24 June 2024
We have a stonking set of free landing fees for July, only available to FLYER Club members of course.
They include Damyns Hall, which is the closest grass airfield to central London. It’s within the M25 London orbital motorway and just a couple of miles from the former RAF Hornchurch WWII Spitfire base.
Being that close to London might sound a bit intimidating to fly to for the first time. But as instructor Claire Bartlett makes clear in her article, Flying Into Damyns Hall, it’s not. Just remember to PPR.
Other free landings for July include Compton Abbas Airfield, stunningly located on the edge of Cranborne Chase in north Dorset. Now owned by movie director Guy Ritchie, Compton Abbas isn’t just situated in gorgeous countryside but it also has a super cafe, which can get busy on nice days.
Also in the south of England but this time over to the south-east is Kittyhawk, also located in bucolic English countryside. This isn’t a totally free landing – there’s £5 off.
The remaining two are further north: East Kirby, home of ‘Just Jane’, the other Lancaster bomber, and Fishburn Airfield in County Durham. Fishburn was named ‘Airfield of the Year’ in 2004 by FLYER for its welcoming atmosphere and was opened by Tony Blair, the then local MP, in 1995.
KittyHawk Aerodrome
Just a heads up on the August free landings. The list isn’t complete yet but definitely coming up are Manchester Barton and Fair Isle.
Barton is a hotbed of general aviation activity and handily located for the start of the 2024/25 football season. Fair Isle Airport is owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is roughly halfway between the Orkney Isles and Shetland, and said to be the most geographically remote inhabited island in the UK.
