In the 90's I managed an Irish pub in Zaragoza where another abort landing strip was situated. The NASA fire and medical crew were an amazing bunch of fellas from Texas, some of my best customers. One of our staff had a brother with Down syndrome who was fascinated by aircraft. They took us all to the landing site and took him out in the fire truck and gave him amazing gifts such a their mission caps and patches which were unique one offs and got astronauts to sign photos of themselves and the shuttle in the US and send them to him. The little guy was thrilled beyond belief. Proper Gents.

@nakfan

9 күн бұрын

What a lovely and heart warming story ❤️ Thanks. Per (Denmark)

@DigitalDiabloUK

9 күн бұрын

I suspect Zaragoza would have ended up been the primary diversion as it was generally near the launch arc for standard orbital insertion. But I suppose in the event of a failure, things could literally go sideways. 😂

This was an absolutely brilliant video.We got a rescue dog brought up from Spain to Scotland in December 2020, and on the drive back down the Eurotunnel closed, hence the Spanish truck got stuck for a few days on Manston's runway! Crazy times!

In 1989 my wife treated me to a trail flight in a light aircraft at Manston. While we were running through procedures, before take off, a flight of about four A10 Tankbusters from USAF Lakenheath taxied along and took off from Manston’s runway. My instructor explained they were the “Dover Patrol”, pilots on a training run where they do a low level flight along the Channel, past the white cliffs. Apparently, this was something the American flight crew loved doing. We then taxied and took off, climbing to a height of 1000’ above the English coast. Suddenly, Manston control radioed us, asking if we had visible contact with the Dover Patrol? The next thing I know, I’m flying a light aircraft alongside the tankbusters! I think I remember that more than I do flying the light aircraft!

@shirleydrury5565

8 күн бұрын

I think you mean bentwaters😊

@grahamrichards193

8 күн бұрын

@@shirleydrury5565 ???

I was stationed here in the RAF, January 1969 - March 1970, the cushiest posting ever😂..... I've just seen this pop up on my susbscribers feed, and haven't got time to watch at the moment, but will comment later when I've got more time. Lots of happy memories from the 15 months I was a resident🙂

@WARVIATION

9 күн бұрын

awesome

Did my PPL at Manston back in ‘91; one of my instructors during circuit phase used to say “less a circuit, more of a NAVEX”

As a lapsed PPL holder and resident of Sandwich (Manston is visible just up the hill), this brings me right back to flying days. Great video and makes me want to fly again! Interesting that current and prospective MP Roger Gale is campaigning to reopen Manston...

Manston is going to reopen to aircraft after a few court cases ...I live in ramsgate and it's going to be great for the area ...my favourite memories are when concorde came ,they also used to train pilots in jumbos touch n go circuits..

@scottisles3688

9 күн бұрын

I remember when Concorde came in there, it was incredible to witness!

@Matt-Durham

9 күн бұрын

What court cases were they? I'm really curious any links

@iscmiscm

9 күн бұрын

@@Matt-Durham There is one person that keeps trying to derail the reopening using our courts.

@jasonvoak

9 күн бұрын

​@Matt-Durham if you serach manston airport judicial review it should come up ..

"Before we take off let's have a little check, of the things that can kill you" That's the best business case description of the need to follow check lists I have ever heard. Thank you for sharing.

@howardgraff4084

8 күн бұрын

Yes, I was thinking that too...and yet Terry chose not to use a checklist! A bit like that Vlogger who flies TBMs. He never uses checklists either!

@chrismarsh8623

4 күн бұрын

Flap check ? !!

Need to add RAF Machrihanish to your list for the shuttle diversion field. At nearly 1.9 miles it had more than enough space.

Lovely explanation of the long and fascinating history of the airfield, and very nicely presented Terry! That low pass along the runway really shows just how ridiculously long it is!

Thanks for this. I was born in Margate and lived opposite Manston as a child. It was some distance away with a railway line in-between, but I remember seeing the Americans parachuting down with Jeeps as well. Years later I worked as an electrician on the site contracting when it was a passenger service. Now live in Wales retired. Spitfire hurricane museum was always worth a visit. Appears they have the go ahead now to bring it back to life. Hope to pop back soon to check out the museum. Thanks again

I remember driving past there years ago when it was operational and couldn't work out why I was seeing commercial aircraft on what I thought was an RAF base. You basically answered every question I wanted to ask, so I class that as being an excellent video. Thank you for sharing.

Perfect mix of "fun and facts", thanks for bringing us along !

RAF Manston was my first posting in 1974 after completing RAF Air Traffic Control trade training. It was one of the best postings I had in my 28years service. Not only was it a MEDA ( Master Emergency Diversion Airfield) is was also one of the 2 UK Foamer Units. This meant we could lay a path of foam along the runway for an aircraft with an undercarriage malfunction to land on. The foam suppressed the sparks caused by the aircraft body / wing dragging along the runway. In my 2 years there I had 3 AC foam incidents a Victor and 2 Canberra's. One of the Canberra's came in with complete UC malfunction and on one engine then as it passed over the threshold of 28 the other engine cut out so it slide down the foam, quite a night. It was also the base of 72 Sqn D-Flight which flew SAR Wessex helicopters. great times

The family of a friend of mine owned a flying business at Manston back when it still had a RAF flight training operation. They were part of the initial effort to prevent developers planting expensive houses along the runway. One other use for Manston was to handle influxes of transport aircraft carrying relief supplies for disaster recovery operations in Europe and North Africa, since it could easily take heavies and marshal them without crowding, and there was decent road infrastructure to bring in supplies. I remember seeing Antonovs on the apron for one such emergency operation back in the 1980s.

When it was a military base it was classified as a Military Emergency Diversion Aerodrome (MEDA) as it was capable of taking any size of aircraft.

My absolute favourite IRL Pilot videos on YT. Another great video Terry.

@ShortField

9 күн бұрын

Thank you Martyn.

I have flown in here many times whilst in the RAF. One time in a VC-10 we had an engine fire and they were getting ready to lay the 'foam carpet' as Manston was the only place in the UK they could COVER the runway wth foam. Luckily we dealt with the fire and returned to Brize for a 3 engine recovery.

@TheBioniXman

9 күн бұрын

Really? As a young SAC rigger we used to watch the fire secon cover the runway in foam at Leeming.

@gordy4459

6 күн бұрын

I was a fireman at Brize Norton during the 70's and 80's and can remember a VC10 with hydraulic problems diverting to Manston where they were looking at laying a foam carpet ready for a gear up landing...Thankfully though the crew managed to get the gear down and locked and the aircraft made a normal landing...

Very enjoyable, thank you. I was in an Air Training Corps camp at Manston in the late 70s. Flew in a Chipmunk, Dove and Dominie - coincidentally all DeHavilland planes. I can remember a Canberra landing with a major emergency, so it was still a useful place for planes in distress. My indistinct memories are that it was semi-deserted then. I can remember a forlorn early mark Lightning standing on its own among lots of disused office buildings.

@stephenbarrette610

9 күн бұрын

I flew in a chipmunk in the 1960s, with my schools CCF / ATC it was a lot of fun! And I remember seeing a Lightning takeoff at the Farnborough airshow back in the 60s and it was awesome. It just went straight up, almost vertical or so it seemed!

Hi Terry Thanks for super video of Manston as i am 81 born 11 Nov 1942 and like aircraft regards Mike keep safe Terry.

RAF Fairford was the only Transoceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK. As well as having a sufficiently long runway for a shuttle landing (the runway is 3 km long), Fairford also had NASA-trained fire and medical crews stationed on the base.

@ShortField

10 күн бұрын

True but there were many diversionary airfields that were identified and placed on standby throughout the World. These were not primary but were capable of accepting a shuttle in trouble and were in the shuttles database. Manston was one of those.

@diamondderek848

10 күн бұрын

RAF Fairford was the main ABLS in the UK for the Shuttle. All the fire Service on the base at that time was trained for shuttle landings.

@anthonyg4671

10 күн бұрын

@@diamondderek848 why not repeat the first comment 🙃

@1960dave1960

10 күн бұрын

I did think, before I watched this particular video, he was going to about RAF Fairford, (or should I say, USAF Fairford)

@andrewmeadows2596

9 күн бұрын

​​@@anthonyg4671 why not repeat the first comment🙃

Fantastic. There are yellow ribbons tied near the old airport buildings- meaning that one day Manston will return and fly again- fingers crossed it does- major boost to the local economy.

Manston was also one of my landaways on my QXC, staring at Lydd, plus I live in Maypole. Thanks for posting this.

We in the USAF flew into manston occasionally. It was great on weekend cross-countries in the 1980s because of the "Dover tour" started there. A retired RAF controller who I later worked with said they would do a running commentary from manston all the way down to Dover while maintaining VFR offshore position. It was a brilliant ploy to increase traffic and the cost of doing business at manston. It allowed controllers to train with various performance aircraft and was a lot of fun for us flight crew members doing it. Somewhere. I have a video on one of those flights that we flew as a two ship of Phantoms maintaining 3 Mi offshore and the controller giving constant description of what we were looking at. Great memories indeed. Thank you Carole

Beautiful take off Terry.

Very interesting bit of history! Nice video. Glad they didn't build houses on it!

Thank you for that brilliant video. It brought back happy memories of being in my school’s Combined Cadet Force and spending an amazing long weekend at RAF Manston back in the 1960’s. I got to fly with an actual RAF pilot who let me take control of a de Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk for 5 minutes. I suspect he was trimming everything but I did roll it upside down! Unforgettable moment until that was repeated at RAF Chivenor in Devon a year later when I flew in a glider as well, which was unreal. I also went to RAF Waddington later that year in a copter tracking ‘enemy’ submarines, sick bag at the ready! So cool that Manston was a potential safe landing site for the Shuttle. I’ve been a bit of a space nerd for the last 60 years. Great channel.

Hi, I just wanted to let you know how much I love your channel. I'm a massive aviation fan, unfortunately haven't yet been able to do my PPL, but I'll get there. The main thing I enjoy (and admire) about your videos is your self-analysis and the insights you give into the mentality one needs to be a successful (ie, still alive!) pilot. You are never afraid to admit to mistakes, and it's an invaluable learning resource for other pilots. I also watch a guy called Hoover, (channel is called Pilot Debrief), and I think he would thoroughly approve of the way you self-critique. I'd love to see him do a video on your 2022 incident, and im sure he would agree completely with your own breakdown of what happened, and what we can all learn from it. Keep up the brilliant work, I'm convinced that pilots like you, by taking the time and trouble to share your knowledge and experience, are helping to save lives every day. Thank you, JP.

Great video - so interesting to see you land at Manston. Read so many accounts from pilots in ww2 who were based there. What a great entry for your logbook!

Did my RAF flying scholarship and PPL at RAF Manston at TG Aviation in 1987. It was indeed a huge runway, and I recall thinking of the winds were strong enough that I’d be able to land across that runway 😅

Great upload Terry, really interesting... Thank you

Thanks for posting...Manston airport will be back😊

Long field indeed! Love the channel Terry - keep the videos coming.

Great video. My dad flew a Piper tri-pacer out of Maypole before moving to Clipgate farm a few years before Maypole closed. We flew in and out of Manston several times, also using the grass runway. Also did many airfields and strips in Kent, Essex and the near Continent.

Watching from Zimbabwe... Awesome video!

Yipee - a new Short Field video!

Fabulous video! I had no idea of its history!

Wow ! That was an awesome video. So interesting. Keep them coming 🤣.

That was briliant. Thanks.

Flew in and out of RAF Manston during Navy BFT raining in a Gazelle helicopter back in 1984. Had a bird strike on take off -made a bit of a mess on the canopy.

Loved the 360 cam shot of EGMC!

Takes me back to 1974 when I was stationed at RAF Northolt and was able to hitch a ride on the H S 125 to do circuits and bumps at RAF Manston. I was 17 at the time and it was the first time I had ever heard of the place and the first I had ever Flown. Happy Memories

@heli-crewhgs5285

2 күн бұрын

HS125 - no need for all those gaps.

@tomsaxon831

2 күн бұрын

@@heli-crewhgs5285 Thank you so much for pointing out the glaring e r r o r ! ! 🖕

thank you for this video , we are looking forward to manston opening again soon ..

Bit mixed in terms of whether Manston was a NASA Emergency Shuttle diversion strip between sources. There are a few in the UK, RAF Fairford and the equally as big RAF Machrihanish (which I lived next to when still active), both 1,000ft longer than Manston. Nice video.

@beeble2003

9 күн бұрын

I can't find any reliable source that says Manston was. As you note, the runway is too short -- the Shuttle needed 10,000ft -- but also the Shuttle's supersonic approach wold be right over London if it landed at Manston.

@saintuk70

9 күн бұрын

@@beeble2003 Yeah, I had these thoughts too regarding proximity to London. Also, Manston transferred back to the RAF and civies in the 60's, Fairford - Machrihanish - Zaragosa all were/are USAFE bases. Given the sensitive natural of some Shuttle launches, they'd really want a USA military presence. The likes of Machrihanish had one of only two "off-soil USA" deployments of SEALS due to the nuclear weapon storage and aircraft movements etc..

@user-xc8cc9yt6n

9 күн бұрын

It was not an ELS either.

Flew chipmunks here in with cadets in the 70’s 80’s got my PPL here too. Can see the runway from miles off. some great air shows every year ❤

Great stuff - thank you! It would be amazing if it came back online

Super video and really interesting, thanks.

@ShortField

9 күн бұрын

So nice of you Stewart.

Stayed at RAF Manston for a cricket tour in 1992.From RAF Valley. Great time and some lovely Cricket venues in Kent.

Fantastic, loved this one. Hope to fly into Manston one day.

Manston was the emergency landing strip for Concorde if Heathrow was fog bound, I saw it take off from there in the early nineties also saw the Vulcan XH558 fly from there the day before its last flight before being sold off.

What a beautiful flight, thank you so much for this! We need to keep hold of our history fields

Did my AEF most weekends from Manston. 1 AEF in Chipmunks or 617 VGS in grob 103s. I remember watching Concord take off and land during one weekend of gliding. Amazing having a birds eye view of Concord.

The history alone makes this great runway worth to be preserved. I visited the Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection today and the aircraft I spend the longest time admiring was, of course, the great Spitfire. Thanks for your nice videos, often with interesting bits of history. Greetings from Oslo!

That's no short field! Fantastic video! I'm really enjoying your UK flying videos, a bit different from my usual US flying ones I watch.

Lovely plane. A work colleague flew me from Huntshaw grass strip near Torrington and over my house in Bideford. I used to make close-fitting covers and seats for them. Good memories.

Great vid Terry seems u passed me flying past Isle of Sheppey 👋, can't wait for Manston to reopen in the next couple of years keep up the great work mate 😀

Lovely vid Terry - the first of yours I'm aware of watching. I've probably seen your plane dozens of times - I live on the southeast edge of Harlow on the downwind leg of North Weald!

I went to the same Manston fly-in, one to get in my logbook, and it fitted in perfectly to the schedule of a French tour; Border Force were on site so I was able to land there from Calais on the Saturday. The museum is well worth a visit, we spent an enjoyable afternoon there before heading back home about 5:30pm.

Great video with lovely views over Kent and must be similar length to the old SW/NE runway at Throckmorton...🤔

Thanks for a great little video on Manston. Those of us that have fought hard to get the Airport reopened are highly delighted that it will now reopen. I spent many years flying at Manston and it's great to see it coming back life.

@pivotalmike

7 күн бұрын

And there are more of us who are not looking forward to Manston reopening as a cargo hub, if the plan ever gets investment which I doubt. Ramsgate residents won't appreciate the early morning and late night landing slots that are being touted as the main selling point of the proposed operation, with arrivals from the east passing over the town at 800 down to 400 feet. Don't get me wrong, I had my first ever flight from Manston in a Chipmunk and the occasional RAF traffic in the 1960's was fine. I was also one of the last to fly my plane out of the airfield on its last day of operation. But causing so much disturbance, loss of tourism etc. for the sake of seeing aircraft again and creating a small number of jobs is not progress I'm afraid.

@robinlaurence8468

7 күн бұрын

@pivotalmike so, apparently you are a private pilot. So where are you flying from now, if anywhere. Very strong anti Airport views. I'm also a Ramsgate resident living directly under the flight path. I find it amazing that you still believe that the airport is not good for the area. The planes are coming and the jobs are coming as well, so you'd better get used to the idea.

@pivotalmike

7 күн бұрын

@@robinlaurence8468 I was a private pilot for 15 years, but medical issues stopped me 3 years ago. At that time I was based on a strip near Cambridge. I don't believe that the airport is viable for cargo, wrong place and plenty of capacity elsewhere. As for jobs, remote tower almost certainly, and not many jobs required for cargo. Not sure what they are smoking at RSP but several reports have said so as well. In the 10 years lost so far it could now be a thriving town with a commercial park and could even have retained a GA field/helicopters. As you are strong pro-airport let's agree to disagree and call it a day?

Great stuff, glad to hear it will likely stay as an airfield! I am organizing a fly-in at the Disused Colerne airfield in wiltshire, would be great to have you there if it goes ahead (still getting permits at the moment).

One of my flying friends tells a funny story about landing at Manston when it was open to GA. When on final approach the controller asked him to land long because of the traffic and the far-distant exit from the runway, but my friend landed as usual on the piano keys as per training. He was then asked to take off and land further along the runway which he then did....and when he went to the tower to pay his fees, they jokingly asked him for two landing fees. True story!

Yet another outstanding video, Terry. It's not very often you hear a controller say, "Fill yer boots", is it? 😆 I hope Manston comes back to life again, it's my nearest airfield now I've moved! Such an amazing history to it, and it was great to see it from your footage 👏🏻👏🏻 I agree with you about Maypole Airfield, such a lovely place to fly in and such a shame it's now gone 😬

Great video !

Interesting and well made vid!

Manston is due to open again at some point, as a cargo hub, bringing jobs to the south east of Kent

Enjoyed that, thank you

Awesome video!

That was great! Will have to check out this in MSFS. I kind of think of the UK as one big airfield 😉

Sorry we missed you. We may have been on the way for a well-earned drink by the time you reached the museum area. Kent Strut Gang.

nice landing.

very interesting airport ! loved the video stay safe!

I remember a camp there in the '80s as an ATC cadet. We were able to visit the fire dump and they had an old shackleton, two Vulcans, a DH Devon, many other aircraft, it was so much fun. I helped out at 22sqn Air sea rescue on the Wessex for a day and the best, was an AEF flight in a Chipmunk where we ended up on finals with an RAF Phantom. We gave way to teh Phantom, it was epic to see it come in to the right of us. i'll never, ever forget that camp, it was wonderful.

Back in the '80's. I had a share in a light a/c and we used to fly to Calais/Le Touquet/Oostende most weekends. Always called Manston at 'North Kent Coast', 'Canterbury' and 'Coasting Out' at Dover. Even then, our aircraft was a quite old C172. Just checked and it's still flying!😮

I flew into Manston during my IMC training in 2013/2014... you're right, the runway's ******* enormous. It was somewhat famed at the time for BA doing A380 pilot & cabin crew training there. I well remember that even then, the airfield's future was very much in doubt.

Nice one Terry, fascinating airfield, lets hope it opens as an aviation hub again 🙏🤞😉😊 Im very familiar with Fairford, my dad had an aircraft stationed about three fields away from Fairford and we were on good terms with them, Brize, Kemble, Lynham and Wroughton et al. Ive flown over with him, during the Cold War, with an, iirc, AN124 taxying beneath us. Fairford was the main UK Transoceanic Abort Landing Site for the Shuttle as you mentioned (it had trained USAF personnel and all the facilities too). Fairford also welcomed other aircraft in secret such as the short lived F117 (it was, with Boscombe, a land out site for Aurora project aircraft too), the F117 involvement was later declared. The Shuttle came into Fairford, atop of the Shuttle Carrier (adapted 747-100?), circa 1983 enroute to the Paris Airshow iirc. My school friend took a cracking photo if it. Again iirc, local flyers were invited to land at Fairford as part of PR relations. I didn't go, my dad reported back that he could have landed width ways on or been charged several landing fees down the whole length of the runway🤭😲😀😟

My Grandad worked at Manston for decades, and as a history-lover from a very early age I used to frequent the museums there endlessly with my Grandparents. My Grandad had many funny stories from his time there: standing at the urinals next to Douglas Bader and Bob Stanford-Tuck; multiple Russian (Soviet) pilots who insisted on taking him to their cabin to drink their homegrown concoctions; and a flight with a German pilot on a Lufthansa flight, who retorted that the last time he had flown over the airfield he was bombing it! It is a superb place, and hopefully won't be lost to property development; however, its time as a large-scale airport look difficult due to the amount of investment in the facilities and infrastructure it needs, and I think development encroachment on the flight line make future permissions probably impossible to obtain unless under emergency circumstances.

Thumrait in Oman was also a designated shuttle emergency location. My late Father was part of the team who built the runway there.

Flew in there in my microlight, as part of the RAF MFA, in the late 1990s. Concorde was loading up as we were parking up on the other side of the pan. The RAF was just in the process of closing the military part down at the time.

Manston is just down the road from me. There is a little air museum with a cafe which is well worth a visit.

RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK. As well as having a sufficiently long runway for a shuttle landing (the runway is 3,045 m (9,990 ft) long), it also had NASA-trained fire and medical crews stationed on the airfield.The runway is rated with an unrestricted load-bearing capacity, meaning that it can support any aircraft with any type of load.

@ShortField

10 күн бұрын

True, but others were listed as alternatives in case it couldn't make the primary, these were suitable in length, location and infrastructure. Although there were no NASA trained operatives at any of the others during a launch they were still marked as options and as I say in the video Manston was on standby along with the others and one I missed RAF Elvington.

@beeble2003

9 күн бұрын

@@ShortField I can't find any reliable source that say that Manston was a standby landing site. Its runway is 1000ft too short and it would put the Shuttle's supersonic approach right over London.

@villiamo3861

9 күн бұрын

Not specifically mentioning Manston, but I note that Brize Norton is mentioned as one of a non-exhaustive 'list' of TALs ('for a typical flight there are several possible TAL landing sites', with BN being identified as one of the possible resorts in such a flight). The source is Technical Memorandum 108432 of NASA.

@marklewis3348

9 күн бұрын

@@ShortField Interested to know your source for this. I've seen plenty of RAF bases mentioned as emergency landing sites for the Shuttle but not Manston.

@ricardo1957

9 күн бұрын

I agree with you RAF Fairford because I thought that Shuttles had to use Strategic Air Command (SAC) bases which at the time Fairford was.

Interesting to know, nice vid.

Sorry, but the idea of Manston being a Space Shuttle emergency landing site is just an urban legend. For example, the RAF Manston History Museum doesn't mention the Space Shuttle on its website. The key issue is that the Shuttle required a 10,000ft runway and Manston's is only 9,000ft (2740m). The UK Transoceanic Abort Landing site was RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. TAL is a very specific scenario in which an engine failure 150-300 seconds into the mission means that the Shuttle is going too fast to return to the east coast of the US, but too slow to get into orbit. Several other air bases in the UK (all with 10,000ft runways) were designated as possible emergency landing sites if the Shuttle needed to urgently leave orbit, e.g., because of a medical emergency. You also have the timeline way off. You say that, around the time RAF Manston transitioned into a civilian airport, NASA was looking for "emergency landing sites for its brand-new Space Shuttle programme". Kent International Airport opened in 1989, by which time the Shuttle had been flying for almost a decade! Also, NASA very much preferred military bases -- ideally USAF bases, which Manston hadn't been since 1958 -- as landing sites. When they used civilian airports in the US, it's generally ones with attached Air National Guard bases. Unless necessary to save lives, they're not going to want to leave the Space Shuttle in the hands of the Kent Constabulary while they get their own personnel in from, er, wherever the closest US military presence to Ramsgate is. Although Manston is in a quiet location, its approach path is not at all suited to the Shuttle. The Shuttle glides supersonic until about 30 miles before landing, so landing at Manston would crack sonic booms all over London.

@derekheeps1244

9 күн бұрын

Actually , the best known TAL site was RAF Machrihanish on the Kintyre Peninsula . The second airfield to be built on the site , after the original WW1 field which was used s an airship base , was used by the RNAS and then later upgraded during the cold war for use by our V-Bomber forces and also NATO forces , which included storage of nuclear weapons and training facilities for US Navy Seals . Because of its isolated location , and the fact that the runway exceeded 10,000ft , this was the prime TAL site for the shuttle , given it was surrounded by water east and west , and open country for the most part . RAF Machrihanish closed in the 1990s with parts of the site being sold off to the community , and with Campbelltown Airport now operating there , using approx 2/3 of the runway - although the entire runway is still there .

Brilliant as always - such a cool place! At 4:58, is that the Insta 360 you use? I’ve just bought the Insta 360 X3, and wondered if you had a special case for mounting on the outside of your plane? I pop a go pro on the tail tie down loop on my Cessna 150, and was wondering if the Insta 360 would be as secure?! Thanks!

Terry, I live very near to the former RAF Ash and look across the valley at the Manston Runway. I noticed several Light Aircraft parked up when I went past the Museums. I enjoyed the Video, very interesting and well presented. You certainly 'Filled your Boots' Phil

@littlepippin8445

9 күн бұрын

I served at RAF Ash. Dozens of radar positions down in that bunker that never got used properly.

@Philg0jba

9 күн бұрын

@@littlepippin8445 I met a chap who served there (he lived in the MOD houses in Sandwich) and he told me the former station commander bought the place off the MOD in 1996 for £1,000,000. It is a big site.

Lovely to see it might reopen again. My father was Commandant of the Fire Training School when it was there. I remember visiting it there and just as he did feel sorry about all the old planes there that they used for practice fires. Pity you didnt mention that.

Last time I was at Manston was on a course at the fire school just before they shut it down . Another space shuttle emergency landing ground would be wide awake airfield on Ascension Island , another place i spent some time at .

@dominiqueroudier9401

9 күн бұрын

13:49 Istres le Tube have à 5000m runway!!( 16.500feet😮😮)

Love the history behind this airfield. Thanks for all your research Terry. Imagine how long that would take to fly down the runway in a PeaBee?

I took a team to RAF Manston to load a C130, it was a troop move so it was only Squaddies and their personal kit going off on some exercise or other! It was still a joint military/civil airfield back then, and the RAF fire fighting school was still operating there!

"That's no Small Field...That's a REAL Station!"😄

Thanks

@ShortField

4 күн бұрын

Thank you so much Andy for the kind gift, I'll buy a coffee and raise it too you. Very generous sir, really appreciated.

Went to the Gambia years ago. Their airport was also on the list of emergency runways. Can you imagine....??

I really enjoyed your commentary, just so well done a very loaded bunch of interesting recent history. When you pan out to show your plane, wow, what a beautiful little craft it is. It reminds me of the beautiful engineering of the e-type jag I fell in love with in the early seventies. Flying is the sport of the rich & too expensive for me to ever buy a plane and, way too late to learn to fly but this was a most enjoyable ride-along. Hope you can do more. Stay safe up there. Hey, for those who want to go a bit beyond the blue, I’d urge you look up Ray Comfort: “Living Waters”. No lessons required just a “mustard seed of faith”!

I was in the ATC back in the army 70s and flew , RAF chipmunk the only time , they used to have air show there. In the 80s as well ,and concord flew in . Great times hope it used again

Grandparents lived in a farm house at the east end on the left in the village, Demilished in 1997 redeveloped with 10 mock farmhouses known now as Highlands Glade.. spent many hours spent watching planes arrive leave/ Red Arrows training there back in 70's, and the wooden gliders launched by landrover fron infront of the contrl tower, Th Yellow Search and Rescue Sea-kings were stationed there until they moved to Ipswch? i was lucky enough to to take a Concorde pleasure trip from Manston there in May 2000, As a child i remember the runway being widened late 70/80's? huge huge works and there is lots of hidden infrastructure there..

Flew into Manston onboard an EUJet Fokker 100 many years ago. Was a very quiet airport by that time already.

Another interesting fact. Manston airport was featured in the 1st ever episode of Gerry Anderson's 'Joe 90'. Joe McClain had to sneak into the old USSR and steal their secret bomber aircraft. You can find it on KZread if needed

@chrisst8922

10 күн бұрын

Gerry Anderson was stationed there during his national service. He watched a wheels up landing on the runway and years later that was the inspiration for Trapped In The Sky.

@daviddack1930

9 күн бұрын

Now that I never knew. I live 1 mile from the airport and can't wait for it's new owners to get it back up and running. Maybe we should rename it after him

@chrisst8922

9 күн бұрын

@@daviddack1930 Thanks. In the episode (written by Gerry & Sylvia) commander Norman orders ''Crash crews to centre of 29''. Manston's runway designation is 11/29 whereas Heathrow's is 09/27

Pretty cool, I did not know there was another Shuttle emergency landing option in England other than RAF Fairford, where NASA kept a few personal in case of a transoceanic abort landing . When I was stationed at RAF Bentwaters we were told RAF Woodbridge was an option just in case, and we would be notified when there was a launch just in case......

2 sites in Morocco were also Shuttle Transatlantic Abort Landing fields - initially Casablanca, replaced by Ben Guerir in 1988 until the early 2000s. I believe Ben Guerir was on standby for 80+ launches and had the full permanent fitment of the Shuttle Microwave Landing System. I think, but haven't had it confirmed, that less-used fields may have had the MLS set up in the months ahead of a planned launch, proven by several approach tests using various test aircraft, then removed if no further launches required it in the following year or two. Lajes in the Azores was similarly used, as was Kano Nigeria and Dakar Senegal for some launches. The selection of abort fields was largely based on the ground track of the launch (depending on the work orbit required, this could vary by quite a lot) and several fields were selected to give weather contingencies.

Warton Aerodrome was also a designated Shuttle landing site. It's also the second longest runway in the country at 2,400 M.