Phil 'Spaghetti' Masseti won the much coveted 'Don Henry' award which has been presented at Compton for as long as we can remember (being the youthful ops staff that we are). Our very own member 'Bouncy Rouncy' also received a medal for his 'acrobatics'. 

Thank you to the boys and girls of the aerobatic association for being (mainly - those who didn't you know who you are) so well behaved and a pleasure to have at the airfield. We're looking forward to having them all back next year and hoping for some well deserved good weather this time. 

The Compton Calendar in 2012 raised almost £6000 for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. This year the girls hope to raise £10,000 for a local charity with the generous support of the airfield club members, visiting pilots and all our lovely local visitors! 

The calendar will be out in early June and you can order your copy online, or pop up and see us to get your copy (great excuse to pop up for a cuppa).

This year we have gone for a 1940's style with some great props and unusual aircraft - so we really hope you'll enjoy it. 

Pictured is one of our 'models' enjoying a break in the sunshine!

The aim of the fly In's, which are held on the first Saturday of each month, are to play our part in bringing the GA community together, and have some fun too! Its a great excuse to get flying and we offer reduced price landings to help beat the squeeze as an added incentive too. If you are a member of a flying club then you just need to PPR as a group with us on 01747 811767. 

Ben showed the children some of the aircraft in the hangar and talked to them about how aircraft fly.  The most popular part of the visit seemed to be when some of the children got to sit in the fire truck and turned the flashing lights and siren on!

With the obligatory quaffing of squash and biscuits, the children all tootled back to school, slightly colder than when they first arrived given the somewhat arctic temperatures but filled with lots of inspiration for the rest of their project!

The children were interested in seeing an aircraft and understanding how they fly, along with a glimpse of the windsock (sadly not seen due to the mist!).  Ben arranged for the children to all sit in one of our club aircraft as well as donning a headset (although not all were too keen on that idea!).

Children have a great knack of coming out with humorous statements so Ben regaled the Ops Team with a couple of charming anecdotes…Ben asked one young girl whether she would like to become a pilot and her serious little reply was ‘yes… however, it may take some time.’Ben also managed to get into a small discussion with a young boy who was determined on pointing out all of the helicopters to Ben.  Ben tried to correct him and advise him that we don’t have any helicopters here, yet the young boy was very insistent.  Not wishing to get into an argument with a four year old, Ben decided to drop it and just agree with him!

After a lovely little two-by-two ‘Noah’s ark style’ march back across the apron and following a beaker of squash and biscuits, the children provided a rousing chorus of thank yous to Ben before departing Compton back to school!

On a cold and misty evening in early January the lights were still seen to be burning in the coffee lounge at Compton and inside there was much action afoot.  One of our colleagues from the Dorset Fire and Rescue Service had popped up to provide us with some guidance on how to assist the emergency services in the event of an incident at Compton.  The advice was specifically geared towards our main customers and the types of situations that we may, unfortunately, see here.  Given the number of mature customers and young children that we have on site it is important that we are able to help them if needs be.  Our role in the event of an emergency is not only likely to be the first response but also an assisting capacity alongside the emergency services.

Although the evening had a serious tone and purpose we still managed to enjoy ourselves whilst strapping each other to spinal boards and role playing how to move people without causing further damage or injury.

We take our responsibilities very seriously and are keen to keep our already existing good relations going with the local emergency services.  In turn, they enjoy coming up to Compton to provide us with useful hints and tips, and also to learn about the types of aircraft that we get here, in order to enhance their own knowledge and experiences.

Hangar Four will be located to the West of the airfield just North of the Boundary road and will enable us to accommodate a few more aircraft - but more importantly give us the added space that we really need. 

All we have to do now is wait for the rain to stop, the sun to shine, and the ground to finally dry out before we can commence building work. Not long then! We're celebrating with a bit of bubbly - and looking forward to celebrating with a bit more in some sunnier weather - as per the picture! 

However - we were lucky enough to have lots of visitors by road throughout the day who enjoyed the food and the view - and the static aircraft! Akll was not lost - we had a visit by an R44 helicopter who popped in for lunch and very much enjoyed VIP parking on the hard standing area. We also had a treat from the coastguard boys who came in and surprised us with a box of chocolates - the most exciting arrival of a box of chocolates I think we will ever see!

We look forward to trying again for next year - and in the meantime are busy planning away for our 2013 events at which we hope to see lots of you. 

The furthest the calendars reached was chilly Antarctica via Matthew Kenny with the British Antarctic Survey. They also travelled 8750 miles to South Carolina in the USA to meet a pilot there, to Canberra in Australia, to Ibiza to be displayed in the most famous nightclub in the world – Pacha, and many have been privately flown to various airfields in France. It even accompanied its photographer Patrick and his wife Liz to Kenya!

All the girls who featured in the calendar are either staff or pilots at the airfield.  Compton Abbas has a much higher proportion of female pilots than the average 6% across the UK – and decided to put this fact to good use! The airfield is fortunate to have some amazing ladies in its midst: Bekah Mathers is the daredevil of the group having done 100 parachute jumps all over the world and doing bush pilot flying in Africa; Catherine Henderson is a commercial pilot and learnt to fly in her Dad’s beautiful Chipmunk aircraft; Stephanie Murchinson gained her Private Pilots Licence on her 17^th birthday - before she could drive - and Misty Thorn received an experience flight at the age of 14 and is now nearing the end of her flying course.  

A big thank you to all the local people who supported the Air Ambulance in purchasing a calendar – keep your eyes peeled for 2014’s fundraising antics!

-       We have two Sennheiser S1 Passive Headsets and two S1 Digital Headsets here to loan.

-       Headsets are available to collect from the Ops Team.

-       Headsets will be available to trial from the 24^th October until some time in the future!

-       Headsets will not be loaned out overnight.

-       Non-members will need to leave credit card details with the Ops Team before taking the headset away to try.

-       Any damage to headsets will need to be paid for.

-       Following a trial, the headsets can be purchased for:

- S1 Passive £319.99

- S1 Digital £913.00

Purchases can be made directly through Pooley’s via www.pooleys.com. You can use a discount code to get 5% off - please contact Compton for this code. 

-       Direct links to the headsets are

                        - S1 Passive - http://www.pooleys.com/prod_detail.cfm?product_id=2213

                        - S1 Digital - http://www.pooleys.com/prod_detail.cfm?product_id=2144

If you are interested in borrowing a headset for a flight to see whether you would like to purchase it then please come and see any of the Ops Team.

Our first ground frost of the year set the scene for a stunning clear day on top of our lovely hill - although most other places in the UK seemed to be in the murk!
By the time it lifted elsewhere breakfast was over - so our visiting pilots missed their staple Compton Breakfast - but enjoyed our VIP (Very Important Pilot) fast track system which enabled them to be eating some yummy baguettes within just a few minutes.

Some great aircraft visited us, from Percival Proctors to Chippies to Austers... all to collect a goodie bag and a free landing from the lovely folk from Pooley’s who we’ve been working with for over 20 years!

Considering the number of aircraft that used our special grass runway on Sunday, the following morning’s runway inspection revealed it to be in superb condition.  Thank you to all of those pilots who were careful with the runway by using minimum braking and slow taxi speeds. 

A big thank you to all of you who came in whether with an invite from Pooley's or just popping up by road.  We hope that you all enjoyed the day as much as we did and hope that you will join us again soon.  Remember we are open all Winter when there is often some beautiful crisp flying weather, alternatively you could just pop up for the lovely food and drink!! 

He has had work exhibited all over, recently including a number of life size polar bear ice sculptures dotted round the world, including one in St Marks Square in Venice. 

He would love to see some of you at his next exhibition on the 31st of October. It will be held at 32 Bruton Place, Mayfair, WIJ 6NW. The timings are 6pm until 8:30pm. RSVP to gerry@sladmore.com. Visit www.markcoreth.com for more information. 

Click on the link below for further information and to browse through some of his stunning exhibits. 

Mark Coreth Brochure: Just Cats
 

We are very proud of Tim who is much in demand for his journalist skills and now regularly writing for many aviation magazines. Have a look at the article here: http://www.comptonabbasairfield.co.uk/photos/news/IcarusCup2012.pdf

Whilst we're on it - we'll do a shameless plug for you all to come and buy some of what is probably the best honey in the UK - in stock in the Compton Shop!

Unbelievably - this was worth the wait - and we enjoyed some stunning albiet a little breezy weather. Pitts, Lasors, Egde 360's and some other snazzy machines arrived at Compton on Friday evening along with their well behaved (when closely followed by nagging Compton Girls) owners. The BAeA managed to get 6 programmes in meaning they finished off the years planned sorties on the last date possible! Compton to the rescue...

We were really pleased to see our very own club member Peter Rounce win a very respectable silver medal in the Intermediate Free Finals - and on his 40th birthday! Congratulations Peter. 

We look forward to welcoming the group back next year on the 12th and 13th July for another successful event. 

Chris will now be doing experience flights and soon tailwheel training at Compton which will enable us to provide more dates and accept more students. 

See here for more information on our experience flights...and if you already have a licence and want to do some tailwheel hours just get in touch. 

The dinner was held in aid of the Alliance Appeal. Launched in 1947, HMS Alliance is Britain's memorial to the courageous men who fought in similar boats during WW2 and to all the 5,300 British submariners who have lost their lives on operational service. Clive donated a flight in the Compton Tiger Moth for auction to raise funds during the evening. David Morgan, a former Harrier pilot who served with distinction during the Falklands Campaign, agreed to pilot the Tiger Moth for the lucky winner of the auction. Steve Sykes is a former Submarine Commanding Officer and strong supporter of the Alliance Appeal. On the night, the Tiger Moth flight raised £1,900 for the appeal. The lucky winner has a year to select a perfect flying day and enjoy his experience at Compton Abbas Airfield. 

The photo shows the trio with the top man of the Navy. We couldn't fit his full title on here - but by all accounts he is great fun. Judging by the slight blur on the photo - we think a little bit too much fun may have been had by all! 

Displayed in front of the club house for all to admire the group arrived for morning coffee and stayed until afternoon tea – making the most of the day chatting with fellow enthusiasts and visitors and tinkering with their aircraft.

The weather could not have been better with some light westerlies, little puffy clouds and dazzling sunshine (we still didn’t believe it when we saw the taf that morning – a one liner with no –DZ’s, -RA’s & -FG?!). Joining the 15 aircraft from the group and taking advantage of the weather were another 52 aircraft popping in for some Compton Lunch, making it one of the busier days of the year. Compton looks forward to welcoming the very friendly group back soon!

Ben has been a very supportive club member over the past year and a pleasure to have around. We're looking forward to having him back learning to fly with us - and are all glad that flying is not a competitive sport. 

Amongst Compton’s club members was Amanda Harrison doing experience flights in the airfield’s Tiger Moth, Catherine Henderson flying (and washing) her Chipmunk, newly qualified pilot Bobby flying her PA28, and 17 year old trainee Chloe flying her motorglider after doing a kitchen shift and feeding all the visitors! In addition to all these ladies there were some fantastic and very enthusiastic visitors, including one of our ‘regulars’ Jo in her beautiful Stomp.

We are really looking forward to having another ‘Lady Pilot Fly In’ next year and hope to see lots of you there! The Compton Team.  

As Ben performed so well he has now been nominated as the Headmaster for all future school visits! 

For the last two days we have been kept company by several aerobatic pilots who have been based here practising their moves, some of which have been in preparation for the British Aerobatic Association Don Henry Squadron Competition that will be held here at Compton on the 15^th and 16th June 2012. Some of the best aerobatic pilots in the UK compete on both days for the prestigious Don Henry award.  Any pilots not competing are still more than welcome to come up, just keep an eye of NOTAMs for timings. And of course all the general public are welcome to come along too and spectate! 

Once again, we look forward to seeing you up here, joining us in watching the aerial spectacle! 

But wait! Who was this rather handsome young man nestled in their midst?! It was none other than Prince Harry! Tom, the man on the bar, was swiftly shoved in to the kitchen and Laura enjoyed the occasional perks that being a manager at Compton affords and stood her ground to take the orders. Once the orders had been placed, poor Tom was swiftly shoved back out the kitchen and Laura transformed in to waitress extraordinaire, delivering their sausage sarnies with a smile. 

We left Harry in peace and let him enjoy his time with us, which he did, looking at all the aircraft and checking out our leaflets and goings on. We've been visited by Robert de Niro and had Guy Ritchie fly with us, but Harry, you are our favourite!

Ps If you are reading this and happen to be free on your grandmothers Jubilee - we have a great runway party coming up! 

Throughout the last 10 years since Sky Watch has been active, their members have been instrumental in saving a number of lives, and with the new base at Compton Abbas Airfield, the Dorset and Wiltshire counties will be even safer. Metropolitan Policeman Sgt. Stephen Miles is the first member to be based at the airfield and is currently recruiting experienced pilots to help expand the new unit. Stephen, who uses his Piper PA38 Tomahawk to carry out his duties, has already been on a number of expeditions since arriving including reporting a fire in the local area – to which the emergency services consequently attended.  

The main aim of the registered charity is to help save lives through providing services such as searching for missing persons, monitoring remote areas, damage assessment following environmental emergencies and priority transport of critical freight.

Stephen is often at Compton and would be delighted to talk to anyone that would like more information or would be interested in assisting him in expanding this invaluable service.

Ben joins the jet set

Tiger Moth G-ADXT is the first aircraft to be acquired by the new company and is already based at Compton. It is envisaged that other de Havilland aircraft will join the fleet enabling people to continue to enjoy flying aircraft with a very special place in aviation history.  

Committed club member Tim Jackson (more commonly known as Tim Le Beee to the folk here at the Airfield) can often bee seen buzzing around the skies in his zippy Flexwing Microlight. His current hive of activity includes producing a range of delicious Honeys for sale Exclusively in the Compton Abbas Airfield shop so please bee the first to come and sample the sweet delight for the ‘bees knees’ price of £3.50 while stocks last!

By 15:00 there was hardly a cloud in the sky and pilots of the 47 intrepid visiting aircraft were enjoying food and drink on the sunny terrace. It was less than the 107 that were booked to fly in – but an enjoyable day all the same! Sebastian Pooley and his team treated all visitors to free landing fees and a goody bag containing a shiny new high vis vest, ‘pilot’ keyring, flight planning chart and a great Pooleys Pilot’s diary for 2012. An army of Compton members were on hand to assist pilots with fuelling, marshal them in and order their food through Compton’s now famous ‘fast track system for pilots’! Sebastian was invited to enjoy a flight in Compton’s beautiful resident Stearman N716RB courtesy of BA pilot Mike Woodhouse (see attached picture) who treated the crowds to some fly pasts. Some fantastic aircraft came to visit and take advantage of the free landing fees for the day – such as Rich Piper’s Ryan PT22, pictured, which won the Concours d’Elegance. Congratulations to Simon Collins who braved the weather to fly in from Sleap and won the competition for furthest distance flown. Thanks to everyone who came in to Compton from both the Compton and Pooleys teams – especially to all those who purchased the Compton Girls calendar 2012 to help raise money for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. Keep an eye on both the Compton (www.abbasair.com) and Pooleys (www.pooleys.com) websites for information regarding next years event.

Early on Thursday 15th September my wheels left the security of Compton Abbas Airfield. Breezy had dinner Jackets stuffed into her top wing and a razor and a toothbrush squeezed into her locker… I had packed minimally for a 5 day safari to Bavaria!
Anxiety… YES I had not crossed the Channel before, the weather had been fairly dubious, navigation from my mini cockpit is never easy as space is tight and the map has a will to fly out of the cockpit and back across the channel!
I left to meet up with two Tiger Moths and a Super Cub… fine you might say but as the slowest of all guess who had the lead! Thank you Airbox  Freedom Clarity… it gave a wonderful feeling of confidence and indeed got me to Dieppe via Beachy Head and an hour of open water… I now understand why the Pope kisses the tarmac!
Dieppe to Epernay, fuel, wine, a grand supper of snails and red meat then a bed in Champaign country.
We set forth the following morning, again in fine weather, towards the foothills of the Alps short of the French/German border.  Breezy was thirsty and I needed a pit stop so we landed at a lovely grass strip at a place named Dogneville. The climb out there after seemed to be more up than along BUT a wonderful glide down into Germany to Bremgarten… the Low and Slow party had arrived amongst the heavy metal… and when I say heavy I mean heavy! Good discipline on arrival meant go to the pumps… Breezy sipped 42 litres and the Corsair beside her over a 1000 litres more! After such a spendido trip Breezy was sent to bed in a dormitory with a Mustang, a Harvard and a Yak 3 to mention but a few!
16th Sept evening of … was a welcoming party… thankfully and with great delight there I found David and Caro Morgan… this made up the Compton Abbas team… the other guests were a fascinating,  brilliant and diverse party from the Air Squadron. We were in all intents and purposes guests of Maxi Gainza and his very new and utterly dynamic wife Paula, this was in effect a wedding party. Maxi Gainza will be known to many of you as a very well written aviation Journalist and a brilliant pilot.
No pause button on this Air Squadron trip, Saturday brought an early departure to Friedrichshafen. Beauty,  mountains, cloud but not too much of it and lake Constance… AND a scrummy lunch on a classic paddle steamer after a visit to the Zeppelin museum. The flight back to Bremgarten  was more of a challenge as the weather was rapidly closing 
In. Breezy Mouse took it in her stride while her pilot learnt big time about mountains, weather, closing options and escape routes! Thankfully the Rhine lead us back below the murk to Bremgarten and to  the relief of our host and finally to a winery!
And then Sunday dawned… Sunday continued from the day before with a wee bit of rain, low cloud and so no flying… this did not however last into the afternoon to the relief of all of us as today was heavy metal day! Here the Compton Abbas team teamed up! Coreth had always dreamed of flying in a Harvard having had the Boscombe Down yellow wonder machine showing off her supersonic tone of voice over his studio on numerous occasions! To fly in a Harvard is magical… to be allowed to roll her was mind blowing so just imagine what buzz I had when we sighted a Mustang flying low down the Rhine… even the lumbering Harvard (albeit with a Falkland Island Harrier Pilot in command), her nose down and the advantage of height we closed for a shot! Had time permitted I might have had a chance to fly in the Mustang… but actually I think we had just shot it down!
The Gainza crew know how to throw a Hanger Party… the back drop was hugely advantageous… Spitfire, Mustang, Corsair, Yak 3 and that ignores some splendid dancers and wild food!
So what to date have I missed… what about a ride in a Bugatti type 35a, valued at that of a Spitfire and then a second in a Bugatti Type 37a… As an Animalier Sculptor whose God is Rembrandt Bugatti  the opportunity to ride in one of Ettore Bugatti’s wonder machines is an opportunity not to be missed… and I did NOT miss it!
And so all good things come to an end… but we were still in Bavaria and had an adventure of flying ahead. Monday brought more dubious low cloud and a flight of poking ones way through the high ground to the vast plains of France.
I routed to Verdun, the Somme, Albert and the trenches of the First World War… to see so much from behind the glass of flying goggles and the slight protection of a leather helmet is humbling indeed. We stayed near St Quentin before setting forth towards the murk running the length of the coast. Coasting out from the Somme Estuary towards Lydd was a bit nerve wracking as the cloud base was down to 500 ft but we knew from an aeroplane ahead that it was improving 10 miles out to sea, so go for it. Then came the magic of flying almost between the masts of a square rigged ship that seemed to appear like a ghost! Coasting in to Lydd was a relief although there was a 20 – 25 knot wind blowing, al be it, down the runway. Once Breezy Mouse knew she really was allowed to settle on the tarmac, her pilot had decided that to press on home was tempting fate, so a pint of Spitfire, a fish in a basket and a welcome bed in the Ship Inn was called for.
Wednesday dawned windy and with cloud on the deck. Lunch time was windy and cloud off the deck… so a 2 hour and 40 minute flight into the head wind found us back at home.
I conclude by repeating that boundaries must be stretched and adventures taken when the chance is given. I spoke to Breezy Mouse once she was tucked up in bed beside her chums at home in Hanger 2 and even she said how nice it was to be back!

Pauline flew Cessna aircraft both in the USA and locally around Hurn airport between 1979 and 1985. She also worked as an aeromed nurse, based at Goodwood, flying in all weathers!

Joan Luck, an accomplished glider pilot, flew gliders from local airfields, Tarrant Rushton, Old Sarum and Eyres field.

They both took to the air in a locally based immaculate and rare 1946 Luscombe Silvaire, flown by 20 year old Stephanie Murchison, herself having first flown solo at the age of sixteen! 

After their 20 minute flight, in which they both took control of the aircraft, not having flown for many years, the huge smiles said it all! Stephanie remarked "They certainly haven’t lost their touch!"

With Emma Hughes, airfield manager of Compton Abbas, ensuring the occasion went smoothly, a major national aviation milestone was celebrated in style locally at what will hopefully be the first of many ‘Womens Air Day’ at Compton.