Enstone Aerodrome is a small unlicensed civilian airfield in England close to

Enstone Enstone is a village and civil parish in England, about east of Chipping Norton and north-west of Oxford city. The civil parish, one of Oxfordshire's largest, consists of the villages of Church Enstone and Neat Enstone, with the hamlets of C ...

in Oxfordshire, which is currently used for

microlights Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft c ...

and

motor glider A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing Aircraft#Heavier-than-air – aerodynes, aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (Mo ...

s. The

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international ...

(ICAO) designator is EGTN, and its contact radio frequency is 129.880. The Aerodrome Operators are Oxfordshire Sport Flying located close to the Runway 26 Threshold. The

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

, 4.5

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today t ...

s east of

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population ...

, has an asphalt paved main

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

: 08/26, which is 1100 metres long, consisting of a tarmac surface over concrete base. There is also a parallel grass strip "south side grass" of 800 metres which can be made available to some aircraft.

History

The aerodrome was built during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as a then typical triangular three-runway

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

airfield. The aerodrome opened 15 September 1942 as RAF Enstone. It started life as a satellite airfield for

RAF Moreton-in-Marsh RAF Moreton-in-Marsh was a Royal Air Force station near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire. It was opened in November 1940 with three concrete and tarmac runways and five aircraft hangars. It closed for operational flying in early 1948. The base ...

, and was used by

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is it ...

s of

No. 21 Operational Training Unit RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

until April 1944. A detachment of North American Harvards and

Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery roles throughout the Seco ...

s of No. 17 Flying Training School RAF subsequently arrived at Enstone; these departed during December 1946, and RAF Enstone eventually closed in 1947. The site was also used by: * No. 1 Refresher School RAF * No. 7 Maintenance Unit RAF *

No. 1682 Bomber Defence Training Flight RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at ...

Current use

It is currently used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation service ...

(GA). The hard runway is run by Oxfordshire Sport Flying Limited who provide flying lessons over Oxfordshire in modern motor gliders. The aerodrome is operational during daylight hours. The Northside Grass Runway is run by Enstone Airlines. Enstone Airlines also provide maintenance for aircraft. In addition to aviation activities, the aerodrome is also home to a number of industrial activities, including automotive and

general engineering A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...

, and accordingly, the site is also known as Enstone Airfield Industrial Estate. Northside Grass Runway is also used for GA and provides flying lessons to all who wish to learn to fly. It was used in 2018 as the race track for the 'Celebrity Face Off' segment of the British motoring show

The Grand Tour ''The Grand Tour'' is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Andy Wilman, made for Amazon exclusively for its online streaming service Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November ...

. The site has been mooted for a classic car museum, founded by American collector and philanthropist Peter W. Mullin. Plans for the museum were approved by

West Oxfordshire District Council West Oxfordshire is a local government district in northwest Oxfordshire, England, including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Carterton and Witney, where the council is based. Area The area is mainly rural downlan ...

in 2019, although in 2022 Mullin submitted altered plans, which are still awaiting approval.

References

External links

Oxfordshire Sport Flying at Enstone Aerodrome
– official website {{authority control Airports in England Transport in Oxfordshire Airports in South East England Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom

History

Current use

See also

References

External links