SEPTEMBER 2004 Woman threatened neighbour with gun

AN ANGRY woman armed herself with a gun after a row with a neighbour over a drain, a court heard. Furious Sally Haigh, 52, stormed next door at Hoath brandishing the double-barrelled shotgun. Her neighbour Michael Johnson opened his front door to find himself looking down the barrel, Canterbury Crown Court was told. Caroline Knight, prosecuting, said: "Haigh was standing about six to eight feet away holding the double-barrelled shotgun and it was pointing at him." Mr Johnson, a boat pilot, slammed shut his door but the gun smashed through a glass panel. Miss Knight said that the father-of-five then grabbed the barrel and tried to pull it away from Haigh, believing at one point that the weapon had been fired. She said: "Fortunately, he was mistaken, as it was clear that the gun was incapable of being fired. "Haigh said: 'I will kill you', then she turned and walked away." Mr Johnson suffered a cut thumb during the struggle. Haigh, who had no criminal record, appeared for sentence yesterday (Wednesday) having admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Judge Anthony Webb said the offence was so serious that only a custodial sentence was appropriate then added: "I am persuaded that the exceptional circumstances allow me to suspend the sentence. Haigh was sentenced to four months, suspended for two years and ordered to pay £412 costs. Oliver Saxby, defending, said: "The weapon could not be fired and there was no ammunition. "She just lost her self-control, the offence was not premeditated and she did what she did out of desperation." Since the incident her home in Maypole Lane, Hoath, has been put up for sale and she was now living at South Woodham Ferrers, Essex. Judge Webb in his sentencing remarks said the background to the offence was a bitter neighbours' dispute. "You probably wanted to frighten him the way he had frightened your family over the years and you were rehearsing what you were going to say to him when he opened the door. "You say you did not know why you took the gun, it was bloody stupid." Mr Johnson and wife Gillian afterwards said they felt revulsion at the judge's decision not to jail Haigh. Mr Johnson said: "We are going to have great difficulty explaining to our children why somebody who has come to our door and done this will be walking the streets again. "Our 11-year-old son had a double-barrelled shotgun pointed at his stomach. "We have had a four-year campaign of hate directed against our family."

Kentish Gazette, 30 September 2004

see under for History
FEB 2004

Shotgun woman on bail

A 51-year-old woman, who is accused of threatening to kill a neighbour with a shotgun, has been granted bail by Canterbury magistrates. Sally Haigh appeared in court on Thursday, following the incident near her home in Maypole Lane, Hoath, on Tuesday, February 10. She is charged with making threats to kill former Hoath parish councillor Michael Johnson and possession of a firearm with intent. The alleged incident is said to have followed a long-running neighbour dispute between Haigh and the Johnsons. The case was committed to the Crown Court and the Crown Prosecution Service applied for a custodial remand. However, magistrates decided to grant Haigh bail after her defence solicitor Norman Hunter, said she could live with her son in Reading pending the court hearing and report to the police daily.

Kentish Gazette, 19 February 2004 APRIL 2004

Firearm charge

A 51-YEAR-OLD woman accused of firearm and assault charges is on bail awaiting trial. Sally Haigh, of Maypole Lane, Hoath, is accused of possessing a firearm with intent to cause Michael Johnson to fear unlawful violence would be used against him on February 10 and assaulting Mr Johnson causing actual bodily harm. No date was fixed for the trial.

Herne Bay Gazette, 29 April 2004 AUGUST 2004 WOMAN ADMITS FIREARM THREAT A court has called for reports on a 52-year-old woman who has admitted a firearm offence. Sally Haigh, formerly of Maypole Lane, Hoath, but now living in Chelmsford, appeared at Canterbury Crown Court and admitted possessing a double-barrelled shotgun on February 10th with intent to cause Michael Johnson to beleive unlawful violence would be used against him. Katie Fox, prosecuting said the plea was acceptable and Haigh will be sentenced on September 24th. She was released on bail. Kentish Gazette. 26-08-2004

2002
Unfortunately Maypole Flying Club (a group of pilots and friends) were evicted from the airfield last year as we didnt 'fit in' with the new owners and were given 28 days notice to quit. This is the only problem with aeroplanes you cant just fit them in your front garden and therefore what isok one week can change the following if you do not fit into peoples plans so it is always uncertain how long you can stay there.
 
 
 

The Pictures shown were of the Winter/Spring months of 2001

JULY 2005
Bigots, fetishists and Manston Airport

So, the date was finally fixed - our planning application for an extra six take-offs was to go before the committee on April 15th. 

JUNE 2005

The Haigh's full story: A planning application to increase flights at Maypole Airfield from 12 to 18 a day seemed relatively innocuous and stood a good chance of success - until Manston got involved. Sally Haigh reports ........

APRIL 2005 OWNERS of Maypole Farm airstrip have vowed to appeal against the city council's refusal to increase the permitted number of daily take-offs from 12 to 18. After a similar appeal case was recently won at the High Court, Andy and Sally Haigh are confident their opponents may have won the battle, but not the war. But at a meeting of city council's planning committee on Tuesday, Maypole's repeat application was dismissed as a 'ghost that should take no for an answer'. Councillors unanimously rejected the Haigh's plans to increase light aircraft flights by almost 50 per cent, with one even calling for Maypole's investigation by the enforcement section for possible breaches of its current conditions. Villagers had sent 67 opposition letters to the city council and a 110-name petition, which represents a quarter of the population. They burst into spontaneous applause after the 16-0 vote to refuse was cast. Manston airport had also opposed the increase in flights, citing a serious flight safety risk to its operations from non-radio aircraft. A 'vitriolic' row over noise generated by flights to and from Maypole has split the village. Neighbour Kathy Smith told the meeting that villagers' peace is most blighted on fine days when they want to enjoy their gardens. She said: "The sound is comparable to a motorbike without a silencer being driven around my garden. What is more just, the pleasure of a small minority or the peace of the majority?" Hoath parish council chairman Alan Smith agreed the noise was unbearable and unreasonable. "Take-off generates four to five minutes of intensive noise, from a continual drone to ear-splitting screeching," he said. But neighbour of 22 years Peter Guise backed the Haighs, saying: "Noise from light aircraft is negligable compared to traffic within yards of my door." Marshside ward councillor Mike Nee opposed Maypole's plans, saying: "This is a 50 per cent increase in current usage. There has never been such a strong battery of opinion representing residents on an application to my knowledge." Labour group leader Cllr Ron Pepper said: "You sit on this committee long enough and you see certain ghosts that keep coming back to haunt you. What irritates me is that some people never take no for an answer." After the meeting Mr Haigh said airstrips like his own were part of our aviation heritage. "Flying began on airstrips like this and should be encouraged in the way other traditions are," he said. "I am at a loss to understand the approach of councillors. Their own experts had recommended that there were no planning issues on which the application could legitimately be refused. "They ignored the advice and refused it on non-planning grounds. We shall, of course, be appealing against the decision."

Faversham News, 07 April 2005

AUGUST 2004

Hoath Area News

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Labour of love restores biplane to the skies A NEW aircraft from a bygone age of aviation has taken to the skies over east Kent after rolling off the country's probably the world's most off-beat 'production line'. The new biplane is the latest to emerge from a cramped workshop hidden next to a country airstrip at Hoath. It originally took to the air in France in 1948 but years later fell into disrepair and ultimately more or less fell to bits. However, over the past three and a half years those bits bought for £20,000 by aviation enthusiast Terry Brown have been painstakingly re-assembled by him and veteran aviation expert, aircraft preservationist and engineer Brian Mayo, 68, in the spartan workshops and hangars at Maypole Farm. Amazingly, the plane is the fifteenth restored flying veteran to emerge from these workshops over about 30 years. Others include two legendary Tiger Moths. It has been a daunting task re-assembling the latest plane, a French-built, open-cockpit, two-seater Stampe registration G-BRXP which in its past life was used by the French air force, and an aerobatic team as well as spending some time in America. Under the overall guidance of Mr Mayo the two men have worked painstakingly without any plans, using long forgotten skills to re-make rotted parts of the wooden frame out of new wood imported from the other side of the Atlantic. "They say they used to fly by the seat of their pants in the days when planes like this were commonplace," said Mr Brown. "Believe me, a lot of this re-build has been done by the seat of our pants! "Nevertheless, we've obviously got it right as it's now been given the Civil Aviation Authority seal of approval as fit to fly and has now flown on a test flight. It was the first time it has been in the air for around 20 years." He admits, however, that without Mr Mayo's promise to assist in the restoration project he would not have considered it. "He's one of the very few people left today with the know-how to take on a job like this," he says. "It would have been impossible without him." Mr Mayo, however, took the daunting task in his stride. He is no stranger to the job, which he sums up as "getting the plane back as nature intended it ready to fly". His love affair with aircraft stretches back through the decades to his boyhood days, when he built model planes. He has been resident engineer at Maypole for more than 32 years and learned the near- forgotten techniques of repairing "rag and wood" aircraft as a young man repairing gliders in the RAF. When he left the RAF he more or less taught himself the engineering side of aeroplanes. Today he is one of the most respected aircraft engineers in the south of England. During his time at Hoath, using techniques established in the early days of aviation, he has carried out 15 total re-builds to restore derelict aircraft, including two legendary Tiger Moths, to flying condition. Maypole airstrip owner Andy Haig says of him: "There are very few people left with Brian's skills. He's one of the unsung heroes of aviation. He is helping keep our aviation heritage alive." The bits of the Stampe arrived at Maypole in a lorry. Pieces of the wooden frame had fallen apart. Some were rotten. Yet it is a credit to the skills of the original builders that despite the neglect the plane had suffered a good deal of the woodwork was still sound and needed no more than cleaning. Plans of the parts that were rotten were drawn and then replacement parts were made, mainly using Sitka spruce imported from Canada, which has been specially approved for aircraft construction. "We didn't have any plans. You don't get them with old planes like this," says Mr Mayo. "It really is a question of feeling your way as you go," says Mr Brown. "There's a fair bit of improvisation." Once the wooden framework was complete, the task of covering it followed. The original builders would have carefully sewn on cotton cloth or Irish linen. However, this time a modern material some 60 square yards of it called Ceconite and already pre-shaped and sewn to measure, was imported from the US. Nevertheless, a considerable amount of modification went into making it fit perfectly. And then eight coats of 'dope' a liquid to improve strength and tautness had to be applied before the beige and red paint job was carried out, ensuring the plane's skin was up to flying. Now the latest plane from the east Kent production line is complete, what next? Mr Mayo's workshop is already taken up with a new project. The wooden frame-work of a 1957 Emeraude two- seater aeroplane lies in pieces on the floor. How long will this job take him? "As long as it takes," he replies. "It's got to be got back as nature intended ready to fly!" Kentish Gazette, 19 August 2004

Perhaps sailing is a better sport in the winter months ?

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This page has NO connection to Maypole Airfield and any information regarding this web page should be emailed to me direct on the link below.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Dragon Rapide 6  G-AGSH
The Dragon Rapide is a development of the de Havilland Aircraft Company's DH 84 Dragon which was first flown from de Havilland's works on 24 November 1932. Designs for a faster and more comfortable Dragon commenced in late l933. Designated the DH 89 "Rapide", the 9 seat aircraft was powered by two de Havilland Gipsy "Six" engines of 200 hp, giving a maximum speed of approximately 160 mph, a cruising speed of about 130 mph and a range of nearly 600 miles.

Wing span :
14.63 m / 48 ft
Length : 10.5 m / 34 ft
Max weight : 2,495 kg / 5,500 lbs
Service ceiling : 5,950 m / 19,500 ft
Max speed : 253 kph / 157 mph
Engines : Two x 200 hp de Havilland Gipsy Queen