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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0159.PDF
FLIGHT, 1 February 1957 161 Staverton Resettlement Problems of "' Civilianizing'' a Wartime Airfield A general view of the airfield, showing the three war-time runways and part of the industrial estate. LIKE young men who gained a new status and rank in war,and afterwards found it difficult to fit themselves into theJ post-war world, some airfields acquired runways and faci- lities during 1939-45 which their present owners are now en- deavouring to put to the best economic use. A case in point is Staverton in Gloucestershire (pronounced locally not with lazy, well-bred long "a" but the rich, local short "a"). In the Vale of Gloucester, midway between the busy but dissimilar centres of Gloucester and Cheltenham, and cradled by the gentle Cotswolds, Staverton Airport is controlled by a joint committee of the two corporations, whose aim is to have the runways, buildings and industrial estate in as full employment as possible, for the benefit of the 132,610 people who live in the cathedral city and the spa, and the thousands more dwelling in the countryside round about (there is a population of 200,000 within ten miles' radius of the aerodrome). Before the war, Staverton, under the same ownership, was a modest grass airfield suitable mainly for light aircraft. Early in the war, the Ministry of Works, at the instigation of the Air Ministry, put down three runways, N-S (3,060ft), NE-SW (3,240ft) and E-W (3,000ft). During the war R.A.F. navigators, many of them Canadians who had come over under the Empire Air Train- ing Scheme, were trained at No. 6 Air Observer Navigational School at Staverton. Hangars were built and an industrial estate was established. Thus, when Staverton was no longer needed as a sword, Gloucester and Cheltenham were left with a well-equipped ploughshare which now pays its way but which they are deter- mined to expand and improve. A recent first visit to Staverton left one with the impression that with such amenities at their disposal the two municipalities are batting on a good wicket and that they deserve success. In the first place, the aerodrome is well situated, right on the A.40 road from London to Fishguard, and only 4? miles from both Gloucester and Cheltenham. Secondly, its three runways, though not long by present-day standards, are perfectly adequate for feeder-line and short-range commercial aircraft. (That they can, in fact, be successfully used by modern jet aircraft was shown in 1954, when two Canberras, on their way to Moreton Valence, landed there by mistake and then took off again for their right destination.) To improve the length available, an extension of the east-west runway by over a thousand feet to 4,120ft is now being considered. In addition, Staverton is available for use at night at any time. Thirdly, the flourishing industrial estate— which in fact subsidizes the flying activities—has room for several more tenants. Fourthly, being in the middle of a "green belt" area, the site is not likely to be killed off by urban encroachment. Lastly, the upkeep costs of the airfield in terms of staff are com- paratively small, an estate officer with five people under him being the total regularly employed. While Staverton is well situated in the sense of being accessible, it suffers somewhat from its comparative proximity to Bristol, and at present the Heron and Dove schedules operated by Cambrian Airways, Ltd., from Staverton all fly via Bristol on their way to their destinations (Paris, Channel Islands and elsewhere). If flights could be made direct, that to the Channel Islands, for example, would be reduced from two hours to li hours or 1 hr 20 min. The airport committee wants a longer runway (as already men- tioned); it also wants Customs facilities, so that flights can be made direct to or from the Continent, instead of having to go either through Bristol or Southampton; and it wants (and is hoping to acquire in the reasonably near future) an approach aid. Airfield control is at present kept reasonably busy in winter and very busy in the summer. Of course, the latter picture is the one the municipalities would like to see all the year round, with regular schedules coming and going direct to the Continent and to British cities like Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Cardiff, Glasgow, Belfast and Southampton, in addition to the test and club flying already carried out at Staverton. At present most of the traffic occurs in the holiday months, from Easter until September; already over 200 bookings have been received for this year's flights, and last year Staverton handled 2,000 passengers—an increase of 200 on the total for 1955. The airport manager, Mr. S. G. Smith, ex-R.A.F. Coastal Command and a qualified air traffic control officer, is employed by Cambrian Airways, and his responsibilities include not only their aircraft (Herons, Doves, sometimes a Dakota or a Rapide), but all the types used at the aerodrome for test and pleasure flying. Both the latter varieties of flying justify Staverton's claim to be the centre of Gloucestershire aviation, for there are three flying clubs on the aerodrome and test flying is carried out by Smiths Aircraft Instruments, Ltd.; and to have airline, private and indus- trial aviation within the same boundary is more than any other Gloucestershire airfield can boast. The clubs are the Cheltenham Aero Club (which has an Autocrat, Aiglet and Miles Messenger); the Cotswold Aero Club (employing an Auster, a Miles Monarch and a Tiger Moth); and the Rotol Flying Club, who use solely an Auster. For their test flying Smiths Instruments employ a Dakota and an Anson, whilst a Proctor is used for business journeys. Smiths, with their main factory at Bishop's Cleeve, north of Cheltenham, do not have premises on the Staverton industrial estate; those who do are Rotol, Ltd., the oldest and largest inhabi- tants, their associated company British Messier, Ltd., and eight other firms. The other tenants of the industrial estate are that part of the Dowty Group located at Staverton, with an engine test site there; Wynstruments, Ltd.; Granville Sheet Metal Works, Ltd.; Cheltenham Patternmaking; Thos. Parsons and Sons, Ltd.; Watney, Combe, Reid and Co., Ltd.; Bryco (Building Products), Ltd.; Kingscote and Stephens (Caravans). Air. R. F. Darby, the aerodrome estate officer, would naturally like to have more tenants; and certainly with a total of 75 acres, of which only 38 are at present in use, there is plenty of room still available. . [Contd. overleaf Mr, E. Jones, one of the traffic controllers, on duty in the control tower of the recently constructed terminal building.
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