!)
Shoreham (as long as you don't go-around!)
Kirkwall
Welshpool

[pistongone]

Eddsfield
Cark
Dunkeswell
North Weald
Headcorn

['Chuffer' Dandridge]

White Waltham
Headcorn
Breighton
North Weald

and lots of friendly farmers strips where there's a warm welcome, no politics and no landing fees:ok:

[bingoboy]

Shobdon
and
Sywell (Mick, Flylight, Aviator Cafe and Bar and Mogas on tap)

also mention must be made of Halfpenny Green

[Flying Boat]

When I was flying around that part of the world, about 6+ years ago, you were reprimanded by all at that airfield for calling it Ha'penny Green.
Including the Air Traffic bods in the tower (which was more of a climbing frame, not really tall enough for a tower).

Even though when talking to Birmingham & all other controllers, everyone knew it as Ha'penny Green.

It was known by all that used it, but based elsewhere, as Wolverhampton Intergalactic Space Port.

Obviously a positive management change.:}

[batninth]

I'll add Fishburn & add my vote for Eddsfield

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Popham airfield?

[Mike Cross]

Sywell

Arrived a week or two back in a Cirrus driven by a friend. Went into the fuel kiosk to pay (said friend attired in day-glo yellow).

"Which of you is paying?"
"I am" in me normal clothes
"That'll be twelve quid then. If had been him (in the day-glo yellow) it would have been twenty."

Popham
Lane Farm
Shobden
Croft Farm (low pass to clear the deer)
Compton Abbas
Leicester
Lyneham (Families Day)
Henstridge
Oaksey Park
Keystone (nice pub)
Quiberon (man on a Velosolex)
Avranches (low pass to clear the sheep)
Sackville Farm (ace barbecue)

etc etc etc

[Flying Boat]

I forgot Avranches, super friendly people.

When I last went there, signed the club book as a visiting pilot.

I am not impressive, but it had Louis Bleriot's signature, as well as St. Exupery. I think Lindberg was in it too.

When they have their fly in, you camp on the field and they serve local lamb, fed on the airfield with self seasoning marsh grass.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

<<When they have their fly in, you camp on the field>>

Reminds me..... Fowlmere.

[verticalhold]

Eaglescott
Old Warden
Oxford
Brimpton
Goodwood
Wick
Farnborough
Seething

And any where else without ridiculous security, with good coffee and friendly greetings.

Oh, and Eaglescott again because I spend so many days of every winter there waiting for customers and they are such a nice bunch of people.

[XXPLOD]

SHUTTLEWORTH. £10 to land. Good cafe and includes entry to the collection! A day out doesn't get much better than that!

[rossi1]

Oh dear mike,i hope i didn't offend your friend with my comment about paying double for wearing a high vis jacket,next time ill use the one about,"youre lucky i haven't brought my dog today,he bites people wearing hi vis jackets" :ok:

[IO540]

Nicest place I've ever flown to was Brac (http://www.airport-brac.hr/brac/default_eng.asp) LDSB (http://s101.photobucket.com/albums/m74/peterh337/?action=view&current=brac-airport-2009.jpg) in Croatia.

In the UK, there are quite a few good places though many are PPR.

My only bad experiences in the UK were at Panshanger (where some "important" person on the radio demanded an overhead join with a RH circuit, despite not having any known traffic), and Stapleford/Wellesbourne where I would not fly on a sunny Sunday preceeded by weeks of bad weather, due to so many crazy people (often accompanied by instructors).

[wilma80]

Eggesford - no landing fees and NO yellow jackets!!

[Charles Sierra]

Nice to see Seething get a mention :ok:

[gg190]

Southampton, not the cheapest place to go, but I've always had a really friendly welcome by staff who know what their doing and are very willing to help you.

[Mike Cross]

Oh dear mike,i hope i didn't offend your friend with my comment about paying double for wearing a high vis jacket,next time ill use the one about,"youre lucky i haven't brought my dog today,he bites people wearing hi vis jackets"

We'd just come from Shoreham, where I gather they are terribly worried that the driver of the baggage truck whizzing around in the bowels of the terminal might not see you. I learned to fly at Shoreham in the 1970's and it was absolute carnage then because none of us knew anything about them and we got mown down left right and centre, I've no idea how the local A&E coped with the constant stream of mangled bodies.

Don't worry about Jon, he's Welsh so he's used to being offended.;)

[PENNINE BOY]

Fishburn !
Breighton !
Bagby!
:d :d :d

[Ringway Flyer]

And Sleap - great caff and friendly too.... Interesting visitors, upon occasion. :ok:

[AdamFrisch]

Well, I have to give my home field Lydd a prop. The tower is always very friendly and helpful. And calm even under high workloads. Taking the time asking arriving strangers if they need fuel and stuff (I know it's in their interest, but still). The cafe food is not amazing, but it will do the job.

Bembridge - only been once but they were rather friendly. And cheap.

Damyns Hall - really nice little airstrip close to London. Cheap and friendly and in the weeks very quiet. I recommend it for visits to London.

Did a cross country to Santa Barbara recently and the controller there went out of his way to help a non-native English speaker and US rookie like myself to copy his (for me) complicated clearance. He really took his time, slowed the R/T down and looked out for me. Nice people - hats off.

[pasir]

I last flew into Compton Abbass about 1982 - nice clean tidy field - excellent restaurant.

Around the same time - when Biggin Hill was virtually just private and club
(no noisy jets) I went with my small son into Biggins pilots cafe and purchased tea and lemonade. As I moved to take our tray over to a table Mary (the owner) shoved a tray of cakes towards my little son
saying " Here we are have one of these".

What I nice lady I thought as my son thanked her for the jam tart.

As we got up to leave this voice bellowed out for all to hear
"Hey you havnt paid for the cake" !

[machel]

Earls Colne
Fenland
Fishburn
Headcorn

really friendly people, and very welcoming:ok::)

[2high2fastagain]

Carlisle - super all day breakfast
Wellesbourne - super all day breakfast
Shobdon - super all day breakfast
Sleap - super all day breakfast

... now I come to think of it, maybe that's why I enjoy my flying so much and why my trousers seem to shrink in the night.

[Vino Collapso]

Around the same time - when Biggin Hill was virtually just private and club
(no noisy jets) I went with my small son into Biggins pilots cafe and purchased tea and lemonade. As I moved to take our tray over to a table Mary (the owner) shoved a tray of cakes towards my little son
saying " Here we are have one of these".

Hells teeth you are going back more than a few years. Mary Dillows cafe was an airfield legend. (her husband had died in an aircraft accident many years earlier.) Used it myself on more than a few occasions.

27 years tends to change things.

Maybe one day we will get an airfield cafe and bar back!

[vanHorck]

Nice you should mention Fowlmere....

It s the people that make the atmosphere!


:ok::ok::ok:

[tmmorris]

Seething - had the best chips of my life there, and he put the fryer on just for me
Wellesbourne
Shobdon
Sleap
Goodwood
Popham
Ha'penny Green is OK
and I like Cambridge despite silly hi-viz &c. Expensive but not ridiculous, and friendly
ditto Gloucester, actually

Tim

[Miles Magister]

I like doing a land away to Peterborough Conington. Clear airspace, easy to find and really friendly poeple with a great little cafe.

MM

[pasir]

Thanks for update on Marys Biggin pilots cafe Vino

Is there any comparable replacement cafe for PPLs at Biggin today ?

[x933]

One for the white list:

I visited White Waltham for the first time on Saturday. Very friendly ATC, efficient fuelling, lots of interesting aircraft kicking around, clubhouse well stocked and friendly opps staff. Only downside was the runways were a bit lumpy in places, and the circuit / join procedues aren't the easiest in the world. Worth a visit.

[mikehallam]

Did WW fuelling mean Mogas or expensive Avgas only ?

mike.

[x933]

I took Avgas, didn't see if they had mogas or not...It may have been expensive but was cheaper than my home base :*

[sammypilot]

We have paid a couple of visits to Sywell in recent weeks. It is an outstanding destination. Hats off to the AFISO there. The traffic is continuous and heavy with fixed wing using both hard and grass runways and mega amounts of rotary movements. It is all handled expertly and with the minimum of delay. The new hard runway is an added bonus. Presently only the hotel is open for food but it of a very high quality and reasonably priced. You really do wonder what is wrong with so many of the airfields mentioned in this forum in that they can't follow this example. If you are good enough you will attract the paying customers.