Sheffield flying sites
Note: This map shows the location of SHEFFIELD CITY AIRPORT
SHEFFIELD see also COAL ASTON DERBYSHIRE
SHEFFIELD see also OWLERTON 1913
SHEFFIELD see also SHIRECLIFFE
SHEFFIELD FLYING SITE 1914
In the Winter 2011 edition of Prop-Swing magazine there was an article by Mike Hallett on the early flying history of Harold Blackburn - who incidentally was not relatd to Robert Blackburn the aircraft designer and manufacturer - even though he served as a test and demonstration pilot for that company.
The part that interests me for this listing is, that after Blackburn won the air race sponsored by the Yorkshire Evening News, against an Avro : "Following this victory Harold Blackburn became a test and demonstration pilot for Avro, flying early versions of the legendary 504 while continuing his work with Robert Blackburn."
"This included being the mainstay of the 'Sheffield Flying Week' organised by the Sheffield Independent. On the final day of the Flying Week, 3 April 1914, Harold made the first aerial delivery of newspapers to Chesterfield, accompanied by a glamorous young lady known as 'Little Miss Independent'."
My first question is, and I do hope somebody can kindly provide the answer, where did this 'Flying Week' take place? My second question is, as you might well expect, where did Blackburn land in Chesterfield?
SHEFFIELD: Civil aerodrome? Or temporary landing site? (Probably COAL ASTON?)
NOTES: In 1919 Vickers were conducting mail flights to Sheffield from Birmingham. But where was the aerodrome? Today (2015) I suspect they used COAL ASTON (DERBYSHIRE)? The onward leg to Barrow apparently used a non-rigid airship. These flights were made to overcome problems caused by the national rail strike, and were pretty contentious at the time.
SHEFFIELD VISIT & FLYING CIRCUS VENUES
This was the 12th venue for Alan Cobham’s 1929 Municipal Aerodrome Campaign Tour. It started in May and ended in October with one hundred and seven towns and cities visited. Mostly in England but with two venues in Wales and eight in Scotland. Without any doubt it encouraged many aerodromes / regional airports to be constructed.
Here again is anything known about the actual site used? The aircraft he used was the DH61 'Giant Moth' G-AAEV, named 'Youth of Britain'.
It is also recorded that SHEFFIELD was a venue, almost certainly in early May, for the 1931 Aviation Tours itinerary. It appears that little is now known about this Tour which probably started in April and ended in late September. What is known is that they performed at venues ranging from Penzance in Cornwall up to Inverness in Scotland.
If anybody can kindly offer advice, this will be much appreciated.
SHEFFIELD: Civil Landing Ground
Location: “4m S city, imm S A6102 SE junct. With Dyche Lane, 1m N Coal Aston”
Period of operation: 1930s only?
Runways: According to a map in the 1930s ‘A.A. Register of Landing Grounds’:
WSW/ENE 411 grass NNW/SSE 320 grass
NOTES: When I started this project I’d have had no hesitation in tying together the aerodrome used by Vickers in 1919, the Cobham 1930s ‘Flying Circus’ venues and the WW2 US Army airstrip as being obviously all the same location. However, the learning curve now tells me to be very, very careful about jumping to such rash conclusions. Even so, it does seem possible this Landing Ground might well be the same as the ‘Near Jordanthorpe’ site used by Cobham, (at least once?), during his Tours…including the one used in 1929 for the Municipal Aerodrome Campaign Tour in 1929?
However, could this have been the WW1 COAL ASTON aerodrome?
SHEFFIELD: Military airstrip?
Military user: US Army Air Force liaison
Location: COAL ASTON perhaps?
Period of operation: 1943/5 only?
SHEFFIELD CITY: Civil regional airport (later renamed SHEFFIELD CITY AIRPORT and HELIPORT)
Note: All these pictures were obtained from Google Earth ©
ICAO code: EGSY IATA code: SZD
Operated by: 2000: Sheffield City Airport Ltd
2015: Peel Airports and Heliports (Officially closed though it seems)
British airline user: British Airways
Foreign airline users: Aer Arann, KLM & Sabena
Flying club/school: A.L.H. Skytrain, Eurocharter Aviation, Yorkshire Vintage Flying School
Helicopter ops: Dragon Helicopters, Kuki Helicopters
Location: 3nm ENE of Sheffield City centre
Period of operation: 1997 to -
Note: This map is reproduced with the kind permission of Pooleys Flight Equipment Ltd. Copyright Robert Pooley 2014.
Runway: 10/28 1211x30 hard
NOTES: Oh dear, what a tortuous story this airport has had.
In 2003, after the last commercial airline flights had ceased in 2002, the ban on use of this airport by single-engined aircraft was lifted. Hooray!
When opened in 1997 SHEFFIELD CITY was the first entirely new British airport to open for some 50 years but it hadn’t been a success. The 1211 metre runway was said to be too short for many airliner types - although it is just a bit longer than the 1199 metres available at the highly successful LONDON CITY AIRPORT. Scheduled operations stopped in August 2002 so, what went so drastically wrong?
There is obviously a story to be told here, with people involved dedicated to making certain that this airport could and should not succeed. But why? Clearly at little comparitive extra cost to building the airport, a runway of 1700 metres could have been constructed, making it a much more attractive proposition. (See my Google Earth pictures).
In 2005 there was talk of closing the airport for redevelopment in 2007. However, even in 2015 it appears that there is still a chance it might reopen, but probably only for GA use. It didn't happen.
KIND REMARKS
It is reportd that KLM were highly complimentary, saying that the start-up at SHEFFIELD CITY was the best they had ever experienced.
I suppose it is basically a numbers game. For example, a flight or three might well be lucrative for an airline, but hardly sustainable for an airport if regional government, or even national government support is denied. Typically, unlike most other countries in Europe, or that matter around the world, the short-sighted numpties in Westminister and Whitehall cannot appreciate the often huge (but often unseen) benefits such an airport can bring.
Getting back to the numbers, in 1998 46,000 passengers used this airport. The next year in 1999 this rose to 75,000. However, I think the airlines realised that the 'game was up'? The airport would not be supported? In 2000 the number of passengers dropped to 60,000, and nearly halved in 2001 to 33,000. The following year, when airline activity ceased, only 13,000 passengers used the airport. Against this nearly three million passengers used LONDON CITY.
I suppose it can be argued that the region really does have too many airports to satisfy the potential demand, and only so many can get a 'slice of the cake'? Possibly the reason why the so-called SHEFFIELD/DONCASTER airport on the old RAF Base at FINNINGLEY is struggling? For example, MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, with global connections is only 45 miles away, and LEEDS/BRADFORD although hardly in the same league, is just a wee bit further at 47 miles.
We'd love to hear from you, so please scroll down to leave a comment!
Leave a comment ...
Copyright (c) UK Airfield Guide
