Drachten Airfield
Encyclopedia
Drachten Airfield is a small general aviation
airfield in the Netherlands
located in the province of Friesland
, 1 NM northeast of Drachten
. It has one runway, 08/26, with an asphalt/concrete surface and a length of 950 m (3,117 ft). Customs services are available upon request to allow international flights.
The airfield was constructed in the 1950s by the Philips
electronics company, which has a factory in Drachten. In an attempt to provide an avenue for otherwise illegal street races
, the airfield is now also used for drag racing
.
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
airfield in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
located in the province of Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
, 1 NM northeast of Drachten
Drachten
Drachten is a Dutch town, located in the municipality of Smallingerland in the province of Friesland.-Beginnings:Drachten began as a small community on the east side of the Drait River. There, early settlers started draining the land to use it for agriculture...
. It has one runway, 08/26, with an asphalt/concrete surface and a length of 950 m (3,117 ft). Customs services are available upon request to allow international flights.
The airfield was constructed in the 1950s by the Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
electronics company, which has a factory in Drachten. In an attempt to provide an avenue for otherwise illegal street races
Street racing
Street racing is a form of unsanctioned and illegal motor racing which takes place on public roads. Street racing can either be spontaneous or well-planned and coordinated. Well coordinated races are planned in advance and often have people communicating via 2-way radio/citizens' band radio and...
, the airfield is now also used for drag racing
Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....
.