Only worked on a Lamberts conformal.

Until they get a response from the original landowners or their successors I doubt there is much else to add, meanwhile, a few old boys can reminisce about Hullavington. If its not worth talking about its loss would be of little consequence.

The rumour is that the airfield is being sold to Sir James Dyson's company. Announced here: http://www.hullavingtonparishcouncil...%20Minutes.doc

3,000 jobs for the local area and £1.4M of Govt support. It will be a repait facility for this global success story. Good news for the locals but sad news for another airfield.

LJ

HV
 

After the squaddification of Hullavington I was disappointed to find that it was mainly used to house a mobile catering unit so that won't be missed. The magnificent officers mess would grace any business headquarters. I don't think that the entire airfield will be covered in the Dyson Dalek factory so I am glad we can welcome the company back from Malaysia to help the economy in the U.K.
I was in a flight of C130s waiting for a launch from Hullavington on a para sortie and was relating the story of a Varsity hitting the unfortunately placed hill on final approach from my Nav school days when the order came to stand to. Sadly our captain, one T*m P*****y had already launched in a glider whilst we were waiting and was only recalled on his mobile phone. Snapdragon 2 joined the flight after a "gang start" and 3 minute taxy time.
By the way, the Nav straight edge not only measured the 100 mile markers on trans atlantic legs on the Lamberts 400 series charts, but also could measure 14 nautical miles on the O.S. 50 thou maps for the TAP to DZ runs

Unless I am completely missing something, the report at the of the Hullavington Parish council minutes refers not only to the investment in the infrastructure of Buckley Barracks to secure it as a military facility for the foreseeable future, but also that there will be an additional unit based there 'in the next couple of years'.


The airfield itself has also been re-licensed for Heavy Drops so no plans to run that down then.


For clarification, the paragraph referring to Dysons expansion is contained within an overview of the activity of North Wilts Council as a whole, and relates to the ongoing (and extensive) expansion happening in Malmesbury right now.


Similar rumours were rife when Lyneham closed

That's good SX - I thought I was being a bit dim.

Re-read it twice and still couldn't see it :-)

Lets hope this does mean a long term future for the site and the Airfield. I believe the camp itself is listed.

It's a fabulous site. The Officers Mess alone (which I think is a combined Officers/Sgts Mess - same building, different sides) is a great place.

Arc

Dougie M, Ref Post No4

Nice picture.

Just caught up with this thread. Your picture of the flying classroom brings back so many memories. The interior looks very clean and big, I have always remembered the space as being very dingy and cramped. I was at 1ANS Topcliffe in 1960 and maybe we had the grotty ones.

Fond memory of Hullavington. We were at ATC camp at Rudloe Manor which had no rifle range so we went to Hullavington for shooting. The ATC camp there had no Authorised Range Supervisors so we invited them along to give them some practice. I was allocated a rather attractive 16 or 17 year old female cadet to teach how to shoot a .303. After about 10 rounds, she asked for a rest as 'I'm not wearing much under my coveralls and it's a bit painful' whereupon she pulled open the velcro top of her coveralls to prove she wasn't wearing much..........whew!
You had to have great willpower to be a VR(T) Officer!!

DeanoP

The Valetta picture was taken on the ground at Hullavington in early Feb 1962 while we were waiting to start the course at the end of the month. We were loaned the flying suits etc. for the photo shoot ( hence no rank braid or gloves ). The navbag belongs to the screen nav - no navbags were available for the studes until some could be retrieved from aircrew on ground tours. We had locally made blue canvas " shopping bags " until half way through the course, when we were issued with very old and tatty used ones. The 17 yo young chap in the foreground hasn't a clue what he is supposed to be doing, but is posed for the photo.

Then there is the embarrasing photo " shooting astro " with a Mk 9 sextant with both eyes open !!:O

Looks like the op was right. Just announced as one of twelve MoD sites to be disposed of for development.

..."Hullavington airfield site..."

I guess that also means we now know at least one of the VGS's that will close after the "pause"

Worth pointing out that Dyson have their own aviation department? ;)

Not closing - just relocating!

Looks like I was wrong then.


On the plus side, if the airfield site is covered in new housing, hopefully the North Wilts housing allocation will be soaked up and there will be no need for them to get involved in a complex plan with Cotswold District Council at Kemble airfield- that all seems to have gone quiet though.

Sucks

Arc

Of course, the Mercator was the standard plotting chart through to the V-Force and we would use the dividers and measure the distance at mid-lat, another 'activity or process' plus and potential 'minor' or 'major' error.

Remember doing single and two Pl MPPs rather than a 3 Pl fix to get the process count up

Dougie's photo:

Still have two of those grey pencil boxes, a Douglas and a Buccaneer Protractor and other assorted kit - including my issue Goggles for flying Varsity.

Nostalgia's not what it used to be.

I too hold fond memories of Hullavington; having flown solo there for the first time it's a place I'll certainly never forget.:ok:

Local MP says that it won't be houses but for an undisclosed environmentally friendly industry - James Gray MP plays down fears over houses in Hullavington (From This Is Wiltshire)

Expectations are that it is Dyson expanding. It is a British success story and the Government wants to export more, so it makes sense.

LJ

Leon Jabachabicz,

....."export more."

You do know that all Dyson factories are in Malaysia don't you? We IMPORT Dyson products.

I wonder if Sir James will move the Harrier from outside their Malmesbury HQ?
The Harrier in My Car Park: The Price of Losing Your Resolve | WIRED

Proone

As is the way for global manufacturing markets - Triumph motorbikes are similar with the bulk being built in the far east. But the PROFIT for the UK company comes here.

I don't believe that one third of a billion pounds is to be sniffed at!
Rugs to riches: Dyson announces record profits of £367m | Technology | The Guardian

LJ:ok:

Leon Jabachjabicz,

I realise this, the global manufacturing sector being one I operate in, but the bulk of Triumph machines ARE made in Hinckley wheras ALL of Dyson machines are made in Malaysia.
When Dyson **** his Malmesbury manufacturing plant and shipped production abroad he cited both labour cost and the fact that the majority of their component suppliers were based locally.

Thankfully this is a trend that is now in rapid reverse, on shoring and reshoring, i.e bringing manufacturing back from over seas to UK plants, is now a significant factor for companies both large and small.

Proone

Not so, old fruit...

The Hinckley factory's work is mostly design and assembly of motorcycle parts made in Thailand. Also, the new super factory in India is expected to manufacture 10 TIMES the production of Hinckley/Thailand put together. :eek:

I think there is an old boy that puts the gold-leaf stripe on Bonneville tanks by hand at the Hinckley factory.

Anyway, I agree 'reshoring' is good and who knows, this might be what is planned for Hullavington? Maybe the Govt are saving this good news for a 'rainy day'? :ok:

LJ

PS. My Hinckley designed Bonnie that was built in Thailand was still of far better quality than my Meriden produced oli-leaking Bonnie from 1972!!!

Hullavington
 

It seems we have lost the thread again. I recently came across this statement on an Expansion Airfields site:
​"What is interesting about Hullavington is that the land was donated by the Duke of Beaufort (IIRC) whose only stipulation was that the architecture should be in keeping with the locality. The upshot of this being that all buildings viewable from outside the camp (including part of the OMQs) were built/clad in local stone, whereas buildings further inside the camp (invisible to the public) were red brick. I believe this was the only Station done like this."
The Duke of Beaufort is not listed as one of the former owners according to the Crichel Down notice and the Badminton Estate is not able to find any records that it ever owned the land.
Does anyone out there know anything about this?

So, here is my theory on the Dyson rumour...

Seeing as Dyson has bought out the high-tech battery company Satki3 with a £10M investment last year: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...y-company.html

And that he has announced an interest in electric cars: Dyson might be building electric car, joining Apple and Google in looking to make vehicles of the future | News | Lifestyle | The Independent

As I quoted before, James Gray MP stated:
James Gray MP plays down fears over houses in Hullavington (From This Is Wiltshire)

Now seeing as the Chancellor has been crowing about autonomous electric vehicles recently in the press: George Osborne to open UK roads to driverless cars by 2020 | News | Lifestyle | The Independent

And also his budget last year boosted this: Budget 2015: Research into driverless cars boosted - FT.com

Then here is my theory. Dyson will be the lead in building autonomous electric cars in the UK, using his new battery technology, and building them at Hullavington. If I'm right I'll claim my £5 and if I'm wrong I'll keep wearing my tin foil hat...

...if correct then its not great news for the 'Northern Powerhouse', though. Maybe they should rename it the 'Western Powerhouse' with the recent investment at St Athan for the Aston Martin DB-X factory!! Maybe, HS2 should be routed westwards instead! :}

LJ :ok:

PS. I wonder if Sir James would build the Air Cadets some new gliders as well? :ok:

Part of airfield for sale.
 

Advert in the "Wiltshire Times" for Friday 4th by "Bilfinger/GVA/DIO for a parcel of land to the NW adjacent to the MQ's for sale(Freehold) including the two 'E' type hangars to the NE and the two to the NW.(89acres in total) Had a look on their website but can't find anything about it. The parcel of land for sale includes part of the airfield but is not encroaching on the ruway. I have tried to mark the boundary on GE with a link to it but I'm afraid I failed miserably, sorry!

The details are here.

Land for sale in Land and buildings former Hullavington Airfield, Chippenham, SN14 , SN14

So now we know
 

BBC iPlayer - Points West - Evening News: 28/02/2017


We're outgrowing Malmesbury headquarters, says Sir James

1 hr ago / Bruno Clements, Social media and web editor Wilts Gazette and Herald
5 comments
BILLIONAIRE inventor Sir James Dyson has announced plans for a new multi-million-pound research and development centre in Wiltshire as he seeks to expand his company's footprint tenfold in the UK.
Vacuum and electronics giant Dyson is to begin work on a second technology campus on a 517-acre former Ministry of Defence (MoD) site at Hullavington, near its Malmesbury headquarters.
It comes as the group is looking to double its workforce to around 7,000 in the next five or six years and will create a global hub for research and development
Sir James said: "After 25 years of UK growth, and continuing expansion globally, we are fast outgrowing our Malmesbury campus.
"The 517-acre Hullavington Campus is an investment for our future, creating a global hub for our research and development endeavours.
"It will enable us to continue creating world-class products and jobs right here in the Cotswolds."
Sir James, who spoke out in favour of Brexit, recently announced plans to launch the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology in September - a new university based at Malmesbury - and two weeks ago opened a new technology centre in Singapore.
Prime Minister Theresa May hailed Dyson's new campus plans as a "vote of confidence in our modern industrial strategy and our determination to cement the UK's position as a world leader in hi-tech engineering".

She added: "Dyson's exporting strength and commitment to creating jobs in Britain is a real success story that demonstrates the opportunity that our plan to create a truly global Britain can present."

Dyson already has two sites in the UK - its Malmesbury HQ and a Bristol software hub.

It is also investing £250 million on expanding its 56-acre HQ.

Dyson has not disclosed how much will be invested in the Hullavington site, but the group has pledged to pump £2.5bn into future technologies and currently spends £7m a week on research and development.

It is set to begin site preparations for the first phase of the Hullavington development next week, with restoration of the Second World War hangars beginning in May.


The site was originally an RAF flying training station, opened in 1937, but has been largely inactive since the mid-1990s and was one of 12 put up for sale by the MoD in January 2016.

Told you so (14 months ago) :rolleyes:

https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...expansion-plan

But Dyson doesn't build anything in the UK, all manufacturing is done in Malaysia, why would electric cars be any diffetent?

Either way doubling the workforce by 3,500 is not to be sneezed at...

That is very true.

There has been so much speculation about the future of Hullavington Airfield for the last year and now people living in the area know what is happening. Whatever Dyson does, he does it well, I am confident that the airfield is in safe hands and will be developed with respect for its Conservation Area status.

Manufacturing isn't the way forward - R&D is...... Dyson also have R&D in Singapore but building things just moves to the lowest earning places

I actually smell a rat here...............

Dyson 'needs' a new site, and suddenly 'out of the blue' Hullavington airfield is disposed of. Despite the ongoing use/requirement for the airfield site by the RLC for driver training, the Drops still done on the site, a based VGS on the site and also MQ's on the site.

I have a feeling that there have been 'discussions' behind closed doors here......and some brown envelopes

or am I just a conspiracy theorist gone mad ??

Hullavington Airifield - probably one of the (or the) best site for a multi-line winch launch VGS anywhere in the country both in terms of size, layout, availability and geography............gone for ever............

Has the new location for 621 VGS been confirmed yet ?

Arc

The VGS went in August last year, drops have not been carried out for a very long time and the MQ sites do not impinge on the airfield.

However although 90 acres were advertised on the open market late last year, the 536 acres that Dyson has bought do not appear to have been openly marketed.Given the potentially huge financial benefit to the local economy plus the 3000 jobs created, maybe it is the right decision just to to do a deal with Dyson.Far better than hundreds of tacky houses I think.

621 are storing some kit at Little Rissington, local rumour is that South Cerney is the new base but how that would work with Fairford departures remains to be seen.

PrOOne
I carried Mr Dyson some years ago on a private jet charter. During conversation, the Malaysia manufacturing topic came up. He said the company had tried to set up a plant in the Malmsbury area. He could not get planning permission from the local Council!
Poor decision as it turned out, for local employment.

I too would rather see proper industry on the site than thousands of ticky-tack modern slum houses................

Although I would rather have seen it as an airfield !!

Arc

For information, the airfield had to be offered to sale under the Crichel Down rules which means that it had to be offered to the original landowners or their descendants Two parcels of the land were sold in this way and it would appear that Dyson has negotiated with the former owners descendants to acquire that land. The final area was acquired by Dyson when it was offered for sale on the open market.

Unfortunately right now the country needs about half a million "ticky-tacky modern slum houses" - ask anyone under 40................