Westray & Papa Westray
 

Does anybody know the history of these airfields. They look ex-military, but I can find no mention of them as military airfields.:O

Used by Loganair in the '70s for the shortest scheduled flight sector in the world - less than 1 minute! The boat trip between the 2 islands is I believe several hours.

Nothing to do with the military. Airfields, or at least fields used for landing on most of the Orkney Islands, were established by Edmund Fresson of Highland Airways in 1934. The first landing on Papa Westray was made by him in 1945 when consideration was being given to restarting inter island air services in Orkney post war.
However the dead hand of the nationalised airline put paid to that happening until in 1967 Loganair recommenced inter island services with the then new Islander aircraft. I believe a newly constructed field at Westray replaced the one that had been used pre war by Fresson, as only the North Ronaldsay and Sanday airfields are the same as those used pre war. The Papa Westray strip may be the same field surveyed by him in 1945 as there is a limited choice of fields on that small island.

Both seems to have been rather more serious than todays single runways: Westray having a triangular layout of runways and a on Papa Westray a layout of a X with a third runway @ direction 02/20 crossing the eastern legs of the X!

Chevvron, both airfields are still very much used by Loganair, and it still is the shortest scheduled route in the world, as far as I know.
The ferry service between the two islands is about 25 minutes, as the jetty on Westray is a bit further south, and therefore further away from Papa Westray. I've never flown between the two but landed at Papay (as Papa Westray is known to locals) on the way between Kirkwall and North Ronaldsay.

Loganair 343, depart Westray 09:49, arrive Papa Westray 09:51 - two minutes elapsed time.

Ive done the Westray to Papa Westray flight, was under 2 minutes and on arrival back in Kirkwall was given a certificate commemorating the flight and a small bottle of Whisky.
I had a connection to Birmingham so unfortunately had to drink the Whisky there and then..... :hmm:

What a hardship!

The Airfields Of Orkney Islands Westray


It's a Windy Old Day!

0900z Kirkwall gusts to 72mph - Sumburgh gusts to 83mph.