ELSTREE AERODROME: Summer Open Day Review

Welcoming the local community and inspiring the next generation in aviation

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Big thank you to everyone who joined us on the 1st September for the first large event here at Elstree Aerodrome for over 40 years!

Thank you to all who came to our open day at the Aerodrome on 1st September. It has been 40 years since our last large event and the response was incredible. We want to thank all the resident and local businesses that joined us, the thousands of visitors who made it such a fantastic family day, and our team and volunteers who helped manage proceedings. It was a pleasure to shine a light on the many opportunities and careers in aviation by opening up a section of taxiway for the day, to allow guests to get closer to the aircraft on the ground and in the skies, and introduce people to a variety of aviation and other businesses in our traders’ tent.

Thanks too for all of the ideas submitted feedback after the event. There are lots of learnings, especially regarding entry to the site. For all future events, we will ensure that parking is easier and road congestion is reduced. We have some great photos taken by Mark, a local resident and regular Elstree visitor, which capture the atmosphere of the day beautifully, including the sheer joy of a youngster (and the odd adult!) climbing into a plane cockpit. To see them and some of his other work, click through to our open day gallery, follow @nbalchemy on Instagram or join the Elstree Photos (old & new) Facebook group.

And what a lovely surprise to see the Spitfire pass overhead - thank you to Peter Teichman for diverting his route! Thanks Garry Lakin from the de Havilland Museum for this fabulous snap.

We want to continue to make Elstree Aerodrome a place that everyone can enjoy and we will take every opportunity to inspire the next generation in the future of flight. We hope that this will be the first of many community celebrations at Hertfordshire's last licensed airfield, but in the meantime, you are welcome to visit The Aerodrome Cafe, open 7 days a week, and enjoy a delicious meal, drink or snack while watching aircraft take off and touch down. Thanks again for your support, Jessica, Humphrey and the aerodrome team P.S. Special thanks to Capt. Tony, a resident flight instructor and former commercial pilot, who manned one of the aircraft which children could sit in throughout the day, and to Air Academy for donating a trial flight for our Open Day prize draw. Our lucky winner has been contacted and is now planning their flight experience with Sell and the team.

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