VFR flight around the East Sussex Coast

As always with flying, things don’t always go to plan. Another flight planned that had to be cancelled due to high winds, heavy rain and low cloud. In fact, it was a pretty easy decision to make unlike some of my previous flights. There was no chance of the weather changing and the forecast for the next day, Sunday 19th November 2017, was glorious, cloud and visibility ok and low winds.

There were only 2 problems, the Cessna 172 I had booked on the previous day was out on another flight so this meant a change to the PA28 (G-BUJO) and with plans in the afternoon it was an early start for a 9:00 slot on the Sunday morning.

This time, it was the turn of my friend, best man at my wedding and godfather to my two children, Stuart to join me in the cockpit. For a number of reasons, this was his first ever flight with me as we have had to cancel a number of previous flights together over the last couple of years.

The forecast was correct, the weather was glorious and although it was a bit chilly it was great flying weather. Knowing we had great visibility, we planned a flight to the East Sussex coast to take in the sights of Eastbourne, Beachy Head, Seven Sisters and Newhaven. I actually did the same flight about 1 year ago and have been meaning to do it again for a while now.

We taxied to runway 21 at Biggin Hill and departed towards the south west climbing to 2,300 feet. We then made a left turn towards Sevenoaks where we changed from Biggin Approach to Farnborough LARS East for a Basic Service. We then made a right turn to track south passing over Tunbridge Wells.

Shortly after passing Tunbridge Wells around the Heathfield when clear of the London TMA area we climbed to 4,000 feet when were met by a bit of a surprise. An Emirates Airbus A380 was a little bit too close for comfort. My guess is that it was probably 1,000 to 1,500 feet above and about 1 mile away to the east. The video doesn’t really do it justice and it seemed a lot closer than it appeared in the footage. In any case, I didn’t want to get too close, so changed track slightly by making a right turn to keep well clear.

We then proceeded overhead Eastbourne with Brighton Pier clearly visible to the west. On reaching the coast continued slightly out to sea then made a right turn, hugging the coast with beautiful sights of Beachy Head, the Seven Sisters cliffs, Seaford and Newhaven.

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With time closing in until the plane was due back at Biggin Hill, we made a sharp left turn back in land and headed north to Uckfield then onto Heathfield where we descended to 2,400 feet to be under the London TMA and then flew the same route in reverse.

When we approached Tunbridge Wells, we had our second close encounter, this time with another light aircraft. On this occasion ATC at Farnborough kindly alerted us just and we had spotted each other just before things got too close for comfort.

Our next point was Tonbridge where we changed to Biggin Approach and requested to rejoin the circuit. Unlike previous joins back at Biggin Hill, I was allowed to proceed without having to hold or orbit and at 3 miles on the dead side changed radio to Biggin Tower and continued to join crosswind with a right hand circuit.

Although I was number 3 in the circuit, the other 2 aircraft were well ahead of me which allowed me to fly a pretty simple circuit. We were cleared to land before turning final approach and touched down for one of the smoothest landings I have done in a long time.

Note: I am not an instructor and these videos are for aviation enthusiasts to enjoy for entertainment purposes only. Please always consult a qualified instructor for advice.

View the video on my YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTvJUKJ_jM8