21 August 2023
Despite the challenging weather on Friday and an interesting wind forecast for Saturday, the LAA’s Grass Roots Fly-In attracted something like 250 aircraft over the three days (which were effectively two, thanks to Friday’s deluge).
Once the rain (and associated mud) had gone, the event had the feel of a celebratory festival (a good thing!), and although it was supported by some 30 odd trade stands, they were clearly not the main attraction for the fly or drive in visitors.
Most meritorious arrival went to Hermann Schiele with his Van’s RV-8. Hermann flew in from Germany, off the back of a ten week, 165 hour flying trip to Oshkosh (where he’d bumped into the Flyer team and Ed Hicks who pointed out that Popham was more or less on his way home anyway!)
Hermann Schiele’s RV-8, fresh from his Oshkosh trip
The best plans-built award went to Pat Taylor for his Pietenpol Aircamper, the best kit-built aircraft was a Van’s RV-14 built by Steve Hicks, and Nigel Huxtable’s J4 Auster restoration was named recipient of the Concours d’Elegance trophy for best in show.
LAA CEO Simon Tilling told Flyer, “An event like this wouldn’t be possible without the support of our headline vendor sponsors, LAS Aerospace, Garmin Aviation and Cambrai Covers, plus the fantastic help of all our Fly-in volunteer set-up team, LAA Strut members, and the Popham Airfield team, so a big thank-you to all of them.”
Click here to watch our video of the event
