Audley End

AUDLEY END: Private airstrip

Note:  These three pictures were obtained from Google Earth ©






 

Operated by: Lord Braybrooke to the 1980s (?)

Audley Development Ltd to present day?
 

Restoration: Historic Flying later Vintage Fabrics Aircraft Services
 

Location: 1 nm SW of Saffron Walden

Period of operation: 1963 (?) to -

Note: This map is reproduced with the kind permission of Pooleys Flight Equipment Ltd. Copyright Robert Pooley 2014.

Runway: 1990 (?) to 2001: 18/36   800x30   grass

Note: It seems there was once another grass runway running approximately 02/20 starting at the northern end roughly adjacent to, west of, and half way along the existing N/S runway

NOTES: In 1977 it seems that five aircraft were based here. DH.82A Tiger Moth G-ALND, Auster 5 G-APBW, Jodel DR.1050 Ambasssadeur G-ATGE, Beagle B.121 Pup 2 G-AXNR and Stolp Starduster G-AYMA. What a lovely group of aeroplanes.

HISTORIC FLYING
Historic Flying Ltd have restored many famous aircraft here to flying condition, mostly Spitfires but also the ill-fated BAe owned Mosquito RR299 and the Hurricane LF363. The Seafire LF.IIIc PP972 was a survey only. They moved to DUXFORD in (CAMBRIDGESHIRE) in April 2001.

The list of Spitfires restored or handled/overhauled by Historic Flying is taken from Ron Smiths excellent book British Built Aircraft Vol.3 and correct up to 2004: (Note: I’m assuming many of the first flights took place here?)

 

TYPE SERIAL/REGISTRATION FIRST FLIGHT

Spitfire LF. Mk.XVIe RW382 (G-XVIA) 3^rd July 1991

Spitfire Mk.IX TE566 (G-BLCK) 2^nd July 1992

Spitfire FR. Mk.XVIIIe TP280 (G-BTXE) 5^th July 1992

Spitfire LF. Mk.XVIe TD248 (G-OXVI) 10^th November 1992

Spitfire Mk.XIV NH799 (G-BUZU) 21^st January 1994

Spitfire Mk.XIV SM832 (G-WWII) 22^nd May 1995

Spitfire LF. Mk.Vb EP120 (G-LFVB) 12^th September 95

Spitfire PR.XIX PM631 Overhaul for the BBMF

Spitfire Mk.Vc AR614 (G-BUWA) 5^th October 1996

Spitfire Mk.Vb AB910 Refurbished for BBMF in 1996/7

Spitfire Mk.Vb BM597 (G-MKVB) 17^th July 1997

Spitfire FR. Mk.XVIIIe SM845 (G-BUOS) 7^th July 2000

Spitfire LF. Mk.IXc MK912 (G-BBRA) 8^th September 2000

Spitfire Mk.Vc JG891 Awaiting restoration

Spitfire Mk.XIV RN201 (G-BSKP) 24^th April 2002 (DUXFORD)

Spitfire Tr.IX IAAC 161/PV202 (G-TRIX) Under rebuild

Spitfire Mk.IX ‘UB424’ Awaiting restoration

The main point in listing all this is that when I was a lad and reggie spotter, back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, flying examples of British WW2 ‘warbirds’ were thin on the ground and there were, (I’m pretty certain), no American let alone German examples flying or visiting  the UK. Our knowledge of fighter types like the Mustang and Thunderbolt or the Navy Grumman Avenger etc, let alone the bombers… B.17, B.25 or the exotic PBY.5 Catalina, was all from photographs and books.

 

 

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