POPHAM AIRFIELD'S

INFORMATION FOR PILOTS

OPERATIONAL HOURS

Summer 08:00 till 20:00 BST (note, operation after 17:00 is subject to prior permission).

Winter 08:00 till 16:00 UTC or 20 minutes after sunset, whichever is later.

Note that after sunset, the Popham area can become very dark, very quickly.

CONTACT

PPR is not required at Popham, however, calls are welcome to establish airfield conditions, availability of fuel and other useful information. AGCS can be contacted on 01256 397733 (option 1).

AIRFIELD OPERATING PROCEDURES

Detailed information can be found here.

RADIO

Popham radio air / ground communications service (AGCS) – 129.805 (8.33 MHz).

HOURS OF WATCH

Summer 08:00 - 17:00 BST.

Winter 08:30 - 16:30 UTC.

JOINING AND LANDING

• Inbound aircraft should establish contact with Popham Radio at least 5 miles from the airfield. Runway in use and relevant altimeter setting will be given. If the radio is not manned, traffic calls should be made, beginning ‘Popham Traffic’.

• Where possible, aircraft should make a standard overhead join, the purpose of which is to enable situational and traffic awareness. While it is common to abbreviate this procedure depending on traffic density, a ‘Long Final’ is not encouraged as it directly conflicts with the circuit direction.

• The direction of landing must conform to the standard “T” displayed in the signal square or as directed by AGCS. Additionally, if a white circle is shown at the apex of the “T”, both runways are in use with a different take-off direction.

• No non-radio aircraft is to operate into or out of Popham without the prior permission of AGCS and must at all times conform to strict non-radio procedures. 

• Touch-and-goes on Runway 26 are prohibited except for based flying school instructors and at the pilot's discretion on Runway 08, 03, and 21. 



• Pilots should be considerate when parking: a tidy wing-to-wing line on the apron helps to optimise its use; do not use areas marked for the flying schools or maintenance organisations.

DEPARTURES

• Aircraft are required to taxi as requested by AGCS and make contact as soon as practicable to ensure two-way radio contact for the transmission of safety information.



• The HOLD points are legal definitions. Passing a runway HOLD constitutes having entered the runway. Run-ups should be done close to HOLDs, but not such that they block the expeditious use of the runway by other aircraft.

NOISE ABATEMENT

• Popham is a rural airfield but is surrounded by residential and light industrial sites. These are very tolerant of noise, but only because the airfield has worked closely with our neighbours to produce mutually acceptable routings. When at high power settings, avoid all areas shown in red, above. 

• These are also shown on your electronic flight planning device but do not be distracted in flight.



• Departures should be carefully self-briefed on the ground. If in doubt, seek advice from the AGCS before commencing the flight.

Guidance for aircraft enthusiasts

Popham Airfield welcomes all members of the public to our airfield.

Although many flying careers have started here, we appreciate not everyone aspires to be a pilot so we welcome and support enthusiasts across UK General Aviation. 

We do ask however that for the enjoyment of all airfield users, everyone familiarises themselves with the Popham Code of Conduct which can be downloaded here.