Rednal Airfield, Shropshire
 

Has anyone flown in to this airfield, and if so do you have any pointers/advice? I have family in Oswestry and to save a 4 hour drive from the South-East I'm thinking of flying up (should only take about 90 mins in the C172) and staying the night (if parking is allowed, that is). Several sources say that it's quite a rough runway surface, is it enough to cause a problem or likely to cause damage to the aircraft at all? I've emailed the owner for PPR should the weather hold out and I end up flying, so just waiting to hear back on that.

Stansted

I am going back five years ago but took a twin in there with no probs. Surface was good infact would have put a lot to shame and would have made a nice airfield.

There is a Go Cart track there to the one side and over a road which parralels the runway as well as paint balling nearby.

Approaches are good with no more than 3 foot fences. There was a hanger down the bottom which contained a couple of aircraft.
Was used by an air balloon company for a long time.

Oswestry is easy just through the village of Rednal, along the canal to the pub and onto the A49.

If thats a problem there is a well established grass strip near Knokin a couple of miles away.

As with anything check there have not been any alterations in the last five years :E

The runway was starting to break up in places the last time I was there, just be carefull where you do your power checks before leaving. It must be ok as there are 2 resident aircraft which fly regularly.There are some electric pylons across the approach to 22 and the kart track is at the 04 end. It was good sport watching the Karters spin into the bales as they watched you you coming in on 04 :-)

Last Monday
 

I was there last Monday, visiting some friends who were walking the Offa's Dyke Path.

The runway is in reasonable condition and looks to have been patched / repaired in places. I gather from some aero-modelers who were there when I arrived, that there are a couple of gyros operating from the field. I was the first visiting fixed wing aircraft they had ever seen land there.

I spoke to the Operator (info in the AEF VFR Guide) by mobile and texted the required information for PPR. I got a confirmation reply in a matter of minutes. It would have been easier to do it by e-mail, particularly if you text as slowly as I do...

The pub by the canal (Queen's Head) does good food.

Hope your trip goes well.

Safe Flying,
Richard W.

I actually rang the go-cart place for info about the field but they couldnt really help,
Does anybody know the size of the runway?
or have a number for airfield ppr?

chris

Rednal Info
 

Hi Chris-h

I used the info in the VFR Guide, although I suspect the land line phone number is wrong. Mobile (07747 618 131) worked for me.

Rwy listed as 700m x 40m, although the 04 end looked a bit over grown. Note; the gates on to the airfield are padlocked (although easy to climb over), only an issue if you require wheeled access.

Safe Flying,
Richard W.

Many thanks, Looks like i better get some go-cart practice on the sly :-)
Cheers Chris

Had a look at Rednal today; if I were you, I would plan to go to Sleap, just along the road, with facilites, access and security.

Me

Landed at Rednal about 6 months ago or so, easy to see and no problems at all. Why use Sleap when Rednal is that much nearer to your'e destination!

I always find it stupid for someone to say why not go somewhere else,
Like i didnt realise their are other airfields about. :mad:

Flew over Rednall last week and made a point of checking out the runways, they didn't look in great condition, not sure I'd want to land there.

Just letting you all know that Rednal is closed to aviation.
Don't bother ringing for PPR - it's shut.
Anyone landing in a non-emergency situation may find their aircraft clamped &/or collided with by farm equipment.
Circuits, touch-&-gos, etc. may trigger countermeasures.

Been in quite a few times back in the day. Sorry if it's now unavailable. Wonder why?

Countermeasures? :eek:

Has Rednal become part of North Korea?

rednal airfield
 

The owners have had alot of grief for decades from a pilot with a hangar at rednal.

This person has left after a succesful legal fight.

The owners do not want general aviation at rednal because it is an unsafe site with high-voltage UK-nat-grid pylons crossing it (height under-reported in flight guides), roads and access at each end and parallel, fencing and cattle next to runway, farming access across it, remote control aircraft club, amateur rocketry and occasional ballooning, aerostats, drones and gyrocopter flying by the owners.

The runway is pitted, weed-infested and potholed in places and there are no plans to maintain it.
The departed pilot made a habit of noisy aerobatics over and around rednal, advertising the place and putting it about he was the owner. this has fed into a notion that it's ok to go and have a blast at rednal - it isn't.

Countermeasures? Well put it this way: we've already had a near miss between someone flying low and a gyrocopter just taken off.
So if pilots think it's OK to carry on as they want to in spite of owners, tenants and stakeholders wishes, then they ought to be prepared for the unexpected.

Sorry if we don't sound very nice, but it's been decades of hassle and we're no longer in any sort of mood to be conciliatory.
It's really very simple - THE OWNERS OF REDNAL AIRFIELD WANT PILOTS TO RESPECT THEIR WISHES FOR ITS USE.
And those wishes are that it be a private, mostly closed, facility. Does it need any further explanation?

phokker, it doesn't require ANY explanation. You could have closed the airfield - period.

But it doesn't stop it being a shame nonetheless!

True but he has a point about the cables and other obstructions. When I learned to fly at Welshpool in 2001 Rednal was pointed out as 'major emergencies only, otherwise assume it's closed. Watch out for wires.' Sounds like that's still the case.

On my PPL test I dug myself a hole by saying idly to the examiner 'Oh look, there's Rednal' when it was actually Montford Bridge. As he pointed out in the debrief if I'd kept my mouth shut he wouldn't have known I was temporarily confused!

I was once landing at Rednal in the chippy when my peripheral vision noted a line of power poles (the wooden sort) marching towards the runway from either side. I instinctively eased back a tad to overfly what I thought would be wires across the runway, and then noted the wires actually dived underground some distance from the runway edges.

A bit of a pucker moment, none the less!

Despite that, and despite one day flaring to land and meeting a Zlin coming the other way at speed, I have some good memories of Rednal!

My actions on the Zlin incident? Full power immediate climb, sharp left turn, farmhouse rotating around the Chippy's wingtip not far below, late downwind at about 100 feet, back to final and land prob a minute or less after the go-around.

Mine host runs out to the aeroplane on the apron as I throw back the canopy, not even shut down yet. He is proffering a bog roll!

Rednal? Loved it!

SSD:Really? Air law is very clear that the correct action for avoiding collisions when flying towards each other is to turn RIGHT to avoid.

What do you suppose the consequences could have been if the Zlin pilot saw you and simultaneously correctly turned right to avoid you?:eek:

Flying downwind at 100 feet after admitting no knowledge of the local overhead wires and their routings, then a snap circuit so brief that you "land prob a minute or less after the go-around."...? Straight after the 'split-ar$£' turn the wrong way???

I wouldn't be boasting about such poor airmanship on a public forum.

If the law says right but left will keep you alive, will you still blindly turn right?

SSD may have had a perfectly valid reason to turn left.