Pilot reviews of Bembridge Airfield
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“ | A Monday visit on a clear November day was enjoyable. Using the http://www.vectisglidingclub.co.uk website I did my PPR by email and then shortly before departing called and left a message on the answer phone confirming our arrival time. Information is also available on http://eghj.co.uk
It was evident that Monday was a quiet day and with an unmanned radio, we made blind calls on a right hand circuit to the north of the airfield, as the information for visiting pilots makes clear, prior to landing on 30.
30 necessitates a back track if intending to use the hard taxiway for the north side parking. Unfortunately that meant another visiting aircraft had to go around having followed us slightly closer than ideal in the circuit.
On departure from the north side parking, there is a grass taxiway en route to the grass hold point for 30. The grass was a bit long but didn’t impede our progress and taking that option negated the need to dodge landing aircraft using the taxiway to access the parking. Thus for 30 there is a one way system of sorts. All manageable on a quiet day by pilots with no ground radio assistance.
The wooden building housing the control point on the south side of the airfield was closed with a sign directing us to pay our landing fee at The Propeller Inn. However that too (in spite of information to the contrary on their website), was also closed. No coffee then, nor lunch ? Fortunately Paul, a canny local taxi driver knows both are closed on a Monday and does a roaring trade taking pilots to various nearly lunch destinations ! His firm is Windmill Cars tel : 07956 446538. He took us to the Tollgate Cafe in Bembridge which was open. N.B. Off season eating/drinking options are limited (more so on a Monday according to Paul) so be aware, do some research or take your own lunch.
None of the above detracted from an enjoyable flight using Southampton’s new listening squawk of 7011. It would have been good to know that the airfield whilst available for landings/take offs, it has no facilities on a Monday, off season (?). Fuel isn’t available at any time of the year which is made quite clear. Landing fees if the Control Point & Inn are shut should be deposited in the VGC letter box to be found in the passage between the Propeller Inn and the back of the hangar on the south side. Enjoy the slumbering Isle of Wight. It’s a lovely quiet place out of season – now you know ! ” |
“ | Flew into Bembridge today (21st June 2014).....arrival easy onto rwy 12. What a shock!!!! The airfield is looking down beat and tired....grass/weeds along section of rwy.....what a shame a lovely airfield is just going to waste....only 6 other a/c parked up we arrived at 11.50 hrs clear blue skies 180/6 kts. Air Traffic (Caravan) staff happy to see someone!!! The Prop Inn was well presented but somehow looked tired....food ok. Took off at 15.35 hrs we were number 3 with one inbound the busiest it had been all day we were told!! I will try and visit again if only for nostalgic reasons....last visit was in 1980's. Landing fee s/be £10 for 4 seaters to attract more flyers to the Isle of Wight. ” |
“ | Popped in on the May bank holiday Monday 2014. Very helpful and friendly service from Bembridge Radio who were very helpful after landing with directions to the Crab & Lobster and the Beach Hut restaurants (latter cash only, no cards) we wanted to go and seek out. We ate in the Crab & Lobster which was excellent and then enjoyed a pleasant stroll along the beach before returning back to the airfield. The points below for food are for the off site pub we ate at. Morning coffee and afternoon tea at the Propeller Inn (which does serve food too if you don't have time for the longish walk to the other restaurants/café and the staff there were also pleasant and friendly. All in all a very pleasant location and £15 for a Warrior is not unreasonable in my view. ” |
“ | be there a couple of times in the week, very quite, £10 landing fee vie the honesty box, no café but holiday park 5min walk has a good one ” |
“ | Visited in a Foxbat on 28/05 for 4 days and stayed at Whitecliff Bay Caravan Park.(10 mins Walk) A lovely airfield but no A/G radio so care needed in the circuit. The Gliding Club manage the field but are only around at weekends or on Wednesday. They provide PPR and good briefing. Paid £12 landing fee and £5 a night to park. The landing fees are the only source of income so reasonable I think. The Areoclub served good food but I suspect the owner of the airfield would prefer you to use the Propeller Inn on the other side. There is a bus service into Bembridge, St Helens or Sandown and some brilliant walks direct from the airfield itself. The walk past Bembridge Windmill to the new RSPB Reserve at Brading is highly recommended. You can also walk to the beach at Whitecliff Bay (through caravan park) where you will find the famous Twopenny Cafe. The best food we found was at the Windmill Pub in Bembridge (£2.50 bus ride) and locals recommend avoiding the overpriced Crab and Lobster pub. It is a lovely airfield with lots to do. ” |
“ | Bembridge trip May 13th.
After visit to Sandown in March,found the runway deteriating,very rough especially down the centreline. Suggest you keep to left or right.So May 13th landed at Bembridge in good weather if not strong turbulence on 30 with 15K crosswind. Paid £15 landing fee at Gliding club and walked down the beach to the right of the caravan parks for 1.5 mls and found the long established Beach hut beach bar which serves excellent light lunches,lobster and crabs. Delightfully catered for by Lynn,jon and emma.They will arrange a cheap cab to pick you up and drop you back at the airfield if your not up for the walk which takes about 40-45 mins.Puts to shame the high price,surley service at the close by Crab & Lobster pub.Perfect transit back via Farn to Denham. ” |
“ | Rumours that Bembridge is dead are very much exaggerated! Information about ops is on the gliding club website. The club recently took over responsibility for ops on the airfield. Get PPR weekdays and do blind calls. At weekends there's no need for PPR - just call Bembridge Radio on the way in. Bembridge is a good IOW option especially when the grass runway at Sandown is wet, as it was on 30 Jan. Britten Norman welcomes pilots to visit their cafe on the north side (where the tower used to be). On Monday 30 Jan 12 we had excellent friendly service at the cafe with good hot meals at lunchtime. This was handy especially as the pub on the south side was closed (Monday). The cafe manger stressed that GA pilots are more than welcome there. It's a lovely runway in superb condition plus decent hard taxiways as always. ” |
“ | There have been a lot of changes recently at Bembridge but its still well worth a visit even though the club house / restaurant and fuel facilities are no longer available.
PPR by phone however the circuit joining requirements seem the same as before and Bembridge radio was providing an A/G service on the same frequency as previously.
The runways is in excellent condition and the parking areas don't seem to have suffered form the recent rain.
Landing fees (£14 for a single) and signing in are now done at a caravan on the south side of the runway (the gliding side) and visitors parking is on the north side as before.
The lack of restaurant isn't a problem at all. The propeller Inn pub is actually on the south side of the airfield about 50 metres from the signing in caravan. group of us flew in and had coffees and lunch at the propeller Inn and found the food was pretty decent and good value.
” |
“ | Very scenic area and a good hard strip for our RV9a, a freindly welcome and lunch in the propeller inn was nice food at reasonable prices served up with a smile. Due to the fact that the previous manegement are no longer in charge of the airfield there have been some changes. The ATC is no longer opperating and the radio is now blind calling only which did not represent a problem for us as the site based gliding club was not flying on the day of our visit, But landing among several gliders on another day could be tricky with no radio contact. The ATZ is no longer and the aifield I believe has dropped it's licenced status. There are currently no pilot briefing services, although you can contact Sandown airfield (run by the previous owners) for assistance Most worrying was the site of the airfield fire trucks (owned by the previous manegement) have been blocked from entering the airfield operational side by the placement of haystacks. Come on guy's whatever the dispute I'm not going to visit an airfield were my safety is being used as a barganing chip. Let me know when this is sorted out and I will happily return. ” |
“ | Visited Bembridge for the first time yesterday. Easily spotted from the north west, the base leg is out to sea. The runway is long but quite narrow so beware coming in too low. Aircraft in front had to backtrack - there is no grass taxiway from the east end - so we had to go around. A/G radio was very clear, helpful, friendly and directed us to the well marked parking area. Landing fee £12.50 for a single. We saw a twin doing circuits - quite common because much cheaper than at Bournemouth or Shoreham. Cafe had wide range of food. It's a short walk to the beach or into the town. Bicycles can be hired (call in advance to arrange), making this a great spot to visit. I'll definitely be back again. ” |
“ | Been flying in and out of Bembridge since August, as I am working on an Hotel in Shanklin. I have been very impressed with the professionalism and friendly service that I have received there. Mo from security particularly helpful and Dave very friendly... Well worth a visit, good concrete runway, good restaurant, great coms, everything you could want. My favourite airfield! ” |
“ | Bembridge is a very nice place to visit BUT the landing fee for a small aeroplane with one POB is TOO HIGH at £12.50 when the website says it's £7.50. And a mug of instant coffee is £2. One feels aggreived and not inclined to visit again for a long time. ” |
“ | visited 2 weeks ago following a hop from Sandown ... they are right next to each other but there the similarities end. They are a professional, well organised, how a G.A. airfield should be. Not that I am knocking Sandown that is good too but not in the same league at all. Well worth a visit and they talk to you! great runway and control .. loved it!!! ” |
“ | Went to Bembridge on Friday with 2 non pilot friends, dispite Bembridge being a frequent haunt, its always a nive place to visit with anyopne who has not flown GA before. We opted to take a steady walk to the Wobberly Cafe in Whitecliff Bay for lunch, as the British summer was with us!
Always a very welcoming place to vists, note the Avgas is now £1.90 / ltr and no landing fee concessions so £10 fee applied, never the less always a nice place to visit at any time of the year.
” |
“ | First visit of the year to Bembridge and as usual got the "Welcome to Bembridge" on landing, I think this is a really nice touch. The clubhouse has had the wall removed between reception and the cafe and this does make it alot lighter in there with an added feeling of space. The landing fee has gone up but is still reasonable and the coffee is as good as ever. I'll visit again soon, hopefully with more time to spend there and enjoy the hospitality. ” |
“ | First flight since the annual and chose the dependable Bembridge. Staff extremely helpful and friendly, price of food and drink for two and a landing fee costs about the same as some larger local airports. All in all, another excellent trip. Only downside was the computer to access weather was not working ” |
“ | Re-visited Bembridge. what a good GA airfield it is.
Excellent radio service, very good runway, improved restaurant, fuel and low landing fees.
Easy to visually locate and a trip to the isle of Wight always feels like a bit more of an adventure.
Landing fee, baked potato with salad and cup of tea was under £14 for the lot. ” |
“ | Returned to the Isle of Wight recently with my buddy Cy, and found the Airport top notch! The approach over the coast was interesting,especially in our old warbird. Service was excellent for both pilots and 'plane. A good security crew (somewhat shabbily turned out with 'well worn' old boots, very helpful nonetheless. Wouldn't have done in my RAF days)! All in all a lovely spot for a swoop. ” |
“ | Visited Bembridge today and a great service from Radio.
Superb facilty and cafe was good.
Beautifully kept airfield all round and a great approach with great views of the island.
Definitely a must in anyones log book. Southampton gave us direct zone transit inbound to Bembridge but routed us outside CAS on the return. ” |
“ | My second visit to EGHJ and another outstanding welcome!
Great Bacon & Stilton Tostie and tea ready for my return trip back to EGHP.
See you again Bembridge.
This is the way all GA airfields should be run!! ” |
“ | Second visit to Bembridge on a gusty day. Always easy to spot. The approach to 30 is generally a bit interesting for the last few hundred yards with all sorts of bumps and stuff but always worth the visit. Having to backtrack after landing long caused a caustic comment from the guy waiting to take off (Ignoramus I thin is the word) but apart from that cant speak highly enough of the friendly reception and all for a tenner. Well done Bembridge. ” |
“ | First time flying to Bembridge 14 Jun 09. Fantastic welcome & great food! Bacon & Egg sandwich is just what I wanted before a walk to the beach!!
Thanks bembridge,
See you again!! ” |
“ | Visited Bembridge on 24th May for a light lunch. My first trip over any appreciable body of water, but was perhaps a little conservative with my height as I had to use lots of sideslip to get down to circuit height at Bembridge!
Very easy to spot on the island, and excellent service from the A/G operator. The 'welcome to Bembridge' on arrival and 'thanks for visiting' on departure are a refreshing change to a lot of fields.
Ate a nice bacon toastie on the terrace watching the gliders to the South and other various arrivals and departures, before a leisurely trip back home.
Will be bringing the family next time! ” |
“ | First time across the water to IOW, chose Bembridge because the wind was straight down the runway.
Easy to spot, not too busy, excellent welcome and A/G operator, landing fees very reasonable and cafe suberb. The best airfield i've visited in the south east by far at present.
This is how a GA airport flying should be run.
Thank you Bembridge ” |
“ | I flew yesterday there and found it faultless as usual. A nice 'welcome to Bembridge' on landing. Very laid back place with a very good cafe with decking to sit out on. Good facilities and we took a taxi into Sandown although the taxi driver recommended the 'Crab and Lobster' restaurant at Bembridge. I'll try that next time! ” |
“ | Brembridge is unbeatable for service. 'Welcome to Bembridge' Tower said and they weren't wrong. Staying overnight we needed some tie downs; a landrover towed some concrete blocks over to our parking bay. Next day when we neeed fuel; the bowser drove over to the plane. Unfortunately I lost my ID card (for my home airfield) just before departure ... but on route home I got a radio call from another ATC. Bembridge had passed a call through to say they'd found my ID. When I got home they said they'd put it in the post. Aviation camaraderie doesn't get better than this. Thank you Gentlemen. ” |
“ | Had a quick trip over to Bembridge yesterday and as usual got an excellent service from Bem. radio and a friendly welcome in the clubhouse. The coffee was served in individual cafetieres and very good it was. It was reasonably busy with the usual spamcans and just for good measure a Slingsby firefly and a Europa arrived while we were there.Although only a short hop from my base airfield it's always a good place to visit . ” |
“ | We flew into bembridge on Saturday 23rd August. The chap in the tower was very helpful, both on the phone beforehand and on the radio, even though he must have been having a very busy day due to the thirty or so visiting aircraft we saw (plus the gliders!) The guy running the fuel bowser was not of the dour type I have experienced at other airfields, but was more than helpful and imparted some useful info about the departure taxing procedure when he found it was our first visit. The newly refurbished aeroclub was excellent. This is probably one of my favourite places to visit, even with the interesting crosswind on runway 30. ” |
“ | We flew into Bembridge on Sunday 17th Aug, my first visit, but not my last, ATC were very helpfull and welcoming, with precise instructions. We lunched at the field and I can reccomend the cheese & ham panninis, the service from everyone was excellent, I'm sure I will be coming back, if only to experiance the approach and crosswind landing on 30, quite challenging !! ” |
“ | Flew into Bembridge from Shobdon today. Defiantly the best airfield I've been into. An pleasant experience starting with a GA friendly Bournemouth Radar who accommodated me despite been up to there eyeballs in ILS's etc.. Bembridge was easy to find and gave a
'Welcome to Bembrige' on touchdown. The cafe/clubhouse was professionally run offering a vast array of reasonably priced good food in modern surroundings. I took a cab ride down to the village/sea front and a couple of relaxing hours with the friendly natives. 10/10 a must visit.... ” |
“ | Just back from a quick flight Thruxton to Bembridge. Gorgeous weather. Runway 30 was active. Was given a very friendly welcome from Bembridge Radio, routed on a right base to the approach and landed with the words 'Welcome to Bembridge' over the R/T. The controller routed us on a backtrack straight to the closest row of parking to the terminal after which my passenger and I spent two hours sitting on the newly refurbished cafe decking sipping cold drinks in the sun.
The £10 landing fee was reasonable, but seemed high considering the Cessna before us had gone in for £7.50! Canned drinks at 80p each (landing fee paid at the cafe counter along with the drinks!) were acceptable.
Contrary to at least one other review for Bembridge I received a very courteous and informative welcome from the security guard who was more then helpful in pointing a newbie to the right desks for sign-in and payment. He even suggested things for us to do if we were staying.
Unfortunately on this occasion we were not staying more than 2 hours but we have already decided a further trip to Bembridge with possibly an overnight stay is called for.
This field is a dying breed - courteous, welcoming and very, very GA friendly. (Plus you get the benefit of watching the planes making crazy low approaches over the road that skirts the threshold of 30!) ” |
“ | Flew from Shoreham to Bembridge for Sunday lunch - a very easy flight and certainly no need for a GPS. I was just a passenger for this flight, and a very experienced CPL holder captained the smart, comfortable TB10 so I could enjoy the view.
Bembridge Radio were very helpful and passed their information clearly and succintly, and also ordered a taxi for us as we were on final for 30. This avoided too much waiting around at the small terminal building. The landing fee is a very reasonable £10 and the woman staffing the cafe was polite and friendly. An outdoor terrace is available for warm summer days.
However, the experience was ruined by the aggressive attitude of the security guard who sits by the main entrance to the terminal.
He accused us of walking ( yes, walking, not flying! ) through a restricted area and accused us of "trespassing". His attitude was condescending and downright unpleasant - he seemed to enjoy giving us a very public speaking-to, actually coming out of his office to face-up to us in a threatening manner. It was completely unnecessary to be so rude about us simply walking on the wrong piece of grass.
For information purposes, apparently we were "trespassing on Britten Norman property" which I would imagine is unavoidable if you happen to land at Bembridge, as I believe they own the airfield. Perhaps this guy had a chip on his shoulder about something - he did mention that he'd been having "a lot of trouble with pilots". I can conclude that this individual was severely lacking in social interaction skills, and was not a good representative for the airfield.
A great shame, as it spoiled a very pleasant day. ” |
“ | Went down to Bembridge for a day trip and ended up stranded for two more!
Everyone there looked after us magnificently, sorting out B&B and taxis and tiedowns for the aircraft, and gathering and phoning round for weather information as we tried to "escape".
They didn't even charge us for our return landing when we turned back or the unplanned overnight stay(s!)
Huge thanks and thumbs up to everyone from air/ground to the fuelers and firemen, to the cafe staff. Great place. ” |
“ | Flew into Bembridge again today for lunch, ATC as very frendly and helpful ( as usual) Cafe has been refurbished since I was last there,and although the choice of food was a little limited it was really good value. Sat on the decking in the autumn sunshine watching the world go by...before having to head back home.
Well done Bembridge, we will be returning ” |
“ | Flew into Bembridge en-route to Jersey, it really is a lovely airfield, with a lovely cafe with outdoor area, landing fee was a bit steep but nothing major. Will go back again. ” |
“ | Visited Bembridge for the first time having been to Sandown a couple of times before. Bembridge is easy to find and the scenery around the airfield is spectacular. The A/G service is fantastic.....possibly the best I've come across so far. There is plenty of aircraft parking space and food is available at the airfield. The choice of food is quite limited but the price and quality is excellent. Very well worth a visit. Beware of gliding activity both at Bembridge and other locations nearby in good weather. ” |
“ | Have been travelling to the IOW since first licenced. Mostly stopping at Bembridge rather than Sandown. Bembridge has excellent pub (Crab & Lobster) but you either need to arrive before 12 or after 2 to get an outside table with sea view. Fantastic coastal path toward the west which takes you down very wide and child firendly sandy beaches to pub at other end (gotta have a reward after the walk) called The Pilot Boat. Bembridge ATC always been friendly, helpful and "nothing too much trouble" attitude. Highly recommended and looking forward to heading back that way soon. ” |
“ | Well worth a visit! If the wind is from the NW or SE then it is better than Sandown which has a runway perpendicular to Bembridge. ” |
“ | Very friendly, very good value (I paid £5 for C150 in the week). For many years I just flew over it to land at the lovely Sandown, but Bembridge is also very nice, and the hard runway might be an advantage after heavy rain. The food is good and very reasonable. ” |
“ | Visited Bembridge last Monday. Very busy (8 a/c inbound when I called) but all very well handled by ATC. A really nice, friendly airfield with some gliding going on (for which you need to keep an eye out). We went for a walk along the coastal path - maps in reception - to the Crab & Lobster where we had a very good lunch and watched the yachts and ships go by. Our only regret was not staying overnight - perhaps next time. ” |
“ | Hi, Bembridge is probably one of the best run GA fields we have visited..Friendly staff good facilities.. great location... try the Mussel + Crab pub for lunch..stay ovewrnight in one of Ventnor's great hotels.. ” |
“ | One of the most friendly and helpful team of staff that I've found at any airfield: nothing is too much trouble for them. Superb countryside surrounding the airfield and a short taxi ride to some excellent local pubs. In my top 3 airports. ” |
“ | Weather divert into Bembridge recently...and lost a break pad on turning onto taxi-way! Staff there were great. Waived the landing fee, and got their engineers out to sort the break problem. bacon sandwiches were pretty good too! Not somewhere I pop into (as I'm only 6 mins away from Lee-on-Solent), but would recommend it as a good stop for others travelling further. ” |
“ | A nice friendly airfield, easy to find, good cafe with comfy leather seats. Hard runway (Sandown is grass). Very civilised and definitely worth a visit. ” |
“ | We took a group day out from Cranfield to Bembrige with about 10 aircraft. They managed the small invasion very well :)
Very friendly people, and good facilities. I think landing fees was £10 for PA38. Hard landing strip (as opposed to the grass strip at Sandown). Cab into town was £10 for 6 of us.
A good day out. ” |
“ | went to day nice place and food ok in the propeller pub, nice location and views over the IOW, would recommend it and go again my self. ” |
“ | Very friendly. New cafe, good food, places to sit and watch the aircraft. Good length runway. Amazing views of the I.o.W. Good location, idea for beaches, etc. Great for a day trip. Give it a go! ” |
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