Current Tiffenden Airfield Weather |
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The weather on this page is powered by DarkSkies. We are in the process of installing a Davis Weather Station and the full interface will be available on this page. This will allow accurate weather for Tiffenden Airfield with forecasts.
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Amazing Weather at Tiffenden AirfieldThis picture on the right was taken on the 18th July 2014. at around 20:00.
It was deathly still across the airfield yet this front was moving fast. 10 minutes after noticing this stunning could formation a storm hit that we watched for a good 40 minutes. Heavy rain and very strong winds. Once it was through it went back to dead calm.I have never experienced this before or after! The cloud is called a 'Shelf Cloud' at the beginning of a big storm. |
Ground Conditions at Tiffenden Airfield
Operating a grass runway takes a great deal of care and attention - especially on clay ground. In summer, when the ground is dry, the clay can be like concrete and the grass does little to soften the landing.
After sustained rain, clay becomes very boggy and unuseable for two reasons: 1; the ground boggs you in so takeoff runs are reduced if at all possible, 2; ruts caused by wheels are almost impossible to remove when the ground is dry and causes 'channels' that can catch you out on landing when a wheel gets inside them. We take every care to manage the runway and if we feel the conditions are not suitable we always edge on the side of caution and prevention - please understand this if you are refused PPR because of runway condition. Below you can read about the runway surface and conditions we face ad why we take what action we do. |
Picture shows Tiffenden Airfield in the summer months when the clay ground is hard like concrete
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FROST
We don't use the runway if it is covered in frost. This is because a light frost, especially over several nights, will show visible signs of damage in the daylight. So, why stay off It? Scientifically, when a heavy object presses down onto the blades, the expanded water molecules slice through the grass and cause significant cellular damage. You notice impact damage after passing across the surface -- the blades often produce a white or beige hue from being crushed along with the icy frost. |
When the runway is frosted, the grass blades are literally frozen. Any activity on the runway while it is frosty, like walking, taxi, take-off or landing, will "break" the grass blade and damage the runway surface. It will recover eventually, but it may not fully bounce back until the following spring. On sunny and frosty mornings, the sun usually melts the ice by around 11am. This can cause a boggy surface and further inspection is reuired before use.
5On frosty days, mist and fog can build at the threshold end of runway 06, the end of runway 24. The mist lies in small valley beyond.
It does look daunting but local knowledge allows a left turn out immeadiately after take off and that will clear it to open skies beyond. There are also many large open fields on the left of 25 for EFAT. The mist here is a local anomoly with all other airfields in the area usually under clear skies when this happens. Picture on the right shows the end of 25 and the localised fog build up. Left turn will clear it on take off and usually offers good visibility and open fields beyond. |
Wet Ground
The geology at Tiffenden Airfield is mainly heavy clay with patches of sandstone and iron stone (Crow Stone). The clay is a shallow surface layer with deeper geological formations many tens of metres thick. A characteristic of the clay soil is how it swells in volume when it gets wet and reduces in volume as dries. ‘Shrink-swell’, as this phenomenon is known, occurs near the ground surface and rarely more than five metres deep. |
Tiffenden Airfield is located in a 'clay valley' in an area documented for being some of the worst heavy clay in the county of Kent. When the ground gets wet, even just standing on it causes a depression that is difficult to make good in the Spring. If the ground is wet we do not use the runway under any circumstances. The wet months that affect the runway surface at Tiffenden Airfield are usually between November and April. The runway will be closed for the wet periods and this will notified on the homepage of this website. Pictures the geological formation of Wealden Clay and stone.
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