Dunkeswell - 18th February 2008

Dunkeswell - 18.2.08

A trip down to Wellington, Somerset gave me the chance to re-visit Dunkeswell - my first visit since 2001.

The airfield is a former WW2 US airbase, I believe they flew Liberators from here. The airfield covers a large area with miles of taxiways and hardstandings. The Clubhouse by the tower has a welcome cafe too.

Parked by the tower were 9 aircraft including a couple of flying club basic trainer Cessna and Piper types including Cessna 152 G-OFRY



- also here was G-OSLO Schweizer Hughes 269 which was up and down doing circuits,


plus a smart yellow Yak 18T reg HA -YAV. The aviation fuel pumps are here too.


Adjacent to this area are many light industrial buildings - if you follow the airfield road west along these buildings it becomes an airfield perimter track. Take care as this peri-track has plenty of pot holes, some deep. You will cross the threshold of the main runway so make sure you STOP and check for aircraft movements before crossing.

The peri-track will bring you to a large collection of hangers and lock ups, maybe 15 or more. At the time of my visit half a dozen were open. A polite request at each hanger to view the aircraft was met with approval.

The large Somerset Microlights hanger was packed full of 19 aircraft including seven Ikarus C42 ultralights- G-CDOT, CDYO, CEDC, CVAL, MGPA, OSTL, OVAL.




Others in the hanger included Thruster T600 G-BYPG with some nose damage and all red Savannah G-CSUE plus a number of weightshift microlights.



Elsewhere among the hanger area was 1967 vintage Pa-28R Cherokee Arrow G-AVWR being prepared for a flight down to Plymouth.


Parked up outside Hanger 13 were Pa-28-180 Cherokee C G-AVSC and American Pa-24 Comanche N8829P - nearby was Seneca N21381 which looks rather wfu.



Pa-24-260 Comanche N8829P was built in 1965

Henstridge - Compton Abbas - Kingston Deverill - Wed 6.2.08

Wednesday 6th February 2008 was bright and sunny so I headed out to some of my local airfields.

Henstridge

First time I've been here for almost 5 years ! Thankfuly the cafe is still there and open. From here you get a very good view of the tarmac runway. Over on the farside were several new to me blue metal hangers with a couple more still being built.

New for me here was the Christen Eagle II G-NUTA


The owner of this aircraft was very happy to chat about his Eagle. He bought it from a Germany owner although the aircraft was based at the Vendee Air Park in France. G-NUTA was registered in the UK on 15.8.06 and was previously D-ECCA being built from kit in 1991.

Two Vans RV-9 aircraft departed whislt I was having a coffee - G-CCGU and G-RUVY, both taxied out from the new hanger area.

Compton Abbas

This lovely airfield is up on top of a hill, approx 10 miles East of Henstridge. I reckon it is one of the most scenic airfields in the UK - add in a good cafe and a large viewing area too it is an excellent place to visit, not that it was busy during my quick stop ! The grass strip looks a little bumpy in comparison with the tarmac at Henstridge.

The only activity was G-WARZ a based Pa-28-161 Warrior doing circuits and bumps. This aircraft was built in 1997. The photo below shows plenty of mud by the gear and underwing.

Kingston Deverill - The Park

Next stop was the gliding airfield at Kingston Deverill home of the Bath, Wilts and North Dorset GC. This strip in on top of large hill just north of Mere. Luckily there was some mid week activity - outside was the beautiful Glasflugel Libelle 201B G-DCLP wearing competition number "948".



This Libelle was built in 1971 and is the former BGA 1630 and took up its new G registration on 1.10.07.

The local club uses Piper Pa-25-235 Pawnee G-BUXY for air tows - this has a 4 bladed propellor to give it some more towing power.



This Pawnee as built back in 1963 and was imported from Canada before becoming G-BUXY on 18.3.93 - 45 years old.

There is one large hanger here and among the gliders present was SZD 50-3 Puchacz G-CKAN.



This Polish built glider was built in 1997 as c/n B-2106. It was originally delivered to the Netherlands as PH-1104 but sufferred a major accident in the summer of 1997. After a rebuild in Poland it arrived in the UK as BGA 4938 in 2001. It became G-CKAN on 26.11.07. Another Puchacz was in the hanger too - "FUY" BGA 3546.

Yeovilton - Friday 5th October 2007

A bright sunny autumn day at VL with 5 of the based Tutors busy in the circuit.

Tutor G-BYVK of 727 sqd

About midday JEDI 1 & 2 called up declaring an emergency - one aircraft had sufferred a bird strike. A few minutes later and two Harriers could be seen approaching 09.

ZG859 lands after a bird strike

The first to land was Harrier GR9A ZG859 "91A" wearing no squadron marks - I'm told a bird hit the canopy and then the intake lip whilst over Dartmoor. Upon landing it was met by a host of fire trucks.

Harrier ZD410 in 4 sqd 95 Years c/s

It's buddy ZD410 landed a few minutes later wearing special 4sqd tail colours celebrating 95 years of 4 sqd from 1912 - 2007.


I was also lucky to see a Commando helicopter force role demo - a large number of guests assembled out the CHF hangers and watched a gun fight with flash bangs and smoke. A pair of Sea King HC 4 helicopters appeared and fast roped troops to fight back. It looked to me as if one of these troops fell very badly from a great height. An ambulance arrived and it took maybe 30 mins before the casualty was moved - let's hope he is not badly hurt.

Meanwhile the two Sea King HC4 lifted a Land Rover and trailer - the pick up point was right near me on the Southern boundary and these two fly fast and low over my head.

Sea King HC4 ZD476 "WZ" comes in to lift a Land Rover

Harrier ZD410 departs Yeovilton

Mid afternoon saw Harreir ZD410 depart leaving it's bird hit partner ZG859 "91A" at VL


After the Commando demo display Squirrel ZJ278 "78" was brought out of the CHF hanger and departed to the South.

DHFS Squirrel ZJ278

Halesland - Sat 15.9.07

Halesland is my local airfield being about 8 miles or so from my home. It is situated high up on the Mendip Hills between Priddy and Cheddar near the village of Draycott.

Busy scene with ASK 13 "EPP" BGA 2845

Another ASK 13 is the all orange "FVC" BGA 3550

Halesland is primarily a glider airfield, home to the Mendip Gliding Club - in addition it is also home to two powered motorgliders.

Fournier RF4D is a single seat motor glider based at Halesland

Scheibe SF-25C Falke G-KWAK has been based since 2003 and can be used to tow gliders

Elegant Slingsby Skylark "BKA" BGA 1019 photographed from the car park area

There is a visitors car park which offers a complete view of all activity - no facilities for visitors but the clean hilltop fresh air is free and blows your cobwebs away !

If you are in the area there are two good pubs in nearby Priddy too for a refreshment break.

N500RK - Hughes 500C visits Somerton, Somerset

Spotted parked in the middle of a football pitch in the Somerset village of Somerton on 11.9.07 Hughes 500C N500RK.

This white/green helicopter is c/n 730502S, built way back in 1973 and was previously N901WJ.

The pilot states that the aircraft is based at a local farm and was being used to give visiting French delegates a quick aerial tour of the region.

Poland - Warsaw - Bemowo 19.8.07

Warsaw - Bemowo airfield

I've been lucky enough to have visited Bemow many times since my first visit back in December 1994. Back then I come away with a log of 15 An-2's, many Wilga's, several Zlins and nothing "western" at all.

Times change and "western" designs now predominate , although a handful of older more interesting machines can be found. Recent years have seen a large growth in the number of kit built and ultra light aircraft. Time has almost stood still though among the glider fleet, so if you like classic SZD designs then visit Poland.

The general aviation side of the airfield has three large hangers, an air ambulance apron and a small private helicopter hanger 500m to the West.

Over the far side ( ie the South side ) are a number of other aviation areas, including the Pol AF WAT Tech School ( they have half a dozen GIA airframes ), the Police helicopter area, one large general aviation hanger which I've never gained access to and a small flight line by the tower ( note the Cafe Zeppelin in by the tower too ).

Here are a few photos taken on 19.8.07 to show some of the residents

SZD 22C Mucha SP-2121 is a recent restoration have been in Denmark since 1965

SZD 39 Cobra 17 SP-2540 was built in 1970




SZD 36A Cobra 15 SP-3684 coded "N6" was registered in 2004

An-2 SP-ANV was built in 1972 and has been a regular at Bemowo since about 1990, in various colour schemes ( sharksmouth and invasion stripes at one time )




Piper J-3C Cub SP-AWP came to Poland in 2003 and was previously SE-AWP




Piper Pa-28R-201 Arrow SP-KBY looks in very good condition





3xTrim 450 Ultra is a Polish designed UL and illustrates the SP-Sxxx UL register introduced in 2005




Aeropro Eurofox SP-SPAW is based here along with Eurofox SP-SPAM





Nearing completion in the Glider hanger is this UL- this is a YALO Ultra Pup Bravo based upon a design by Preceptor Aircraft and became SP-SKAL by early 2008.


If you have any queries about Warsaw-Bemowo then feel free to email me and I'll try and help

Yeovilton Show Sunday Departures 8.7.07

Yeovilton Show Departures - Sunday 8.7.07

The day after Yeovilton airshow is a chance to see some of the visitors depart. This year the French Navy contingent took the opportunity to escape across the Channel in time to be home for Sunday lunch.

Best for me was the old SA 319B Alouette 3 serial 347 c/n 2347 - what a great navy scheme too, Alouette 3s are getting to be a rarity these days.

This year the French Navy also sent a pair of Super Etendards - serial 8 was carrying an inert air launched AM 39 Exocet training round under its starboard wing.

Soon after the Little and Large pair came out - the mighty Super Frelon with his buddy the Lynx alongside, great to them alongside each other.

Liskeard - Schweizer 269D Model 333

Liskeard - Schweizer 269D Model 333


A brief stop at the Castle Air heliport at Liskeard in Cornwall on Wed 11th April 2007 found Schweizer 269D Model 333 G-TAMC getting ready to depart.





This helicopter type is not common in the UK with just 5 examples registered currently. G-TAMC is owned by Total Air Management Services of Sheffield and operates in the dark blue & yellow favoured by emergency services helicopters. This helicopter is used to survey the power grid system across the UK.




The Schweizer 269D Model 333 is powered by an Allison 250-C20W turbine which gives this helicopter a cruise speed of about 105 knots and an endurance of approx 3.5 hours. This particular example is c/n 0054A and was built in 2005. The type remains in production and approx 70 examples have been built to date.


The Model 333 design has also been used as the basic template for the the RQ-8 & MQ-8 Fire Scout helicopter UAV currently in testing for the US armed services.

This link goes to the Schweizer website 269D Model 333 web page

Bristol - Lulsgate Wed 21.3.07

Bristol - Lulsgate Wed 21.3.07

KLM Fokker 70 PH-KZP arrived as KLM 1055

Today was a very sunny day so I took an afternoon trip up to Lulsgate. This regional airport is high up on top of a hill. In recent years the volume of scheduled traffic has dramtically increased with low cost carriers such as Go ( since "gone !" ), Ryanair and Easyjet opening up many new scheduled routes. Bristol also has regular charter holiday flights from airlines including Thomson, Thomas Cook, First Choice and Excel plus seasonal Turkish, Spanish, Austrian and Bulgarian carriers.

Easyjet A319 G-EZIJ departed as Easy 425

Thomson 757 G-BYAT arrived as Thomson 662N

In addition Bristol has scheduled services including Continental ( 757 to New York ), British Airways Connect ( to cease operations late March 2007 ), Aer Arran, Aer Lingus, KLM, Air Southwest, SN Brussels, Eastern Airways, OLT, and Scilly Skybus,

Eastern Airways Jetstream J41 G-MAJN departed as Eastern 86J to Aberdeen

All the images below were taken from the south side of the runway, near the 09 ( Western ) end of the single runway. A short step ladder is need to get good runway views over the perimeter fence. There are parking spaces here and this area can get very busy with spectators at weekends - just ensure you keep your ladder off the fence itself and remember to take your litter home too please.

AirSouthwest Dash 8 G-WOWD departed as Swallow 485B to Newquay

A three hour stay saw 25 different airliners logged with half a dozen general aviation movements too. Easyjet dominate these days with 9 airbus A319s and 1 737 seen.

British Airways Connect EMB-145 G-EMBW will disappear from Lulsgate in April 2007 having been bought out by FlyBe recently

Yeovilton - Wed 14.3.07

Yeovilton is my local base - 22 miles from home. Usually plenty of activity although many of the based helicopters have been resident here for over 20 years so many of these airframes are very old friends indeed !

All the photos below were taken near Yeovilton viallge church which is approx midway along the runway on the south side.

Visitors - 6 RAF Tucano T1 trainers visited from their home base at Linton On Ouse in Yorkshire. All were in the black colour scheme with one example wearing squadron marks from 207 sqd.

Above - ZF137 Tucano T1 departs as c/s CORDITE wearing 207 sqd markings of 1FTS

Above - ZF491 Tucano T1 departs as c/s LOP 63 wearing generic 1FTS marks

Among the resident Lynx helicopters were active examples of both the HAS3 and the HMA8 - compare the major differences to the nose and extra lumps and bumps

Above - XZ732 Lynx HMA8DSP "673" of 702 sqd departs from RWY 22 heading South

Above - ZD264 Lynx HAS3GM "306" of 815 sqd departs as SKUA 27

Recent new residents at Yeovilton are 727 sqd with their fleet of Grob G115E Tutors - these were previously based down at Plymouth and transferred to Yeovilton in December 2006.

The Royal Navy website describes 727 sqds role as...

""727 Squadron's primary role is to grade young Naval and Royal Marine officers to assess their suitability for further training with the Fleet Air Arm. This takes place throughout the year and each student is with the Squadron for three weeks. During those weeks, he or she will fly twelve hours with an instructor before flying a Final Handling Test with the Commanding Officer""


Seen here today were G-BYVF, G-BYWM, G-BYXK and G-BYXS

727 sqd Grob Tutor G-BYVF at Yeovilton using c/s TAMAR 11 with Sea King "ZA" behind

727 sqd Grob Tutor G-BYXK at Yeovilton with just "X" on tail rather than "XK" used c/s TAMAR 15

The Royal Navy use a small number of Jetstream T3 aircraft as HMS Heron hacks based at Yeovilton.

Above - Jetstream T3 c/n 647 ZE438 "76" takes off as c/s NAVY 751

Yeovilton also plays host to a small detachment of Royal Navy FRADU Hawk up from their own home base at RNAS Culdrose. The only one seen today was XX160 devoid of any Royal Navy titles - it arrived and departed as BLUE 1.

Royal Navy Hawk XX160 was delivered to the RAF back in May 1982

For me this Hawk photo was my picture of the day - low and fast.