Longest runway in the UK?
 

I believe the USA's longest runway is at Edwards AFB in California. Could anyone tell me the name of the longest runway in the UK?. .. .I remember from a long-forgotten school trip that there's a very long old strip somewhere near York, but it's decommisioned now.. .. .Winners get a packet of smarties and a mars bar.

One website puts the new Fairford runway at 1.6 miles. That's about 8500 feet, which it says is okay for a Space Shuttle if needs be.

I believe the runway at Manston in Kent is about 15000 feet nearly 3 miles

Manston is only 9026', but was originally 300' wide and was built as an emergency crash facility for damaged returning bombers in WW2. It also had the FIDO system which dispersed fog by burning vast quantities of oil in troughs next to the runway. The tanks can still be seen.. .. .Uk's longest is 27R at Haethrow at 12798'. Longest military is Boscome Down at 10535'.

Fairford used to be 10003ft; I don't know if the resurfacing etc. changed anything.

Machrihanish ?. .Used only by Auroras of course <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" />

The one near York is probably Elvington.. .. .We used it as an RLG from Linton-on-Ouse in the 1970s for BFTS on the Jet Provost; I believe it's 11,000ft long.

Machrihanish - 10000ft

I thought the longest in the UK was RAF Finningley near Doncaster S. Yorkshire. .. .And in the USA the Cape Canaveral Skid Strip near the Space Shuttle Launch pads

The one at Canaveral I don't think is actually that long: Shuttle seems to have reasonable braking with chutes and brakes.

For the US, the runway at Groom Lake (Area51 / Dreamland) is reputed to be over 20000ft, although not paved for the entire length. But of course it doesn't really exist...

Obviously not relevant to the original question but apparently, the Shuttle landing runway at Kennedy Space Center is "4,572 meters (15,000ft) long and 91.4 meters (300ft) wide" with "305 meters (1000ft) of paved overruns at each end.". .. .This from a NASA website.

Elvington's large apron was mentioned earlier, which reminds of the time it was used for take-off. Sometime in the seventies a Linton based Jet Provost was stranded at Elvington with an engine snag. After the problem was fixed, the Linton-on-Ouse Unit Test Pilot (Flt Lt Dave Bingham?) was despatched to collect the JP, but a strong cross wind precluded a normal runway departure. With no hangars or permanent security staff at Elvington, a delay was not desirable, so it was decided that the JP would take-off diagonally across the apron, and thus into wind. So large is the apron, that 'runway length' was not an issue!. .. .As many may know, Elvington is the home of the Yorkshire Air Museum, and well worth a visit.

Thank you all. Smarties all round. Anyone want the yucky brown one?

Of course I meant it wasn't that long compared to Area 51... OK I was wrong! 300' wide explains why it doesn't look that big when you fly past on Orlando departure.. .. .Speaking of wide runways, Newquay St Mawgan has 300' as well, that has been little used by the Nimrods ans Sea Kings that have been based there in more recent times. Another US creation.

The main stip at Edwards on the dry lake bed is some 30,000' long.

Elvington - many happy memories of "day detachments" there from Linton, sitting out in the sunshine like spitfire jocks waiting for the next wave of Hun to appear! And eating cast off chocolates from the nearby factory that one of the firecrew brought in. Anyone see the incident where a visitors's run-in-and-break took out the telephone cable that went from the top of the tower to the crew room?

Is Elvington still a diversion landing runway for the Space Shuttle if it has to abhort a launch before reaching stable orbit? I am pretty sure it was at one time, but if a section has been removed is it now too short? Just curious.

Well, an addition to the kennedy space centre thingymabob.. .. .Saw on the TV that apparently it´s soooooo flat and soooooo long, it is exactly in line with the curvature of the earth.. .. .Anyone confirm this? Or is it American made-up stuff again? Like all the yanks on the posh bit of the titanic and the silly little irish elves in steerage.

Papertiger and Lucifer, you may be interested in this:. .. .<a href="http://home.houston.rr.com/bethland/runway.html" target="_blank">http://home.houston.rr.com/bethland/runway.html </a>. .. .and this:. .. .<a href="http://members.tripod.com/~groom_lake/" target="_blank">http://members.tripod.com/~groom_lake/</a>. .. . <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" />. . . . <small>[ 20 March 2002, 10:04: Message edited by: newswatcher ]</small>