Kemble

A Cessna 560XLS Plus, registration Delta Charlie Juliet Mike Kilo, operated by Vistajet, landed at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England, on Friday afternoon.

The cruise destination was Cotswold Airport, also known as Kemble, which sits just 11 miles to the west.

11 miles, less than 10 minutes of flight time at any speed, a business jet is flying on an approach, and yet the aircraft ended up rolling out on one of the most sensitive military installations in Europe.

The headline doesn't tell the whole story, so let's put some context around it.

Now let's talk about the navigation environment, because this is where it gets operationally relevant for everyone listening.

The Cotswolds region of south central England is dotted with aerodromes.

Gloucester-Staverton to the northwest, Morton and Marsh to the north, Wellsbourne-Mountford further up, and then sitting east of Kemble, the unmistakable footprint of Fairford.

On a chart, the two fields, Fairford and Kemble, read differently.

Well, so that was just a cheap opportunity for points scoring.

It's, um, it rises in a field near Kemble in the Cotswolds.

Yeah.

So if anyone is near Kemble, we'd love to hear from you for the next Q&A session.

Yeah.

We'll be back just after this.

Uh, they say, "Please note with... that we are not affiliated with the event in any way and can't vouch for the quality of what's on offer." But if you'd like an idea of getting up close and personal to a 747, then head to threshold.aero and check out the different ticket options.

Alternatively, if you happen to live in the UK near the Cotswold Airport at Kemble, you can go and wander around their BA747 for free.

Admittedly, they don't do tours, but the close-hand access is excellent, and walking around the underside is quite a delightfully geeky experience.

So if you wanna do the Landor open day admission, uh, it's 20 pounds, and accompanied under 16s go for free.

Thorpe's Ancient Laws and Institutes of England.

Kemble's Saxons in England.

Sir F. Palgrave's History of the English Commonwealth.

Sharon Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons.