Nicely managed airfield close to Upminster tube station. Grass 03/21 with a slope but well drained. Nice group of residents with a good microlight school, and the only AoC where passengers are allowed to wing walk! On the upper wing of a 300hp Lycoming Boeing Stearman. Also good cafe.
For overseas visitors from Europe this is a nice convenient base for London.
They use Hornchurch Radio as the air/ground radio station call sign in honour of the Battle of Britain base which was one mile to the west.
Yep. Went there some years ago, for a short visit to London.
The taxi ride to Upminster station is just under 10 minutes and costs just a little over 10 pounds.
Important: at the station, don’t take the underground (tube), which will take forever. Take the high-speed train instead (“c2c”). Only downside: in London, it terminates at Fenchurch Street, which is not connected to the tube network, so you might have to walk to the next tube station (London Bridge).
Funny, when I lived in London I always wanted to fly there, but somehow never did…
boscomantico wrote:
it terminates at Fenchurch Street, which is not connected to the tube network, so you might have to walk to the next tube station (London Bridge).
Bosco, there are quite a few Tube stations much closer (Aldgate, Monument, even Liverpool St)
Sorry, my mistake. Wanted to say: Tower Hill. That should be the closest one.
Went in there in a rented 152 when I lived in the UK. Great little airfield. I do remember the power lines we’re pretty high coming in from the east, as I recall. Cup of tea was 60p in the caff. Bet it isn’t anymore.
Adam power lines still there so requiring a steepish approach, but a reasonable distance from the threshold. Tea I think is a £1, I bought a round of teas plus a toasted sandwich and got change for £10; no landing fee.
Yes I am the chap who straps the punters into the Boeing stearman. You will catch me there most weekends working. Come over and say hi if you are ever around.
You forgot to add that there are also no landing fees and the fuel is cheap!
Callum.
This airfield is definitely on my list of places to go in the near future. I have an aircraft made for these kind of airfields, but I never seem to get to go to them!
One can land there with almost any kind of piston or turboprop. The runway is physically almost 900 meters long and there are no appreciable obstacles close to the runway. I once flew in with the SR22 in November – no prob.
Thanks for the tip!
How does it compare to Southend for visitors from the continent (purely in terms of ease of city access, not in terms of subjective charm, which I’m sure Damyns Hall will win for most people)? Southend is also pretty conveniently connnected to the city and you only have to take the (frequent) train from the airport directly into the center, AFAIK.
