Over Farm Microlights is just outside Gloucester and is on both the 250k and 500k charts as well as on SkyDemon. The airfield is 47 feet AMSL, join height is 1000 feet AAL with no deadside, circuits are at 800 feet AAL to the east, and the radio frequency is the standard air-to-ground microlight channel – 129.830 (Over Farm Traffic).
PPR is not required provided you carefully read the information below to ensure that you do not overfly our noise sensitive areas or conflict with Gloucestershire Airport traffic. Landing fees can be paid online either by scanning the QR code on our Control building, or by following this link.
Camping and indoor accommodation are available onsite by prior arrangement. Only a 5 minute walk across a field from the airfield is Over Farm’s farm shop. This now has a café/ tea room with lots of tasty homemade fayre for sale. For evening meals there is a Toby Carvery next door to the Farmshop, and Gloucester Quays are only a 30 minute walk away.
The 420mx15m runway is 16/34 with a grass surface. 16 is marked by daffodils in the spring, 34 has no runway markings, however the runway is regularly mown and obvious from the air; there are normally two pairs of cones in the middle section. Generally if you haven’t touched down by the second set of cones then it is wiser to go round than to attempt to stop in the remaining runway.
This is a farm strip and the ground is rough in places so please consider that when in contact with the surface; we can make no warranties about its condition. Although the runway drains well it does have limits and if there has been a lot of rain then consider making a low pass to check the surface condition before making a decision to land or not.
The eagle eyed might spot a very short alternate runway, 03/21, on satellite imagery. 03/21 is a very short runway and should only be attempted if the wind is too strong to use the main runway, and then should only be attempted by experienced pilots.
There is a taxi way approximately 15m to the west of the runway running from the hedge at the north end to the windsock at the south end. Please use this instead of backtracking the runway. Radio isn’t used by all our traffic and, due to rising ground in the middle of the runway, traffic at each end cannot see each other.
Parking for visiting aircraft is in the open area adjacent to the windsock.
During the school holidays and at weekends the Farm is active with events for families, and there are larger festivals held on the Farm from time to time; if one of these causes the airfield’s closure we will announce it here. At other times please be aware of the risk of dog walkers, children and others ignoring the safety warnings and intruding onto the runway and manoeuvring area.
Arriving at the airfield
Blind calls should be made to Over Farm Traffic on 129.830; after your initial call it is usual practice to abbreviate the call sign unless you are aware of the possibility of confusion with somebody else’s callsign. Calls should be made 5 minutes out, joining overhead, joining the circuit, downwind and final. This is a training airfield so please be mindful that students may be in the circuit and give them plenty of space.
Gloucester Airport’s ILS approach for 09, marked with fantails on the CAA charts, cuts across the north end of our circuit and their aircraft will be about 1200 feet at that point. If you are arriving from the north please fly to the west of Highnam village at no higher than 1000′ AMSL, pass over the A40 and then turn left to join over the windsock avoiding flying over local residents.
An overhead join should be made at 1000 feet AAL, but please note we do not have a dead side to descend into. You may descend crosswind from the windsock at 1000 feet directly into the middle of the downwind leg at 800 feet but please be very careful to avoid the two noise sensitive areas marked “no fly”; it is a fairly narrow gap. If in doubt please join on the north or south crosswind legs as appropriate and fly the full downwind leg.
The following Apple Maps satellite image has been annotated to show the circuit (in green), our noise sensitive areas (in light red), the runway (in blue) and the location of the windsock (in orange).
