Best airfield on Isle of Wight for DR400

There are only two options that I’m aware of and if you need a hard runway then there is only one option; Bembridge. (The other option being Sandown which is grass).

Hi @Nestor.

Bembridge (EGHJ) is definitely your best option but i am admittedly bias towards hard runways if i can get them!. 837 meter hard runway, its slightly sloping but very good surface.

Best to phone ahead as they do now have gliding sometimes. Tel 01983 873 051 website www.eghj.co.uk. If they are not manned i have left my details on the answer machine. They dont have Fuel

Pay the landing fee (£10 – £15 ish) in the large caravan / mobile home on the south side of the runway. They have a large Alsation dog but he is very friendly! If they are unmanned then i have paid the landing fee in the pub (propeller inn) or into a mailbox at the side of the hanger next to the pub.

There is a bus which runs but i have always used a taxi – Pete 01983 874 132.

I’m not sure what you are visiting the IOW for? The pub opposite is ok but if you have time walk or taxi upto Bembridge there are a couple of tea rooms and a fantastic restaurant Lockslane (01983 875233) tiny restaurant (10 tables max) run by a wife and wife team all home made / cooked really wouldn’t be out of place in London.

I spend quite a lot of time on the IOW sailing, if its your first time or you are looking for stuff to do / see PM me.

The last I heard the propeller inn had closed since the tenant had not renewed the lease.

It is hoped it will reopen in the spring.

Bembridge has 24 hours in advance PPR (ouch!) to use it on a weekday. I was considering the Isle of Wight for a summer trip, but with a 24 hour PPR requirement for Bembridge, Sandown would definitely be my first choice by a country mile (the second factor is the Auster prefers grass)

What has happened to the “big” building at Bembridge, which used to be the place you paid, and had a cafe and some kind of veranda with tables and chairs?

I haven’t been there for a few years. Within a short walking distance, there used to be a real British greasy-food pub, but not much else.

Sandown I can’t speak for; never been there and much of the time it was waterlogged.

Regarding silly PPR requirements, it’s worth a phone call and trying to get PPR for every one of several days. Many airfields are “PPR” but it’s just a condition of the planning permission (or some jobsworth thing) and they don’t really care about it.

Otherwise, if you want to visit the IOW for a few days, Lee on Solent is really nice, and get the Gosport ferry to the IOW. It is PPR too I think but you just phone up. Landing fee 20 quid or so.

Maybe a few tweaks to some of the information above:

Besides the hard runway at Bembridge, and Sandown’s grass strip, there are two other grass strips: Whitwell and Binstead; both request PPR from the owners.

Bembridge is PPR, but in practice 24hr notice isn’t required – just give them a call for the latest information. The Propeller Inn (on the airfield) is closed at the moment, and will probably open in the Spring under new management. 10-15min’s walk into Bembridge (past the windmill) is the Old Village Inn – pleasant atmosphere, good value food but no view. 30mins walk (in the summer, but caution on the cliffs if you approach from the south) is the Beach Hut ( http://goo.gl/tcvQTf ) which has excellent food, but rather basic facilities. Lockslane Bistro (see above) is only open evenings, from Wed – Sun. ( http://goo.gl/U86QvU ).

Sandown’s grass strip is currently closed due to weather conditions, but hopefully opening in February. Carla, who runs the cafe there, keeps it open when the airfield’s open. Avgas is available.

Visiting the IoW via Lee on Solent would be eccentric. There’s no ferry service from Gosport to IoW. If you’re seduced by the attractions of Lee on Solent, and I have to admit that I haven’t been, then landing fee is around £16, and overnight rate is half that.

I’m baffled by pilots who get upset about PPR and feel it’s their privilege to land anywhere, anytime. It’s been discussed endlessly on forums. I can think of a dozen reasons in the UK: current surface conditions (grass length and cutting, tarmac repairs), animal grazing, shooting party activities, landing limitations (number of aircraft movements allowed due to tight planning restrictions), special events which may utilise the runway/strip, sheer numbers of aircraft arriving (eg Shoreham last Saturday on a rare good-weather day), slotting into instrument training, discussing landing fee arrangements and what to pay/where to pay (not all airfields have websites or published plates or a way of updating information), and just plain and simple airmanship. How many of you have been to Sywell for a large event (3-400 aircraft) and heard the clowns requesting joining instructions?

2greens1red wrote:

m baffled by pilots who get upset about PPR and feel it’s their privilege to land anywhere, anytime. It’s been discussed endlessly on forums. I can think of a dozen reasons in the UK: current surface conditions (grass length and cutting, tarmac repairs)

I have no problem with PPR where it makes sense (e.g. grass airfields in a country as soggy as ours) or airfields with limited parking or other problems. However, requiring 24 hours in advance PPR takes all the spontaneity out of general aviation and hugely reduces its utility. Unexpected nice day? Well, can’t fly to [x] airfield because I should have known yesterday that it would be a nice day for a trip somewhere. Part of the point of GA is you don’t have to plan days in advance to go somewhere like you would with an airline.

alioth wrote:

I have no problem with PPR where it makes sense (e.g. grass airfields in a country as soggy as ours) or airfields with limited parking or other problems. However, requiring 24 hours in advance PPR takes all the spontaneity out of general aviation and hugely reduces its utility. Unexpected nice day? Well, can’t fly to [x] airfield because I should have known yesterday that it would be a nice day for a trip somewhere. Part of the point of GA is you don’t have to plan days in advance to go somewhere like you would with an airline.

Couldn’t agree more. PPR is a pain, but an understandable pain if it’s applicable on the day itself. 24hr PPR is pretty hard to fathom.