Looks like Manston's future is on the line.

The Spitfire and Hurricane are still owned by the RAF museum, right?

No it was cancelled about 2 months ago.

Any airshow with Lightnings is happy times! I must check the UK airshow schedules for this year to see if Manston are doing another airshow.

Aside to this I wonder where their heavy freighter traffic will be diverted too. Somewhere that has a lengthy runway no doubt. Always like the old DC- 8 freight dogs they (the design) must be coming near to 60 years old now.

Sad to read the latest news on Manston, despite it being a commercial airport it has a lot of history attached to it. I hope the plans don’t go ahead. Wonder if there is going to be another airshow here this year? Wasn’t there a successful attempt a year or two back which was very well attended and from memory brought traffic to a grid lock?

I may be wrong, but I think the first Manston airshow was circa 1985. IIRC there were three Lightnings present (one static and one + one reserve) flying. On Monday morning all three were u/s (typically), with the worst of the lot needing an engine pull for a centre-section fuel leak.

Happy times.

See new thread here…….http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?129388-Saviour-for-Manston

Sad to read the latest news on Manston, despite it being a commercial airport it has a lot of history attached to it. I hope the plans don’t go ahead. Wonder if there is going to be another airshow here this year? Wasn’t there a successful attempt a year or two back which was very well attended and from memory brought traffic to a grid lock?

Mods – can this thread not be merged with the parallel thread in Commercial where, arguably it is more relevant …..?

If I recall, Branson wanted to put in a rail connection from Minster (closest line), but the council wanted it to run from Birchington (maybe twice the distance away) and thuis, along with other roadblocks put an end to it. One would have to ask oneself, “What counciol in their right mind would turn down the offer of a free rail link?”.

Or maybe a better question would be, “Why?”

I just hope Manston stays an Airport, (but needs to be successful to survive) ,i hadn’t realized that Branson had tried, but as always due to the usual stories of the local Councillors he had failed. so if Branson cant succeed then who can?

I feel Manstons fate has already been decided. its just sad to see these people yet again destroy the history of what we all know is or was a very historic airport.i wonder if the likes of Branson was to retry whether he would now get the same answer from the authorities, in the restructuring of Manston……

Since the thread continues in Historic and not Commercial perhaps it is more relevant here to consider the future of the two museums.

Both are very good small museums in their own right and the Spitfire and Hurricane Museum is very well known outside the county. I know the History Museum is on airfield property and pays rent to the airport owners but I am not sure how the Spit/Hurri museum is structured.

Didn’t Manston earn the reputation of being the most bombed airfield in the UK during WW2? If so, I think the developers of any proposed housing scheme there need to keep a sharp look-out for UXB’s. There’s likely to be a fair few scattered around the airfield and local area.

It sounds like it’s going to go the way of Hawkinge – one bloody great housing estate.

Anon.

I can never get my head round why this Airport hasn’t been a success when you bear in mind that the South East is crying out for a third airport. it appears to be a ghost airport as far as our government is concerned.as never has it been put on the Airport Radar.

Another Airport that never gets a mention for a third London Airport in the South East is Detling.as this former Airport (aerodrome) has a Ton of land that could be re developed in the surrounding area and also has great road and rail links ie M2/M20. (would anyone know why this former Airport never gets a mention as a possible third London Airport) at least it would bring it back to its former life as an Airport.

Getting back to Manston this would be a great shame to see this re developed into yet more housing, and losing some its history like so many others.

Many reasons: going back to the 1950s when the USAF were based there (F-84D/E/F, F-86F/D, SA-16, SB-29 etc), there was a lot of local opposition on the grounds of noise. Not at all helped when an F-84F skidded off the runway and ended up through chief protester Lady Rees-Mogg’s garden wall.

By the eighties there was a long-established opposition to, “Those black jets” doing circuits there (never did find out what they were, but despite the odd SR-71 doing a sneaky fly-through I suspect the protesters were referring to A-10s, which weren’t black or particularly noisy, but did swarm at times).

However the local planners can also take some blame, since Richard Branson had major plans for the place but they were scuppered by local councillors.

As a result the area (to me at least, having lived there for a number of years and subsequently having to return to see in-laws) has been rather backward. It’s still underdeveloped and my only hope is that they can cast the Isle of Thanet adrift and hope the whole soory place washes ashore somewhere that will do the right thing by it!

I can never get my head round why this Airport hasn’t been a success when you bear in mind that the South East is crying out for a third airport. it appears to be a ghost airport as far as our government is concerned.as never has it been put on the Airport Radar.

Another Airport that never gets a mention for a third London Airport in the South East is Detling.as this former Airport (aerodrome) has a Ton of land that could be re developed in the surrounding area and also has great road and rail links ie M2/M20. (would anyone know why this former Airport never gets a mention as a possible third London Airport) at least it would bring it back to its former life as an Airport.

Getting back to Manston this would be a great shame to see this re developed into yet more housing, and losing some its history like so many others.

There’s something rather telling that this has already become “Historic” !!

Although this is a legitimate place to discuss the fate of the museums, should the airport close.

That’s a great shame, but perhaps not entirely unexpected.

Have to feel sorry for Alastair Welch, after leaving a successful Southend airport.

Indeed see here……http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?127043-And-Now-Manston-Sold&p=2123438#post2123438