Heldre Hill
HELDRE HILL: Private club airstrip (aka LONG MOUNTAIN*)
Note: Both of these pictures were obtained from Google Earth ©
Operated by: Montgomery Ultra Light Flying Club
Note: In the 1957 The Aeroplane directory, the Mongomeryshire Ultra Light Flying Group are listed as operating one Tipsy. A Tipsy B perhaps? Any advice will be most welcome. In May 2021 Mr Graham Frost, a great friend of this 'Guide' tells us this was the Tipsy Trainer 1 G-AFVN. Looking at into this it appears this aircraft was registered to the MULFG from 29.5.50 until 01.06.64.
Flying club/school: 1959 ‘snapshot’. Montgomeryshire Ultra-Light Flying Club
Location: About 6nm E of Welshpool town centre, roughly 10nm WSW of Shrewsbury town centre
Period of operation: 1950s to 70s only?
Runways: E/W 730 grass SW/NE 275 grass
Note: The markings on the first picture above are simply my guess as to where these two runways were situated.
NOTES: *I cannot believe there were two flying clubs operating in close proximity and both with a Tiger Moth during this period, so I conclude that HELDRE HILL and LONG MOUNTAIN are in fact, the same site.
Probably around 2007 I made these notes: In the mid 1970s it appears the Montgomery Ultra Light Flying Club were operating two aircraft from HELDRE HILL; D.H.82A Tiger Moth G-ANJK and Evans VP-1 G-BDBX. The latter certainly fits the ‘Ultra Light’ category - but not the Tiger Moth! I’d very much like to know more about this club, not least the location of HELDRE HILL. Here again Mr Graham Frost has provided the exact location.
In the June 2012 edition of Light Aviation magazine, in the regular ‘Over The Hedge’ feature by John Beeswax, these questions were answered and much more, which I think is well worth quoting from: “Long before Welshpool Airport was created, farmer John de Quincy let one of his hillside fields to a local flying club run by its CFI, Claude Millington. It was a large field of nearly 500 yards in length and rising to 600ft amsl. The last half of the runway sloped steeply upwards towards the west. ‘It sloped 100ft in 200 yards,’ recalls Dave Williams, who was an active member of the flying club and a keen pilot of its Tiger Moth. ‘We disliked easterly winds when the Tiger Moth would float down the hillside at 55mph and only land when we reached the flat section at the bottom of Runway 09!’
My comment: Hardly surprising as the Tiger Moth has no brakes! This obviously required a high level of airmanship to get it spot on - every time.
“The little airfield at Long Mountain became a favourite Summer Camp venue for the Vintage Aircraft Club before Finmere was opened.” (FINMERE is in BUCKINGHAMSHIRE). “Its lack of radio and its unrestricted airspace made it ideal for the non-radio DH Moths, Tipsy Trainers and Comper Swifts of the mid-sixties. Local B&B accommodation in the Welshpool area was also renowned for its modest price and warm hospitality. Some members simply camped on the airfield.”
“ ‘The prevailing wind was westerly.’ remembers Dave (My comment: It still is!) ‘Our Tiger Moth had enough performance to take off on Runway 27 and outclimb the upslope, but not all visitors could cope with this challenge.’ ” I love this next bit.
A LESSON LEARNT
“During one summer camp, a venerable Luton Minor had flown in from the Midlands for a brief visit and its pilot had enjoyed a picnic lunch with some friends who refuelled his aircraft. After he had carried out the necessary pre-flight checks, he climbed back aboard for the return journey and his chums swung the 37hp JAP engine into life while the fresh westerly breeze stirred the leaves of the surrounding trees. With the time-honoured advice of ‘always take off into wind’ in mind, he taxied downwind to the far end of the field.”
My comment: The great thing about ‘farm strip’ flying is that you soon learn, and are taught if lucky enough to have an experienced tutor, to think ‘outside the box’. Or, to put it another way; "Use your common sense - you bloody idiot", and similar sentiments. Learning techniques to save yourself which almost no flying club would teach unless you a very lucky to come across an instructor with this experience. Very few have such people.
This is a classic example of a pilot not thinking things out beforehand. “Surprisingly no one else had paid the Luton Minor’s taxying much heed until it had turned into wind and the gentle sound of its two cylinder JAP engine at full power reached people’s ears. Then everyone watched with rapt attention as parasol-winged aircraft began its take-off run. Because the first half of the hillside runway was relatively flat, the Luton Minor became airborne and started to climb. The various trees that lined the field precluded any safe turns to the left or right and the gallant little aircraft pressed on.”
“By this time all the spectators had put down their sandwiches and were watching intently as the Luton Minor’s angle of climb failed to match the increasing angle of the upward slope of the hillside. Inevitably the aircraft, still climbing, touched down gently on the grass runway - and continued up the slope at full power. (My comment: Why? The only sensible thing to do at this stage is chop the power and try to stop.) Eventually, it disappeared from view over the brow of the hill and then….silence.”
“Everyone chased up the hill to discover what had happened. The runway had a large flat area at its summit, which was intersected by another, short downhill runway at right angles. This provided the Luton Minor pilot with enough room to cut his engine and come to a safe stop. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. His chums were able to turn him and the aircraft around to face downhill and restart the 37hp JAP engine. A few minutes later the pilot took off safely down the hill and returned to his home base without incident.”
bryan heatley
This comment was written on: 2020-12-17 11:56:55I flew in the Tipsy Trainer with Millington in the early fifties. I understood that the Tipsy was replaced by a Tiger Moth.
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