Wet Season Operations
Introduction:-
At Ridgewell parts of the airfield become boggy in the Autumn and may stay boggy all winter until late spring. This section provides info on where the boggy areas are and how to operate during the wet season without cutting up the surface and getting bogged down.
WHICH PARTS OF THE AIRFIELD TEND TO STAY DRY AND FIRM ?
The highest part of the airfield is adjacent to the compound.
This NW edge tends to be dry most of the time.
It can often be firm enough for road vehicles even in the winter.
This edge of the airfield is softer towards the north east end and at the extreme SW end.
Both ends are lower than the compound.
The original runway ran on the opposite SE side of the airfield.
It runs between the 'DRY LINE' and the 'DRY EDGE' .
This is the aerotow strip.
Many years ago, the hardcore was extracted, and it was back filled with soil.
The land has sunk a little in the middle causing it to become boggy.
However, the 'DRY EDGE' (See diagram), has a drain along it, and tends to stay dry enough for vehicles most of the time.
The drain covers can be seen on this edge and were likely the original runway drains.
It is likely a similar drain was put in on along the 'Dry Line ' ... the other side of the runway.
This tends to stay firm and dry for most of the year especially the SW half.
The SW half is slightly raised. The NE end tends to be softer.
Please see diagram of boggy / firm areas.
The diagram shows areas in 3 categories:
FIRM (Best) , SOFT , BOGGY (worst)
The FIRM areas tend to dry out very quickly.
Even in mid winter the Firm areas can dry out after just a few days of good drying weather.
The Boggy areas tend to stay boggy for weeks once the water table has come up after heavy Autumn or winter rains.
These categories have been applied to various parts of the airfield after a survey was carried out by RH:-
Survey on Friday 5th January 2024:
This was a very wet period after a wet autumn, so the water table was very high.
After Heavy rain RH surveyed and recorded many ponds/ puddles and boggy areas across the airfield.
A spreadsheet is available with all the points recorded in Longitude and latitude using GPS.
This survey confirmed and refined previous observations walking the airfield over many winters.
HOW LONG IS THE WET SEASON ?
The Wet season generally starts some time in the Autumn (Usually November or December)
and ends when the airfield dries out in April or May.
The water table goes down during the summer, so in the Autumn the ground can take some rain without getting boggy.
The worst wet season I have seen was from 15th OCTOBER 2023 to 2nd JUNE 2024.
It was a very wet October and a very wet Spring !!!
During the Wet Season, road vehicles can damage the boggy areas of the airfield and can get stuck in the bog.
THE DRY SEASON:-
In JUNE, JULY , AUGUST and SEPTEMBER, the ground is reliably firm all over the airfield, even after rain.
The water table is low enough that the rain soaks in quickly and disappears underground.
The Dry Season can extend into October and November and even December if there is little rain.
How to prevent damage to the airfield surface during the Wet Season.
Please refer to the aerial diagram of the Airfield showing where the boggy areas are.
1) Use Golf Buggies instead of motor vehicles to move gliders around the airfield.
Golf buggies are much lighter and kinder to the surface than conventional road vehicles.
Wormingford usually fly all year round.
When I've visit Wormingford in the spring, they use 3 Golf buggies to retrieve gliders from the grass.
2) Keep motor vehicles to the Edge of the Airfield.
Take several people to push a glider out of the bog to the edge of the airfield or the dry line before towing it.
2) Tow out the winch using the recommended route via the concrete crossing track and the dry edge.
Please see diagram.
4) Keep off the Aerotow strip.
5) Use the Dry Line to tow out cables or for aerotowing.
6) As the Firm areas are limited, consider using just one launch method.
IE Either aerotow or just winch.
Winch may be ideal if low cloud and a fresh wind down the runway.
Aerotow will give more height if sunny and calm.
7) If a glider or vehicle forms a rut in soft ground:
Tread down the edges to push the soil back into the rut.
This is very easy to do immediately on soft ground, but is impossible in the summer.
Gliders may be damaged by rutted landing areas that become hard in the summer.
Runway "Dry Edge" Drain. (Edge of Aerotow strip)
This Page is under development by RH Dec 2025. Please contact me with feedback.