Headcorn, 24th April, 2021

The good weather that accompanied my visit to Headcorn lasted all week, so the following weekend I again returned to the airfield, arriving just six days after my previous departure!

I always find that airfields tend to be busier on a Saturday than a Sunday, and  I found that to be the case today. As well as the flying club aircraft and the Spitfire, there were also regular flights by the wing walkers which meant something was always on the move:

G-BOTP was a colourful visitor from Popham:

However, G-NMCC was even more colourful!

There are always a couple of Robinson helicopters around at Headcorn, but two autogyros provided further interest:

G-ANMO De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth
G-ATOI Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee
G-ATWJ Reims/Cessna F172F Skyhawk
G-AVIS Reims/Cessna F172H Skyhawk
G-AZOU SAN Jodel DR1050
G-BAMC Reims/Cessna F150L
G-BBFV Piper PA-32-260 Cherokee Six
G-BCXE Robin DR.400/2+2 Dauphin             Weald Air Services Ltd
G-BDIG Reims/Cessna 182P Skylane
G-BFIE Reims/Cessna FRA150M Aerobat
G-BFMX Reims/Cessna F172N Skyhawk     Aero Legends Leasing Ltd
G-BFRS Reims/Cessna F172N Skyhawk     Aerocomm Ltd
G-BGVY Gulfstream-American AA-5B Tiger     G-BGVY Co-Ownership
G-BHFH Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II             Andrews Professional Colour 
G-BKCV EAA Acro Sport II
G-BMCN Reims/Cessna F152                     Skytrek Air Services
G-BMIW Piper PA-28-181 Cherokee Archer
G-BMLX Reims/Cessna F150L
G-BNFV Robin DR.400/120 Petit Prince
G-BOIC Piper PA-28R-201T Cherokee Arrow
G-BOTP Cessna 150J
G-BPCF Piper J-3C-65 Cub
G-BPME Cessna 152
G-BSPG Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II             Andrews Professional Colour 
G-CEHS CAP 10C                                             Barker Flying Service Ltd
G-CICK Supermarine Spitfire LF.IXe
G-CIDD Bellanca 7ECA Citabria
G-CILL BRM Aero Bristell NG5 Speed Wing
G-CIZO Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior     Falcon Flying Services
G-DDMV North American T-6G-NI Texan
G-EUSO Robin DR.400/140 Major             Weald Air Services Ltd
G-GFLY Reims/Cessna F150L                     Hangar 1 Ltd
G-GOHI Cessna 208 Caravan I                     Headcorn Parachute Club Ltd
G-HIJN Comco-Ikarus C42 FB80             Mark Hanson
G-JSAK Robinson R22 Beta II                     Thurston Helicopters Ltd
G-KMKM AutoGyro Europe MTOsport
G-LISS AutoGyro Europe Calidus             Gyronauts Flying Club
G-NMCC Aviat A-1C-180 Husky
G-OPAG Piper PA-34-200 Seneca
G-RMYD Robinson R44 Raven II                     Kaizen Motorsport & Aviation
G-RVSX Van's RV-6
G-SAIG Robinson R44 Clipper II                     Thurston Helicopters Ltd
G-SBDB Remos GX                                     Mark Woollard
G-SONA SOCATA TB-10 Tobago                     G-SONA Group
G-WWLK Boeing N2S-3 Kaydet                     The Wing Walk Company Ltd
G-XIII Van's RV-7
N503DW Mudry CAP 10B

Headcorn, 18th April, 2021

The first really nice weekend of the summer saw me driving into the field at Headcorn at 0930 and staying for the day, not leaving until 6pm. 

Although it was great to be enjoing the weather, there wasn't too much of excitement. Based Tecnam G-XVAX provided the only twin action of the day:

While G-BPME was kept busy helping the flying school out:

Spitfire G-CICK also had a busy day with an extensive programme of passenger flights that provided most interest for the people watching:

G-ANMO De Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth

G-ANXR Percival P.31 Proctor IV

G-APUY Druine D.31 Turbulent

G-ATLV Wassmer-Jodel D.120 Paris-Nice

G-ATOI Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee

G-ATWJ Reims/Cessna F172F Skyhawk

G-AVIS Reims/Cessna F172H Skyhawk

G-AYIJ SNCAN Stampe SV-4B                     India Juliet Stampe Group

G-BBFV Piper PA-32-260 Cherokee Six

G-BCXE Robin DR.400/2+2 Dauphin             Weald Air Services Ltd

G-BEWX Piper PA-28R-201 Cherokee Arrow

G-BFIE Reims/Cessna FRA150M Aerobat

G-BFMX Reims/Cessna F172N Skyhawk     Aero Legends Leasing Ltd

G-BGVY Gulfstream-American AA-5B Tiger     G-BGVY Co-Ownership

G-BHFH Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II             Andrews Professional Colour 

G-BHLE Robin DR.400/180 Regent

G-BKCV EAA Acro Sport II

G-BMCN Reims/Cessna F152                     Skytrek Air Services

G-BMLX Reims/Cessna F150L

G-BNFV Robin DR.400/120 Petit Prince

G-BPCF Piper J-3C-65 Cub

G-BPME Cessna 152

G-BRXP SNCAN Stampe SV-4C                     Terry Brown

G-BSPG Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II             Andrews Professional Colour 

G-BTGY Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior    Stapleford Flying Club Ltd

G-BZTA Robinson R44 Raven                     Jarretts Motors Ltd

G-CDKP Avtech Jabiru UL-D

G-CEEN Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior    North Weald Flight Training Ltd

G-CFEE Evektor EV-97 TeamEuroStar

G-CICK Supermarine Spitfire LF.IXe

G-DDMV North American T-6G-NI Texan

G-DHDV De Havilland DH.104 Devon C2/2

G-DSJT Cessna 182T Skylane

G-ERNI Piper PA-28-181 Cherokee Archer

G-EUSO Robin DR.400/140 Major             Weald Air Services Ltd

G-GGJK Robin DR.400/140B Major

G-GOHI Cessna 208 Caravan I                     Headcorn Parachute Club Ltd

G-HEVR Comco-Ikarus C42 FB80

G-IIDD Van's RV-8

G-IRED Comco-Ikarus C42 FB100 Bravo

G-KEVB Piper PA-28-181 Archer III

G-PALI Czech Aircraft Works PiperSport

G-SAZY Jabiru J400 Stuart Pink

G-SEXX Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior    Weald Air Services Ltd

G-SONA SOCATA TB-10 Tobago                     G-SONA Group

G-TBXX SOCATA TB-20 Trinidad                     Aeroplane Ltd

G-TECC Aeronca 7AC Champion

G-XVAX Tecnam P2006T

N503DW Mudry CAP 10B

Wycombe, 3rd April, 2021

My last visit of the day was to Wycombe. A very disappointing stop with only three aircraft on show including G-BNCR:

G-BNCR Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior Airways Aero Associations Ltd
G-EEKK Cessna 152
G-WACF Cessna 152                                         Airways Aero Associations Ltd

Oxford, 3rd April, 2021

After Brize Norton, my next stop was Oxford.

This is a real 'hard to photograph' airport, and although there were some interesting aircraft around, it was difficult to get a photo of many. However, 2-SLOW couldn't hide:

2-LATE Canadair CL601-3A Challenger Eskimo Holdings Ltd

2-SLOW Bombardier Challenger 604         Volare Aviation Ltd

G-AYJR Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee

G-BCGJ Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee         Demero Ltd & LV Skies Ltd

G-BGBN Piper PA-38-112 Tomahawk         Hinton Pilot Flight Training Ltd

G-CLDK Piper PA-28-161 Warrior II         G-HIRE Ltd

G-CSIX Piper PA-32-300 Cherokee Six Thomas Gilbert

G-CTCG Diamond DA42 Twin Star         AJW Construction Ltd

G-JADJ Piper PA-28-181 Archer III         G-HIRE Ltd

G-MPLA Cessna 182T Skylane                 Gazelle Properties Ltd

G-MPLC Cessna 182T Skylane                 Oxford Aviation Academy (Oxford) Ltd

G-MPLD Cessna 182T Skylane                 Oxford Aviation Academy (Oxford) Ltd

G-MPLF Cessna 182T Skylane                 Oxford Aviation Academy (Oxford) Ltd

G-OXFC New Piper PA-34-220T Seneca V Oxford Aviation Academy (Oxford) Ltd

G-OXFE New Piper PA-34-220T Seneca V Oxford Aviation Academy (Oxford) Ltd

G-OXFF New Piper PA-34-220T Seneca V Oxford Aviation Academy (Oxford) Ltd

G-PEGI Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II         Go Fly Oxford Ltd

G-TAAB Cirrus SR22                                 Alpha Bravo Aviation Ltd

N113MH Swearingen SA226T Merlin III

SE-DJK Dassault Falcon 7X                         Svenskt Industriflyg AB

RAF Brize Norton, 3rd April, 2021

After seeing the aircraft at Kemble, and enjoying some lunch, it was time to start the long drive home. A very enjoyable journey through some lovely Cotswolds countryside delivered me to a very quiet RAF Brize Norton. 

The VIP configured Voyager was unfortunately impossible to photograph - the only aircraft that came within range of the camera was Globemaster ZZ176:

G-VYGM         Airbus A330-243                         AirTanker/RAF - Royal Air Force

ZM405         Airbus A400M Atlas C.1                 RAF - Royal Air Force

ZM416         Airbus A400M Atlas C.1                 RAF - Royal Air Force

ZZ173         Boeing C-17A Globemaster III RAF - Royal Air Force

ZZ176         Boeing C-17A Globemaster III RAF - Royal Air Force

ZZ336         Airbus A330-243 Voyager KC.3 RAF - Royal Air Force

Kemble, 3rd April, 2021

And so to the main event of the day, Kemble.

The 747 has been my favourite aircraft ever since I got interested in aircraft. I must have spent weeks watching the BA 747s coming and going from Heathrow, starting with the -100 and -200s, and progressing to the -400s, so I wanted to see some of these magnificent aircraft for possibly one last time. 

BA may have been the objective, but the scrapyards were full with all sorts of aircraft. This Corsair 747 was keeping an eye on things:

I had last seen this Plus Ultra A340 at Barcelona in happier times:

The A340 was at the head of a line up of BA747s. I had seen lots of photos of these aircraft lined up by the road, but it was still an impressive sight, and being able to get so close allowed you to really get a sense of the size of the 747: 

747s were all over the airport though - these two were making friends with a Saudi Arabian / Air Atlanta example:

The airport had a real sense of melancholy hanging over it, but hopefully the several Norwegian 737s will fly again: 

Here is what was there:

2-ACSE Airbus A319-112                                 CSA Czech Airlines
2-LYTF Embraer 175                                         Lease Co
2-MMTT Boeing 727-76(RE)                                 Platinum Services
CS-TNG Airbus A320-214                                 TAP Air Portugal
CS-TNI Airbus A320-214                                 TAP Air Portugal
CS-TTE Airbus A319-111                                 TAP Air Portugal
CS-TTF Airbus A319-111                                 TAP Air Portugal
CS-TTG Airbus A319-111                                 TAP Air Portugal
CS-TTH Airbus A319-111                                 TAP Air Portugal
CS-TTI Airbus A319-111                                 TAP Air Portugal
CS-TTK Airbus A319-111                                 TAP Air Portugal
CS-TTU Airbus A319-112                                 TAP Air Portugal
CS-TTV Airbus A319-112                                 TAP Air Portugal
EC-MFA Airbus A340-313X                                 Plus Ultra 
EI-FFM Boeing 737-73S                                 Air Italy
EZ-A101 Boeing 717-22K                                 Turkmenistan Airlines
EZ-A102 Boeing 717-22K                                 Turkmenistan Airlines
EZ-A106 Boeing 717-22K                                 Turkmenistan Airlines
EZ-A107 Boeing 717-22K                                 Turkmenistan Airlines
F-GTUI Boeing 747-422                                 Corsair International
F-HSEA Boeing 747-422                                 Corsair International
G-AXIA Beagle B.121 Pup                                   C K Parsons
G-AZWS Piper PA-28R-180 Arrow
G-BPAF Piper PA-28-161 Warrior II                 S&T Gilbert
G-BYGA Boeing 747-436                                 British Airways
G-BYGB Boeing 747-436                                 British Airways
G-BYGE Boeing 747-436                                 British Airways
G-BYGF Boeing 747-436                                 British Airways
G-CEHA British Aerospace 146-RJ85
G-CELW Boeing 737-377(BDSF)                         Jet2.com
G-CELY Boeing 737-377(BDQC)                         Jet2.com
G-CIVB Boeing 747-436                                 British Airways
G-CIVJ Boeing 747-436                                 British Airways
G-CIVN Boeing 747-436                                 British Airways
G-CIVO Boeing 747-436                                 British Airways
G-CJNS British Aerospace 146-RJ100                 Brussels Airlines
G-EDGI Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior Thomas Gilbert
G-EMBC Embraer 145                                         British Airways Express
G-GDFE Boeing 737-3Q8(BDQC)                         Jet2.com
G-LSAD Boeing 757-236ER                                 Jet2.com
G-LSAH Boeing 757-21B                                 Jet2.com
G-MKGA Boeing 747-2R7F(SCD)                         MK Airlines
G-SNUZ Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior Freedom Aviation Ltd
HB-JGK Lockheed L-1329 JetStar II
LN-DYT Boeing 737-8JPWL                                 Norwegian Air Shuttle
LN-DYU Boeing 737-8JPWL                                 Norwegian Air Shuttle
LN-NGD Boeing 737-8JPWL                                 Norwegian Air Shuttle
LY-NVZ Airbus A320-214                                 Sky Angkor Airlines
LY-VEQ Airbus A320-232                                 Sky Angkor Airlines
M-FTOH Boeing 727-269(A)                                 Strong Aviation (BVI) Ltd
OE-IKW Airbus A320-233                                 Atlasglobal Airlines
OH-LVA Airbus A319-112                                 Finnair
OY-JTR Boeing 737-73A(WL)                         Jet Time
OY-JTT Boeing 737-73S(WL)                         Jet Time
OY-JTZ Boeing 737-73S(WL)                         Jet Time
PH-ADO Bombardier/Canadair CRJ-900         Adria Airways
SE-RRI Boeing 737-8JPWL                                 Norwegian Air Shuttle
TF-AAC Boeing 747-481                                 Saudi Arabian Airlines
TF-AAD Boeing 747-4H6                                 Saudi Arabian Airlines
TF-AAH Boeing 747-4H6                                 Saudi Arabian Airlines
XR540 Folland Gnat T.1
 

Blackbushe, 3rd April, 2021

From Farnborough it is only a 10 minute drive to Blackbushe. 

A lively atmosphere here, with the cafe doing a brisk trade, and several spotters logging the inmates. There were two really interesting aircraft, this German Seneca:

and this Italian Cirrus (albeit the aircraft had been imported into the UK):

D-GJBA     Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II
G-AVSF     Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee Monday Club
G-AWEZ     Piper PA-28R-180 Cherokee Arrow
G-BBRC     Fuji FA-200-180 Aero Subaru
G-BCIR     Piper PA-28-151 Cherokee Warrior                 Aerobility
G-BHXA     Scottish Aviation Bulldog Srs.120 Model.1210
G-BICW     Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior                 Blueplane Ltd
G-BOFW     Cessna A.150M
G-BOJI     Piper PA-28RT-201 Cherokee Arrow                 Arrow Two Group
G-BOMU     Piper PA-28-181 Cherokee Archer
G-BPBM     Piper PA-28-161 Warrior II
G-BSYY     Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior                 BDFA
G-BZEA     Cessna A.152                                                 Blueplane Ltd
G-CDTX     Reims/Cessna F152                                         Blueplane Ltd
G-CICG     Comco-Ikarus C42 FB80                                 G-CICG Group
G-CLAC     Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior
G-DANL     Beech 76 Duchess                                         UK Flying Clubs
G-ESSL     Cessna 182R Skylane/Porche FTB
G-FDDB     Piper PA-32R-300 Lance II
G-FFFC     Cessna 510 Citation Mustang                         Synergy Aircraft 

G-ILHR     Cirrus SR22
G-JEOL     Slingsby T.67C Firefly-3                                 LTFT
G-JJAN     Piper PA-28-181 Cherokee Archer                 Blueplane Ltd
G-LKAM     Sonaca S200                                                 Blueplane Ltd
G-OPST     Cessna 182R Skylane                                 ST Flying Group 
G-PDSI     Cessna 172N Skyhawk
G-RAAM     Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior                 AS Bamrah
G-WOWS    Cirrus SR22T Turbo
I-FELC     Cirrus SR22 GTS-G3
N115MD     Commander 114TC                                         Southern Aircraft 
N799DS     Diamond DA40 Star

Farnborough, 3rd April, 2021

After Fairoaks, it was just a short drive to Farnborough for a very quick look at the assembled jets:

HB-JJJ    Airbus A319-133 ACJ         Nomad Aviation AG
M-CHEM    Gulfstream G550                 Ineos Aviation LLP
M-ISTY    Gulfstream G280                 Ineos Aviation LLP
M-USIK    Gulfstream G650                 OS Aviation Ltd/YYA Aviation Ltd
OE-ISP    Gulfstream G450                 Avcon Jet AG
P4-AND    Cessna 750 Citation X         Avangaro Aviation AVV
SE-RMC    Bombardier Challenger 300 Svenskt Industriflyg AB
TR-KSP    Gulfstream 4SP                 Gabon Government
YR-TYA    Cessna 560XL Citation XLS Toyo Motor Group

Fairoaks, 3rd April, 2021

 My first day out spotting of the year was to Kemble, to see the parked British Airways 747s. However, with a long drive ahead, I chose to stop at few few airports en route.

Stop number one was at my old favourite of Fairoaks. Cirrus G-FPRD was looking good with its blue livery, albeit one that spoilt by the cover:

There are usually a few larger aircraft at Fairoaks, such as this Malibu:

Here is what was around:

2-YELL Piper PA-28R-201 Cherokee Arrow
F-JHKP ICP MXP-740 Savannah S
G-BEOG Reims/Cessna F182P Skylane
G-BIOB Reims/Cessna F172P Skyhawk
G-BJCW Piper PA-32R-301 Saratoga SP
G-BOKA Piper PA-28-201T Turbo Dakota                         CBG Aviation Ltd
G-BYFA Reims/Cessna F152                                         Redhill Air Services Ltd
G-CCYY Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior
G-CGZI SOCATA TB-21TC Trinidad
G-ERGP Pilatus PC-12/47E                                                 Solid Rock Aviation GP Ltd
G-EVTO Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior                 Redhill Air Services Ltd
G-FLXI Pilatus PC-12/47E                                                 Flexifly Aircraft Hire Ltd
G-FLYI Piper PA-34-200 Seneca
G-FPRD Cirrus SR22
G-JOYZ Piper PA-28-181 Cherokee Archer
G-KARE Pilatus PC-12/47E                                                 Flexifly Aircraft Hire Ltd
G-KIND Cirrus SR20                                                         Europe Entreprise Innovation
G-LKVA Tecnam P2010 Ptwenty - Ten                                 Kirill Yurovskiy
G-OBAK Piper PA-28R-201T Cherokee Arrow                 G-OBAK Group Aviation
G-PCOP Beech B200 King Air                                         Albert Bartlett & Sons 
G-RATV Piper PA-28RT-201T Turbo Arrow IV                 Tango Victor Ltd
G-WNCH Beech B200 King Air                                         Synergy Aircraft 
M-YTAF Raytheon B36TC Turbine Bonanza                 FSB Aviation
N14EF Piper PA-46-350 Malibu Jetprop DLX Conversion
N677CD Cirrus SR22