Gloucester Airport

[pilotatlast]

Hi Keen to hear what this airfield is like to operate from. Is it busy with training flights, is ATC efficient, is there much congestion when coming back in, frequent holding etc?

[Heathrow Harry]

Also surprises me how much activity there is whenever I'm around there

Suspect a lot of people use it in preference to Bristol ... it's so close to the M5 it makes it faster to get to N Bristol or Bath than using Lulsgate

[LGS6753]

There's a fair amount of GA, including numerous executive jets. Lots of helicopter movements, including training too.

[MerchantVenturer]

Also surprises me how much activity there is whenever I'm around there

Suspect a lot of people use it in preference to Bristol ... it's so close to the M5 it makes it faster to get to N Bristol or Bath than using Lulsgate
Certainly in terms of bizjet etc passengers, pilots but there doesn't seem to be any scheduled airline services at GLO at the moment. They operated Isle of Man and Jersey until fairly recently.

As has been said GLO is a very busy GA airport with the local press reporting last year that overall it handles more movements annually than BRS.

[Heathrow Harry]

probably not enough catchment to support LCO operations when you have Bristol, Cardiff and Birmingham so close TBH

But a very good location for GA and Business flights

[Harry Wayfarers]

It was the IOM ticket seller selling the flights from Gloucestershire and we know what happened to them!

[canberra97]

There are not pictures online showing old photos of Staverton Gloucester Airport especially with the Dan Air HS748 and Viscount which used to be regular visitors to the airport operating scheduled flights along with Intra Airways DC3's.

Did British Midland ever operate weekend summer scheduled flights from Staveron to Jersey in the 1970's?

Sorry to thread drift but a bit of nostalgia doesn't hurt now and again especially if anyone reading wasn't aware!

[LGS6753]

I flew with Intra from JER to GLO in about 1978. The outbound flight was sub-chartered to a BMA Viscount, and departed from Bristol.

[canberra97]

Cheers for that bit of nostalgic information as I knew that Intra operated from GLO but for some reason I remember that British Midland had in their own right at sometime.

[Buster the Bear]

From the UK Airfield Guide.

On the 1st May 1963 Derby Airways flew their Canadair Argonaut G-ALHS into STAVERTON for a charter flight to Amsterdam, claimed to be the largest aircraft ever to land here. Derby Airways were hoping that this flight would prove the Argonaut could be used here for scheduled flights but the Air Ministry decided that reverse thrust on landing could not be used to calculate the landing distance required. This said it appears British Midland Airways (which Derby Airways became) operated Viscounts into Staverton (replacing their DC-3s) until 1969. It now appears that the last flight by BMA with a Viscount actually took place on the 19th September 1970. Having recently visited STAVERTON in 2012, and upon seeing the undulating main runway, I much admire any pilots prepared to land a Viscount here. As the next step in services required BAC 1-11s, for which needed the main runway had to be lengthened, (which wasn’t an option due to the cost understandably), these BMA services ceased.

[kcockayne]

Canberra97
Derby Airways operated from Gloucester to Jersey in the 60s using the DC3. I was not in the CIs in the 70s, so am a little unsure if they carried on with the service. However, I think that they did using the Viscount - but may be mistaken. I also think that at some stage, Dan Air also operated Gloucester to Jersey. Or, am I dreaming ?

[Harry Wayfarers]

In Lyneham tower, I was there 76-78, during that time we did control DC3's to/from Staverton and the CI's.

[northsands]

British Midland timetables from the 1960s show them using a Herald in summers 65 & 66, then Viscount from 67 to 70, on Staverton to CI.
Dan-Air flew Staverton - Jersey in summers 1979 & 80, with HS748.

[canberra97]

Thanks for all the information guys it's appreciated:-)

So I was correct in assuming that British Midland and prior to that Derby Airways had originally operated from Staverton Airport GLO.

[CSman]

Many years ago the airfield was manage by Cambrian airways ,the station manager was the famous Cambrian Captain, Ron de Wilde. In 1968 I flew a Dc3i into Glous for a charter to Jersey with the full load of Gloucestershire publicans,good weekend