Last year when we visited Shobdon airfield we had a look at the map and discovered Powis Castle was close to Welshpool airfield and did some quick checking and realised it was about 2 miles on foot from the airfield. So we have had a plan this year to fly into Welshpool and take a walk up to the Castle. This has been delayed as the aircraft has been delayed coming back from the extended maintenance over winter.
Last weekend we looked and Tuesday appeared to be a good day for this, the weather looked OK, both of us were available and a quick check on the aircraft booking showed it available also.
Having a quick plan for the route on Sunday night it's a fairly straightforward route with nothing major in the way, just RAF Shawbury’s MATZ stub to cross.
Monday afternoon I called Welshpool airfield for permission to land and took the chance to see if they had advise on walks up to the castle, which we had a short chat about.
On Tuesday morning we got up early aiming to arrive at the airfield at 1000 to get the aircraft checked and ready fro an airborne time of 1100.
Doing the walk round of the aircraft showed the fuel tanks to be ¾ full which means more than enough fuel to get to Welshpool and back, with our walking gear in the luggage area behind the seats we were ready to pull out and set off.
The runway Tatenhill were using when we arrived was 26 and so we taxied up to the threshold of 26 to give the oil time to warm up. As we arrived at the 26 hold, there was a discussion on the radio and Tatenhill changed the runway to 08, so we completed the run up and headed back down to the 08 hold.
At Tatenhill the 08 hold is some distance short of the runway threshold and so requires aircraft to ‘backtrack’ down the runway before lining up and taking off during which time no one else can land or take off on the runway as it is considered ‘occupied’. After we arrived at the hold we had to wait for 2 other aircraft to land so we did not get in the way of their landing.
At last we were free to get airborne and enjoy the flight.
Clearing the circuit to the west I changed over to Shawbury zone frequency and listened to their frequency before calling them up and asking for a MATZ penetration and Basic Service.
Continuing onward we passed over Stafford, Telford and Shrewsbury before the hills surrounding Welshpool came into sight and we changed to Welshpool radio.
Because Welshpool is surrounded by hills the Circuit height is at 1500’ above the airfield instead of the usual 1000’ arriving overhead the airfield we were the only aircraft in the circuit. Descending down to circuit height and heading down the downwind leg the height of the hills becomes apparent and looks dramatic, turning base I caught a glimpse of Powis Castle on the far hillside and went back to concentrating on the landing.
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| Welshpool (Mid Wales Airport) airfield operations. |
As we were on final approach one of the helicopters from RAF Shawbury came onto the radio and started carrying out a practice emergency diversion into the airfield.
After landing and backtracking the runway to the parking area, we were given guidance on where to park the aircraft, we shut down and went to the airport staff to pay landing fees etc.
Heading for the Cafe, which is in a group of porta cabins on the edge of the buildings and has a small terrace overlooking the airfield, which as it was warm we enjoyed coffee and sandwiches, whilst watching a number of arrivals, I had a very nice bacon sandwich.
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| Binky sitting out on the parking, taken from the Airport cafe terrace. |
After the quick lunch it was back to the Cessna to change into our walking shoes and ensure everything was locked away.
When we returned from the walk we booked out with the airfield ops and had a short discussion about the weather and the possibility of thunderstorms later. I did a walk round of the aircraft and checked the fuel and then ensured all the gear was safely stowed before climbing in and firing up. Calling the airfield on the radio, they advised us we could use either direction on the runway as we were the only aircraft around, but the wind favoured runway 04. I elected for 04, as although it would require a backtrack on the runway the engine would have more time to warm up before getting to the high revs.
After taking off we had good views as we climbed out from between the hills before turning onto track and calling Shawbury for the MATZ crossing, which was approved.
After passing the MATZ I pointed out Telford and the Wrekin hill off to our right.
I was alerted by the Pilot Aware system of an aircraft just to the left of the nose around 1700 feet below and had a short look but could not see it, anyway as it was below us it should not be an issue after a short while I checked again and discovered it was climbing and resolved to check on it again. When I next checked it was getting close to the same altitude and was starting to become an issue looking in the rough direction I quickly acquired visual on the helicopter was by now at the same altitude as us. Due to the way the helicopter climbed I suspected they had not seen us and decided to turn slightly to the left so we would pass wall behind, just as I started the turn the controller at Shawbury called on the radio to alert me to the presence of the helicopter, and I advised them I was visual and turning to add some separation.
Once clear I returned on to track and had an uneventful trip the rest of the way back to Tatenhill where we refuelled and parked the aircraft back in the hanger before tidying up and getting in the car for home.
Looking back at the sky in the direction we had come from we felt we made a wise decision to head back when we did.
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| Sky Demon log of flight to Welshpool |
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| Return flight, the kink just by Telford is the turn around the helicopter. |
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