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Shoreham EGKA - worth a visit

I know I am biased (I am based there) but it really is a nice location

Full size pic (2MB) is here

I have put lines of dots showing where you can walk from the airport.

The ones to the right, over the bridge, take you to the High Street where there are some nice restaurants.

The ones to the left take you for a scenic walk along the houseboats.

Either route takes you to the new footbridge which goes across the river, so you can make it a nice circular walk.

As you can see it is not very far – maybe 10-15 minutes out of the airport.

This is current – taken this morning

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Made a visit on Saturday.



Landing fee very acceptable for the facilities and nice to see that the reduced rate is for under 700kg instead of under 500kg. Flew back to Bournemouth via Bembridge for their usual friendly welcome; although I wonder how long the concrete runway will hold up without any maintenance.

EGBP, United Kingdom

If it really is concrete: a long time

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

Let’s hope! Little wheels, spats and a white aircraft means I prefer a hard surface. Cheap destination for a short flight and a curry at the Propellor Inn!

EGBP, United Kingdom

EGKA Shoreham has been on my to visit list for a long time and yesterday we finally made it. The attractions are obvious, nice coastal location with lovely and relatively unspoilt (I knew from visiting by road) Art Deco terminal still being used for its original purpose. It is one of those airfields where visiting the website and reading the AIP seems designed to discourage visitors but, as is usually the case, when actually talking to real people the situation improves. Telephoning before departure, there is the unattractive use of a call answering service telling me things I don’t want to know then a menu of buttons to push, none of which are for ATC or operations. SkyDemon does give a direct line for ATC but it is a premium rate (or at least it is non-geographic) so I did not call it. Anyway, the general office put me through to ATC who initially wanted to give me a 1530 L slot. That was no use to us so I suggested that I would go elsewhere. That got me the 1430 L slot that I wanted. Quite why a light GA VFR-only airfield on a sunny day needs slots in case they get too busy is known only to either the CAA or the airfield management but it seems difficult to understand (to be polite).

Anyway, having waded through all that, the actual flight, arrival, landing and parking were all fine. The roast dinner in the packed restaurant was excellent and all the staff helpful and friendly. The apron was also packed with visiting aeroplanes.

All-in-all it was an excellent afternoon and I recommend Shoreham as a destination but one does have to be patient with the pre-flight bits which should not be necessary, when I am spending money with someone I would rather they did not make it difficult.

Landing for a PA28-181 was £33.

One safety tip, the inbound journey from Henlow to Shoreham we did via the SFD (just to see more of the coast), and it was slightly marred by an unmarked paragliding site just north of Newhaven. They were launching off of a north facing ridge. The nearest named point on SkyDemon is “Firle Place” while on the standard 1:500000 there is a 712 spot height. I spotted the site and a group of them flying low level to one side but then my passenger spotted another group soaring above and to our other side. It was a scary moment. There is nothing on the 1:500000 chart or SkyDemon (I fly with both); no NOTAM; and Farnborough knew nothing about it when I mentioned it on the radio as a concerning moment (obviously these aircraft have no radar signature and no transponders so if they don’t notify then they rely on being seen). It’s all a bit odd, we get a year-long NOTAM about low-level model flying at Baldock or some advertising low-level balloon but it seems that these people can just turn-up and fly en-masse from any hill-side without telling anyone. I might survive a toy drone strike but not one of these things.

Last Edited by Joe-fbs at 08 Oct 11:32
strip near EGGW

Shoreham Reception (not always staffed) is 01273 467374.
Shoreham Tower is 01273 467377.
Shoreham Fire Crew (hangar movements etc) is 01273 467395

No idea where SD gets a premium rate number from

Currently they are short of ATC so are A/G at times, and in its infinite wisdom the UK CAA has screwed the airport into a maximum of (IIRC) 6 movements per hour during the A/G periods. There are some exceptions where it can be up to, wait for it, 10… or something like that. This leads to the PNR slots, especially on nice weekend days. Obviously it cannot make money with so few movements so they are recruiting new ATCOs, and looking at the regular emails I get they are getting on OK with that.

I don’t know why the CAA is so aggressive; I guess the Hunter crash has made Shoreham a political football at the CAA House, due to the airport being constantly in the public eye ever since as an accident scene, due to the crash having exposed a load of “jolly good old ex RAF mate” mutual signoff practices for almost zero currency pilots to fly fast jets at airshows, and due to there having been the mid-air accident a few years back (caused by a RV climbing like a bat out of hell and hitting somebody on crosswind).

I think the paragliding site is off a hill near Lewes, and that has been going on since the 1980s (hang gliding was fashionable back then). However you would need to be flying pretty low The CAS base there is 5500ft and flying anywhere in the south east below 2000ft is, ahem, exciting at times…

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

6 movements an hour is simply ridiculous.

Joe-fbs wrote:

no NOTAM

We have another thread about NOTAM proliferation but you want more?!

What should it says?
Expect various a/c and flying objects in class G because forecast is good and it is Sunday

The group of paraglider flying high could have been 10, 20, 30 NM downwind from their launch site. They are well capable of doing 150NM on a good (English) day

Nympsfield, United Kingdom

Thank you Peter, useful telephone numbers.

I was at around 2500 when I encountered the gaggle of para-gliders, about five below and to my left (which I had spotted in good time) over their launch point (which I had spotted in good time) and about three above and to my right (spotted later than I was comfortable). I like to fly 3000-3500 but as a IR(R) only pilot, don’t have that option for most of the flight in question.

NOTAMs, exactly my point. Endless pointless ones but for, what I thought when I first posted, was a “pop-up” site, nothing. In fact if it was the established Lewes one that Peter mentions (the hill in question could be the one he means) then a G on the chart would be a more useful safety measure than a lot of other stuff on the chart.

Anyway, I’ll know next time.

strip near EGGW

We intended to fly there last spring, but dense fog over the North See made us turn back towards Germany.

ESMK, Sweden
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