Satellite and aerial maps of Bedford (Thurleigh) with nearby locations
Nearby locations | Km | Bearing | |
---|---|---|---|
Bedford Autodrome , England | 0.9 | 329 | |
Bedford Aerodrome , England | 1.2 | 078 | EGBF |
Little Staughton , England | 6.9 | 078 | |
Cardington , England | 14.1 | 168 | GBCRT |
RAF Molesworth , England | 17.6 | 008 | GBMLS |
Brampton , England | 18.4 | 058 |
Bedford (Thurleigh) |
1941 to 1997 | ||
52° 13' 49'' N 0° 27' 47'' W | ||
5nm N of Bedford, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England | ||
ICAO: EGVW | IATA: | |
Elevation: 293 feet |
Immediately after WWII, an aviation research station was constructed and the original site expanded eastwards on to newly acquired land. Research flying restarted around 1954 and RAE Bedford was the location of the Rolling Deck which was used for trials of the P.531 in late Apr 1961 as development work for the eventual Wasp HAS.1 was beginning. Other innovations, such as the Blind Landing Experimental Unit were also based here. Government research flying ceased in 1994 when this activity moved to RAE Boscombe Down.
After operational flying ceased, the airfield has been partitioned into a number of different business areas. The north side has become a vehicle engineering, testing and motorsport circuit with its own helipad at Bedford Autodrome. The western 2/3 of the main runway and adjacent area is now a large Vehicle Holding Centre and store. The eastern 1/3 of the main runway has become Bedford Aerodrome, which primarily serves the Autodrome.
List of units at Bedford (Thurleigh) |
Years | Unit | |
---|---|---|
1991/94 | DRA | |
1988/91 | Royal Aerospace Establishment | |
1977/91 | RSRE | |
1977/88 | RRFU | |
1946/88 | RAE |
List of aircraft and events at Bedford (Thurleigh) |
Dates | Org/Type | Unit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1961-nov | Trials | Ministry of Defence (MoD) | HAS7 | XK906 | |||
1965-feb-03 | Trials | RAE | HAR.1 | XA864 | |||
1971-mar | Aerodynamics Flt | RAE | HC.2 | XR503 | |||
1971-jun-15 | Westland | AH.1 | XP191 | ||||
1973-mar | Radar Research Flt | RAE /19-VL | HAS.1 | XM926 | |||
1978-mar | Flight Systems Flt | RAE | HC.2 | XR503 | |||
1978-mar | Flight Systems Flt | HMG | PUMA | XW241 | |||
1978-mar | Radar Research Flt | RRFU | SA330E | XW234 | |||
1990 | Stored | HMG | PUMA | XW241 |