Fri Jan 14, 2022 5:10 pm
#1893551
I remember reading once that the definition of whether you were rich or not was whether you used 'winter' as a verb.
In that vein, I'm interested to know if anyone anywhere has ever found a feasible way of keeping flying during November - February by relocating their a/c to a different base (in the UK) with a hard runway and - if so - whether there are any airfields offering flexible basing.
Our lovely microlight is at Rochester, but we're finding that once we hit mid-November and the weather starts getting wet, that's pretty much it for flying. The occasional day is available, but aligning weather, diaries and runway conditions is next to impossible. I've just come back from the airfield where it was a stunningly beautiful day, virtually nil wind, but the runway's too boggy and they're only allowing maintainence and emergency flights in/out. This is our first year there, but I understand this is pretty normal. We'd like to keep her there given it's the perfect mid-point for our group, but it means our flying stops October/early November.
That said, just across the river, Damyns Hall continues to be flyable, which leads me to my question: are there any airfields that would offer a flexible, second-base winter home?
My working assumption is that what I'm asking for doesn't exist and that we'd need to pay hangarage/parking for two bases year-round, which we couldn't really afford. We're currently (reluctantly) parked outside (waiting to go into the new hangar), so wouldn't be too averse to being exposed to the elements in exchange for a hard runway for a few months a year. We accept it's not ideal though.
Utopia would be somewhere with a hard-runway that would offer parking/hangarage November - March (approx); happy for it to be a longer drive (up to 2 hours), on the basis that this would be a reasonable compromise to keep flying during the months when we'd otherwise be grounded.
Am I dreaming? How do others do it, or do you all just stay on the ground November - February?
In that vein, I'm interested to know if anyone anywhere has ever found a feasible way of keeping flying during November - February by relocating their a/c to a different base (in the UK) with a hard runway and - if so - whether there are any airfields offering flexible basing.
Our lovely microlight is at Rochester, but we're finding that once we hit mid-November and the weather starts getting wet, that's pretty much it for flying. The occasional day is available, but aligning weather, diaries and runway conditions is next to impossible. I've just come back from the airfield where it was a stunningly beautiful day, virtually nil wind, but the runway's too boggy and they're only allowing maintainence and emergency flights in/out. This is our first year there, but I understand this is pretty normal. We'd like to keep her there given it's the perfect mid-point for our group, but it means our flying stops October/early November.
That said, just across the river, Damyns Hall continues to be flyable, which leads me to my question: are there any airfields that would offer a flexible, second-base winter home?
My working assumption is that what I'm asking for doesn't exist and that we'd need to pay hangarage/parking for two bases year-round, which we couldn't really afford. We're currently (reluctantly) parked outside (waiting to go into the new hangar), so wouldn't be too averse to being exposed to the elements in exchange for a hard runway for a few months a year. We accept it's not ideal though.
Utopia would be somewhere with a hard-runway that would offer parking/hangarage November - March (approx); happy for it to be a longer drive (up to 2 hours), on the basis that this would be a reasonable compromise to keep flying during the months when we'd otherwise be grounded.
Am I dreaming? How do others do it, or do you all just stay on the ground November - February?