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paulqv
Original Poster
2,385 posts
64 months
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I have done a quick check on google earth. Didnt realise there were so many airstrips in Scotland! A lot seem to be grass fields.
Can anyone tell me if they know of hard standing preferably concrete or tar surfaced ones within the greater central scotland area? That is private ones, not Glasgow airport, Cumbernauld etc. Also if you ahve a contact there?
thinking of running an event at one and need a well surfaced one that would accept cars etc
Thanks
Paul
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bigblock
608 posts
67 months
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Paul,do you need it for aircraft use as well or purely for cars?
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paulqv
Original Poster
2,385 posts
64 months
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Hi
Cars and or bikes def not planes.
There are ones at Errol and kirknewton near East Calder. Are they still used or have a good surface? Some of the Arial pics seem to suggest many are in very poor condition.
just amazed how many there are, but they mainly seem to be grass.
Paul
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drangular
190 posts
30 months
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S2red
1,636 posts
60 months
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Bit far but Campbeltown has a very long one and Prestick has a spare bit of runway
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haggishunter
548 posts
112 months
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East fortune isn't too far out the way.
al
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VetteG
3,111 posts
113 months
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Here I go putting spanners in works. My understanding is East fortune does not allow car events because of noise complaints, Kirknewton is scheduled to become the new army base so they can close Redford, but thats not for a while. Not sure if the air cadets still fly their gliders out of Kirknewton, in any event last time I saw it the runway was a bit ropy. That aside, I like the general idea, would the event need RAC MSA etc. approval? What about Crail, have you looked at the costs of renting that for an event?
G
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edp190
299 posts
78 months
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East fortune aren't allowed to run events on their track but they do have a decent amount of Tarmac thats not covered by the noise police!
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750turbo
2,739 posts
93 months
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S2red said: Bit far but Campbeltown has a very long one and Prestick has a spare bit of runway Where is this? Are you referring to the runway that runs parallel to the A77? Still in use as far as I am aware, not sure if the big stuff uses it though.
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ninja-lewis
1,895 posts
59 months
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To add to what others have said, there are very few 'private' airfields that aren't grass. For example, Cumbernauld, Dundee and Fife are about the only post-war non-RAF airfields with hard standings. All three have single runways and are fairly busy to the extent that they probably wouldn't be willing to close the runway for you. The first two are also proper airports, so they're effectively non-starters as you mentioned.
So that leaves you mostly looking at ex-RAF airfields. Many have been converted back to farmland or industrial estates; of those still extant the runways are usually used for storage, or are in poor condition (although aircraft are known to use a few of them still).
Even if you could find one in decent enough condition, it'll likely have very tight planning conditions and/or noise sensitive neighbours (as per East Fortune).
Kirknewton is still MOD property so you'd need their permission (unlikely) and as VetteG says, it is a bit ropey. The barracks plan is still a long ways off though, if it ever happens.
Perth/Scone have two hard runways plus a grass runway but they're pretty busy.
Errol and Crail are worth a look. Various flying clubs fly in to Crail every now and again so it's presumably not too bad. I don't know whether the drag strip accident about a year ago has an impact on car/bike use of Crail though.
You could try Charterhall or Winfield in the Borders perhaps. Both are ex-RAF airfields that are still extant - and at least part of Charterhall is still marked out for a small runway.
Many of the more suitable airfields are actually around the islands of the Argyll & Bute, the Western Isles, etc. But they're probably too impractical.
East Lothian Council finally gave planning permission for a new airfield at Dirleton (although Scottish Ministers seem to be holding it up now). But I expect they wouldn't be allowed to host car events, even if they were willing to.
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Olivera
1,730 posts
108 months
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ninja-lewis said: ...
Even if you could find one in decent enough condition, it'll likely have very tight planning conditions and/or noise sensitive neighbours (as per East Fortune). East Fortune being unavailable for car use due to noise complaints is frequently mentioned on here, but doesn't stand up to scrutiny. As far as I've been able to ascertain the track at East Fortune is owned by the Melville Motorcycle Club, who are very precious of their tarmac and for that reason won't let cars use it. The 'excessive noise' explanation is either just heresay or a convenient (but illogical) excuse to keep cars off the track. They run regular bike race days at East Fortune that are anything but quiet.
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GoneAnon
907 posts
21 months
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I was at an Ultimate Car Control/Mercedes-Benz event at Glenrothes Airport 3 or 4 years ago.
I don't think the place has got busier since then, so it could be a possibility.
I did learn that the runway surface is grippier than a road surface, so brake-test results would differ from real life, in case that affects your plans.
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Georgeous129
746 posts
20 months
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paulqv said: Hi
Cars and or bikes def not planes.
There are ones at Errol and kirknewton near East Calder. Are they still used or have a good surface? Some of the Arial pics seem to suggest many are in very poor condition.
just amazed how many there are, but they mainly seem to be grass.
Paul Errol is used for skydiving and the runway seems to be tarmac. The car park at the Tayside Classic this year was a fully tarmac runway. I was at the market (which isn't held on the runway) and it seemed like a decent surface. I'm pretty sure it wasn't loose stones either
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paulqv
Original Poster
2,385 posts
64 months
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Hi guys
thanks for all the input. At least it saves me visits to a few places to see what they have to offer. I may try Crail.
Cumbernauld dont allow cars on the strip. I suspect Dundee and Perth will be the same.
I will go and check a few to see what they say.
Keep advising please.
Paul
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Rockatansky
1,266 posts
56 months
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TJB69
136 posts
39 months
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My dad was telling me that there used to be an airstrip at turnberry in Ayrshire. Will try and find out more details
Cheers Tom
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GoneAnon
907 posts
21 months
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Forgot to mention Balado Airfield whch is now Balado Activity Centre and site of T In The Park at Kinross.
The runways there are in poor condition and have chicken sheds on some of them. The bulk of the internal road system is loose-surfaced.
The Gliding Centre at Scotlandwell is a grass strip, so you can take that one off the list of possibles as well.
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750turbo
2,739 posts
93 months
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TJB69 said: My dad was telling me that there used to be an airstrip at turnberry in Ayrshire. Will try and find out more details
Cheers Tom Yes, there is. If you drive along the coast road, before Turnberry (Southbound) it is on your left, easy to miss. I have an old pal that flew gliders from there, but it was yonks ago. No Idea what it is like now.
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amccan10
490 posts
47 months
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VetteG
3,111 posts
113 months
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amccan10 said: Good call, Ingliston is still used for the odd sprint and a couple of 'exotic' car events. G
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