Church Fenton Fly-In

Late last year rumours circulated from Sherburn that a pilot had bought RAF Church Fenton and intended to re-open it as an airfield. These persisted for a few weeks with emphasis changing from who had bought it to how little it had cost! Then in December the fly-in rumour started, some believed it but many didn’t. When the rumour was confirmed for a Fly-in on 3rd January the excitement among some was barely containable! So, a fly-out to Fenton was on.

The weather gods decided that as the 3rd January was not to be so the fly-in was hastily put back to Sunday 4th. This was to prove an excellent decision but one that was to highlight some pilots need for ATC.

Sunday dawned bright and clear, one of those exceptional crisp blue winter days. First off, very early, was the newly arrived Taylorcraft with Mick Ward & Paul Goring, followed by Graham Robson in his Cessna 120, a Red RV6a with Barry Hunter and a Blue RV6 with Joanne & myself. We set off early to beat the expected throng, a good decision on our part…

On arrival at Fenton we were to use safety com (135.475), make blind calls, expect no reply and exit at the end of the runway. We all arrived roughly together about 10:00am with one in the circuit and only 3 or 4 aircraft before us. Faced with a 1.7 kilometre runway it seemed silly to land on the numbers so I aimed a third in. On getting a third in it was clear that further was better so I applied a little power and floated maybe a third further. The taxi was still far longer than I expected but there was nobody else behind so no problem.

We were marshalled on to the main apron in front of the very large hangars. There looked like enough room for a hundred light aircraft, so we were well spaced out. This was to possibly be a bad decision on the part of the marshallers who later started running out of room! I was immediately greeted by an old friend who had driven in so we caught up and watched the world going by for a short while. It was bitterly cold stood out admiring the odd arrival so we departed for the relative warmth of the Hangar.

Inside proved a lot warmer as the hangar was heated! On booking in we were greeted cheerily and handed a voucher for a free breakfast. Another rumour substantiated! An outside caterer had been organised by the new owner who quickly overcooked my bacon to order (I only eat it really crispy). The hangar had a few tables and chairs, and bales of hay for makeshift seats. On one side military vehicles were assembling whilst away on the other sat a Robinson 44 and a new looking Beech Bonanza. We sat with the Sturgate crew drinking our tea and chewed the fat about the prospects for a new GA airfield. Steadily more people arrived, the queue for tea and bacon butties got longer and the, by now clearly identifiable, airfield owner was in the middle of a throng happily chatting.

Venturing back outside into the bright but cold sunshine showed just how many aircraft had arrived. By about mid-morning the double line on apron stretched away back towards the runway. There were maybe 100 aircraft parked with people milling around taking pictures and catching up with friends. More were arriving with 3 or 4 seemingly always on final, more in the air there and one having to go round. Later Sturgate Arrivals included the Cub, OscarRomeo, Alan Wood in his yellow Pazmany and Martin in the Eurostar. While admiring the view I started meeting other flying friends from near and far including Richard Howard from his farm strip near Gainsborough and a racing friend, Martin Gosling, in his Robin DR400 all the way from East Anglia. It was great to catch up with so many people all supporting the prospect of a new big airfield.

By now there were a lot of people and aeroplanes on the ground, the parking was over spilling around the side of the hangar. In the air the queue in final had grown to 6 or 7 and more were going around. It looked a bit of a mess with far too little separation between landing aircraft. Most were trying to land on the numbers and taxi slowly to the end thus was causing the go arounds.

North Coates had a fly-in the same weekend so by 12-ish we decided to depart for there and some of Jam Lady Alison’s Lemon Curd. So, starting up with a very loud shout we carefully tip towed towards the take-off end of the very long runway. There were now so many parked aircraft that the cross runway was being used as overflow. Whilst taxiing we were able to listen to the throng on the radio. Hearing the chaos was as bad as looking at it. Joining instructions clearly said Safety Com but people were acting as if full ATC were present, and some were simply complaining at others poor airmanship and wake turbulence!

When we reached the hold there were maybe 10 on final and the radio was alight with more arriving. We waited as a C172 landed on the numbers and taxied all the way to the end. One or two following went round and there was a gap! A motor glider was handily backing up the queue so we shot off. Speaking to one or two later leavers is continued to get worse…

For us it was a good fly-in; the airfield is huge and in good condition, the facilities and the welcome on the day were great. Some formal ATC probably would have been a good decision given the number of arrivals, somewhere in the region of 250. But I am sure nobody foresaw the numbers who would attend. That said it was clear the decision making of some of the pilots was not the best…

It looks like the new owner of Leeds East Airport - Church Fenton – Mr Chris Makin has lots of previous business experience and has every chance of being successful. (http://www.leeds-airport.uk/)