Longest runway in the UK?
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Bruntingthorpe is 3000m (9943 feet). It is unlicensed and is used mainly by the motor industry as a proving ground plus the likes of Top Gear. They do offer long-term Aircraft storage and I also remember an ex-Air Frog 747 being flown in there a few years ago for destruction testing. In the wake of Pan Am/Lockerbie the CAA were investigating ways of making cargo containers stronger and the oldgirl was blown up to test the efficiency of new materials in withstanding small explosions.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
I have an old copy of the UK NOTAM for procedures to be followed for a Shuttle diversion. Gravely states that it will not be squawking emergency as no IFF etc. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> . .. .A few years back a B-1 had the wings stuck at full sweep. There were a lot of frantic calls to find a runway available where they could vv fast otherwise they were going to eject over the Bristol Channel. As I remember, I think they eventually went to Germany (Hannover, 10,300ft??)
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Edwards is a large dry salt lake, and although there are runway markings and instrumentation the who are can be used if necessary; essential for flight testing when problems could require pilots to land anywhere (also rocket-powered a/c land as gliders). I assume Groom Lake has the same characteristics. Bonneville salt flats, used for land speed records, is smoother as it floods annually, depositing a new surface, which like any truly flat surface ie height above sea level is constant (DVR6K please note) follows the curvature of the earth
Just been reading the April edition of Aircraft Illustrated which has an article on the Air Force Flight Test Centre Museum at Edwards (sounds well worth a visit if you are in the area). The article also mentions that Rogers Dry Lake, next to Edwards, covers an area of 44 square miles and has seven 'marked' runways criss-crossing the clay, the longest being seven and a half miles (39600 feet/12070 meters). . .. .The article quotes Edwards main runway at 15000 feet with a 9000 foot over-run over the lake bed.
The Space Shuttle diverts to Moron AB in Andalucia, Spain. It is about 20 miles East of Seville/60 miles North West of Malaga. The 'upturned wedding cake' airspace available by Notam is truly spectacular in dimension.. .. .Was suprised to find that LHR has the longest runway in UK - you learn something every day.. .. .WWW
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The official Shuttle TAL runways are:
Ben Guerir, Morocco - 13,720 feet
Yundim, Gambia - 11,811 feet
Moron, Spain - 11,800 feet
Zaragoza - 12,109 feet
In addition, each runway has a useable overrun area of at least 1,000 feet at either end.
The use of Ben Guerir was temporarily suspended after September 11, I am not sure if it is back in service.
Ben Guerir, Morocco - 13,720 feet
Yundim, Gambia - 11,811 feet
Moron, Spain - 11,800 feet
Zaragoza - 12,109 feet
In addition, each runway has a useable overrun area of at least 1,000 feet at either end.
The use of Ben Guerir was temporarily suspended after September 11, I am not sure if it is back in service.
Last edited by newswatcher; 16th Aug 2002 at 09:45.
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uk longest runway
i always thought that sculthorpe(egup) had the longest runway in the uk. if i remember rightly its approx 14000 ft long. admittedly its only used for army exercises. it was used by the usaf in the fifties for b45s to fly missions behind the iron curtain, the yanks actually got the raf to fly the missions for them. if anyone doesnt know where it is its on the a140 between kings lynn and cromer.
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Back on the space shuttle theme, the runway on Easter Island was elongated about 10 years ago by NASA, as a reserve landing site for the shuttles. Don't know its dimensions, just that the LanChile 767s which land there barely have to use their speedbrakes, and the taxi back to the terminal, basically the full length of the runway, takes forever.
High Flying Bird
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Does anybody actually know the answer?! 
Must admit I thought it was Manston too.
Have flown into Filton, but can't remember how long it is. I know it's just about wide enough to land a C152 with full flap though
(not that I've tried of course)
Must admit I thought it was Manston too.
Have flown into Filton, but can't remember how long it is. I know it's just about wide enough to land a C152 with full flap though
(not that I've tried of course)
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Sculthorpe
I suspect the reason why so many USAF fields in Europe initially had long runways was because the B47 needed them.
Re RB45s, I believe that the a/c used out of Sculthorpe for covert flights over the USSR also involved Canberras flown by RAF crews but painted in USAF colours. Quite why they pretended to be USAF I never worked out. The reason for using them was that the RB47s' ceiling was less than the Mig 17 and their own "Canberras" B57s were doing similar work in the far east.
Re RB45s, I believe that the a/c used out of Sculthorpe for covert flights over the USSR also involved Canberras flown by RAF crews but painted in USAF colours. Quite why they pretended to be USAF I never worked out. The reason for using them was that the RB47s' ceiling was less than the Mig 17 and their own "Canberras" B57s were doing similar work in the far east.
Last edited by Pom Pax; 9th Aug 2002 at 04:13.
Gentleman Aviator
When Elvington was still active (and had its entire length) it was nominated as a diversion for Concorde test flying. Late 60s I guess .....
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Heathrow, 13,500ft and maybe Boscombe Down which is pretty big but dont remember what exactly...
Just seen your figures above SB2946 - so I was right
Just seen your figures above SB2946 - so I was right