Thruxton Aerodrome secures new owner
According to Grant Francis from aircraft maintenance business Aerofurb Restorations, their home airport, Thruxton Aerodrome, has been sold to a private individual. Rumours of the sale of the Hampshire aerodrome and race circuit have been ongoing for some months, following the news that owners Western Air were looking to divest. Suggestions of the place being demolished and turned into an Amazon distribution hub, housing estate or...
Revamp for Parliamentary Airfields Working Group
The Airfields Working Group section of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for Aviation has announced a change of focus with aerodrome operator participation now representing a majority of its membership, ranging from small grass strips to large, licensed airports. Following the departure of former chairman John Gilder, revamped group will be chaired by Matt Wilkins, an aerodrome operator for 14 years at Old Buckenham, with Louise...
Airfield ‘greenfield’ protection petition passes 10,000 signatures
A member of the Save Nottingham City (Tollerton) Airfield campaign has started a petition to have airfields reclassified as ‘Greenfield’ sites instead of ‘Brownfield’ to help protect them from potential closure and redevelopment as housing estates. The petition to Parliament , which at the time of writing has attracted over 11,000 signatures, was started by Sarah Deacon, who said, “Airfields around the country are categorised as...
Grabbing the tiger by the tail
Now in its 11th year, the Sir Geoffrey de Havilland Flying Scholarship is once again open for applications, offering a £6,000 training fund towards the grant of a PPL undertaken in a DH82A Tiger Moth, the historic military trainer. The scholarship is provided by Livery institution, the Worshipful Company of Coachmakers, and is delivered by the Cambridge Flying Group (CFG), now relocated to Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire. It has...
CAA publish stall and spin advisory animation
The UK CAA has released a short advisory animation recounting a 2021 incident when a stall/spin training exercise nearly ended in tragedy. The flight was conducted in a T67 Firefly out of Shoreham Airport. The instructor reports that the student had safely conducted a couple of left-hand spins, recovering each time to an altitude of around 5,500ft. The student was then asked to demonstrate the recovery from a right-hand spin entry....
Wings for Warriors opening a new flying school for UK veterans
UK military charity Wings for Warriors has announced the opening of a new flight training school in Gloucestershire later this year, training medically discharged veterans who want become commercial pilots. Charity founder and CEO Mark Radcliffe says: “What we do isn’t just about flying. It’s about opening the unique and privileged world we exist in as aviators and using it to inspire inspirational men and women in need of some luck...
