Brimpton Airfield

Brimpton (Wasing Lower Farm) Airfield
IATA: none – ICAO: EGLP
Summary
Airport type	Private
Owner	Sylmar Aviation
Operator	Brimpton Flying Club
Location	Wasing
Elevation AMSL	210 ft / 64 m
Coordinates	51°23′02″N 001°10′09″W / 51.38389°N 1.16917°W / 51.38389; -1.16917Coordinates: 51°23′02″N 001°10′09″W / 51.38389°N 1.16917°W / 51.38389; -1.16917
Website	www.brimpton-airfield.co.uk
Map
EGLP Location in Berkshire
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 07/25 535 1,755 Grass

Brimpton (Wasing Lower Farm) Airfield is an unlicensed single-runway civilian airfield^[1] in Berkshire, United Kingdom.

History

Located close to RAF Greenham Common, the airfield was founded in the 1950s by Sir William Mount, 2nd Baronet, a director at Miles Aircraft in nearby Woodley. In the 1970s, the airfield was used by crop spraying contractors for the local agriculture industry until 1979 when it was designated for public civilian use. Since 1983 there have been Percival Provost aircraft based at the strip.

Current use

The airfield is currently the home of Brimpton Flying Club which has over 50 members. The strip also has over 20 resident aircraft including two Percival Piston Provost T1 and a Saab 91 Safir. The strip has recently undergone expansion involving the addition of a taxiway and new aircraft hangars on the southern side of the runway.

The Flying Club holds three fly-ins each year raising money for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance. At the fly-ins there is a display, usually featuring the Provosts and Saab.

Location

Brimpton Airfield is located equidistant between the Berkshire towns of Reading and Newbury, close to the A4 road. Due to the airfield's close proximity to the Atomic Weapons Establishment in nearby Aldermaston, an R101(2.4) restriction is in place for the surrounding airspace, requiring all circuits to be completed to the north of the runway. Despite the fact that the entire runway is within the R101 catchment, the airfield has special exemption from the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom (CAA).

Incidents

• On 14 February 2009, a microlight crashed at Brimpton following a loss of altitude during flying within the airfield's perimeter.^[2]
• On 7 July 2009, Captain John Fairey – a former flight lieutenant with the Royal Rhodesian Air Force and son of Charles Richard Fairey – died in a crash near Market Rasen.^[3][4] He was flying one of Brimpton's Percival Provost T1 aircraft, which had been on display at RAF Waddington.^[5] The aircraft was destroyed.^[6]

References