Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By Old Pilot
#808944
I don't suppose it will interest many on here but the old airship station near Bedford is up for sale.
The main shed was the former Pulham Airstation building at Pulham Norfolk which was moved to Cardington following the demise of the site near Dickleburgh.

Pulham is a site that holds records for trans atlantic flying long before fixed wing passenger traffic.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl ... 401211.stm
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By Jim Jones
#808952
Apart from the obvious, what use could they be put to by a new owner? Venue for a 2012 sport of some kind?
How about paper aeroplane throwing or something else I could be good at.
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#808962
I think they're probably selling it in the hope that a developer will buy it and knock the sheds down before they fall down!
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#808985
At least it will get rid of that ruddy senseless permanently-in-force Danger Area D 206.... :twisted:

Peter
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By vintage ATCO
#808994
Not necessarily. The BBC article says they are only selling one shed and some land. However I understand pressure is being applied to restrict or even remove D206.
#808999
I've been inside the shed that is now used by the film people (used to be owned by my employer). Like many large things the sense of size varies depending where you are. From a distance they look big, but hard to tell how big. From outside close up they don't look so big after all (nothing to judge scale against). From inside it is clear they are RUDDY ENORMOUS. Mock up five storey multi-storey carpark was built in one corner and you could hardly notice it.

Not as good a venue for indoor model flying as you would think (although it has been used) because its size allows quite significant drafts and breezes to form inside even when the doors are shut.

Fantastic visual fix for those flying in the area tho.

Balloons are still launched from the site - so I guess danger area still needed - including the James May caravan (you would have had to be quick to spot the Cardington hangars, but they were quite clear in the first shot of the piece on TG)

Martin
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By Lowtimer
#809017
johnm wrote:I think they're probably selling it in the hope that a developer will buy it and knock the sheds down before they fall down!


As the sheds are listed buildings, they can't be knocked down. They are very tatty though and I would not be surprised if they, sort of, fell down under their own steam. Such thngs have been known to happen to listed building sof little commercial value and with massively unaffordable repair costs associated with them.
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By harry remmington
#809051
Presume nothing much has happened to the buildings since this lot went bust?

The SkyCat hybrid air vehicles, supplied by Advanced Technologies Group, based in Cardington, Bedfordshire, UK, combine lighter-than-air airship technology and air-cushioned hovercraft technology. The vehicle will be built in three variants, the Skycat 20, 200 and 1000 with payload capacities from 20,000kg to 1,000,000kg. The first SkyCat will be the SkyCat 20 for which the first flight is anticipated in 2006.

In July 2005, the Advanced Technologies Group Ltd went into administration under Part II of the Insolvency Act 1986. The future of the development programme of the SkyCat is thus uncertain.
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By joe-fbs
#809117
They seem to be back under this guise:

http://www.hybridairvehicles.net/contact_us.html

It seems they are a persistent lot. They seem to descend in a direct line from a company that hosted our cub pack on a day out to Cardington in about 1983 (one of our leaders had a brother involved in the project). I still have some Super 8 movies of the Skyship 500 (IIRCthe name) now transferred onto DVD.
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By Starchild
#809133
Can we have that fantastic picture of the hangars surounded in fog posted again