Newtownards Aerodrome is a local airfield in

Newtownards Newtownards (; ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtow ...

, County Down, Northern Ireland, east of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. It offers light aircraft flights (operated by the Ulster Flying Club), helicopter flights (operated by HeliPower), microlight flights (operated by NI Microlights) and flight simulator training (by AlphaTech). The airport also has an onsite restaurant. Newtownards Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (number P659) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Ulster Flying Club (1961) Limited).

Airfield history and operations

Newtownards Airfield opened in August 1934 and until the construction of Sydenham airfield (at Belfast Harbour, later a full airport) in March 1938, was served by UK scheduled internal passenger and mail flights. The following

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

units were here at some point under RAF Newtownards: * 'S' Flight of

No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF This is a List of Anti-aircraft co-operation units of the Royal Air Force. Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Units * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight RAF (1931–36) became Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight, ...

(January – November 1942) became No. 1617 (Anti-Aircraft Co-operation) Flight RAF * Detachment of

No. 6 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF This is a List of Anti-aircraft co-operation units of the Royal Air Force. Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Units * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight RAF (1931–36) became Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight, ...

(May 1942 – May 1943 & May – August 1943) * Detachment of No. 7 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF (April – May 1941) *

No. 13 Squadron RAF Number 13 Squadron, also written as XIII Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force which operate the General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle from RAF Waddington since reforming on 26 October 2012. The unit first formed as pa ...

* Relief Landing Ground for No. 24 Elementary Flying Training School RAF (November 1939 – July 1940) * No. 79 (Signals) Wing Calibration Flight RAF * No. 82 Group Communication Flight RAF (January 1942 – June 1943) * No. 96 (Wireless) Wing RAF (? – May 1944) * No. 201 Gliding School RAF (April 1944 – May 1946) * No. 203 Gliding School RAF (May 1945 – July 1947) * No. 416 (Army Co-operation) Flight RAF (June – July 1940) became No. 231 Squadron RAF * No. 664 Volunteer Gliding School RAF (November 1995 – March 2016) * No. 1480 (Anti-Aircraft Co-operation) Flight RAF (December 1941 – December 1943) became

No. 290 Squadron RAF No. 290 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as an anti-aircraft cooperation unit in World War II. History No. 290 Squadron formed at Newtownards on 1 December 1943 and was equipped with Hurricanes, Oxfords and Martinets to provi ...

* No. 1493 (Fighter) Gunnery Flight RAF (January – May 1942) became No. 1493 (Target Towing) Flight RAF (May – January 1943) * No. 2775 Squadron RAF Regiment * RAF Northern Ireland Communication Flight RAF (May 1944 – 1945)

Ulster Flying Club

The airfield is the home base of the Ulster Flying Club (UFC). The club was founded in 1961 and grew to become Northern Ireland's largest flying school and one of the largest, non-commercial training and flying organisations in Northern Ireland. The club manages the airfield's facilities. The clubhouse is open to the public for snacks and for viewing activities at the airfield; a new clubhouse was opened in 2005 after the destruction of the last clubhouse by a fire in 2004. Many private pilot owners and self-build constructors base their aircraft in the several hangars on the airfield. The Ulster Flying Club has continued to develop as a centre for private flying and so the ends of existing runways were re-surfaced and the grass strip tarmacked. The Ulster Flying Club has allowed the airfield to be used for various events including air display days and motorsport events. The Ulster Flying Club provides both leisure flights and flight training for those who wish to pursue a pilot's licence. The club operates a fleet of five fixed wing aircraft, consisting of two Cessna 172 SPs, one

Cessna 152 The Cessna 152 is an American two-seat, fixed- tricycle-gear, general aviation airplane, used primarily for flight training and personal use. It was based on the earlier Cessna 150 incorporating a number of minor design changes and a slightl ...

, one

Ikarus C42 The Ikarus C42 is a two-seat, fixed tricycle gear, general aviation microlight aircraft, manufactured in Germany by Comco Ikarus. It is used primarily for flight training, touring and personal flying. Design and development The Ikarus C42 is ...

and one

CZAW SportCruiser The CSA SportCruiser is a two-seat, single engine, tricycle undercarriage, fixed-wing aircraft that was introduced in 2006 by Czech Aircraft Works (CZAW), now named Czech Sport Aircraft.Kitplanes Staff: ''2008 Kit Aircraft Directory'', p. 73. ...

, One aircraft was involved in a fatal crash in April 2018. Recently added new PAPI lights on runway 21/03 and lights on runway 15/33 have allowed the airfield and UFC to safely carry out night flying and flying in bad visibility. A report dated 18 May 2023 by the

Air Accidents Investigation Branch The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, overseas territories and crown dependencies. It is also the Space Accident I ...

into the fatal crash on 19 July 2022 of Aeroprakt A32 Vixxen, G-ENVV highlighted multiple concerns and failings regarding the operation of the airfield and an apparent cavalier attitude to safety procedures by some pilots and the operating committee.

Radio frequencies

The airfield operates an A/G service and until 25 October 2018 the frequency was 128.300mHz; it has since moved to an 8.33 channel and is now 128.305

Fixed Base Operators

;Ards Model Flying Club Formed in 2019, the Ards Model Flying Club operates from premises at the Western side of the Airfield. The club participates in all disciplines of radio controlled aircraft flying and is affiliated to the

British Model Flying Association The British Model Flying Association (BMFA) is the body elected by the Royal Aero Club to be responsible for all aspects of flying model aircraft A model aircraft is a physical model of an existing or imagined aircraft, and is built typical ...

. ;HeliPower HeliPower operates leisure and charter flights as well as helicopter fight training for the PPL (H) pilot licence. They operate several rotary aircraft including

Robinson R22 The Robinson R22 is a two-seat, two-bladed, single-engined, light utility helicopter manufactured by Robinson Helicopter Company. It was designed in 1973 by Frank D. Robinson, and has been in production since 1979. Development The majority of ...

, R44 and

Bell Jet Ranger The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progr ...

. ;NI Microlights NI Microlights is an independent flight school operating from the airfield. They offer a range of Microlight services including NPPL tuition and trial flights, flight tests, aircraft sales, servicing, permits and repairs. Training is carried out on the

Thruster T600 Sprint The Thruster T600 Sprint is a British ultralight aircraft, designed and produced by Thruster Air Services of Langworth, Lincolnshire and introduced in the mid-1990s. The aircraft is supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.Bayerl, Robby; Ma ...

(fixed wing) and the P&M GT450 (flexwing). ;AlphaTech flight simulator training AlphaTech carry out flight simulator training for the

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...

series of aircraft. They operate a fixed base simulator training device, which is used for professional pilot flight training, SimPilot training and flight experiences. ;O'Neill aircraft maintenance Aircraft maintenance for permit and vintage aircraft is carried out by a small group of aircraft engineers based in the O'Neill hangar. Annual permit inspections, kit build projects, routine maintenance, engine and airframe repairs are carried out by inspectors approved by the

Light Aircraft Association The Light Aircraft Association (LAA) is the representative body in the United Kingdom for amateur aircraft construction, and recreational and sport flying. It oversees the construction and maintenance of homebuilt aircraft, under an approval from ...

(LAA) and the

British Microlight Aircraft Association The British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) is an organisation that governs microlight aircraft in the UK.; it is a member organisation that exists to benefit its members with respect to flying and operating microlight aircraft in the Unit ...

(BMAA).

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

CAA AIP Charts
{{authority control 1934 establishments in Northern Ireland Airports in Northern Ireland County Down Newtownards