Getafe Air Base is a

military airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

located in

Getafe Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...

, 14 km south of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The air base, at an altitude of 620 m above sea level, has a single runway with a length of 3.06 km. It was one of the first military air bases in Spain and, because of that, is considered the "cradle" of Spanish aviation.Spanish Air Force Site
/ref> The base was inaugurated in 1911 (20 years before

Madrid Barajas International Airport Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

) and two years later the Civil Aviation School was created. It was the first air bases in Spain where the first

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...

was flown its designer Juan de la Cierva. This air base was established permanently in 1911 (20 years before Barajas), and two years later the Civil Aviation School was created. Since then, the extensions and reforms of the same have happened to this day.

Military use

In summer 1957, two-pilot, a flight engineer, and crews flew 12 to Gatafe from Evreux, France, for the purpose of a one time flight to the SABENA facility at the Brussels airport.

Civil use

Today, apart from military use, the factory that belonged to CASA and is currently part of the European group

EADS CASA Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) was a Spanish aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1923 and began manufacturing aircraft the following year. In 1999 it became a subsidiary of the EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) ...

is located next to the base, and next to a railway line. In another factory next to the base, the Spanish

Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...

s are assembled. In an annexed facility, the

destined for Spain are assembled. CASA also carries out in the facilities attached to the base the maintenance of various aircraft of the Air and Space Force, as well as programs for the improvement and modernization of these aircraft. Through an agreement signed with the Getafe City Council, the Infante de Orleans Foundation, which maintains a collection of old aircraft in flight, will soon move its facilities to land near the Base, from whose aeronautical facilities it will become a user for its flights and its exhibitions. monthly flights. Given the possibility of closing, increasingly remote, the Madrid-Cuatro Vientos Airport (civil), there have been several proposals for the creation of a civil aerodrome for general aviation and a terminal for low-cost airplanes, over the land of the Getafe Air Base. This proposal has always had the opposition of the City of Getafe, which does not want to increase the pollution that entails the heavy traffic of a civil airport. However, the Getafe City Council has always been a firm supporter of the maintenance of the EADS-CASA facilities and the Air Base of the Air and Space Force, which it sees as complementary and responsible for the industrial-aeronautical fabric of the city.

Garrison

The main military unit to operate from Getafe is the "Ala 35" transport wing, which operates

CASA/IPTN CN-235 The CASA/IPTN CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engined transport aircraft that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN. It is operated as both a regional airliner and military transport; its primary military roles ...

(two units for VIP missions, eighteen units for transport) and EADS CASA C-295 (nine units for transport). In 2008, most CN-235s moved to other Spanish Air Force bases and a second squadron of C-295s was formed. Several other units have also been placed at Getafe including the Cartographic Center's fleet from Cuatro Vientos Air Base a few kilometers from Getafe itself.

References

External links

Spanish Air and Space Force home site
{{authority control 1911 establishments in Spain Airports in the Community of Madrid Airports established in 1911