With forecast weather being great all day Marc, Adrian and Toby arranged to meet at Little Gransden Airfield for the long awaited Cornish Pasty and Ice Cream fiy-in at Bodmin. Marc arrived very early to tidy up the inside. We pulled LB out of the hanger and prepared for flight. With a planned route using Sky Demon we set up a little later than originally planned at about 10:10 (local). Adrian was P1 and decided to fly from the right hand seat to get a little bit more experience from that side, with Marc in the left seat and Toby in the rear. The first leg would take us to Compton Abbas.
We initially climbed above Old Warden ATZ and tracked SW keeping under London Luton CTA. We tuned in to London Information on 124.6 but they were so busy dealing with channel crossing traffic we decide to just listen out and not ask for a basic service. After coming out from under London Luton CTA we climbed to over 4000 ft. with the intention of staying clear of Benson and Boscombe Down MATZ. As we approached the Boscombe Down area we could see a lot of white smoke from fires on Salisbury Plain which was blowing some distance across our path and to a height probably in access of 4000 ft and we couldn’t see beyond. We decided therefore to climb another 500ft or more to pass over the smoke. Our track would take us over danger areas EGD128 and EGD126 and we were also careful to avoid parachute drop areas Netheravon, Boscombe Down and Old Sarum. We tried to talk with Boscombe but with no response we made bind calls. Once we were south west of Bosecombe Down MATZ we tuned into Compton Abbas. They were very busy which wasn’t surprising on this gorgeous day. They were using 26 RH so we descended dead-side to circuit height and then joined downwind as per their published procedure. On base and descending to land it became a little bumpy particularly on final. Adrian fared was a little high but the landing was fine. Perhaps Adrian can be forgiven as he was still getting use to flying from the right seat. We went straight to the pumps to fuel up for the next leg.
Compton Abbas is a very pretty airfield on top of a hill with great views. it is a popular destination for visiting GA pilots and is also used by local people wanting to watch the arriving and departing aircraft, see the views and to visit the lovely restaurant. Compton has one of the most popular restaurants in the country so can get busy. They operate a fast track system order for pilots, to skip the queues and be eating within minutes. We paid for fuel and landing and took advantage of the fast track system to get coffees and a snack. We were walking to our LB by around 12:30 (local).
The next leg was going to be flown by Marc. After departing Compton Abbas we all noticed that it had become much more turbulent. This was put down to the day time heating. Although we were being thrown around somewhat it was well within Marc’s capabilities. We climbed up to our cruise height and started tracking towards Bodmin airfield.
As we would be going to pass relatively close to Exeter airport Marc thought it best to request a basic service from them. We listen to Exeter ATIS first to get a heads-up then request the basic service which is readily offered. After passing Exeter we tracked towards the higher ground of Dartmoor. As we approached Princetown which is near the centre of Dartmoor we requested frequency change. The Exeter controller suggested we call Newquay approach. Princetown is known for it’s famous Dartmoor prison which earlier in the twentieth century contained some of Britain’s most serious offenders. Those large granite walls which can be seen for miles now a contains only category C prisoners. The prison is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, and is operated by Her Majesty’s Prison Service. The Prison Service will not be renewing its lease when it expires in 2025.
As we moved to the west side of Dartmoor the ground drops away again. We tune into Bodmin to listen out. We were surprise to hear they were using 13RH. This meant that as we approached from the east we could descend dead-side and it would be relatively easy to enter the right-hand circuit. We followed a micro light ahead of us and Marc made a good landing on 13 which wasn’t two challenging although you would want to touch down late as the runway drops away from the central point. It’s quite busy with visiting pilots. We are marshaled to the parking area where we would shutdown.
We signed in, then we headed to the restaurant to get a lovely Cornish Pasty each only to find they had just sold the last one. Such a disappointment. We were offered some cheap factory produced pasties which we reluctantly took. We subsequently found out that earlier visiting pilots had bought some extra ones to take back home. Perhaps next time we will put in our order in when we do our PPR.
It was agreed that Marc would fly the third leg with Adrian in the front and Toby in the rear. As we planned to land at Perranporth airfield we first called to get PPR and to ask if they had fuel. We were told that they did but not after 16:00 (local). Adrian knows Cornwall well so whilst we had a loose route planned in Sky Demon we could make a few variation to see some interesting landmarks. The route initially took us northwest to the north side of the Camel estuary towards Rock and Polzeath. Then on toward the Rumps which is a nice place to see seals not that we could see any at 2000ft. However the sea looked amazingly clear. We then turn left heading southwest crossing the mouth of the Camel before turning left again and heading for Padstow (now frequently referred to as Padstein). Adrian remembers Padstow well having grown up there in his childhood years.
As we wanted to cross over Newquay airport we called Newquay approach for a basic service. We were asked to climb above their ATZ and to report overhead. We crossed Newquay perpendicular to arriving and departing traffic. After leaving the Newquay ATZ beneath us we turn right to head out over the water a little to avoid over flying Perranporth airfield were we knew they were doing parachute jumping. Once out over the sea we turned right to head toward St Ives. The rugged coastline in this part of the country is amazing and there are some lovely coves. At 3000 we could easily see the south coast of Cornwall.
At St Ives we once again over land. We then frequency change to Lands End. We listened out on the Lands End frequency. We then called Lands End. We were asked our intention. We explained we would fly overhead and then we would be heading for the Lands End complex where we would orbit and then return to overfly Lands End airfield again
After leaving the Lands End ATZ we requested to change to Perranporth. After changing frequency we listen out first and found that they were using 27 with RH circuit. We called and said we would be approaching from the south and would descend deadside before joining downwind. As there were no parachutes in the air we are able to enter the circuit and land without delay as it was nearly 16:00 and we would need fuel for our return journey. As Perranporth is on top of a cliff we needed to be a little careful because of the possibility of any unexpected turbulence. On landing we were guided to the pumps.
It was agreed that the return leg would be flown by Adrian with Toby in the front with Marc in the rear. We were a little delayed because at the time we wanted to start our engine there were parachutes in the air. After we landed we made quick progress to depart again on runway 27. At the time they were also using runway 01. Our planned route for our final leg which would be the longest would take us almost direct to Little Gransden. After departing Perranporth we called Newquay again as we wanted to fly overhead perpendicular to the arriving and departing traffic. Once we were clear of Newquay we tuned into London Information. As they were not that busy we requested a basic service.
Return leg
The route would take us over Bodmin moor again but this time we would just clip the north edge of Dartmoor. Continuing we would pass south of Bristol, south of Swindon and overhead Oxford. We stayed with London Information all the way back and apart from request for position checks there was very little for us to do. After 2 hrs 40min we arrived safely back at Little Gransden.
We were all on a high after such a amazing days flying, although it is a little pity we missed out on a proper Cornish pasty. We must visit Cornwall again perhaps staying for a night or two.