Memories of Manston
One of the many options suggested for a new London Airport was Manston.
Being only 100km from the centre of London, with a high speed train and good road links, Manston was considered by some to be a good location for a huge new hub airport in the southeast of England.
Today, 15th May 2014, will see Manston Airport finally close, with any new development of the area likely to be for housing.
Manston joins a long list of Kent airports (Ramsgate, Lympne, West Malling, Detling, Hawkinge, Brenzett, Eastchurch) that have been closed in the area. History has proved that it is easy to close an airfield, but very hard to open one.
PrivateFly asked aviation historian Dick Gilbert for his memories from Manston Airport.
“Many aviators have many happy memories of the Manston Airport, both operating and flying from there. Returning from darkest Africa in a 707 or Antonov into Manston could be a welcoming breath of fresh air, even in the rain” commented Gilbert.
“In the cargo world, Manston was permanently in the thick of it; Air Ferry, Invicta, all the Britannia operators, the countless weird African 707 and DC-8 airlines (and some less weird British ones), Das-Air, Affretair, MK, African International, Air Bridge Carriers, then all the Bulgarian, Russian and Ukrainian stuff – they all relied on Manston at some time or another.
“And then there were the strange government flights that were too sensitive to send anywhere else, the glorious airshows of the 80s and 90s (always attended by Lord Strathcarron’s parrot), and the many times when that foam carpet saved an airframe and probably a lot of lives too, as Manston had done constantly in World War Two”.
Mr Gilbert’s first flight out of Manston was in an RAF Chipmunk in 1964, and his last one was 31 years later in an Antonov An-12 from Tamanrasset. “I remember both flights vividly, the overwhelming impression being one of acres and acres of runway. I guess Kent just doesn’t have enough chimney pots to keep a big airport viable, but I’ll mourn its passing nonetheless.”
Dick Gilbert has written a number of books on closed airports in the UK including Skyways at Lympne. Orders for these books can be made through dick@skylineaviation.co.uk
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