Flying visit for a walk.

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.

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.

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.

I will write later describing the walk up to the castle as we did not follow a guide, just the map.

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.

Sky Demon log of flight to Welshpool

Return flight, the kink just by Telford is the turn around the helicopter.

Links:
Powis-castle-and-garden
Shobdon Airfield
Welshpool Airport
Tatenhill Airfield

Return from Beverley via Spurn Point

The return leg of our flight up to Beverley was folloing  more scenic route down the coast to Spurn Point before turning inland at Grimsby, as this was a weekend and the weather was good we transited over RAF Waddington at 4500ft.  One of the reasons for coming north on this trip and not south was because the weather was good and there were a number of gliding competitions to the south to avoid (as one pilot found out).

After a little time and booking out at Beverley I checked the Cessna over and manually checked the fuel tanks to see how much was left in. Happy with the aircraft we climbed in and prepared to the return journey. After the last checks just short of Beverley's Alpha old, we lined up rolled down the grass of runway 12 and in a short time were airborne, turning left we headed out of the circuit to the north until clear and set course east for the coast, before following the coast southbound, and contacting Humberside radar for a basic service.

Offshore windfarm

Looking out to sea, I pointed out that the sight of the offshore wind farm was a bit of a surreal sight. A huge area of white stalks sticking up out of the sea, as we were moving it reminded me slightly of the graphics from old computer games.

Spurn Point

As we approached the Humber Estuary I turned inland to avoid the Gas Venting station that was marked on the map, such that we passed slightly inland of Spurn point. The Humber estuary is quite a substantial body of water and it feels odd flying over it for someone who is used to normally flying overland, at least this takes some of the edge off When I decide to head to the continent at some point.

Leaving Spurn Point behind we passed to the east of Grimsby and started the turn inland towards Bardney disused airfield.

Climbing up to 4500ft, we travelled through quite smooth air up until our next turn at Bardney disused airfield.

Having confirmed with Humberside that Waddington Zone was not active the controller politely reminded me that at my altitude we could go straight over the top as long as I stayed out of their ATZ.

After shortly after passing over Waddington the controller said that I was passing outside his cover and that I should free-call East Midlands for a service off them.  I tuned into East Midlands and listened for a gap in the comms.  G-OM had just called them requesting for a 'traffic service', this is a service from a radar controller that gives information and warnings of other traffic that may affect the flight.  As soon as the controller had identified G-OM he gave him a warning of 'two contacts straight ahead 1 mile, no height' which G-OM replied, 'seen, gliders taking avoiding action'.  There then followed a couple of minutes of radio exchange between the two of them as the pilot weaved his way out from the middle of a large group of gliders with the assistance of East Midlands.

Once the airwaves settled down, both me and another aircraft contacted East Midlands to request services from them.

The rest of the flight went well, and as the route approached Tatenhill and the controlled airspace surrounding East Midlands lowered, I descended a couple of  times to keep clear. Passing over the recently disused Hucknall airfield, which is rapidly becoming a housing estate.

Arriving back at Tatenhill at 1645 I was happy to see that fuel was still available and topped up the aircraft so that the next pilot didn't have to.  Taxiing back to the hanger, cleaned the bugs off and put the aircraft to bed until its next adventure.

All in all a successful trip as we got to see a new airfield, had a nice view of the coast and some different sights. Additionally I have gained more confidence talking to air traffic and using the radio equipment in the aircraft. I look forward in the near future to either doing a transit of controlled airspace, or utilising a traffic service.

Flight Details:
Distance: 127nm
Duration: 1h 27m
Sights: Spurn Point, Humber Estuary

Early August flight to Beverley airfield

Just over an hour away from Tatenhill is Beverley airfield, which had a free landing fee voucher in the summer edition of Flyer, although I didn't really feel put upon by the rather reasonable £5 landing fee and didn't take much effort to take the Flyer voucher with me.

The weather was good, with light winds and cloud bases around 4-5000 feet, so I opted to take advantage and fly at a higher altitude than I had flown since renewing my licence.

We decide to head out to the south of Gamston airfield and then head up between Doncaster and Humberside airport at 3500ft, the return journey was more of a coastal route.

Arriving at the hanger I was greeted with the new hanger doors which had been installed since I was last flying these took a few seconds to work out how to open them.

With the preflight checks complete, we strapped in and headed for the runway. Following a smooth takeoff we turned right to head north, being careful to stay clear of Darley Moor hang gliding site, which was a good thing as looking over n their direction we watched one of the hang gliders completing a winch launch. Shortly after passing Darley moor we took up the Easterly track to Carsington Water and on to the next way point of Ossington Disused airfield.

Contacting East Midlands for a basic service and getting their QNH which lets us setup the altimeter to ensure that we remain below East Midlands airspace. Once clear of East Mids we could then climb up to our planned cruise altitude of 3500ft.

Passing Mansfield, East Midlands requested we change off their frequency and suggested we contact Doncaster, however I decided to head for the rest of the trip north without talking to anyone until we we closer to our destination. This Altitude would provide us with some buffer over the airfields and gliding sites on the next leg, although I did turn off the track to avoid a glider that was gently climbing to the north of Darlton.

The Humber and bridge from 3500ft

Flying further north we could start to make out the humber and Hull beyond, which allowed us to get a good view of the Humber bridge out of the right window. Starting the descent towards Beverley as we passed over the suburbs of Hull.

Setting the radio for Beverley’s radio frequency, Beverley have a new radio frequency that is based on the 8.33Khz separation rather than the older 25Khz frequency. I called up and received the latest information, that they were on Runway 12 passed me their QFE, shortly after one of the arrivals (a Europa) announced that they had dead sticked (landed without power) the landing and had stopped at the end of the runway, this would mean that it would be unsafe to land until they had been cleared off. I continued to do an overhead join and enter the circuit, the overhead join unusually at Beverley is at 1500’ and all the circuits are to the north of the field which allowed a left hand circuit onto runway 12.

Beverley clubhouse and hangers.

As we continued to join and fly round the circuit we could see the rescue truck driving out to assist the stranded Europa and assist removing it from the runway, fortunately it was clear of the runway when we turned onto finals. After a nice approach and a short landing we were able to taxi off the runway and follow the Europa back to the parking.  We did not take on fuel at the airfield, although the fuel bowser is conveniently located near the clubhouse with good access from the parking area.

Beverley Clubhouse

Once parked up we found that Beverley had a nice little well maintained clubhouse with a small cafe where drinks and food could be purchased along with a nice seating area with comfortable chairs, outside were a number of picnic tables that had a good view of the airfield.

Landing fees were a most reasonable £5 which were paid with a short welcoming chat with airfield management in the corner of the clubhouse.


Having spent a short time at Beverley I would recommend it as either a destination in itself or a stopping point on a larger adventure.

Flight details:
Distance: 109nm
Duration: 1h 05m
Landing Fee (Beverley: £5
Sights: Humber and the Humber Bridge