Easter extravaganza breaks record

A STAGGERING 130 aircraft flew in to Henstridge on Easter Sunday for the PFA's Wessex strut fly-in, which was phenomenal according to strut coordinator, Ian Fraser.
"Wow! We never expected that many. That's a record for Henstridge, we're used to maybe 30 aircraft on one day!" he told LOOP.

This was despite grey clouds early on. "An exploratory flight to Compton Abbas showed the local cloud base at 1500 feet so we really didn't expect to see many visitors venture across the 'highlands' to visit us," said Ian.

By 11am, the cloud had lifted and 25 aircraft, mostly local, had arrived. "We thought that was it," explains Ian.
"We were happily chatting aviation when the radio burst into life and specks started to appear in the sky. At first there were a couple of aircraft in the circuit, then three... five... and it was all hands to the yellow jackets and bats!"
"We had 130 aircraft on the ground at the same time parked in every nook and cranny we could find."

The fly-in is a joint venture with Joe and Lyn Williams who operate Henstridge as a private GA airfield. The tarmac runway and taxiways help minimise early season weather problems.
The fly-in attracted a wide range of aircraft, from Jodels to a Stearman, classics, homebuilts, club aircraft, microlights, autogyros and helicopters. Will Gillam arrived with his jet-powered F16 model aircraft, and proceeded to wow the 250 road visitors with an aeros display.
What a great example to other clubs, and as Ian rightly pointed out, "Who says GA is dying!".