We recently decided to go on a Sunday drive along Brookton Highway. Our initial intention was to visit the town of Brookton, however we took a last minute turn to Beverley and very randomly ended up at the Beverley Airfield! It ended up being a magnificent mistake to make!
The airstrip can be found just past the township of Beverley, quite literally off the beaten track. I must admit at first I thought we were driving down the actual landing strip as there are parallel “tracks”.
Visitors are welcome and there is a sign at the entrance to back this up. We were being a little nosey at first with no plans on staying, however one of the pilots flagged us down and told us we were more than welcome to park up, get out and make ourselves at home. So glad we did.
We thought we might be waiting a while for some aviation action, but after a quick chat to the gliders it was all systems go. The pilots of both aircrafts were brilliant, waving at the kids and giving them a salute at one point! After the line was attached the tug plane took off, glider in tow and then unattached itself mid air. The glider, riding a thermal, looked like a massive model plane floating in the air. It was rather breathtaking and for a few glorious seconds, my children were speechless (alas, more like a millisecond!) They were thoroughly impressed and soon embraced their inner plane with much zooming and whirring about! They even applauded the pilots as they landed which was heartily received.
They were then invited by the tug pilot to hop up and have a look inside the cockpit. The pilot was an absolute gem of a man and really amazing with the kids. He happily answered any questions and was very patient in deciphering my very excitable three year olds gobbledegook.
Content with our visit and ready for home, the glider soon landed and the pilots waved us over again. The kids were hoisted into the cockpit. My little miss was keen to begin with but then had a minor freak out once she was in, it was quite deep especially in the back. So we swiftly evacuated her before any major meltdowns, but my son remained up front in the “drivers seat” and was ecstatic! The pilots explained what everything was and did, not sure if he took any of it in but he had a smile from ear to ear!
While we were there we saw two flights take off and even as we were driving off, the tug plane came in to land and the pilot managed to wave to the kids as they hollered out the window “Goodbye Mr Plane Man!”.
This really was a super cool experience for the family. To see any type of flying apparatus is amazing enough, but to be that close and hands on was truly awesome. Having said that I’m not sure if being invited to sit in the cockpits etc is the norm for every visitor, every weekend. So to avoid disappointment, probably get the kids enthused about seeing the actual flying, just in case.
If you have a budding plane enthusiast, this is definitely worth the trip.
In keeping with the aviation theme, Beverley is also home to the Aeronautical Museum with the very impressive Vampire Jet on proud display at the entrance.
Beverley Soaring Society and Airfield www.beverley-soaring.org.au
Aviation Museum www.aviationmuseum.eu
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Stephanie Rae – Mother of Dragons, Writer, Bollywood Dancer
