By Chris Smith
Wednesday 22 August 2018
I'm not sure a journey merely as far as the Leeds area warrants a trip report, especially since I look back upon my earliest similar reports on this website with great embarrassment (not sure why I don't delete them to be fair), but hey ho.
A friend and former colleague moved into one of the ex-service personnel houses at Church Fenton not too long ago and has been asking me to visit ever since, so I figured I'd take the opportunity to see how the former RAF Church Fenton has transformed, and then catch up on current affairs at Sherburn-in-Elmet Airfield before heading over to Leeds/Bradford Airport to top up on my Jet2s via a visit to my sister who lives under the final approach to runway 32.
Leeds East Airport
EGCM
Only my second visit here, and the first since it crossed over into civvie street. I parked at my friends house and we took the short walk to the airport to have lunch in the café, which I heard mixed messages about; all said it's excellent but many said it's never open, then someone who seemed to work there said it was open until 2.30pm daily. As it turned out it was closed, not that it mattered as we were told it can only be accessed from airside, with no-one who doesn't need to be there allowed entry. In the end I bagged what I could from the viewing area pull-in just off the main road that overlooks the airfield, I think I did quite well given how dead the place is often reported. A second visit later in the day revealed everything gone.
| REG | A/C TYPE | OPERATOR | NOTES |
| G-AZTS | Reims/Cessna F172L Skyhawk | Eastern Air Executive | |
| G-MAKN * | Pilatus PC-12/47E | Ravenair Aircraft | |
| G-PDGT | Aérospatiale AS355F2 Twin Squirrel | PDG Helicopters | |
| M-OLOT * | Bombardier CL-600-2B16 Challenger 604 | Corporate |
Sherburn-in-Elmet Airfield
EGCJ
I dropped my friend back home after having resorted to looking for lunch in nearby Boston Spa and then made my way to Sherburn to see if much had changed, and enough had. Unlike previous visits where I was allowed to roam freely around the airfield with a hi-viz on this occasion I had to be escorted, but the staff member from Advanced Flight Training who was also working for the airfield in a ground crew role proved an excellent guide, throwing in a bit of airfield history and took me on a ride along whilst he inspected all the runways and taxiways. I didn't realise there were any in the UK but there is a US-style private residence just off the airfield with its own hangar and connecting taxiway! The airfield itself is in the process of expanding, with a new hangar near the main complex slowly taking shape. The hangar numbers are back-to-front, with no.1 being the furthest away. 5 is actually the rear part of 4, it is partitioned a bit like our own hangar 3.
| REG | A/C TYPE | OPERATOR | NOTES |
| Movements / Outdoors | |||
| G-AYRT * | Reims/Cessna F172K Skyhawk | Private | |
| G-BBNJ | Reims/Cessna F150L | Private | |
| G-BNOH * | Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior II | Sherburn Aero Club | |
| G-BOCU # | Piper PA-34-220T Seneca III | Advanced Aircraft Leasing (Teesside) | |
| G-BODB | Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior II | Sherburn Aero Club | |
| G-BODE | Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior II | Sherburn Aero Club | |
| G-BWZG | Robin R2160 Alpha Sport | Sherburn Aero Club | |
| G-CIUH * | Cessna 152 | Private | |
| G-GORD/82 * | Robin DR400/140B | Private | |
| G-LFSJ | Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior II | Advanced Flight Training | |
| G-LLIZ | Robinson R44 Raven II | HQ Aviation | |
| G-LORC | Piper PA-28-161 Cadet | Advanced Flight Training | |
| G-OOLE * | Cessna 172M Skyhawk | Private | |
| G-SACP * | Aero AT-3 R100 | Sherburn Aero Club | |
| G-SACR | Piper PA-28-161 Cadet | Sherburn Aero Club | |
| G-SACS | Piper PA-28-161 Cadet | Sherburn Aero Club | |
| G-SACT | Piper PA-28-161 Cadet | Sherburn Aero Club | |
| G-SACW | Aero AT-3 R100 | Sherburn Aero Club | |
| G-SACX | Aero AT-3 R100 | Sherburn Aero Club | |
| G-SFTZ * | Slingsby T67M Firefly | Slingsby T67M Group | |
| Hangar 1 | |||
| G-AZFI | Piper PA-28R-200 Cherokee Arrow | GAZFI Ltd | |
| G-BDWM * | North American P-51 Mustang (replica) | Private | Marked 414673/I-LH US Air Force |
| G-BFTF | Grumman AA-5B Tiger | FC Burrow Ltd | |
| G-BKMB | Mooney M20J-201 | G-BKMB Flying Group | |
| G-BKVC | Socata TB9 Tampico | Private | |
| G-CGLC * | CSA SportCruiser | Private | |
| G-EGAG | Socata TB20 Trinidad | Private | |
| G-EKOS | Reims/Cessna FR182 Skylane RG | Private | |
| G-HOWI | Reims/Cessna F182Q Skylane | Private | |
| G-OPUB | Slingsby T67M Firefly | Private | |
| G-PEKT * | Socata TB20 Trinidad | The Wery Flying Group | |
| G-XLTG * | Cessna 182S Skylane | The G-XLTG Flying Group | |
| Hangar 2 | |||
| F-GFGH | Morane Saulnier Rallye 235E Gabier | Private | |
| G-ARDS * | Piper PA-22-150 Caribbean | Private | |
| G-ASMJ | Reims/Cessna F172E Skyhawk | Aeroscene Ltd | |
| G-BKKO * | Cessna 182R Skylane | Private | |
| G-BMHT | Piper PA-28RT-201T Turbo Cherokee Arrow IV | G-BMHT Flying Group | |
| G-OAJS * | Piper PA-39 Twin Comanche C/R | Private | |
| N425HB | Cessna 425 Conquest I | Private | |
| N590CD | Cirrus SR22 | Loch Ard Air LLC | |
| Hangar 3 | |||
| G-ALUC | De Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth | Tiger Moth Experience Ltd | |
| G-ANON | De Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth | Private | Marked T-7909 Royal Air Force |
| G-ASAZ | Hiller UH-12E | Hields Aviation | |
| G-ATXA * | Piper PA-22-150 Caribbean | Private | |
| G-AYZI * | Stampe SV4C | Private | |
| G-BAFG * | De Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth | Tiger Moth Experience Ltd | |
| G-BAPX * | Robin DR400/160 Chevalier | White Rose Aviators | |
| G-BBDT | Cessna 150H | Delta Tango Group | |
| G-BTII | Gulfstream American AA-5B Tiger | G-BTII Group | |
| G-BVUZ * | Cessna 120 | Private | |
| G-CBZK * | Robin DR400/180 Regent | Private | |
| G-CIBV * | Skyranger Swift 912S | PPL (UK) Ltd | |
| G-CIGY * | Westland Bell 47G-3B-1 | Private | |
| G-IRPW * | Europa XS | Private | |
| G-JBKA | Robinson R44 Raven | Private | |
| G-ONUN * | Vans RV-6A | Private | |
| N5647S * | Maule M-5-235C Lunar Rocket | Virginia Aircraft Trust Corp | |
| Hangar 4: Sherburn Engineering | |||
| Closed | |||
| Hangar 5 | |||
| G-BMTU | Pitts S-1E Pitts Special | Private | |
| G-BRJN * | Pitts S-1C Pitts Special | Private | |
| G-CGVJ * | Europa XS | Private | |
| G-EMJA * | Bücker Bü 131B Jungmann (replica) | Private | |
| G-IVII * | Vans RV-7 | Private | |
| G-JULZ * | Europa XS | Private | |
| G-MAGG * | Pitts S-1SE Pitts Special | Private | |
| G-OJLD * | Vans RV-7 | Private | |
| G-RVCL * | Vans RV-6 | Private | |
| G-UANO | De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk 22 | Private | Marked 1367 Portugese Air Force |
Leeds/Bradford International Airport
LBA / EGNM
It was getting late and I was starting to tire, the various spotting groups were not reporting anything on the ground despite an expected increase due to Leeds Festival and York Races "Ebor Festival", so I just logged the few-and-far between airliners - none of which went in the book - from my sisters house and skipped a direct visit. I think if I want to nail the Jet2 fleet a night-stop at a nearby hotel will be needed.
| REG | A/C TYPE | OPERATOR | NOTES |
| EI-DWA | Boeing 737-8AS | Ryanair | |
| EI-EVD | Boeing 737-8AS | Ryanair | |
| G-GDFP | Boeing 737-8Z9 | Jet2.com | |
| G-POWH | Boeing 757-256 | Titan Airways | Operating for Jet2 |
An enjoyable trip with not a bad yield for a relatively local day out.