I have just added this to the map of places to fly your drone at Drone Scene:
Land owner permission obtained.
Parking and TOAL at 51.667174, -2.048404
Note: this is an active airport and inside an FRZ, therefore permission is needed from Cotswolds Airport ATC prior to flight.
Construction work for RAF Kemble, as it was then named, began in 1936, and the first operational unit to arrive at the station was No. 5 Maintenance Unit RAF on 22 June 1938. In 1940, No. 4 Service Ferry Pool moved to the station from Cardiff, and Kemble became the headquarters for the aircraft ferrying operations of the Air Transport Auxiliary across the country.
From 1966 until 1983, Kemble housed the Red Arrows, the RAF Aerobatic display team; which operated Folland Gnats and BAe Hawks from there. After the Red Arrows moved to RAF Scampton, the station was used by the US Air Force as a maintenance facility, initially for A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft, though followed by Northrop F-5s, McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagles, Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers.
Following the end of the Cold War, the US Air Force left the station and it was returned to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The British Army made use of the site to store surplus vehicles and equipment, and military flights ended at the station in March 1993.
The MoD initially leased buildings on the former station before selling the site to Ronan Harvey, a local businessman, in March 2001.
The originator declared that this location was inside a flight restriction zone at the time of being flown. Permission to fly was obtained from Cotswold Airport ATC. It remains the responsibility of any pilot to check for any changes before flying at the same location.
I know a business that uses sections of the fuselage from former BA 747’s that are broken up at Kemble and turn them into key tags with the history of the aircraft laser etched into them.
I live locally to the area and about to invest in a DJI Mini 3 Pro (under 250g)
Was it easy / straightforward obtaining permission fro Cotswold airport to fly in the FRZ?
Was it a “one off” permission for a specific time / day or now that permission has been granted, can you fly whenever you like?
I assume conditions for flight were imposed?
Apologies for the novice questions - but I am currently a novice!
Thanks in advance.
I have flown there a couple of times, I have dealt with Julian on both occassions. A nice chap. It was no hassle. I requested to fly just outside the airport fence (within the FRZ), no more than 100’ and for under 5 minutes. I also stated the usual; time, date, aircraft, weight, operator ID and supplied a rough flight path done in MS Paint.
His details are:
Cotswold Airport Operations Team
The Control Tower
Cotswold Airport
Cirencester
Gloucestershire
GL7 6BA
Tel: 01285 771177 ops@cotswoldairport.com