1950 - Ideal London Airport Location
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1950 - Ideal London Airport Location
Sorry if this has been asked before, but with the advantage of hind-sight, if you had the chance to build a major London airport in 1950, knowing what we know now about the growth in air travel, the need for good ground communication links etc., where would you locate it?
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HH
Norfolk was rejected in early 1947 on the grounds they were concerned on the amount of runway incursions, by farmers harvesting the turnips grown in the areas between runways and taxi ways.
Mind you with the trend to add the suffix London to airport names London Norwich does have a ring to it!
Norfolk was rejected in early 1947 on the grounds they were concerned on the amount of runway incursions, by farmers harvesting the turnips grown in the areas between runways and taxi ways.
Mind you with the trend to add the suffix London to airport names London Norwich does have a ring to it!
Not wishing to curb anyone's enthusiasm, but foresight and hindsight are two very different things.
Even if you had known in 1950 what would be needed 60+ years ahead, it probably wouldn't have been a good idea to build it.
To take an obvious example, building Heathrow then with just the current East-West runways would have resulted in lots of diversions and flight cancellations because aircraft at that time couldn't cope with crosswinds (hence the now redundant Star of David layout).
I can imagine if the Airports Commission had been asked to come up with a solution that would last until, say, the 2080s, its members would probably have resigned en masse.
Even if you had known in 1950 what would be needed 60+ years ahead, it probably wouldn't have been a good idea to build it.
To take an obvious example, building Heathrow then with just the current East-West runways would have resulted in lots of diversions and flight cancellations because aircraft at that time couldn't cope with crosswinds (hence the now redundant Star of David layout).
I can imagine if the Airports Commission had been asked to come up with a solution that would last until, say, the 2080s, its members would probably have resigned en masse.
Somewhere a little west of London, with sufficient space ring fenced to allow for substantial expansion & associated infrastructure!
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With the prevailing wind and east west runways an airport would be better north of London to avoid flying over London. This would also allow a better connection to the rest of the UK than an airport south of London.
In 1950 there was already a very nice airfield at Blackbushe - on a flat natural plateau, well-drained and often above the fog (which saw it used for LHR diversions).
It was such a good place for an airfield that the USAF wanted to build a 10,000ft runway and base strategic bombers there, but Greenham Common got that job instead (The US Navy did build a big hangar and carry-out Cold War Ops for many years though).
Many of the well-known independent airlines of the day (eg, Eagle, Britavia, Airwork) were based there, and it was used to test/train on the Viscount, Comet, Britannia, amongst others.
Then in 1960 the Govt. of the day decreed that Gatwick would be London's second Airport, and Blackbushe was closed (and a third of today's Rwy 25/07 cut-up). In 1962 it was re-opened in private ownership, and remains so, having changed hands a few times (most recently last year).
It was such a good place for an airfield that the USAF wanted to build a 10,000ft runway and base strategic bombers there, but Greenham Common got that job instead (The US Navy did build a big hangar and carry-out Cold War Ops for many years though).
Many of the well-known independent airlines of the day (eg, Eagle, Britavia, Airwork) were based there, and it was used to test/train on the Viscount, Comet, Britannia, amongst others.
Then in 1960 the Govt. of the day decreed that Gatwick would be London's second Airport, and Blackbushe was closed (and a third of today's Rwy 25/07 cut-up). In 1962 it was re-opened in private ownership, and remains so, having changed hands a few times (most recently last year).
Last edited by Wycombe; 6th Jan 2017 at 08:48.
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It shouldn't have taken much foresight even back then to work out that the main London airport would also become the UK's main airport, and as such surface access should have been paramount. Definitely north of London, and I'd suggest it should have been on the Midland Main Line, which in those days would have had direct trains from much of the north and Scotland.
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One of the military airfields although getting it out of the hands of the military would have been challenging.
Failing that, how different are 1950 and 1970? The Roskill Commission considered over 80 sites and short listed four, one of which (Thurleigh) is very much where BKS in the post above is suggesting.
Failing that, how different are 1950 and 1970? The Roskill Commission considered over 80 sites and short listed four, one of which (Thurleigh) is very much where BKS in the post above is suggesting.
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Ah yes, that area was considered too by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roskill_Commission and was their first choice.
The locals of Cublington thought that it should not be built in their back yard. Had it have been, they would have increased the value of their land immeasurably and provided countless jobs but no one wants an airport ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cublington
For the novice to this topic, this is a good summary of 60 years of bumbling and fudging: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33285659
nw of Aylesbury.
The locals of Cublington thought that it should not be built in their back yard. Had it have been, they would have increased the value of their land immeasurably and provided countless jobs but no one wants an airport ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cublington
For the novice to this topic, this is a good summary of 60 years of bumbling and fudging: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33285659
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Croydon Airport.
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This would have been fab: Kings Cross Airport 1931
https://darkestlondon.com/2011/10/23...-airport-1931/
This article has some of the other grandiose schemes (not airport related) that did not get made/finished: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2...most-got-built
https://darkestlondon.com/2011/10/23...-airport-1931/
This article has some of the other grandiose schemes (not airport related) that did not get made/finished: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2...most-got-built