South Yorkshire aerodromes/landing strips (Read 3,345 times)

[lysander]

Having recently been told that this is a "South Yorkshire" forum and, being ever mindful of our Doncaster chums ,and not wanting to add to the doom and gloom currently surrounding Finningley..... I suppose we can only talk about other South Yorkshire aerodromes.

Well, theres Sandtoft in DMBC and Coal Aston in NE Derbyshire .Although not strictly in the County, Coal Aston (EGCA) is the nearest thing Sheffield has to a local landing site ...although making sure no cows are grazing can be a problem. In nearby north Nottinghamhire we have Sheffield Aero Clubs Netherthorpe Aerodrome(EGNF) . I can think of no others.

Are there other airfields ( licensed or otherwise) in South Yorkshire?

I look forward to having updates on the state of the herd of Friesians soon.

[busman3]

Dont think there are there is a sugestion that where Stagecoach ecclesfield is now there was a very early airfield in the 1920's however information is very scant and most people would say no there wasnt one.

[lysander]

Yes, I have heard of that one as well as the one at what is now Rother Valley. Jordanthorpe estate now occupies most of the site of the original Coal Aston aerodrome...originally an RFC base.... it survived into the 1930s and was planned to become Sheffield Airport...but, once again, politics intervened.

[lboyle]

Was there one at Lightwood in South Sheffield?

[lysander]

I believe Lightwood was the site of RAF Norton a base for barrage balloon maintenance.

[markno16]

The Doncaster Lakeside district used to be Doncaster airport - a landing strip up to around the 1930-1940's I think.

[suttoncoastguard]

There is a landing strip EGCP 1 mile E of Thorne.

[djebelgoraa]

In 1909 and 1910 Doncaster Race Course was used as a landing strip for several early aviation meetings featuring the likes of Colonel Cody and Mdme Helene Dutrieu, celebrety aviators of their time.

[ryansf]

Nov 14, 2008 20:12:36 GMT markno16 said:

The Doncaster Lakeside district used to be Doncaster airport - a landing strip up to around the 1930-1940's I think.

That was open until at least the early 90s - I remember seeing it as a child before the cinema, bowling alley etc. opened, opposite Asda! The hangar at the Aeroventure museum was from the original airport I believe.

[asourdirective]

Lindholme used to be an RAF site, before it became a prison. It was at one time planned to be converted to a civil airport, but Finningley eventually became DSA.

[lysander]

Briefly,Doncaster s original airport was opened in 1934....on 294 acres of land. Scheduled services were started in 1936 by KLM flying Lockheed Electras to Amsterdam with other services being operated by North Eastern Airways ( an LNER subsidiary) to Croydon and Aberdeen. ( bet DSA would love to have them today!)

From 1940-45 it was an RAF operational training and communication station.

After the War it became the central plank in plans by both Doncaster and Sheffield Corporation to develop a regional airport. The plans were thrown out by the cash-strapped post-war government. In the end it was used as a gliding club...until redevelopment

[lysander]

Sheffield Aero Club at Netherthorpe have one of the shortest licensed runways in Europe(18/36@1,253ft) Has anyone we know ever flown from Netherthorpe?

[ryansf]

I've been a couple of times from Netherthorpe - never really thought anything about the size at the time because its a grass airstrip and only the likes of Cessna fly from there, so don't really take up too much of the runway!

[v1images]

Nov 25, 2008 13:12:40 GMT lysander said:

Sheffield Aero Club at Netherthorpe have one of the shortest licensed runways in Europe(18/36@1,253ft) Has anyone we know ever flown from Netherthorpe?

Flown in and out a few times. Great facility and a great airfield full of character. Gets plenty of visits from pilots wanting a little bit of a challenge.

[relight9]

Nov 9, 2008 17:11:15 GMT busman3 said:

Dont think there are there is a sugestion that where Stagecoach ecclesfield is now there was a very early airfield in the 1920's however information is very scant and most people would say no there wasnt one.

There was definitely a Royal Flying Corps satellite landing ground at Ecclesfield, used by 33 Squadron, although thought to be in use for just a few months at the height of the Zeppelin threat in 1916.
I think the landing ground was a bit further out of Ecclesfield on slightly higher ground, quite close to the current M1's path.

Its been a life long ambition of mine to arrange a 'fly in' to the general area that was used by the those frail biplanes and re-kindle some interest in what is a neglected piece of history.

Current microlights actually have a similar weight to the early Be2C aircraft used at Ecclesfield, so maybe the idea is not as crazy as it first seems....... If anyone has an interest in setting up a dialogue with local authorities please shout up.