Weston Airport
Encyclopedia
Weston Airport or Aerfort Weston in Irish
, is a publicly licensed executive airport located on the R403
regional road
at Leixlip
, County Kildare
8 NM west of Dublin, in Ireland
. Its traffic is primarily business/executive as well as private and commercial training.
Formerly developed by Jim Mansfield
, the airport was seized by the National Asset Management Agency
in 2011.
Dragon
and several Dragon Rapide
aircraft
commercially from the Weston flying field, operated under the name Weston Ltd. The charter flights frequently took the biplane airliners to airfields in the United Kingdom. The commercial flight operation ceased in the late 1950s.
Also operated from the airfield was a flying school for private pilot
s with several Tiger Moth
trainer biplane
s, an Auster
high-wing monoplane
and from 1960 two Morane-Saulnier
-Rallye
four-seater low-winged aeroplanes.
Several air display
s were organised over the years, and Weston was also the base for making the air combat film about the First World War The Blue Max
which starred George Peppard
in 1966. The aircraft ground scenes were shot at the airfield, which is not to be confused with RAF Weston-on-the-Green
, in England, which has no tarmac runway.
Today the airport is primarily used for flight training
, executive flights and private general aviation
.
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
, is a publicly licensed executive airport located on the R403
R403 road
The R403 road is a regional road in Ireland, linking the N4 at Lucan in County Dublin to Carbury in County Kildare.It starts, heading west, at a roundabout on the Leixlip Road and crosses the M4 motorway past Weston Airport and into County Kildare.It follows the Dublin Road to Celbridge where it...
regional road
Regional road
A regional road in Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route , but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three digit route numbers, prefixed by "R" A regional road in Ireland is a...
at Leixlip
Leixlip
-Politics:Since 1988 Leixlip has had a nine member Town Council , headed by a Cathaoirleach , which has control over many local matters, although it is limited in that it is not also a planning authority...
, County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
8 NM west of Dublin, in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. Its traffic is primarily business/executive as well as private and commercial training.
Formerly developed by Jim Mansfield
Jim Mansfield
James Mansfield is an Irish businessman, with a property portfolio that included the Citywest Hotel and Resort, several developments local to the Tallaght and Saggart areas, and Weston Airport....
, the airport was seized by the National Asset Management Agency
National Asset Management Agency
The National Asset Management Agency is a body created by the Government of Ireland in late 2009. It is in response to the Irish financial crisis and the deflation of the Irish property bubble....
in 2011.
History
Weston Aerodrome was originally founded in 1931 (licensed circa 1937) by Darby Kennedy, who, from 1946, operated a de HavillandDe Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
Dragon
De Havilland Dragon
|-See also:-References:Bibliography ISBN 0-85177-813-5...
and several Dragon Rapide
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the...
aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
commercially from the Weston flying field, operated under the name Weston Ltd. The charter flights frequently took the biplane airliners to airfields in the United Kingdom. The commercial flight operation ceased in the late 1950s.
Also operated from the airfield was a flying school for private pilot
Private Pilot License
A Private Pilot License or, in the United States of America, a Private Pilot Certificate, is a license that permits the holder to act as the pilot of an aircraft privately . The requirements to obtain the license are determined by the International Civil Aviation Authority , but the actual...
s with several Tiger Moth
De Havilland Tiger Moth
The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft...
trainer biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
s, an Auster
Auster
Auster Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1938 to 1961.-History:The company began in 1938 at the Britannia Works, Thurmaston near Leicester, England, as Taylorcraft Aeroplanes Limited, making light observation aircraft designed by the Taylorcraft Aircraft Corporation of...
high-wing monoplane
Monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
and from 1960 two Morane-Saulnier
Morane-Saulnier
Aéroplanes Morane-Saulnier is a French aircraft manufacturing company formed in October 1911 by Raymond Saulnier and the Morane brothers, Leon and Robert...
-Rallye
Socata Rallye
-Bibliography:* Donald, David . The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Leicester, UK: Blitz, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.* Taylor, John W R. . Jane's All the Worlds Aircraft 1976-77. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. ISBN 0 354 00538 3....
four-seater low-winged aeroplanes.
Several air display
Aerobatics
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment and sport...
s were organised over the years, and Weston was also the base for making the air combat film about the First World War The Blue Max
The Blue Max
The Blue Max is an 1966 British war film about a German fighter pilot on the Western Front during World War I. It was directed by John Guillermin, stars George Peppard, James Mason and Ursula Andress, and features Karl Michael Vogler and Jeremy Kemp. The screenplay was written by David Pursall,...
which starred George Peppard
George Peppard
George Peppard, Jr. was an American film and television actor.Peppard secured a major role when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's , portrayed a character based on Howard Hughes in The Carpetbaggers , and played the title role of the millionaire sleuth Thomas Banacek in...
in 1966. The aircraft ground scenes were shot at the airfield, which is not to be confused with RAF Weston-on-the-Green
RAF Weston-on-the-Green
RAF Weston-on-the-Green is a former Royal Flying Corps station that was redeveloped after the great war period. Much demolition took place . The former RFC Officers and Sergeant's messes are located on the opposite side of the road, and are now in commercial use...
, in England, which has no tarmac runway.
Development
The main terminal was completed in 2005 along with the control tower and other services.Today the airport is primarily used for flight training
Flight training
Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills....
, executive flights and private general aviation
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...
.
External links
- Weston Executive Airport, official site
- SkyWest Aviation, Helicopter Flight Training
- National Flight Centre, flight training
- http://www.skytrace.ie, flight training