Two members of a EuroStar syndicate prove that you can have a lot of fun visiting some Scottish strips on a sunny day
Words by Paul Kiddell. First published in 2023
10 July 2025
Sometimes the UK’s weather surprises you, with a forecast that isn’t only flyable but is also positively outstanding. After a very wet winter, a period of settled high pressure resulted in much chin-rubbing among pilots – where to go and what to do? Faced by a forecast of light winds and horizon-to-horizon sunshine, it’s easy to fly the well-trodden path to your favourite lunch destination, but for me, it’s an opportunity to be adventurous and explore pastures new.
The second week of May has been wonderful, and after discussing options with my flying partner, Steve Biglands, we settle on a day of stripping in northeast Scotland.
Steve and I are part of a four-man syndicate with a 2007 EV-97 EuroStar, G-CEVS, based at Eshott in Northumberland. He’s a former RAF QFI who’s well-known for his role as a Victor Captain in Operation Black Buck, the bombing of Port Stanley on Falkland Islands, by Vulcan XM607 on 1 May 1982. The 6,800nm mission was then the longest bombing raid in history and required 11 Victor air-to-air refuelling tankers.
Steve was programmed as the long-slot tanker but while refuelling amid a powerful electrical storm over the South Atlantic, the tip of his refuelling probe snapped off in extreme turbulence. Steve and his crew had to give their fuel away to another Victor and returned to Ascension Island with very little reserve.
After eight years on Victors, Steve instructed on Jet Provosts, and then Strikemasters and PC-9s in Saudi Arabia, before finishing his career on Grob Tutors at Leuchars.
And that would have probably been that for Steve’s flying, until he discovered the highly affordable and somewhat wacky world of microlighting, which has seen him add such new experiences as beach and small-strip landings to his extensive aviation repertoire.
At Eshott, G-CEVS is soon pre-flighted and fuelled from jerry cans with standard garage forecourt unleaded, our 80hp Rotax 912 preferring UL-91 or mogas. It’ll take 100LL but prolonged use does cause issues with lead fouling and, as result, reduced service intervals.
Strip-flying requires careful planning and prior contact with owners is absolutely essential. We’re briefed on slope, the latest ground conditions, grass length, livestock and noise-sensitive properties. Some of our targets are in the VFR flight guides but others aren’t – happily, northern and Scottish flyers are a pretty tight-knit community and contacts are easily made.
Steve flies the first leg as we set off for Hatton, a farm strip south of Peterhead on the Scotland’s northeast coast. It’s a gin-clear day and we climb to 2,000ft as we head up the glorious Northumberland coast at 95mph, burning a measly 10 litres per hour. We fly over 1,000 or so Atlantic grey seals basking on the sandbars in Holy Island Bay, which is a good indicator that northeast fish stocks are healthy as each one consumes about 25lb per day.
England’s most northerly town, Berwick-upon-Tweed, is looking good as we pursue an East Coast Main Line train that’s going over the magnificent Royal Border Bridge of 1850, with its 28 arches, each of which spans some 60ft.
The flying is very smooth as we talk to our friendly controller, Paul Aspin at Scottish Information. The procedure at Scottish Info is a very relaxed affair and certainly a far cry from the exceptionally busy London Information which, to be honest, I’ve only ever used to open a flight-plan. Paul knows many of his regular customers well and we exchange pleasantries as he updates us on danger area activity, weather and known traffic on frequency.
At North Berwick we climb to 3,500ft to cross the nine miles of the Firth of Forth and switch to Leuchars, which can offer a LARS. We pass Bass Rock, a small volcanic island which extends to some 351ft above the water. Now uninhabited, it was once a 6th century hermitage, then a medieval castle which was used as a gaol for King James I’s many political enemies and, more recently, a lighthouse. Bass Rock is now home to the world’s biggest colony of gannets and a large proportion of its 150,000 resident birds seem to be doing circuits today. I wouldn’t recommend a low pass!
Leuchars has a flight calibrator DA-42 in the circuit so we’re asked to pass over the MATZ at 3,000 ft. Despite Leuchars being handed over to the Army in March 2015, it remains an active military airfield and we spy several Tucanos on the pan as we pass over this historic former fighter base.
After passing over the Royal Marines’ D604 firing range on the north side of the Tay, we descend to 1,000ft for coastal sight-seeing. The coast from Arbroath to Aberdeen is very scenic, with rugged cliffs punctuated by small fishing villages, all framed by the Grampians to the west. The land is very fertile with many horticultural polytunnels growing berries and other soft fruits which end up on the shelves of your local supermarket.
Just south of Stonehaven, we come across the impressive ruins of the 13th century Dunnottar Castle. Perched on an isolated headland, Dunnottar is another Scottish fortification with a bloody history. William Wallace captured the castle from the English in 1297 and reputedly set fire to the church where the entire Sassenach garrison of 4,000 had taken refuge, burning them all alive. We’re certainly hoping for a somewhat better reception as we continue north…
By now we’re talking to Aberdeen Approach, as the Aberdeen CTA extends to just south of Stonehaven, from 1,500ft to FL115. Aberdeen, the centre of the North Sea oil industry since the mid-seventies, remains very busy and the cheery controller was working hard with multiple North Sea helicopter arrivals and departures, mixed in with regional airliners. Aberdeen has well-established GA coastal transit corridors, running north-south through its CTR, with the northbound Stonehaven corridor taking traffic just off-shore and the southbound Peterhead corridor taking traffic shore-side over the city.
Cleared to route northbound offshore, not above 2,000ft, we pass over a large number of brightly-coloured North Sea supply vessels, which are sitting off the coast like a modern day D-Day invasion fleet.
After two hours of relaxed flying we approach Hatton, just inland from the exceptionally beautiful Cruden Bay, home to one of the most scenic golf courses in Britain. The 650m strip is owned by enthusiastic flying farmer Jim Anderson who currently flies a 1976 Robin DR400/140. Today, Jim and pilot son, Angus, are away at a Flying Farmers event in the Channel Islands but we’re fully briefed and Steve does a clearing pass for wildlife before setting-up for R07. Two small local wind generators tell us it’s an easterly, which works well as R07 has a two per cent upslope.
We’re soon down, and avoid the bottom of the slope where water may congregate. However, as we go over the brow of the slope, we surprised to discover three large hares on the edge of the strip. They all decide to make a run for it across our path until the third one decides to stop mid-strip and reverse his route. Both hares and crew are relieved when he makes it to safety.
With Jim away we don’t hang around and I take off downhill with a bit of a tailwind. As always in strip flying, there are decisions to be made when balancing the slope, approach and departure paths against the prevailing wind direction and strength. Some decisions may initially seem to be against conventional wisdom, coming from a traditional airfield environment, but it makes for an exciting challenge. At 650m the strip is large and we’re off in no time and head north, to pick up the Moray coast at Fraserburgh for a 25-minute flight to Banff.
The waters of the Moray Firth are crystal clear as we fly low-level along the jagged coast. The picturesque village of Pennan looks fabulous. It’s famous as the fictitious ‘Furness’ in the 1983 film Local Hero and still attracts many tourists. I launch into Mark Knopfler’s classic theme, Going Home, which is still played at Newcastle United home fixtures. Steve shows his appreciation for my musical talents by turning his headset volume down.
Our next strip, Boyndie, the former RAF Banff, will potentially be the most challenging of the day as it’s now home to a large windfarm. From Sep 1944 to the end of WWII, RAF Banff was home to the Banff Strike Wing, which consisted of six squadrons of Mosquitos and Beaufighters. They combined with the Beaufighters of the nearby RAF Dallachy Strike Wing to launch mass ultra low-level attacks on U-Boats and German shipping in the North Sea and Norwegian fjords, using cannon and salvos of three-inch rockets. They enjoyed spectacular success and made a significant contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany by limiting U-Boat operations and denying Hitler’s industry such vital raw materials as iron ore.
RAF Banff closed at the end of WWII, though there was a small revival in the seventies, when the Banff Flying Club was formed. To mark the re-opening in June 1976, the late, great Neil Williams flew Mosquito RS712 in from the Sir William Roberts Strathallan Collection. A video of the day shows a typically spirited low-level display by Williams. Interestingly, flying with him was a certain Dick Richardson, then chief engineer at Strathallan, who went onto manage wonderful Popham for some 26 years. Today, RS712 is owned by Kermit Weeks and for the past few years has been in the EAA Museum at Oshkosh.
Sadly, the Banff Flying Club had disbanded by the early-eighties. In 2006, a windfarm of nine turbines was installed on the airfield and flying at Boyndie seemed to be finished forever. However, in 2015, Nigel Smith, a Jet2 pilot who flies a rather smart, self-built Murphy Elite, powered by a diesel Wilksch WAM-120, and his friend Jimmy established a grass field on the south side of the disused R10/28, cutting and rolling to make a smooth 320m x 18m strip, though the TORA/LDA is actually 590m.
Clearly the turbines need respect. Positioning overhead shows that we’re lucky today as the easterly wind is moderate and, importantly, the rotor turbulence from the windmills to the south of the strip is being carried well away, out to the west. One turbine is on the extended centreline for R10, around 700m short of the threshold. In addition, there’s an uphill gradient of 1.79 on R28. As a result, I opt for the clearer approach on R28, downwind but uphill.
A clearing pass shows that there are no sheep grazing and also allows us to see the two cones marking both ends of the smoother surface. We can also judge the grass length on the cones, which is a little long but perfectly do-able. I fly a STOL 55mph approach, instead of at the usual 60mph, to lower our ground-speed. With a tailwind and holding off the nosewheel, the longer grass and gentle slope stops us in less than 200m without the need for brakes.
After taking some pictures, we’re keen to get on and Steve takes off into wind on R10, passing the turbines a few hundred metres to the south. To be honest, the turbines are imposing but with calm winds or a favourable wind direction they aren’t really a drama, if you have a suitable STOL aircraft and make sensible decisions. They do, however, provide some great pictures to support tall flying stories in the bar! Huge credit to Nigel and Jimmy for keeping flying alive at this historic base.
The next leg of our journey takes us further along the Moray coast, to Shempston Farm, which is located over the fence from RAF Lossiemouth, just short of its R03 threshold. The strip is centred on a former Lossiemouth WWII dispersal hangar and, naturally, operations require close co-ordination with Lossie ATC, though today the RAF station is having a ground-training day and the circuit is quiet. RAF Lossiemouth is also home to the Northern Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) force, which has two live armed Typhoons that are ready to launch at a few minutes’ notice, to react to Russian Air Force activity and potential airborne terrorist threats. As a result, we’re prepared to be waved off at any time and have plenty of diversion fuel.
The wind is strengthening and Lossiemouth reports a 10kt crosswind as Steve positions for Shempston’s uphill northerly runway. As expected, we encounter some roll-over turbulence from the trees to the east of the strip but land without drama. We receive a fantastic welcome from our pals, resident flyers John Farquhar and Steve Ludman, who’ve prepared a wonderful spread for lunch. Like many strip-based flyers, the Shempston group has endured a long, hard winter, with its two resident Aeronca Champs being firmly grounded for several months. But that seems a distant memory as we enjoy sandwiches, tea and cake in the sun, protected from the easterly wind by dense trees.
All too soon it’s time to leave our generous hosts, who kindly supply us with twenty litres of unleaded to get us home without further refuelling. We have two-way radio with Lossie on the ground, who report a 14kt easterly. Taking off downhill, I’m prepared for the strong wind to hit us as we leave the sanctuary of the tree screen and I’m not disappointed. But we’re safely off and enjoy a short low-level flight to Easterton, just ten miles to the south.
Easterton is home to the Highland Gliding Club, the UK’s most northerly. I’ve PPR’d with its Chairman, Robert Tait, who it transpires also flies a Europa from the site. We aren’t expecting gliding today but calling on 130.1, are informed that a classic Pietenpol Aircamper and Fournier RF-5 are airborne in the local area. We land near the threshold of the expansive 950m R08 and find that the strip has recovered really well after the wet winter.
Popping open the canopy, a chap with a handheld radio immediately recognises Steve and asks, “Biggles, what are you doing here?!” It turns out that Rick Phillips is a former RAF Buccaneer pilot who also finished his career flying Grobs from Leuchars with Steve. The old comrades enjoy a catch-up while I wander and chat to other enthusiastic local flyers. There’s a wonderful mix of gliding and powered machines at Easterton, including Iain McDonald’s brightly-coloured 1946 Cessna C120 taildragger. I meet David Kelly, who has a Wittman Tailwind and is standing by to chock his group’s C90-powered Pietenpol, G-VALS, which arrives in the hands of Iain Bright. G-VALS is owned by a six members and is perhaps the most active Aircamper in the UK, having already flown 35 hours this year, despite the wet winter. Bernard Pietenpol originally published plans for the Aircamper in a four-part serial in the Flying and Glider Manual of 1932-33 and his timeless design is still being built by enthusiasts some ninety years after its first flight, which took place in 1928.
As we chat, Toni Hausler lands in another aviation classic, the Fournier RF-5B motor-glider, G-KCIG. Toni and co-owner John Bisset talk me through the features of the 1976 Fournier, including the spoilers and the Limbach 1700 engine, which was based on the ubiquitous air-cooled VW flat-four. Toni plans to do her CPL and find work in flying while building experience, not only in the Fournier and the Club Robin glider tug but also in the second Aeronca Champ at Shempston, which she again co-owns with John Bisset.
After even more tea in great company, we depart in the bright sunshine and head for Insch, 35 miles to the southeast.
Shortly after take-off, we come across Coleburn Distillery. Its kilns are topped by the familiar ‘pagodas’ which are synonymous with Scottish distilleries and are actually called the Doig ventilator. Named after Victorian inventor Charles Doig, their function is to efficiently draw smoke up through the kiln chimney from the fire that was drying out the malt (barley) below. Today, only a handful of the 126 licenced Scotch Whisky distilleries have operational kilns but the pagodas are retained as a picturesque nod to the industry’s past.
We pass over many more of the fifty or so distilleries located amid the beautiful rolling hills of Speyside, before coming across the huge Pernod-Ricard bonded warehouse site at Mulben. To qualify as a Scotch Whisky, the spirit must mature in Scotland, for at least three years, in an oak cask. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, there are currently twenty million whisky casks maturing in bonded warehouses, with around 1.25 million in the 56 warehouses at Mulben. It’s no wonder that Scotch Whisky accounted for some twenty per cent of all UK food and drink exports in 2017.
After an aerial whisky trail, we spot Insch situated in a gentle valley about 2nm southwest of the town. Steve joins left base for R13, to avoid the nearby village of Leslie. The grass strip looks magnificent but as we touch down, a gentle rumble reveals the runway’s hidden secret. In 2016, after many wet years, airfield owner Ken Wood took the plunge and invested heavily in a tiled runway reinforcement system, CellPave AP from Groundtrax UK. With the grass having grown back through the tiles, the resulting runway is very impressive and exceptionally smooth.
The airfield is quiet today, but as we’re parking, Ken pulls up and opens the modern clubhouse. Ken, a three-time Scottish rally car champion – in classic eighties TR7 V8, Rover SD1 and MG Metro 6R4 – established the airfield in 1984. In 1994 Lottery funding helped finance the magnificent clubhouse, which is home to members of the Grampian Microlight and Flying Club.
Insch’s hangars are full of around twenty interesting aeroplanes, ranging from a Pitts and a Luscombe to flexwing microlights. A keen pilot, Ken has owned a Jodel DR1050 for many years and clearly takes enormous pride in this hotbed of sport aviation. He explains that the runway reinforcement was put in during November 2017, to counter the soft ground, and that a small roller was used, which took enormous patience. Of course, even the success of the reinforcement doesn’t make it bomb-proof and there are strict operating restrictions during wet periods, to maintain the outstanding surface for the benefit of all.
We really enjoy Ken’s many interesting and highly amusing tales of starting, developing and operating a small grass airfield, and resolve visit again soon. With a day of tea drinking taking its toll, I visit the little boy’s room before I fly us home. Insch is just west of the Aberdeen CTA so we again call busy Aberdeen as we head south, over the hills and under its 3,000ft base.
With the late-afternoon thermals settling down, we enjoy a smooth, 1.8hr ride home and arrive back at Eshott at 1830, having enjoyed a wonderful day of stripping with nearly six hours of challenging and varied flying, meeting old friends old while making new ones.
My good friend, John Stubbs – who’s just visited his 500th different field in his Dynamic – and I estimate that there are perhaps 1,500 fixed-wing landing sites in the UK. Many are in the AFE and Pooleys VFR flight guides, Lockyears UK ‘Farm’ Strips Guide (though the latest, sixth edition is now somewhat dated), the internet and, of course, on SkyDemon but many aren’t. Local knowledge pays dividends.
With a bit of imagination and some research, there are lots of new and exciting flying adventures which can be had close to home. Of course, some strips require a suitable STOL aircraft or microlight but many are appropriate for your average club machine. Be honest about your current capabilities and your aircraft’s performance, practise your short-field techniques, and if you lack strip-flying experience, consider finding a suitable instructor to help you to develop your skills. Very importantly, speak to the strip operator, get a detailed brief and adhere to it, which will not only keep you safe but also ensure that you receive a warm welcome. Have fun stripping!
