Roads as Runways
 

There’s a 4km road that was certainly used as a runway from time to time in the 1980s, running south-east from Leszno in Poland to the village of Rydzyna. If you’re ever in the area, maybe visiting the Polish gliding centre at Leszno, do include a stay at the magnificent and atmospheric 17th century castle at Rydzyna. It was being used mainly as a trade union centre, albeit a pretty elegant one, when I was there then, but is now open as a hotel and conference centre.

Several stretches of road in certain ME countries were (and are) used by various aircraft when authorised.:cool:

I think there was a case not that long ago of a 747 pilot lining up on an approach road to a major airport. Apparently missed a tall building by not very much.

Pontius talking about Swinderby brings back a dim memory of a Lightning landing there after a fairly close call with the towers of Lincoln Cathedral. Anyone shed any light on that or is my memory failing?

When I visited Cyprus in 1990, a Cypriot friend and I travelled from Limassol to Nicosia by car, and he kept asking 'could you land an F16 on this bit?' I soon found out why, as there were two stretches of the Nicosia highway laid out with threshold markings, removable crash barriers and parking areas. It was on a later visit I noticed the new section from Larnaca to Limassol also had these attributes, plus the huge roadside signs had massive hinges on them.
Back home, anyone ever wonder why RAF High Wycombe main gate always used to have a couple of 'stubs' with no entry signs at both ends? This was because the bit of road adjacent is nice and straight and was used (so I'm told) during WW2 for things like Austers to land and take off, and these bits of road by the main gate were reserved for parking the aircraft!

Not quite t/o or landing but if you look on google earth approx 1km WNW. Of the W threshold of Split airport, there are two holes in the hillside which have contained aircraft. ISTR seeing Mig21?? ,few pics also on Internet

:p:p

Thailand
 

In the late seventies I came across 2 or 3 roads in Southern Thailand with their magnetic headings painted on them (one was near Trang iirc). The road width was such that it obvious they were only intended for light aircraft. In the Vietnam war era the area was consider to be a stronghold of alleged communist terrorists.

Whilst working with the SU-22 in Poland my drive to work included two straight stretches of road with pans at either end. (About a mile end to end). The Fitter drivers said that it was rare that they were used but they did land there occasionally just for currency.

You could taxy to/from those strips straight off the airfield through a barrier on a taxiway if I'm correct in assuming you're talking about Miroslawiec. It was also nice that those bits of road were the only ones that didn't involve driving half on Tarmac and half on dirt verge....

In the early 1970s during my ULAS days at White Waltham, the M3 motorway was still under construction. So there was this nice white strip across the countryside; one day I asked my QFI whether it would be a good place to force land...

So, dodging a few cranes and much to the consternation of the road builders, we took a look...

:E

once went on holiday to a rather nice spot just north of Yellowstone - when you drove onto the property there was mile of tarmac, dead straight, not wide and a big sign - WATCH FOR LANDING AIRCRAFT

during the week we were there about 4 small planes used the "strip"

and someone told me the main road around Nauru in the S Pacific forms part of the only airfield

I believe that stretches of the trans American highway in South America are designated and have been used as landing areas.

I recall that the road from Brno to Olomuc in the Czech Republic had a strip of about 8,000 ft, complete with threshold markings and dispersal pans adjacent. The overhead telephone cables had been set well back from the road.

Cuba
 

On Cayo Coco the road that runs west from Jardines del Rey Airport to service the island's resorts covers the length of an old runway. The old airfield buildings and taxiways were still in place 5 yrs ago, as were the centreline markings.

Cuba
 

A few years back noticed the highway running NW from Havana had dispersal bays for aircraft on a long straight section.

In the UK M62 built on part of Burtonwoods runway.

As a GA pilot would far prefer a field to attempting a force landing on a road.

Thinking about the Cyprus road runways, good redundancy but who could make best use of them?

Problem with unattended landing surfaces is they are available for illicit use. I noted once during an exercise airfield attack in Crete that a perfectly sound, but deactivated airfield had oil drums across it to deter smugglers etc.

How would the Cypriots deny their use to smugglers etc?

During HF visits to Norway, we used to make discrete trips to local shops/warehouses to make sure they could still be adapted to fly and fight from and that the roads could still support flying ops.

"unattended landing surfaces is they are available for illicit use."

I understand there are/were strips in the Bahamas you are advised to avoid after dark........... as someone else may be using them:suspect::suspect:

Someone mentioned the M8 earlier - never heard the story of a C-130 landing on it, but the stretch to the west of Paisley follows the line of the old runway at Renfrew airport. The two tower blocks at the Western end built since the airport closed would make an interesting obstacle!

Getting back to my original post and video, I can't think of anywhere in Europe where they would practice overshoots with the traffic still flowing !!

Driving past Mona near RAF Valley on the main road I can remember some fairly hairy moments with Hawks doing touch-and-goes...........

Love the German Tonka vid!! Nice to see someone actually flying the thing like it should be!

Both Jordan & Oman have designated "highway runways". CJOG 1501C Sheet NH 37-1 Ed 1 has the Al Ghadaf, Al Qatranah & Azraq Highway Strips marked....:8

Coming out of Changi on the East Coast Parkway, there is an emergency runway, with removable flower planters in the centre of the road. I don't know if it has ever been used. It looks like the palm trees and lights would have to go to make it usable.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3526/...b9c1947a_o.jpg

Don't know if anybody took it to quite the extremes the Swedes did, who even troubled themselves with fitting nose-gear brakes on their primary interceptor.

The Viggen was designed specifically to be operated from roads and motorways around Sweden; in fact page 1, chapter 1, of the Swedish defence plan said "Disperse at once".

They got themselves an aircraft with truly remarkable performance for the effort, astonishing for a 1960s design.


Now that's what I'd call a decent set of anchors!

The thrust reverser helped quite a bit too.

Wow, that was something else. Never seen a real Viggen, very impressive. In fact nearly as good as an Albert ;)

Smudge

Superb jet, the Viggen. I remember seeing it at the 1969 Paris Air Show and I'm still surprised that no other country bought it.

Superior to the F-4, I gather....:hmm:

And one of the only known fighters to achieve missile lock against the SR-71...:ooh:

RS15 - re the hillside hangers at Split. A few years ago we often saw the resident MiG-21's taxi out, down the back road to the west end of the airport, through a crash gate and straight into the takeoff roll. They would wazz up north to Pula for the day and wander back late afternoon.

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When I briefly lived out there in the late '90s I was told they've got some sort of industrial circular saw on a truck which just drives along and chops the trees down when required. Not sure about the lights but I suspect they're hinged at the base.
To be honest it probably isn't any harder than making the city centre into a Grand Prix circuit.

I lived in sweden for enalry three eyars and worlked very close to the Bararby base notrth of stockholm. Openly an airbase but with some seriously hidden and protected (ie dug into rock) hangers. During one of the early 90 Russian instability periods they deployed two Viggen(?) squadrons there - very spectacular but within 15 minutes they had all vanished into the forest.

Also several times found myself on wide straight roads with runway type markings in various parts of the country. Went to several airshows and the short landing and reverse demo from the home made SAABs was always a feature .
God knows what developing Mach 2 fighters did to the Swedish economy with only about 8m people.

I did see something vaguely similar in UK once in the west county but could not remember where-I know we were on hols down there and driving a around came across this odd straight road with lots of space either side and lots of sheltering trees well back from it-mind you it looked a lot more WW2 vintage than cold war.

Cyprus has 4 stretches of airstrip / motorway.
2 on limmasol - Nicosia A1
1 on limmasol - larnaka A5
1on limmasol - PAPHOS A6

I was in N Sweden in 1984-5? for a short visit, seeing friends.
Driving back one morning from an overnight sauna/party we saw a flight of Viggins ahead, manouvering, very low, "Viggins" I said, "you like Viggins"? my friend said, "lets go visit them"
Twenty minutes later we drove up to the base, cursory examination of credentials (he was in the Reserve and they knew him), and onto the dispersal area, introductions, shown the tech area where they were downloading the data tapes, shown engine data where there was in increase in temperature after an "event", correlated said event with a 9+g turn at 80 m. !!!
"Engine overstressed, needs to be pulled"..."will the pilot get a bolloking" I asked, "Oh no, he's the Squadron Leader, no problem".
I saw much more but it still might be sensitive, fantastic experience !!!
:ok::ok::ok:
f

Sorry, but photos are needed to substantiate this claim. These must involve leggy Scandiwegian lovelies (I suppose these days one cannot simply say 'ladies'...:\) in a pleasing state of undress.....:E

The only aircraft I ever saw in Sweden were J-29 Tunnen from Ängelholm when on a family holiday in Båstad in the early 1960s....

Jaguar on motorway
 

The jag on the motorway was one of the development fleet at Warton. The place was Weeton (ring a bell) on the yet to be opened M55 around 1974ish. I was there and refused to be moved on as I was an 'employee' and witnessed the landing and take off.

Australian roads were mentioned earlier: the Nullabor has substantial straight stretches which have been surveyed and marked for RFDS (Flying Doctor) operations, mostly King Airs. The local plods are trained in preparing the road (remove signs, stop traffic, etc) and this is what you see every few hundred kms:

http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/5450-2/IMG_0839.JPG

The daunting thing about the trip isn't the distance in itself, but arriving on the bike at the beginning to hear the GPS pipe up: "in 1,200 kilometres make a left turn" :hmm:

http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/5...G_0489_001.jpg

So how do they prevent illicit use? A chicane would be interesting the way Cyps drive.

By allowing cars to drive up and down it