Derby Airfield is a small privately owned grass airfield situated between the

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

villages of

Egginton Egginton is a village and civil parish in the local government district of South Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 574. Location The village is located just off Ryknild Street, otherwise known as ...

and Hilton, in the East Midlands of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The airfield is 7 miles southwest of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, and 11 miles northeast of

Tatenhill Airfield Tatenhill Airfield is a licensed airfield operated by Tatenhill Aviation Ltd. Its United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority, CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P813) allows flights for the public transport of passengers and for flying instruction as a ...

(an

East Staffordshire East Staffordshire is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire in England. It has two main towns: Burton upon Trent and Uttoxeter. Villages in the area include Abbots Bromley, Stretton, Tutbury, Barton-under-Needwood ...

airfield with a flying school and paved runways). Derby Airfield is the home of Airspeed Aviation Limited (UK) and is the home of Derby Aero Club. Privately owned and run by the Jones family, the airfield is the only CAA licensed aerodrome in

. Derby Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P785) that allows flights for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Derby Aero Club & Flying School). The aerodrome is not licensed for night use. All three runways are grass, and quite short, the longest being 594 meters. All three grass runways have some obstacles at the approach threshold, namely tall trees or electricity overhead lines; factors which add to the challenge.

History

The three-runway airfield was built to replace Burnaston Airfield, which the same Jones family and company had reestablished in 1986 but which was forced to make way for redevelopment of the site as a Toyota manufacturing plant in 1990. Construction of the new ranch begun in 1992, with the Defra Aerodrome Licence being granted in 1993. Two further runways and buildings, including hangars and stables, were added over the years.

Stakeholders

Airspeed Aviation Ltd is a CAA and

EASA The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitori ...

Approved Aircraft Maintenance Organisation holding approvals EASA Part M Subpart F (Approval Number UK.MF.0010) and CAA BCAR A8-15 M3 (Approval Number AMR/179). It is also an EASA Approved Continued Airworthiness Management Organisation (CAMO) holding EASA Part M Subpart G and I approvals (Number UK.MG.0308) for a wide range of general aviation aircraft. The Derby Aero Club, originally located at Burnaston, also moved to the new airfield and continues to grow. The Aero Club and Flying School operates a range of

Cessna Aircraft Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing ...

(Models 140,

152 Year 152 (Roman numerals, CLII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Glabrio and Homullus (or, less frequently, year 905 ''Ab ...

, 172, 177RG), a

Beagle Pup The Beagle B.121 Pup is a 1960s British 2–4 seat single-engined training and touring aircraft built by Beagle Aircraft Limited at Shoreham Airport and Rearsby Aerodrome. Design The Pup was designed as a single-engined all-metal two-seat ae ...

series 2 and a

Scottish Aviation Bulldog The Scottish Aviation Bulldog is a British two-seat side-by-side (with optional third seat) training aircraft designed by Beagle Aircraft as the B.125 Bulldog. The prototype Bulldog flew on 19 May 1969 at Shoreham Airport. The first order for ...

aircraft. Numerous private aircraft also are based on site, with many more visiting for maintenance services. In 2004 the remains of de Havilland DH.88 Comet Racer G-ACSP "Black Magic" arrived for restoration by the Comet Racer Project Group."Restoration", Light Aviation, Nov 2011, pp16-19. This Comet was flown in the 1934 MacRobertson England-Australia air race by

Jim Mollison James Allan Mollison MBE (19 April 1905 – 30 October 1959) was a Scottish pioneer aviator who, flying solo or with his wife, Amy Johnson, set many records during the rapid development of aviation in the 1930s. Early years Born on 19 ...

and his wife Amy, better known as

Amy Johnson Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records du ...

. Work on ''Black Magic'' and G-RCSR, a replica of its teammate G-ACSR, is currently continuing in a purpose-built home, the Amy Johnson Comet Restoration Centre.

Gallery

File:Derby Airfield in 2002, looking east along runway 10-28.jpg, Derby Airfield in 2002, looking east along runway 10-28 File:Amy Johnson Comet Restoration Centre.jpg, The Amy Johnson Comet Restoration Centre File:ARV Midwest.pdf, An ARV Super-2 flying from Derby Airfield

References

External links

Derby Aero ClubComet Racer Project GroupRunway map
{{authority control Airports in England Airports in Derbyshire Airports in the East Midlands