British Airways flying club
Encyclopedia
British European Airways
British European Airways or British European Airways Corporation was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. The airline operated European and North African routes from airports around the United Kingdom...
(BEA) and British Overseas Airways Corporation
British Overseas Airways Corporation
The British Overseas Airways Corporation was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974. The company started life with a merger between Imperial Airways Ltd. and British Airways Ltd...
(BOAC). The club is operated by Airways Aero Associations Limited, and flies out of Wycombe Air Park
Wycombe Air Park
Wycombe Air Park/Booker Airport is located in Booker, Buckinghamshire, south-west of High Wycombe, England. It was formerly the Royal Air Force base, RAF Booker....
.
History
The flying club was established in 1948 by three predecessor airlines of British AirwaysBritish Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
; British Overseas Airways Corporation
British Overseas Airways Corporation
The British Overseas Airways Corporation was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974. The company started life with a merger between Imperial Airways Ltd. and British Airways Ltd...
(BOAC), British European Airways
British European Airways
British European Airways or British European Airways Corporation was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. The airline operated European and North African routes from airports around the United Kingdom...
(BEA) and British South American Airways
British South American Airways
British South American Airways or British South American Airways Corporation was a state-run airline in Britain in the 1940s. It was originally called British Latin American Air Lines Ltd....
(BSAA) as a means to provide private flying at an affordable rate for corporation staff. Originally the club flew from Denham
Denham Aerodrome
Denham Aerodrome is an airfield located east of Gerrards Cross, near Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. It lies beneath London's Class A airspace. VFR entry/exit points are at Maple Cross and St Giles Church. Entry lanes and circuit height are at AGL...
, Hurn
Bournemouth Airport
Bournemouth Airport is an airport located north-northeast of Bournemouth, in southern England...
and Whitchurch
Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport
Bristol Airport, also known as Whitchurch Airport, was a municipal airport in Bristol, England, three miles south of the city centre, from 1930 to 1957. It was the main airport for Bristol and area...
, operating a fleet of Miles Magister
Miles Magister
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Amos, Peter. Miles Aircraft = The early years. Tonbridge: Air-Britain, 2009. ISBN 978 0 85130 410 6...
s.
During the early part of the 1950s the parent Corporation's withdrew from Whitchurch and Hurn, and as Denham was too small for the club the flying base was transferred to Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport...
. As the decade continued the club operated pilot, navigator and engineer training programmes for BOAC, BEA, the Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
and Lufthansa
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...
, and helped to set up the National Flying Training School at Bremen as well as Baghdad and Kuwait Flying Schools.
With the closure of Croydon Airport, the club moved again, first to White Waltham Airfield
White Waltham Airfield
White Waltham Airfield , is located at White Waltham, southwest of Maidenhead, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England...
before moving to its present home at Wycombe Air Park in 1965.
Recent Developments
The club is operated by Airways Aero Associations Limited which until November 2007 was a wholly owned subsidiary of British AirwaysBritish Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
when it was purchased by the Arora Family Trust.
Operations
The Airways Flying Club operates from Wycombe Air ParkWycombe Air Park
Wycombe Air Park/Booker Airport is located in Booker, Buckinghamshire, south-west of High Wycombe, England. It was formerly the Royal Air Force base, RAF Booker....
, with a fleet of Piper Warrior, Piper Dakota and de Havilland Chipmunk aircraft. The flying club acquired the long term lease to the airfield in 1965, following the closure of RAF Booker
RAF Booker
RAF Booker was a Royal Air Force airfield, opened as a flying training school in 1941 on the site of a civilian flying school requisitioned and closed on the outbreak of war in 1939....
, previously on the site. The lease was sold to Surinder Arora, the hotel entrepreneur, in 2007. The lease expires in 2014 and there is increasing speculation that the airfield may close soon to become the site of a new stadium for London Wasps and Wycombe Wanderers.