Strip Flying: Learning to Fly Beyond the Tarmac
Leaving a conventional runway behind for a strip of grass opens up a completely different side of general aviation, and hundreds of smaller landing sites scattered across the country. The Lockyears Farm 'Strips' and Private Airfields Flight Guide, available from Pooleys, documents more than 300 of them, but a guide can only tell you so much. To really understand strip flying, you have to experience it.
Recently, fellow ambassador Ian Wikberg and I headed to Croft Farm Airfield, Defford, to fly with Farm Strip Flying, each with a different goal. I was there to complete my tailwheel conversion, while Ian wanted to build on his existing strip flying experience and finally get some time on a Super Cub.
India: a tailwheel conversion and a first taste of strip flying
Having started out as a glider pilot, I was glad to be back on the rudder pedals. Tailwheel aircraft demand a different approach. With the centre of gravity behind the main wheels, directional control after touchdown matters enormously, and limited forward visibility meant even taxiing needed gentle S-turns to see ahead.
After getting comfortable on the ground and working through stalls, steep turns and slow flight, I moved on to circuits, learning both three-point and wheel landings and how differently the aircraft behaves with each. Both demanded accuracy, patience and a good feel for the wind. We then took those skills onto smaller strips, where there is very little room to correct any inaccuracy, so planning and consistency become everything.
The highlight came at the end of the weekend, soloing the Super Cub from a short private strip. It brought together everything we had worked on: an accurate approach, careful energy management, a controlled touchdown and positive directional control throughout the landing roll. The experience has made me a more accurate and wind-aware pilot, and reminded me how much I enjoy being challenged.
Ian's perspective: more strip experience and time in the Cub
I came to Croft Farm with a different goal. I already had plenty of experience flying into small farm strips, so this was about building on that, visiting new locations and, most importantly, finally flying a Super Cub. As someone who mostly flies microlights, it had long been near the top of my list, particularly one sitting on those huge Alaskan Bushwheels.
What stood out was how relaxed the flying was. Matt gave me the freedom to fly the aeroplane on my own experience while providing precise instruction into some of the more unusual, off-grid locations. My first landing was a three-pointer into a recently harvested farmer's field that Farm Strip Flying has permission to use. The constant assessment was fascinating: obstacles, wires, trees, animals, people, the best part of the field, where to touch down and what the wind was doing, all folded into the normal scan of airspeed, attitude and the picture outside. This is real flying.
We went on to a private strip with trees, water and a significant undulation, then another at Berrow with a road crossing the runway. Every strip is different, and that is one of the things I love about this kind of flying. There is always more to learn. As a bonus, Matt even signed off my biennial revalidation hour of instruction.
Matt: the man behind Farm Strip Flying
Matt Coles, the founder of Farm Strip Flying and a commercial pilot, set the business up to give pilots a safe, progressive way into this side of general aviation. Around 70 per cent of what they do is tailwheel conversions, alongside strip flying and formation training.
For Matt, the biggest benefits are accuracy and threat and error management. On a long runway, being five knots fast is rarely a problem. On a strip, it matters. Approach speed, touchdown point, wind assessment and handling all have to be more precise, and that, he says, makes you a better pilot generally. His philosophy is to walk before you run, gradually increasing the challenge rather than jumping straight into the smallest field.
He also believes strip flying could matter more in future. As airfields close to development, smaller strips could become increasingly important, and he does not want pilots giving up simply because their local airfield has gone.
Our few days at Croft Farm gave three different perspectives on the same side of aviation, but the same lesson: you never stop becoming a better pilot. There is always another aircraft to learn, another environment to understand and another skill to develop. Every strip has its own story, which is what makes a resource like the Lockyears guide so appealing. Just remember to get the landowner's permission first.
There are hundreds of strips still waiting to be discovered. So perhaps the question is not "where is the nearest runway?" but "where shall we fly next?"
Related product
Lockyears Farm 'Strips' and Private Airfields Flight Guide (6th Edition). More than 300 landing sites across 50 counties in England, Wales and Scotland, each with an airfield diagram and a corresponding ordnance survey location map, plus details on trees, fences, power cables, windsocks, buildings and roads. £26.00, VAT exempt.
Shop the guide → https://www.pooleys.com/shop/lockyears/lockyears-farm-strips-and-private-airfields-flight-guide/
