What if Filton was Bristol's airport
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Plymouth
Posts: 44
What if Filton was Bristol's airport
I was just thinking the other day what if Filton Airfield had become Bristol's main airport, runway length is near perfect, it close proximity to the M5, and 3 train stations (Bristol Parkway, Filton Abbey Wood & Patchway). It is also close to Cribbs Causeway and has large hangars(something Bristol International Airport is limited by) Overall I feel Filton would have been the perfect site for an airport, where as the one Bristol had got is in the middle of nowhere, a fair drive from the M5.
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: EGNX
Posts: 1,101
I often thought it was a real missed opportunity for the region, with its close proximity to the M5, Bristol Parkway station and, dare I say, South Wales, this could have become a major airport for the region with a runway comfortably long enough for Long Haul.
Last edited by Doors to Automatic; 1st Apr 2018 at 17:08.
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: uk
Posts: 1,569
Funny that this should come up. Yesterday I heard that my son has just had an offer accepted on a house in Bristol. For me personally, at the price he has agreed and for what he is getting for that, it only makes sense to me if it is a good investment. For this to happen Bristol will have to be considered an even more attractive city than it is. For that, I said, they should make Filton the main airport for Bristol and more pilots could enjoy coping with the huge hump in the runway.
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: UkK
Posts: 21
Bristol is max 15-20 minutes off the M5 if you jump off at Gordano and cut over the top.
Unfortunately the value of the land at Filton would be too valuable and I’m sure there would’ve been nimby’s complaining about the noise.....
Unfortunately the value of the land at Filton would be too valuable and I’m sure there would’ve been nimby’s complaining about the noise.....
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Plymouth
Posts: 44
Compare that with the current airport which is a 20 - 25 minute drive away, on some horrible slow roads, well out of Bristol with the only way to get there being by bus, taxi or car. Although there is plans for a railway line out there(complete waste of money really) . Filton site is 10 mins from the M5, 6 mins drive to Bristol Parkway, which could be even less if the terminal was positioned in the correct place.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Plymouth
Posts: 44
Funny that this should come up. Yesterday I heard that my son has just had an offer accepted on a house in Bristol. For me personally, at the price he has agreed and for what he is getting for that, it only makes sense to me if it is a good investment. For this to happen Bristol will have to be considered an even more attractive city than it is. For that, I said, they should make Filton the main airport for Bristol and more pilots could enjoy coping with the huge hump in the runway.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Plymouth
Posts: 44
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: River Thames & Surrey
Age: 69
Posts: 189
Well the Bristol 188 stainless steel research aircraft must have been pretty noisy; it was supposedly M=2 capable although I don't think it ever got there, and later on the F111s which went in for maintenance were hardly the quietest aircraft.
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: uk
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In the period while Bristol (Lulsgate) was growing mightily after Les Wilson took over the management, he admitted to me on many occasions that his nightmare was Filton's owners waking up to the fact that if it was properly developed and marketed it could take 90% of Lulsgate's traffic in 2 years, and then develop into one of Britain's most important airports, serving the Midlands and Wales as a Heathrow substitute, and the whole South-West region.
It would have made total economic sense to buy up all the affected housing, offering inflated prices, and/or build alternative social housing.
The primary asset that Filton had was its location by the M4/M5 junction. Lulsgate's A38 location was and remains dire.
It had none of the weather problems of Lulsgate, and its runway did not go over the top of a hill.
It would have made total economic sense to buy up all the affected housing, offering inflated prices, and/or build alternative social housing.
The primary asset that Filton had was its location by the M4/M5 junction. Lulsgate's A38 location was and remains dire.
It had none of the weather problems of Lulsgate, and its runway did not go over the top of a hill.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Plymouth
Posts: 44
From what i've heard they are now trying to get a railway line out to the airport, yet Filton has 3 railway stations in close proximity, it just seems mad.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Plymouth
Posts: 44
Is the Brabazon hangar still there now? I'd imagine its been demolished.
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Here and There
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To airsouthwest: for someone apparently so interested in Filton as an airport and what it's due to become instead, it might be useful to occasionally visit the website of what was once the Bristol Evening Post, just to keep up with developments. *
For instance, you ask about the 'Brabazon Hangar' ... the Aircraft Assembly Hall (AAH), as it was actually called, is one continuous span building, divisible into three by partitions if required. At present, part of it is being used by Arnold Laver Limited as a timber warehouse, but it's being considered as one of two options for a Bristol Arena by the Bristol City & County Council. The development of a small town on the actual airfield (referred to by some locals as 'Filton Keynes') is within the area of South Gloucestershire Council, whereas the AAH is 'over the border' in Bristol.
The railway line referred to in previous posts forms the boundary between the two council territories. There was once a railway station on this line, adjacent to the airfield, used for many years by thousands of workers at the Bristol Aeroplane Company and its successors, called North Filton Platform. It could be reactivated to provide an extra transport link for the new 'town' development and the proposed Arena ... and, of course, would have been another reason why Filton might well have been a much better site for Bristol Airport than Lulsgate Bottom, back in the day.
* I tried to post a link for you, but I don't have sufficient posts for this to be 'allowed' ... you can search for it as 'Bristol Post'.
SN
For instance, you ask about the 'Brabazon Hangar' ... the Aircraft Assembly Hall (AAH), as it was actually called, is one continuous span building, divisible into three by partitions if required. At present, part of it is being used by Arnold Laver Limited as a timber warehouse, but it's being considered as one of two options for a Bristol Arena by the Bristol City & County Council. The development of a small town on the actual airfield (referred to by some locals as 'Filton Keynes') is within the area of South Gloucestershire Council, whereas the AAH is 'over the border' in Bristol.
The railway line referred to in previous posts forms the boundary between the two council territories. There was once a railway station on this line, adjacent to the airfield, used for many years by thousands of workers at the Bristol Aeroplane Company and its successors, called North Filton Platform. It could be reactivated to provide an extra transport link for the new 'town' development and the proposed Arena ... and, of course, would have been another reason why Filton might well have been a much better site for Bristol Airport than Lulsgate Bottom, back in the day.
* I tried to post a link for you, but I don't have sufficient posts for this to be 'allowed' ... you can search for it as 'Bristol Post'.
SN
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