BBC: 15 military airfields have been earmarked for closure over the next six years.

[Melchett01]

Originally Posted by Pure Pursuit

It’s not an assumption, it’s a recorded statement of intent from the SoS for Defence. He also stated it at a working group at Waddington last year. Essentially, it’s the only way we are going to get money for the much needed refurbishment of our active MOBs.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, or that SoS wouldn’t like for it to happen that way. But we’re dealing with politicians, and worse still, the Treasury. On that basis I’ll treat it as an assumption and only believe it when I actually see it and we have some tangible improvements on units from the proceeds of sales and not set against a future funding line where we’ve had to make an either or choice.

Remember - the Treasury are a bit like the Taleban, only you stand more chance of successfully negotiating with the Taleban!

[Stuff]

Originally Posted by chevvron

Halton and Odiham have these covenants; this was discovered back in the mid '90s when there were plans to close both and sell the land for housing.

This is an oft repeated rumour but, in the case of Halton, it's not true.

[Pontius Navigator]

Originally Posted by Bigpants

Crowd fund purchase of airfield and turn it into a retirement home for old retired gits?

Bags the ATC tower, handy greenhouse on top.

Had a look around SHQ at Little Rissington. Spooky and positioned chalice. It was divided into 4 apartments and individual features listed. Ground floor windows extend higher than the ceilings and lower than the kitchen units which makes it look odd. The original iron and concrete stair case does not meet Building Regs so had plastic sheeting bolted on. Going into the old P-staff area felt plain creepy and I had never been to Rissie before.

Tree planting at the back all had TPO and one tree per garden and they all cut the ground floor light.

[Pontius Navigator]

Originally Posted by Stuff

This is an oft repeated rumour but, in the case of Halton, it's not true.

Did it not apply to the Mess, and was the Mess not listed? I remember the bar was "in" the Mess but not actually attached to the walls.

[FAStoat]

North Luffenham was the home of the High Altitude Equipment Testing Medical Centre.I dont remember anything else going on after the demise of Day/Night Fighter Meteors,except Gliding .One went there for courses in Emergency Decompression,and its physical affects on the body.Quite often producing massive explosive decompression for those who did not pay any attention to the warnings re gulpers the night before!!A much mustachioed Ex Pathfinder,one Griff Griffiths ran it way back then!Where is all that done now,as well the other bits and pieces we had to attend?

[pr00ne]

FAStoat,

Then your memory is playing tricks and deceiving you! In addition to the Aeromedical Training Centre (AMTC) that you recall, North Luffenham was home to the RAF's largest Ground Radio Servicing Centre as well as Midland Radar, an Air TRaffic Services Unit, the secret squirrel unit that rained Radio Op (Voice) linguists, the Radio Technical Publications Squadron and the old airfield site was used by the EOD Airfield Training Flight from the armament support folk at nearby Wittering. And that doesn;t take into account the RAF regiment Squadrons that were there for a few years in the early to mid seventies.

In fact, I think that the one thing that DIDN'T take place at North Luffenham was gliding...

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

Originally Posted by SAR Bloke

The Prefect is EFT not BFT.

The ‘weather factor’ at Valley for BFT is fine.

Ssh, don't let facts or reason get in the way of BEagle's rants.

Originally Posted by 5 Forward 6 Back

Folks saying that Valley won't cope with Hawks and Texans don't seem to remember a matter of 10-12 years ago with "target 160" and the huge output of Hawk hours there. I'm pretty sure it'll be fine.

+1. Current planned Hawk + Texan fleet size: 38 airframes. Maximum number of aircraft airborne at once: 25, possibly, on a really good day? Sure there will be some programme clashes in the circuit/radar pattern but that is what Ascent's programmers will be paid to sort out. There are many areas of concern relating to getting students through the training pipeline to the front line, but I don't see operating both Hawks and Texans from Valley as one of the big issues.

Originally Posted by FAStoat

Where is all that done now,as well the other bits and pieces we had to attend?

Centre of Aviation Medicine at Henlow.

[Cows getting bigger]

Centre of Aviation Medicine at Henlow.

Isn't that earmarked for closure?

Ahhh, N. Luffenham and the AMTC Cse where Ruddles was the order of the 'night before'. Another bit of (drinking) nostalgia that has fallen by the wayside.

[Wander00]

Remember an American officer on the AMTC being warned against Ruddles. He reckoned it was no issue, lined up his dart and measured his length from the ockey. Not a well chap for a few hours

[Steve Bond]

Originally Posted by Evalu8ter

Linton may yet get a stay of execution. There was a rumour circulating that the Typhoon "ramp up" (ie retention of single seat Tranche 1 jets) is too much to squeeze into CGY/LOS with the other units; one option was to move the Reds and 100 to LoO, freeing up Leeming for a couple of Typhoon squadrons - would make far too much sense however.......

Leeming was always intended to be the third Typhoon station, but apart from other considerations, its runway alignment counted against it, or so I was told by a very senior Typhoon driver.

[Above The Clouds]

Originally Posted by air pig

One of the very few RAF airfields on the West coast, has an Auxi squadron and is very handy for the local Reserve Army and RM when using Altcar and others for the Morcambe Bay gas field and the ship traffic into Liverpool. Rumours are the runway will be resurfaced.

You are joking right, it has no night flying capabilities, no instrument approach procedures other than QGH and no Jet A1 on site, and is kept open using civil contractors for half a dozen Grobs.

Occasionally you get a RM C130 paying a visit with round trip fuel onboard otherwise their helicopters land at Altcar, as for civil helicopters servicing the rigs I don't think so when there is Blackpool, Warton and possibly Liverpool available.

[Evalu8ter]

Steve,
Interesting comment re runway orientation. I’ve been told that the RAF are keen not to close LMG as it has a rare N/S orientated fully FJ capable runway, and thus acts as a good Div option for QRA when it’s a bit windy.......I suppose the ‘facts’ will be manipulated by people who have axes to grind!!

[chevvron]

Originally Posted by Steve Bond

Leeming was always intended to be the third Typhoon station, but apart from other considerations, its runway alignment counted against it, or so I was told by a very senior Typhoon driver.

And yet it was OK for CFS and METS to be there late 70s/early 80s and it was re-bult as a fighter station after they moved to Cranwell.

[ExAscoteer]

METS wasn't at Leeming, it was at Finningley (having been previously 5FTS at Oakington) becoming 45(R)Sqn in July 1992, before moving to Cranwell at the end of 1995.

I'm pretty sure CFS was at Little Rissington before moving to Scampton.

I think you'll find that it was 3 FTS at Leeming.

[MPN11]

IMO Leeming has some strong points in its favour. First, geographic location: everything seems to be East Anglia/Linconlshire or top of Scotland these days. Second, HAS infrastructure. Third, a proper length runway. Surely those aspects should favour it for retention? Certainly better than some of the other options discussed here.

[BEagle]

When RFS / CFS was at Leeming, there were 2 main runways plus a short one which was only used under extreme wind conditions.

After it had been converted to become Yorkshire's finest air defence station, I managed to get the system to accept us flying some FJ mates back to Leeming after a trail / MPC or somesuch, rather than the usual back-to-Brize-then-bus plan. However, when we arrived the crosswind was outside our limits, so a promise being a promise, we diverted to Teesside Middleton St George Durham and the bus collected them.

No RTOGs, so balanced field full power take-off for RTB - much to the amusement of Teesside's ATC

Fine place, Leeming - particularly now that you don't need to negotiate a death-defying right turn exit across the southern lane of the A1 and the fun of cow **** corner!

Incidentally, I'm aware of the Texan / Hawk T2 issue at Valley, but hasn't some bright spark also thought about basing the MFTS Ford Prefects there?

[Yellow Sun]

Originally Posted by ExAscoteer

METS wasn't at Leeming, it was at Finningley (having been previously 5FTS at Oakington) becoming 45(R)Sqn in July 1992, before moving to Cranwell at the end of 1995.

I'm pretty sure CFS was at Little Rissington before moving to Scampton.

I think you'll find that it was 3 FTS at Leeming.

The first CFS move after the closure of Little Rissington was to Cranwell in 1976. I can’t recall where and in what order it went after that.

YS

[Evanelpus]

Originally Posted by Wokkafans

According to the BBC report the airfields earmarked for potential closure are:

Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Alconbury, Cambridgeshire
Arbroath, Angus
Brawdy, Pembrokeshire
Chivenor, Devon
Colerne, Wiltshire
Dishforth, North Yorkshire
Halton, Buckinghamshire
Henlow, Bedfordshire
Mildenhall, Suffolk
Molesworth, Cambridgeshire
North Luffenham, Rutland
Wethersfield, Essex
Woodbridge, Suffolk
Wyton, Cambridgeshire

Call to save military airfields from closure - BBC News

I thought I'd gone back 4-5 years!!

[pr00ne]

ExAScoteer,

METS was initially formed at Leeming and only later moved to Finningley.

Seeing as how Leeming was home for quite some time to a full wing of 3 Tornado F3 Squadrons I can't see how orientation can play any part in it not being selected as an actual Typhoon base? Surely it was merely the case that the previously planned 7 squadron Typhoon force was reduced to five meant that the Leeming option was canned?

[Cows getting bigger]

Don't they teach cross-wind landings any more?