Heath Farm
HEATH FARM: Private airstrip
Note: Thee two pictures were obtained from Google Earth ©
The second picture in 2000 seems to indicate a 08/26 runway - roughly 375 metres long?
Operated by: Mr Nick Smith
Location: Just S of Acton and sandwiched between the village and the northern perimeter of the WW2 airfield - USAAF SUDBURY. About 2.5nm NE of Sudbury
Period of operation: 2000s only?
Runway: 09/27 430 grass
NOTES: The info regarding this strip came from a report in the June 2010 edition of Light Aviation magazine regarding Mr Nick Smith building an Aeroprakt A22-L Foxbat. The account was written by his partner Kitty Evans; “He is so easy to find as he is always in his workshop. Nick first saw the A22 Foxbat when some friends flew into the airstrip at home. I knew then he was smitten.”
We have a wonderful history, (if little known history to the majority of the population), in this country of people from all walks of life deciding to build their own aircraft. Originally this was under the aegis of the ULAA (Ultra Light Aircraft Association) formed shortly after WW2; it then became the PFA (Popular Flying Association) and in recent years the LAA (Light Aircraft Association).
I have no idea how many projects have been started - they certainly weren't all completed - but the number that have flown must be into four figures by now. And, with the huge choice of designs now available, and so many 'quick-build' kits on the market, if anything the option of building your own aircraft is more attractive than ever.
Plus, with the cost of owning or renting fully certified light aircraft forever increasing, this market is surely set to increase. Not least because the 'newer' designs especially can easily match and very often comfortably exceed the performance of the traditional designs.
For a very good example see my listing for PENCRAIG where Dragon Aviation are based. They are the UK agents for the Foxbat (mentioned above) - and nobody would ever try to land a Cessna 152 here. A look at their web-site reveals sensational, (but sadly very amateurish), video footage of a Foxbat landing on the deck of a freighter in the English Channel.
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