FLYING ON TAP Kitchen and Bathroom 'Cash and Carry' owner, Pete Higgins, shows LOOP his 'strip' and 'shed' approach to microlighting IF you want to experience flying in its most raw form, taking off in a microlight from your own patch of land and storing it in a shed is a frontrunner. Sure, you can join a flying club at a fully licensed aerodrome but the flexibility of a local grass strip is guaranteed to save costs and make microlighting your number one hobby.

Take Peter Higgins for instance. Like many microlight pilots, Pete got into the sport after his wife bought him a trial lesson as a 40th birthday present. He told LOOP, "The thing is I have a great fear of heights - you wouldn't get me standing on a chair! But I wasn't going to let my 'out-of-this-world' present beat me and I said to myself, 'you're gonna do this' and I absolutely loved it. Flying puts such a different perspective on the world."

After many years of microlighting with an aero club, Pete decided it was time to go solo and started to look at storing his microlight at home and flying from a field. "It was a case of putting up with flying club attitudes or buy my own strip," he says.

Flying out of a field has so many advantages. You save money on hangarage and landing fees, you don't have to move aircraft out of a hangar before you can get to your microlight or queue to get to the runway - flying becomes a lot more simpler and less formal.

Pete looks at ownership of his microlight just like a car but was worried about the costs involved when he first started flying. "The biggest thing I worried about was whether I could afford it," he says. "But once I did my research, I realised the ownership of a microlight is very similar in terms of cost as a car and like cars there are bargains to be had."

Pete flies a 12-year-old Mainair Mercury 582 which he admits is old but is "very, very forgiving with enough grunt to go somewhere". He's a firm believer that flying doesn't have to be expensive and says, "Microlighting is very laid back and friendly. We're now getting a lot of people moving from Group A flying into microlights because of the lower costs and performance. Some of the latest 'hotship' microlights can do 100mph plus!"

Once he'd bought his microlight, Pete embraced the opportunity to fly more by using a small stretch of land behind his house at Gedney in the Fens north of Wisbech. Those looking to follow his approach will need to find either an established grass strip, negotiate with a farmer to use his land, or locate a suitable site that's for sale near to where you live.

In the UK, there is a '28 day rule' that allows you to change temporarily the use you make of land for up to 28 days a year without seeking planning permission. It means you can use a field as a runway as much as you like, for up to 28 days a year, and providing no one complains the local authority doesn't interfere.
Pete told the council what he wanted to do right at the start. "They didn't mind providing I was within the 28 day rule," he says. "With councils you've got to stand firm but go slowly, slowly with them."

The next hurdle is convincing the neighbours in the area that your small grass strip is not going to cause them any problems. Pete says he has come across a few NIMBYs and advises, "The key is getting out there and talking to people. Always be polite even if they're your worst enemy. Offering a free flight helps."

He initially had complaints about noise which led him to looking elsewhere for land. "I did the wicked thing of putting a windsock up," he jokes. "If you want to keep an airstrip quiet, take the windsock down when you're not using the strip."

The opportunity for another patch of land came out of establishing good local contacts. "I was speaking to a local estate agent one day when he said 'so-and-so' had retired and the land just down the road from me came up for sale." Land prices vary hugely around the UK but on average agricultural land is about £2000 an acre. Pete got his hands on 10 acres which was a good size for making a substantial airstrip and he came up with idea of a field with three grass runways.

"The BMAA produces a lovely booklet with advice on planning an airstrip," says Pete. "I've now registered the site with the CAA and have planning permission for a hangar and a clubhouse."
However, when putting in for planning permission expect to meet some opposition. Thirteen of 15 complaints against Pete's airstrip were over 'unacceptable increase in noise disturbance'. To get the community onside, Pete printed leaflets entitled 'Our little airfield' to explain what he was going to be doing with his strip and put his phone number on so if anyone had an issue they could contact him. Despite these efforts, one member of the public fought against the plans with their own leaflet saying Pete was even trying to start a commercial flying school!

Luckily, planning permission went through and even though it started for his own personal use, he now hopes that the community will rally round him so the airstrip can be the social hub of the community. He intends to call the airstrip 'Wingland' and will give everyone in the surrounding villages free membership.
Anyone wanting to check out Pete's new airfield, called 'Wingland' should call 01406 362488 for PPR. Coordinates are N52( 48.867 E000( 06.805.

 
Words: Dan Tye