At the end of October we had a nice flight down to Shobdon airfield, home of the Herefordshire Flying Club.
Planning a few days out I was supposed to be by myself, as the weather was stunning in the morning I gained a passenger.
Arriving at the airfield, I checked and readied the aircraft then had a quick break before pulling her out of the hanger, taxying and departing Tatenhill. Making sure to make a phone call first to Shobdon as they require Prior Permission before landing there.
The flight to Shobdon was fairly smooth at 2500ft below some cumulus clouds. I contacted Shawbury and obtained a basic service from them and routed between Cosford and Wolverhampton and then past the isolated Clee hill with its radome on top.
Approaching Shobdon we dropped Shawbury and called Shobdon for joining information, as they had our details it reduced some of the traffic on the radio and they were able to pass the runway in use (08 - Right hand circuits). I announced my intention to do an overhead join and was reminded to not descend below 1500 feet until on the downwind leg, due to noise abatement as there is a small village to the north of the airfield. Part of the reason to hold the descent at 1500 is to allow for the gliding club climbing out of the northern grass runway.
Landing in a reasonably short distance I made the turnoff and crossed the northern grass runway. The parking for visiting aircraft was well signposted and I was also given guidance over the radio to a parking slot.
After shutting down the aircraft, and entering the buildings booking in an paying the landing fee was a swift process. The landing fee was £14 and there is a loyalty scheme for regular visitors.
The lunch menu for the day consisted mainly of fried products and we both opted for the light breakfast that was available. The office, the cafe and a club bar area are in a nissan hut that is quite well maintained.
After refreshments I booked out and was given a short briefing on a couple of points to avoid e.g. ensure taxiing on the grass taxiway and not the grass runway, once power checks were done to keep a good lookout up the approach as there may be glider traffic on the approach to the grass runway before crossing.
The aircraft parking and taxiways are very clearly marked and so there was no issue with taxiing out.
For the return flight we passed up the west side of Clee Hill and then between RAF Cosford and Halfpenny green.
Arriving back at Tatenhill we refuelled the aircraft, cleaned the windows and parked it back in the hanger.
Shobdon is a welcoming airfield which has nice facilities, I understand that since our visit the Cafe is changing management, so we might return to visit to see how it changes.
