Perranporth Airfield
Encyclopedia
Perranporth
Perranporth is a small seaside resort on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is southwest of Newquay and northwest of Truro. Perranporth and its long beach face the Atlantic Ocean....
and 6 NM southwest of Newquay
Newquay
Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is a former World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
fighter station.
Perranporth Aerodrome has a CAA
United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority
The Civil Aviation Authority is the public corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the United Kingdom. The CAA head office is located in the CAA House on Kingsway in Holborn, London Borough of Camden...
Ordinary Licence (Number P787) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Perranporth Airfield Limited). The aerodrome is not licensed for night use.
Royal Air Force use
RAF PerranporthRAF Perranporth
RAF Perranporth was an RAF airfield situated near Perranporth, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. The 330 acre airfield was built as an RAF Spitfire station in World War II in 1941 and is situated on Cligga cliffs in the north of Cornwall....
became operational on 28 April 1941. The airfield was used by 21 different squadrons flying Spitfires
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
. The airfield was decommissioned in April 1946.
Postwar use
The airport is home to the Cornish Parachute CentreCornish Parachute Centre
The Cornish Parachute Centre is a BPA affiliated parachuting centre and skdiving drop zone at St Agnes, Cornwall.The centre opened in 2006 operating out of Perranporth Airfield. The centre provides student training in the Ram Air Progression System, Accelerated Freefall and Tandem...
and Perranporth Flying Club. It is currently used for private flying, gliding
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
and parachuting
Parachuting
Parachuting, also known as skydiving, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal...
. In 2007 this airfield was reported as being for sale for £950,000.
The June 28th edition of Autosport
Autosport
Autosport is a weekly magazine covering motorsport, published in the United Kingdom every Thursday by Haymarket Consumer Media. It was first published on 25 August 1950 by Gregor Grant, immediately prior to the Silverstone International Trophy meeting of that year...
carried an article suggesting that the new owner, (British Touring Car Championship Driver) John George
John George (racing driver)
John George is a Cornish mobile phone entrepreneur and race car driver currently driving in the British Touring Car Championship.-Personal:...
had plans for turning the airfield into a racing circuit. This rumour has been denied, and there are currently no plans to convert the facility into anything other than an operational airfield.
See also
- Cornish Parachute CentreCornish Parachute CentreThe Cornish Parachute Centre is a BPA affiliated parachuting centre and skdiving drop zone at St Agnes, Cornwall.The centre opened in 2006 operating out of Perranporth Airfield. The centre provides student training in the Ram Air Progression System, Accelerated Freefall and Tandem...
- Military history of the United Kingdom during World War IIMilitary history of the United Kingdom during World War IIBritain along with most of its dominions and Crown colonies, and British India, declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939. War with Japan began in 1941, after it attacked British colonies in Asia...
- List of RAF stations