1985 - ATC and Airshows

A new building was under construction in the corner of Denham aerodrome in the early months of 1985. This was being built to act as the Headquarters and training centre for the local Air Training Corps unit, 2370 (Denham) Squadron. Aside from a parade ground and a large central hall, the building included a kitchen, toilets, an admin office and two large classrooms, making it the ideal new home for the Squadron. A flag pole to fly the RAF ensign on parade nights and a radio mast for Air Training Corps radio operator training completed the equipment, along with powerful flood lights to allow outside parades at night. The Squadron was commanded by Flight Lieutenant Paul Hotston, who had joined the Corps in 1964 and had been the commander of 2370 (Denham) Squadron since 1981. The thirty cadets and staff of the unit had been previously housed in a small hut near the grounds of the old Alderbourne school, but this had become less suitable as the Squadron grew in size. The aerodrome came to the rescue with the offer of land and the new building was purpose built to meet the Squadron's needs.

The new headquarters was opened on 19 September by Mrs Beatrice Paul, the aerodrome owner, and a man with a long association with Denham, Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom. After joining the RAF and learning to fly in 1940, Sir Ivor became a light bomber pilot, flying Blenheim Mk IVs with 114 Squadron at RAF West Raynham. On 23 August 1941 he was given the task of flying passengers to RAF Northolt in very poor weather along with a second Blenheim. Broom, then a Sergeant pilot, found the weather deteriorated rapidly the closer he got to London. With no radio aids to assist him, when he spotted an unknown aerodrome with a railway close by, he thought it prudent to land immediately. He made a successful landing and discovered his safe harbour to be Denham. Sadly, the second Blenheim did not have the same luck and crashed into Harrow Hill killing all on board. Interestingly, on calling his Commanding Officer to report in, Broom was told he was insufficiently experienced to fly the Blenheim out of the short airfield of Denham and another pilot would be sent to do so. Due to his incredibly good fortune, Air Marshal Broom had always been very fond of Denham, so it was a real pleasure for him to return to open what he described as "one of the best situated and one of the best equipped Squadrons in the country." Aside from inspecting the cadets and watching their training evening, Sir Ivor also had a surprise for three of the cadets having arranged a special award for them, a flight in a de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane. The three were Sergeant Andrew Aitken, NCO of the year, Cadet Zachary Bestwick, Cadet of the year, and Corporal Kevin Miles, Squadron member who had made the most progress during the year. Aside from their shields and badges, Sir Ivor also presented the flights to the three outstanding cadets. As well as the cadets, the Air Marshal also met and discussed the future of the Squadron with members of unit and wing staff and local councillors.

One of the less obvious but important changes at Denham in 1985 was the introduction of Duty Officers employed by the aerodrome management. Prior to this, the movements log and air/ground radio service were run by a roster of volunteers from the various flying schools at Denham. As the schools became increasingly busy and the cost of supplying staff to man the position became unsupportable, Bickerton's Aerodromes Ltd, took over the post and staffed it with full and part time aviation professionals. One of the first of these was Sam Baker, an ex-airline pilot who had been a Captain with BEA. His calm and professional manner made him a huge asset to the aerodrome.

A new company, European Helicopters Ltd, moved into Denham the same year. It was founded by Christopher Tennant and Thomas Sopwith Junior who had begun operating from a site in the industrial park in Hayes, almost on Heathrow's doorstep. Increasing restrictions on their operations had caused them to look for a more convenient site. The company managed top of the range helicopters for business and private owners and other helicopters for hire. They were originally accomodated in Hangar J but quickly outgrew it.

The Second World War blister hangar had originally been closed by a waxed canvas heavy curtain and the floor and apron were surfaced with tarmac. Over the years the tarmac had broken up leaving loose stones. The best solution was to replace it with concrete, which was undertaken this year.

There were many visitors to Denham during 1985, not least of which was Prince Michael of Kent who had recently gained his Private Pilot's Licence. He was a regular visitor to the aerodrome as he hired aircraft from the Denham School of Flying to commute between London and his home in Gloucestershire. The Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN) also held another of their Garden Party and Air Display events in June, attracting another wide variety of visiting and display aircraft to the aerodrome, as recorded below.

The GAPAN garden party was not the only major event held at Denham in 1985. Local Jaguar car dealer Merritts brought a range of cars to the aerodrome and arranged flights for customers along with an aerobatic display. Unusually, the flying experiences on offer included gliding, the gliders being towed into the air for short local flights. Brian Lecomber's Stampe SV.4C had been sponsored by Jaguar and was painted in their markings. Brian flew two displays over the aerodrome during the day to entertain Merritts' guests.

Gulfstream Aviation, which was operated by Hana Aviation alongside the Denham School of Flying, suffered three accidents during this year, all of which involved Grumman AA5 Cheetah aircraft. In three separate incidents throughout the year one Cheetah over ran the runway and went through the hedge, one made a forced landing on the golf course and one struck the south side offices. Fortunately, no one was hurt in any of these incidents but it raised serious questions about the suitability of the high performance Grumman aircraft to be used for training at Denham. Hana Aviation had already established the Cessna Flight Centre and began to replace their Grumman fleet with Cessna and Piper types more suited for ab initio training.

The Acton Saturday Venture Group was a organisation dedicated to the care of disabled children in the West London area. In 1985, they approached Denham School of Flying (DSF) to see if it was possible to organise air experience flights for their members. Chief Flying Instructor, David Hoy, was delighted to refer this to his directors, who were pleased to arrange 30 flights with instructors for the children in the group. The children had a great day out, and the team at DSF reported that they got as much out of the event as their passengers did.

There were a large number of visitors to Denham during the year, and as usual there were some very interesting aircraft amongst them, some of which are recorded below.

As can be seen, 1985 was a very busy and varied year at the aerodrome, a trend that was to continue throughout the decade as will be reported next.