London airfields
 

Need to tap in to your collective experience please guys and gals!

I am based in Central London and have started to looking into costs of keeping a light plane locally.

Denham would be closest for me, but for half the price I can keep a plane at Stapleford which would take only fractionally longer to get to.

The woman I spoke to at Stapleford did advise me that there is not so much of a club atmosphere there compared to Denham etc, but I am not interested in the social aspect - just a convenient location to keep a plane as cost effectively as possible.

They also specialise in Socatas at Stapleford Maintenance (so they say) and I'm quite set on a Rallye...

I have also looked into White Waltham etc

Your thoughts please?

Many thanks,

Fiend

Not really too sure on costs to be honest, but Stapleford has a great social atmosphere in my opinion. It's always busy there and if you talk to people you will never be bored there. The place attracts all sorts and I often fly out with other club members. It's perhaps not quite as intimate as other clubs as I suppose it is ran reasonably professionaly. Swings and roundabouts really, I can think of worse places to go. I havent been to Denham so can't compare it to that. I've been to Elstree and don't plan to hurry back there.

Denham's a friendly enough place, but hellishly expensive with fairly restrictive operations.

If you'd routinely travel by train, have you considered going slightly further afield - Popham and Headcorn are a lot more user-friendly as airfields, for example, as well as being a straight train ride out of London.

G

Thanks all - keep it coming...

I ride a motorbike, so can get to either airfield within half an hour... and I really, really hate trains with a passion.

I was originally resigned to having to keep it further afield - even thinking I would try and find a farm strip, but it would seem I can keep it at Stapleford for little over 1k p/a (landings included) which seems cracking value.

Get the feeling that the lady I spoke to was downselling the place a fair bit :rolleyes: as looking at old posts etc it seems to have a pretty good rep.

Will head up this weekend and have a further look.

Cheers!

[QUOTE]I can keep it at Stapleford for little over 1k p/a (landings included) which seems cracking value./QUOTE]
Certainly far better than we get at Goodwood:confused:

I have a similar problem, a kings ramsom required at Booker, 20 mins further out, at Oxford, very reasonable

Do Norf Weald Innit........;)

f.

In my view, a Rallye really needs to be kept indoors due to the propensity for corrosion - ours had big main spar problems and this seems an Achilles' Heel for the type.

We had ours based at Denham and it would be good to see another around the place again, but hangarage there is now relatively expensive. we now keep our PA28 out-of-doors for a much more reasonable sum.

Flying restrictions? Well, for the convenience of being co close to London, operating within the Heathrow Zone isn't as restrictive as you might think. You can only enter and exit via the north, unless you get a SVFR then you can use the western part of the zone if they can fit you in. I guess we get used to it. The real restrtiction for flying training is having to go some distance to get enough height for the stalling etc exercises, but that applies equally to the other close-in airfields, too.

Cheers,
TheOddOne

Stapleford
 

As far as Stapleford goes, it's a good size airfield, nice clubhouse etc. There is also the LAM VOR/DME on the airfield to help you find it when flying in. You only have to travel 5 miles east and you can climb up a bit higher as well.

For £1k p.a. it would sell it for me but I don't know about hangarage availability....

White Waltham probably has the best club atmosphere near London, but the runways are like a fairground ride (I was thinking of joining a group there, which had a prop strike) and the grass turns into a bit of a bog over the winter.

I keep a PA28 140 at Booker (£144pcm) outdoors and the BAFC is has nice folk there but, to be honest, isn't a patch on W/Waltham in terms of the club atmosphere. A big attraction is that there are no after-hours restrictions on flying, if you are an owner.

Denham doesn't have much of an atmosphere and there are restrictions with out of hours flying which, during the summer, would really irritate me. I didn't like Elstree, notleastofwhich because the approach would have involved me flying over a school I was expelled from.

My solution was to keep the a/c at Booker and drink at White Waltham....

White Waltham is approx £140 per month( nearly £1700 pa ) parking outside on tie downs but includes all landings and few restrictions on when
you can fly (ie til it gets dark basically )

Rushetts Farm anyone?
 

Any if it rains you can spend some time at Chessington World of Adventure.

I private strip inside the M25.

Or wot abart Damyns Hall? Near South Ockendon Essex so A12 A13 way.

And it's licensed.

Sir George Cayley

Thanks for all the input - can't find any information on Rushetts Farm at all using Google. Can anyone give me a steer?

Stapleford looking quite good then...

:ok: