Glenswinton
GLENSWINTON: Private airstrip (Aka GLENSWINTON FARM)
Note: These three pictures were obtained from Google Earth ©
Location: 2.5nm SSW of Gibbshall on the A712, 3nm NNE of Parton on the A713 and 8.5nm NW to NNW of Castle Douglas
Period of operation: 2011 to -
Runway: 2011: 03/21 380 compacted gravel
2019: 03/21 425 compacted gravel
NOTES: The initial info source was the AAIB report EW/G2011/04/15. In this report GLENSWINTON is stated to be near Castle Douglas which is somewhat misleading. It is actually, according to a web search, roughly 4nm ESE of New Galloway at a position roughly equi-distant between the A712 and A713 and therefore roughly 8nm NW of Castle Douglas. See location above.
A THORNY ISSUE
This does of course raise the thorny question for a 'Guide' such as this, which is; how near is near? Or that matter, how far is near? I suppose, if forced to give an answer, (under considerable duress of course), that I generally regard near as being within 5nm of a village or small town in a rural setting. In a sparsely populated area such as this the term needs to be expanded or applied more liberally.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
On another tack I am often amazed, (appalled might be more accurate), at the amount of times accidents occur over the years when the pilot decides to use a runway for which the aeroplane type is clearly unsuitable, as was the case here in my opnion. Trying to land a Piper Seneca on a 380 metre well maintained hard runway is probably asking for trouble unless the conditions are ideal and the pilot is well on top of the job? Let alone a compacted gravel runway.
Indeed, the quoted landing run for a hard runway is 366 metres! Very few pilots can land on the first few metres of a runway.
And - the pilot says he retracted the flaps after touchdown, (recommended in the Piper POH - Pilots Operating Handbook), therefore eliminating the considerable drag factor. The Americans usually use airfields with long hard runways, hence this advice, to get weight on the runway so the brakes can work at their best is hardly appropriate here..
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