Old Warden Aerodrome
| Old Warden Aerodrome | |
 | |
|---|---|
| Code | , ICAO: EGTH |
| County | Bedfordshire |
| aerodrome | |
| Operator | The Shuttleworth Collection |
| Location | TL152445 52°5’12"N, 0°19’7"W |
| Runway(s) | 1,667 feet (Grass) |
| Website | www.shuttleworth.org/ |
Old Warden Aerodrome (ICAO: EGTH), also known as Shuttleworth (Old Warden) Aerodrome, is located at Old Warden in Bedfordshire and six nautical miles east-south-east of Bedford. It is a privately owned aerodrome which mainly serves The Shuttleworth Collection, which contains a large number of vintage aircraft and cars, many in working condition.
The Shuttleworth Collection
The Shuttleworth Collection is an aeronautical and automotive museum located at the Old Warden Aerodrome, Old Warden in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of the most prestigious in the world due to the variety of old and well-preserved aircraft.
The collection was founded in 1928 by the aviator Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth. While flying a Fairey Battle at night on 2 August 1940, Shuttleworth fatally crashed. His mother, in 1944, formed the Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth Remembrance Trust "for the teaching of the science and practice of aviation and of afforestation and agriculture."[1]
Restoration and maintenance work is carried out by a staff of nine full-time and many volunteer engineers. These volunteers are all members of the 3,000-strong Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society (SVAS).[2] These dedicated enthusiasts are crucial to the preservation and restoration of the collection.
In addition to the aircraft, the collection houses a number of vintage and veteran cars. Events include model-flying days, and once a year, there is a special flying day for schools in the area.
The Shuttleworth Collection puts an emphasis on restoring as many aircraft as possible to flying condition, in line with the founder's original intention.[3] There are typically about twelve air shows per year, including evening displays, which offer the opportunity to see aircraft which in many cases are the last of their type to survive, let alone existing in flyable condition.
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Some of the most notable aircraft in the collection are the five Edwardian aeroplanes, of which one is the oldest British aeroplane still in flying condition. What makes these exceptional is that they still fly (weather permitting). The oldest, with British civil registration G-AANG, is the Bleriot XI (still with original engine), which dates back to 1909 - six years after the Wright brothers' aircraft and the world's oldest airworthy aeroplane (the next oldest, three weeks newer by date of manufacture, is another Bleriot XI at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in the United States).
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Old Warden Aerodrome) |
References
- ↑ Ogilvy 1989, Ch.1.
- ↑ Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society (SVAS)
- ↑ Ogilvy 1989, Introduction.