INFORMATION for PILOTS visiting Ridgewell.
Summary.
Ridgewell Airfield is operated by Essex Gliding Club for the purpose of flying gliders.
Gliders are launched by winch and Aerotow.
We operate at weekends and Wednesday from spring to Autumn, sometimes all week in the summer. Please be aware that aeromodellers and dog walkers may be on the airfield at other times.
The radio frequency for Ridgewell airfield is : 132.910 MHz.
It is used for downwind circuit calls at Ridgewell.
POWERED AIRCRAFT:-
** Sorry, Powered aircraft are not permitted at Ridgewell due to planning contraints **
No powered aircraft are allowed at Ridgewell. Please respect this limitation.
We are aviation enthusiasts, but many neighbours are not.
The only exception is our own tow plane which operates certain hours and tries to minimise noise impact on our neighbours.
If flying a Tug into Ridgewell, please make sure you are thoroughly briefed first by the Tugmaster or a Tug pilot.
POWERED AIRCRAFT TRANSITING ABOVE RIDGEWELL.
Please stay above 2000 feet AGL to avoid the winch launching cable.
If a low cloud base prevents this please go at least 2 miles away to avoid the circuit and cables.
GLIDERS and GLIDER PILOTS:-
Visiting glider pilots from other BGA clubs are welcome at Ridgewell. Here are some notes to help your visit.
RIDGEWELL airfield can be nearly invisible at times !
Ridgewell airfield does not have any large visual features to make it stand out. It has no hangars and no concrete areas large enough to stand out. It is a green field among other green fields and trees. It is easy to lose. It is particularly difficult to spot when gliding in on a shallow glide from the North, as the site is hidden by the trees and other visual clutter on the north side. Cloud shadow makes it worse.
1) The best advice is to be sure RIW Waypoint is programmed into your GPS and displayed correctly before take off.
Here is the RIW waypoint from the BGA list, but please check it before use!
Location: Ridgewell Airfield RIW : Latitude / Longitude: 52 02.846 N , 000 33.533 E
A separate waypoint 'RID' is NOT at the airfield ! RID is the church at Ridgewell village south west of the airfield.
2) Get to know the look of the nearby towns and which way to head for Ridgewell.
From CLARE head South West.
From HAVERHILL head South East. Two disused railway lines go south east from Haverhill. Ridgewell is between them where they open out to go East and south.
From SIBLE HEDINGHAM head north north East.
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WINCH LAUNCHING.
We have a powerful winch which operates most days.
Ridgewell is only about 1 km long, shorter than larger gliding sites. This affects winch launch height and also the options if a launch were to fail low down. It may not be possible to land ahead at Ridgewell from a height where that would be normal at your home club. As always, having plenty of speed is essential when maneuvering low down.
AIRSPACE.
Stanstead Airport is only 28 km south west of Ridgewell. The airport runway and taxiways can sometimes be seen from above Ridgewell.
Just 4 km west of Ridgewell, there is much lower airspace 1,200 above airfield height towards Stanstead. There is a road and disused railway line near the airspace which is a very useful marker. The road runs from Haverhill through Great Yeldham and Sible Hedingham. If you are over the road or East of it, then you are still just inside the 3,200 feet airspace.
There is controlled airspace 3,200 feet QFE above Ridgewell airfield. (3,500 feet above sea level ) This is LTMA, frequently used by aircraft descending to land at Stanstead. It is essential to respect this height restriction. It is normal practice to break off a climb at 3,000 feet above Airfield level. If a thermal is strong it may be necessary to open the airbrakes and dive.
The airspace improves 3km to the north of Ridgewell to 5,200 feet above airfield level. The best visual clues are the Towns of Haverhill and Clare. Clare is just inside the 5,200 airspace. Haverhill however is still in the 3,200 airspace. So one must be north of Haverhill and clear of the town to climb above 3,200 feet.
It is highly desirable to have a moving map in the cockpit with audible warnings when approaching airspace. One of the easier options is XCSoar running on an Android smartphone.
AEROTOWING.
We have a powerful tug which is available on most flying days, subject to servicability.
CHECK FLIGHTS.
It may be best to have a check flight especially if unfamiliar with the launch method or to identify the local towns to help you find the airfield. Please do ask an instructor for a briefing if you have not flown at Ridgewell before.
LANDING AREAS.
There is plenty of width and length to land gliders at Ridgewell. Crossing the concrete track is best avoided, as it can be bumpy.
Ridgewell airfield runs South west (Rwy 23) - North east (Rwy 05).
The Tug operates along the Tug Strip on the South East side of the airfield. Therefore gliders normally avoid this if safe to do so. However if congested or having difficulties, you may land anywhere at Ridgewell including the Tug Strip.
LANDING on Rwy 23.
When approaching to land towards the south west the airfield boundary has a public road running alongside with bushes and trees.
It is important to overfly this with plenty of height. Also the airfield width improves about 1/3 of the way in, giving space to land and retrieve gliders. About 1/3 of the way along the airfield is a concrete track that crosses the airfield from the entrance and car park. It is best to avoid overrunning this bump at speed.
THEREFORE THE NORMAL LANDING AREA IS BEYOND THE CONCRETE TRACK AND TOWARDS THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.
This is the first choice but as always a safe landing is the top priority. So if this presents difficulties, you can land elsewhere. Pupils learning to land will often land in the middle of the airfield.
LANDINGS on Rwy 05.
Landing on Rwy 05 towards the North East is less critical, as there is no public road or trees on the approach, and the full width is available.
RETRIEVING LANDED GLIDERS.
Gliders are normally towed to and along the North west edge of the airfield, to keep them clear of the landing areas and Tug Strip. If the Tug is not flying then we may occasionally use the Tug Strip to retrieve a glider that lands on the Tug strip.
FLARM.
FLARM is now fitted to several gliders at Ridgewell including most of the club fleet. It is encouraged but not compulsory.
OPERATING IN SPRING AND AUTUMN.
When operating in the spring or late Autumn, the airfield may be boggy in places, so a special operation may be needed to keep the winch, gliders and vehicles out of the boggy areas.
HANGARAGE.
There are no hangars at Ridgewell.