Brit312
In 1987 we also used Machrihanish because they were digging up the end of Prestwicks runway which made it too short for touch and go
I was up at Prestwick in 1988. and I remember that several details were carried out doing touch and goes at Machrihanish also, when the late
GREAT John Cook was running things flight training wise.
In1998 we also used Porto as I think Chateauroux asked us to leave after too many noise complaints
Concorde noisy? What WERE they talking about
Before we started base flying at Brize Norton there was a lot of negative opinion about it due to possible noise. The first day of training the airport was saturated with noise complaints, however what the local population did not know was that the Concorde had gone U/S and did not fly on that day. They could not see due to cloud cover but what they were complaining about were the RAF VC-10 in the circuit , and these aircraft had been training there for months with no complaints.
Oh this was typical; so many of, shall we say, the less sensible members of our species, would blame Concorde for absolutely ANYTHING, whether sh was flying or not
Shannon was always considered too risky for Concorde to base it self at for Base training, however in 1998 when things in N.Ireland had settled down a bit we did base a Concorde for a few days in Shannon for base training.
Actually a few training sesions were carried out there in the mid to late 1990's, before the norm, became Chateuroux. I remember 'Dirty Nellies' fondly, as anyone who is familiar with SNN will understand.
If I remember correctly during all the flight testing program at Fairford, BAC built a lay-by on the main road so that the public could watch the aircraft come and go free of charge.
It was not so much as a lay by as a real car park, right on the edge of the runway. Whenever the aeoroplane was going to fly, word got around and the car park filled up quickly. Right up to when the Fairford Flight Test Centre was closed in early 1977, the car park was always filled to overflowing.
Thanks for coming up with the additional flight training airfields Brit312, my poor old memory is fading...
FAST...... 
Dude
