Pilot reviews of Filton Airfield

“Went to Bristol Filton yesterday for a trip out. PPR'ed in advance as requested and to check the landing fee - not too bad. Excellent LARS service from about 40nm north west. Joined left base for 09 shortly after passing the new bridge and spotting the humungous runway! Reckon you could do 2 touch-and-goes on that on each pass! Very wide too, although with a noticeable rise in the middle. Nice view of the resident Concorde as you land. Parked up on "Apron 2" as instructed and after a minute or 5 a minibus came to take us to the terminal. Paid up, showed a loung with a cheap coffee machine which was quite pleasant to wait in. They claim they're not far from the centre of Bristol and were very welcoming to 3 oiks in a Cessna!”

“I'm learning to fly at Filton. Whilst I haven't been to many other places yet, I certainly don't have any big complaints. It's a lot quiter than nearby Bristol, so you don't spend half your lesson waiting for the 737's to get out of the way. It is busier than you might think, though, enough to give experience of flying among traffic, and gives the occasional opportunity to watch something out of the ordinary. I wish I'd had a camera with me on the day I watched a 747 land from half-way along the downwind leg - spectacular. Or the day I was told "After the landing Spitfire, line up and wait", or watching the Harriers leaving.

On windy days, windshear can be a problem for the inexperienced, especially on 27. On about my third solo, I came down from 200' a lot quicker than I wanted or expected, so touched down more than a tad fast. That big runway means I got away with it. And try not to annoy the neighbours on your way out.

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“flew in to Filton very functional, £21 to land had to drop off passenger to get taxi to Bristol international. Nice approach over the town. massive Runway notable hump. Check operating times and PPR some times nonbased airports are not allowed in. they do IMC training and approach fee of £9.00 per approach seams good value.

i would go back

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“I flew into Filton for the first time yesterday morning - a long and VERY wide runway (91 metres), with no other traffic, but full ATC - efficient and friendly. And crystal clear R/T - a relief after the almost indecipherable military R/T en route from Benson and Lyneham.

We were promptly collected by minibus (you certainly can't walk from the GA apron) and taken to the terminal. BAe Flight Ops are efficient and friendly - they seemed pleased to see us. They will happily order you a taxi into Bristol (about £10).

Landing fees are slightly more than Gloucestershire - and they do charge for parking if your stay exceeds two hours - so not cheap overall if you have business away from the airfield.

As I was going into the centre of Bristol, I didn't check out the airfield facilities - the AFE guide suggests they are limited as regards catering.

I'd certainly go back if I have to visit Bristol again - possibly because I'm still not over the novelty of landing on the airfield where Concorde was born - and where I could almost land accross the runway if there was a sufficiently strong crosswind!

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“Following from Rob Ashton's comments/question . Would recommend that you check operating hours as currently ATC is a little thin on the ground so running on limited hours. As PPR is required then they will probably tell you but worth considering if you plan to stay any length of time/leave late in the day. Spoke to Flight Ops today - 18th April and they informed me that these hours will be running for at least a few months until they get more cover. This aside hope it gets resolved soon as really enjoy flying from Filton especially as you have concorde stationed alongside the runway. ”

“A review I read in Flyer about two years ago said that Bristol Filton is much more GA friendly. They even pick you up from the apron by car and transfer you to the terminal (or at least, they did then).

No more details, as I've yet to fly there. But it's got to be worth checking out if you need to go to Bristol again. (There's now a new Concorde museum there too.)

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