Rumor of USAFE former installations being reactivated

[SASless]

Tents, Dunny's, MRE's.....you know like really deploy under combat conditions.

[treadigraph]

Originally Posted by chevvron

No way; it's only 10,000ft and shuttle runways needed 12,000ft minimum and in any case there's still no infrastructure ie accomodation and bulk fuel installations.
Intitally the Shuttle diversion was Banjul in the Gambia until they altered the launch trajectory then they were supposed to use 'an airfield in Spain' which I suspect was Barajas as it has 4000m runways.

John Young later drew up a list of contingency airfields around the world which I believe might be used in extremis at different phases of Shuttle missions, certainly was a UK airfield included though I forget which one, nor can I recall how far they got with drawing up procedures for each in their emergency planning. I should imagine they'd stop in less than 2 miles with a well flown approach and would accept a low speed overrun if the astronauts could walk away!

[Asturias56]

Fairford of course

https://www.globalsecurity.org/space...ty/sts-els.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catego..._Landing_Sites

A

• Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport
• RAAF Base Amberley
• Amílcar Cabral International Airport
• Andersen Air Force Base

B

• Banjul International Airport
• Ben Guerir Air Base

C

• Chania International Airport
• Cologne Bonn Airport

D

• Darwin International Airport
• Dover Air Force Base
• Dyess Air Force Base

E

• Edwards Air Force Base
• Ellsworth Air Force Base
• Ankara Esenboğa Airport

F

• RAF Fairford

G

• Gran Canaria Airport
• Grant County International Airport

H

• Hao Airport
• Hickam Air Force Base
• Air Force Base Hoedspruit

K

• King Khalid International Airport

L

• Lajes Field
• Lincoln Airport (Nebraska)
• Lynden Pindling International Airport

M

• Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
• Morón Air Base
• Mountain Home Air Force Base
• Myrtle Beach International Airport

N

• N'djili Airport
• Naval Air Station Bermuda
• Naval Air Station Oceana
• Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia

O

• Orlando International Airport
• Otis Air National Guard Base

P

• Pease Air National Guard Base

R

• Roberts International Airport

S

• Shuttle Landing Facility
• Stockholm Arlanda Airport

W

• White Sands Space Harbor

Z

• Zaragoza Airport

[chevvron]

Originally Posted by treadigraph

John Young

How did you know about John?
He lived in Chesham right opposite my school; I used to go to ROC meetings with his wife Barbara; his handwritten wartime 'journal', mostly but not all about Bovingdon and its surrounds, is legendary.

[pasta]

Originally Posted by Asturias56

Fairford of course

https://www.globalsecurity.org/space...ty/sts-els.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catego..._Landing_Sites

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Quite a few busy airports there. From the airport's perspective I suppose clearing the way for a hypersonic projectile on a 5000km final glide ends up being a lot like dealing with a more typical emergency, albeit the aftermath (stationary orbiter full of hypergolics blocking the end of the runway) is a bit more complicated..

[ORAC]

Fairford NOTAM from 1992. (I know, I’m a geek…)

[BEagle]

All the UK aerodromes where the RAF could fly when I joined, but sadly no longer:

Abingdon
Acklington
Andover
Aston Down
Ballykelly
Bassingbourn
Bentwaters
Bicester
Biggin Hill
Binbrook
Bovingdon
Brawdy
Chivenor
Church Fenton
Coltishall
Cottesmore
Cranwell North
Dishforth
Driffield
Elvington
Finningley
Fulbeck
Gaydon
Gravely
Greenham Common
Hamble
Honington
Hullavington
Kemble
Leconfield
Lindholme
Linton on Ouse
Lyneham
Manby
Manston
Newton
North Luffenham
North Weald
Oakington
Ouston
Pershore
Scampton
Spitalgate
St.Athan
St.Davids
St.Mawgan
Stradishall
Strubby
Swanton Morley
Swinderby
Syerston
Tangmere
Tern Hill
Thorney Island
Wattisham
Watton
West Raynham
White Waltham

I've probably missed a few......

[chevvron]

Syerston is operated by 2 FTS
Little Rissington still in operation as an MOD airfield.

Hornchurch
Kirton in Lindsey
North Coates
Waterbeach
Swanton Morely
not sure about Keevil, Colerne and the Thor sites.

[treadigraph]

Not sure it'd be the same John Young, Chevvron, even though they were both married to a Barbara! This one flew six space missions...

[SASless]

The Shuttle Landing Sites lists vary a bit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_..._landing_sites

[chevvron]

Originally Posted by treadigraph

Not sure it'd be the same John Young, Chevvron, even though they were both married to a Barbara! This one flew six space missions...

Ah different one; mine was an aviation artist who did a lot of terrestrial travelling by air and as I said, compiled a journal about flying etc..

[treadigraph]

Originally Posted by chevvron

Ah different one; mine was an aviation artist who did a lot of terrestrial travelling by air and as I said, compiled a journal about flying etc..

Ah, I know who you mean, think I have a book somewhere from my childhood which he had illustrated. Wonder where it is...? NASA's John Young flew two Gemini 3 and 10, Apollo 10 and 16, the first Shuttle launch plus a later Shuttle mission.

[OwnNav]

The UKOP aviation kerosene 8" pipeline went from Rawcliffe to Elvington, might be a bit rusty now but who knows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_oil...ed%20pipelines.

[chevvron]

Originally Posted by OwnNav

The UKOP aviation kerosene 8" pipeline went from Rawcliffe to Elvington, might be a bit rusty now but who knows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_oil...ed%20pipelines.

Similar pipeline to Bruntingthorpe; it was discussed recently on the ARG website. Both airfields were only active for about 5 years or less.

[dead_pan]

With all the discussion about Upper Heyford, I drove through 'Heyford Park' on Friday. What a weird development it is - brand new Monopoly houses literally right next to decrepit old hangars and HASs. I wonder why the site wasnt fully cleared beforehand - asbestos, something else?

Coincidentally I was also at Bicester Heritage (former RAF Bicester) the same day - what an exemplar as to what to do with an old airfield. Outstanding

[pasta]

Originally Posted by dead_pan

With all the discussion about Upper Heyford, I drove through 'Heyford Park' on Friday. What a weird development it is - brand new Monopoly houses literally right next to decrepit old hangars and HASs. I wonder why the site wasnt fully cleared beforehand - asbestos, something else?

Coincidentally I was also at Bicester Heritage (former RAF Bicester) the same day - what an exemplar as to what to do with an old airfield. Outstanding

I believe a lot of the airfield infrastructure at Upper Heyford (Hangars, HASs etc) is protected (for historical reasons, not future reactivation). I was on the airfield not long ago, and a lot of those buildings do seem to be in use by various businesses.

Bicester's fine as a sort of "classic motoring as it never really was" theme park, but it's pretty clear that the current owners have little interest in allowing their airfield to be used for aviation again. I'd give it a couple more years at most before it's limited to the odd visit by an over-polished warbird, flown in to be photographed next to the over-polished cars.

[Chugalug2]

Originally Posted by pasta

Bicester's fine as a sort of "classic motoring as it never really was" theme park, but it's pretty clear that the current owners have little interest in allowing their airfield to be used for aviation again. I'd give it a couple more years at most before it's limited to the odd visit by an over-polished warbird, flown in to be photographed next to the over-polished cars.

It was hoped that Bicester, almost unchanged as a pre-war grass airfield and still with the original tech site, hangars, watch building, war time anti-invasion defences, and a bomb dump (including storage and fusing buildings) could become an easily accessible (by motorway or mainline railway) Bomber Command Memorial Site (it was a wartime bomber OTU). The local authority was supportive but in the end the "over polished car" people won out. A pity, as it had the space to offer Memorial, Museum, and Educational facilities which could have been justified by the large visitor numbers reasonably to be expected.

[Asturias56]

no money in it Chug....................

[chevvron]

I would guess that like Halton, the undersurface at Bicester was pretty well reinforced with steel rods under the surface; Halton had some PSP as well.