Popham - Microlight Trade Fair - Saturday 4th May 2013

The first day of the annual Popham Microlight Trade Fair had very mixed weather with low cloud and rain in the morning but clearing up to be bright and breezy in the afternoon.

This years show had a large number of gyrocopters both on exhibition and visiting.

Rotorsport the UK agents for Auto-Gyro brought two examples of the Cavalon gyrocopter - the type gained UK CAA Section T approval on 1st May 2013 - this example G-CHWM was flying demonstration flights and is the second to be registered in the UK and is based down in Devon.

 
In direct competition with the above Cavalon in the two seat enclosed side by side marketplace is the Magni M24C Orion  - G-CGRX c/n 24-10-6004 was the 600th gyro to be built by Magni ( small "600th" above the cockpit ) - delivered in 2010 it was based at Perranporth, Cornwall until April 2013 when it was sold to a new owner in the Bournemouth area. 

Busy giving trial flights was Calidus G-ULUL - this example was built in 2010 and originally registered as G-HTBT. It was re-registered as G-ULUL in February 2013 and now wears promotional titles for an Air Total fuel called UL91.

Magni Gyros were also exhibiting and offering demo flights in M16C Tandem Trainer G-JWNW  - this M16 was built in 2010 and is powered by a Rotax 914 turbo engine  - it is based near High Wycombe.



Among the visiting gyros were,

G-YYRO  Magni M16C Tandem Trainer c/n 16-10-5654 - there are currently 14 examples of the M16C registered in the UK - this sky blue Magni is based in Kent and was built in 2010 and is powered by the Rotax 914 turbo engine.

Visiting from Oxfordshire was Auto-Gyro MT-03 G-DADA - this MT-03 was built in 2008 and was originally based up in the north of England. Powered by a turbo Rotax 914 G-DADA had flown over 190 flight hours by December 2011. The MT-03 and later MTOsport are very popular in th UK with a combined total of 87 machines currently registered.

Another visitng Magni M16C was G-YRON - this flew in from nearby Fairoaks.

Among the aircraft exhibited was Aeropro Eurofox G-ETUG - this aircraft is the taildown tug variant fitted with a hook for towing gliders of up to 750kg. Over 400 Eurofox aircraft have been built since 1990 with 23 currently registered in the UK.

Link to Eurofox Aviation - UK dealer

The Popham Microlight Trade Fair attracts several hundred visiting aircraft among them are many flexwing trikes such as G-LSKY a P&M Aviation Pegasus Quik microlight. This example was built in 2005 and is currently based in Kent. Almost 400 Quik microlights are currently registered in the UK.




Steve

Popham - Sat 26th April 2009

Popham airfield is always worth visiting. The aircraft are easy to view and the cafe provides a good place for refeshments.

Aircraft visiting Popham usually park next to the cafe area and a request at Ops desk gave me permission to go airside for these images


M-FOUR (2) Beech G36 Bonanza this new Bonanza c/n E-3849 was built in 2008 and registered in The Isle of Man in March 2009 and replaces the original M-FOUR which was an earlier A36 version.


Visiting were a pair of Flight Design CTSW both in a white/blue/yellow colour scheme - The aircraft type was designed and built in Germany and assembled here in the UK by P & M Aviation. The CTSW fits within the MTOW 450kg BCAR Section S Microlight certification. I like this design. G-SLNT was registered on 28.2.07 with c/n 8254 and is based in Cambridgeshire.


G-OMRP is a little more recent than G-SLNT and was registered on 3.10.08 with c/n 8397 and is based in Northamptonshire.


Also on the visitors ramp was Vans RV-7 G-RVUK construction number PFA 323-14441 - this popular two seater kit aircraft was registered on 8.6.06 and first flew in 2007 and is based in Cambridgeshire. There are currently 57 examples of the RV-7 registered in the UK.



The sunny weather found resident Rearwin 8125 Cloudster G-EVLE c/n 803 parked outside its hanger. This classic pre WW2 American design was built in 1939 as NC25403 and is unique in the UK today. It was first registered in the UK as G-BVLK in 1994 before taking up the markings G-EVLE in 2003.

Popham - 7th and 9th May 2008

Popham airfield is located next to the A303 a few miles south of Basingstoke. With its cafe it makes a good place to take a break and provides good views of the many aircraft.

Arriving in Feb 2008 was former RAF Jet Provest T5 XW311. This aircraft was built in 1970 and served for many years with 6 FTS at RAF Finningley near Doncaster coded as "W".


After being withdrawn from service it went on to RAF Cosford to act as a ground and technical trainer for 1 SOTT with the maintenance serial of 9180M. Local code "MF" was applied here - the aircraft also wears a DCAE Cosford badge on the intake. I understand it is here temporarily and is en route to a car dealer in Hampshire

Parked around the back at Popham was wingless Auster J1N Alpha G-AGXN


This aircraft was built in 1946 and had flown over 3,770 hours by the end of 2004 - let's hope it's back in the skies soon.


I stopped at Popham again two days later on the 9th May 2008 and found the following aircraft parked by the visitors ramp ( next to the cafe area ).



G-JFLO Aerospool Dynamic WT9 is an attractive modern Slovak design. This example was built in 2007 and is powered by the Rotax 912UL.


Representing an altogether older design is G-AYKT a SAN Jodel D117. This aircraft was built in 1957 and imported into the UK in 1970 and has flown over 2,600 hours by the end of 2006.


Two classic biplanes together - G-ADKM is an example of the pre WW2 De Havilland DH 87B Hornet Moth an elegant enclosed touring aircraft. G-ADKM was built in 1935 and was impressed into service with the RAF as W5751 during World War 2. In the background is Antonov 2 HA-MKF - this aircraft was built at the PZL Mielec factory in Poland in 1985.

Popham is home to at least 6 examples of the Comco Ikarus C42 ultralight aircraft designed in Germany. This example G-CDRO was built in 2005 is used for basic flight training and is kept very busy - other based here include G-CDMS, G-CDVI, G-CDHR and G-CCYR.



Arriving just before I departed was DHC 1 Chipmunk 22 G-BDDD - this aircraft is operated by the RAE Aero Club based at Farnborough and wears the normal RAE "Raspberry Ripple" type colour scheme. This example was built in 1951 and served with the RAF as WD387 as a basic flight trainer for many years until being sold to the civil marked in 1975. By the end of 2006 this aircraft had flown over 11,000 flight hours.