From the Midlands to Wales

We’ll be flying to a mix of classic RAF stations, US Air Force history, and grass‑roots GA fields, all the way from the Midlands down into the Fens and out to mid‑Wales. The flight will be split into two parts.

We’ll depart from Turweston (EGBT), a former World War II bomber training base that opened in 1942 as RAF Turweston for Wellington and Mitchell crews under Bomber Command. Today it feels very GA‑friendly, with the modern aerodrome and café sitting on what was once a busy wartime station that closed in 1945 and later lay derelict before reopening for general aviation in the 1990s. Enroute we will fly over Cardington’s giant airship hangars. They date back to the First World War, when a former Royal Flying Corps field was converted into the Royal Airship Works, and the first massive shed (later Hangar 1) was constructed for rigid airships. In the late 1920s, both R100 and R101, each over 700 feet long and intended for empire‑spanning routes to Canada and India, squeezed in and out of the two colossal sheds, before the R101 crash in 1930 effectively ended Britain’s big‑airship ambitions. During the Second World War, the site switched roles and became home to RAF Balloon Command and barrage balloon production, then later served for RAF recruiting, gas production, and various test work.

At Little Gransden (EGMJ), we will drop into a classic farm‑strip‑style airfield, known today for its vintage aircraft, aerobatics, and fly‑ins rather than heavy military history. Just a few miles east, we will reach the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory at Lord’s Bridge. It is one of the cradles of modern radio astronomy. It opened in 1957 after Mullard Ltd. endowed £100,000 for new instruments, allowing Martin Ryle’s Cavendish Laboratory group to move from cramped wartime sites to a former Air Ministry bomb store with room for long interferometer baselines. Over the following decades, the site grew to a quiet but world‑class scientific neighbour to your more obviously aviation‑focused stops. Our next landing, Mildenhall (EGUN), will be a stark contrast: originally opened in 1934 as one of the RAF’s largest bomber stations, it hosted Bomber Command operations through the Second World War before becoming a key Strategic Air Command base in the early Cold War. In the post‑war era, it was famous as a long‑standing USAF base, associated with tankers, reconnaissance aircraft, and global operations, so the scale and infrastructure really stand out compared with the smaller fields on the route.

Old Buckenham (EGSV) will take us back to Eighth Air Force days: built in 1942–43, it was the exclusive home of the 453rd Bomb Group flying B‑24 Liberators on missions over occupied Europe. The modern airfield still celebrates that heritage with memorials and events. Chatteris (EGGS) will be a small, sporty stop in classic flat Fenland country, best known for microlights and parachuting. Peterborough Conington Airport (EGSF) is a historic wartime airport originally named RAF Glatton. It was constructed in 1942-3 by the 809th United States Army Corps of Engineers as a strategic bomber base for the 457th Bomb Group’s B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft during World War II. After the war ended, the facility was transferred to RAF Bomber Command but was quickly mothballed in 1946, marking the end of its military service. During the late 1960s, the E/W runway briefly returned to aviation use when two local companies utilized the facilities for parking their small executive aircraft, housed in the blister hangar. A modest portacabin served as a passenger reception area, while a ground engineer provided essential maintenance services alongside basic amenities including landline communication, air-to-ground radio, and refueling facilities. Without functioning runway lighting, night operations relied on traditional paraffin ‘gooseneck’ flares to guide aircraft safely to the ground. The Conington is currently operated by Aerolease Ltd. Aviation fuel, both avgas and, unusually for such a small airfield, Jet A1 is available, making the airfield a popular stop for turbine-powered helicopters.

Sibson Aerodrome (EGSP) was established in 1930 as the Peterborough and District Aero Club. Initially a small flying club, it quickly gained attention for its strategic location and suitable airfield. During World War II, Sibson Aerodrome played a crucial role as a training base for the Royal Air Force (RAF). It became home to several RAF squadrons, serving as a training ground for pilots and operational exercises. Following the war, Sibson Aerodrome transitioned to civilian ownership and refocused on recreational flying. It became a popular destination for private pilots and flying clubs, offering facilities for flight training, leisure flying, and aircraft maintenance. Cottesmore (EGXJ) will be another classic expansion‑period station, with construction beginning in the mid‑1930s and opening in 1938 for training squadrons with types like the Vickers Wellesley and later Hampdens. It served through the war as a bomber training base and later as a home for various training and front‑line units, eventually also becoming closely associated with Harrier operations before its military flying role ended. Especially interesting was the TTTE. The Tri‑National Tornado Training Establishment was a joint unit set up by the UK, West Germany, and Italy to train crews on the Panavia Tornado. It operated at Cottesmore from 1981 until 1999 and became the central school where all three nations’ pilots and navigators would learn to fly and operate the Tornado before going to front‑line squadrons. At its peak, the unit was turning out roughly 300 crews a year. The TTTE operated three squadrons of Tornados based at Cottesmore and was manned by a mix of RAF, Luftwaffe/Marineflieger, and Italian Air Force personnel in virtually all roles. The aircraft allocation reflected that: about 23 German, 19 UK, and 6 Italian Tornados were assigned, and you could easily see combinations like an Italian student, a German navigator instructor, and an RAF‑owned jet on the same sortie. When TTTE closed in 1999, after training more than 3,500 Tornado pilots, Cottesmore shifted role again and became home to Harrier GR.7/9 squadrons as part of Joint Force Harrier.

East Midlands (EGNX) will then drop us into full commercial‑airport territory on the old RAF Castle Donington site, decommissioned in 1946 and reborn as a new regional airport that opened to the public in 1965. Over the decades, it grew into one of the UK’s major cargo hubs, with early Boeing 747 visits in the 1970s and big freight operators and Royal Mail using it heavily. Tatenhill (EGBM) will feel like a quieter GA cousin in Staffordshire, occupying another ex‑RAF site which, like many, will have transitioned from wartime use to civil flying and industrial estate activity.

We fly over Birmingham and the Villa Park stadium before reaching Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green (EGBO). It is a proper classic training airfield: built between 1940 and 1941 as RAF Bobbington, then renamed RAF Halfpenny Green in 1943 to avoid confusion with RAF Bovingdon. It had trained navigators and signallers on types like the Avro Anson during the war, then lay quiet before civil flying restarted in 1961, so today’s mix of flight schools and GA traffic will sit on top of strong WWII roots.

We’ll finish at Welshpool (EGCW), a mid‑Wales airport born not from the Air Ministry but from a local farmer‑turned‑aviator, Bob Jones, who started with a grass strip on his land in 1990. Developed into Welshpool Mid‑Wales Airport with a hard runway and hangars, it became both a business and community hub, even hosting the Wales Air Ambulance base from 2006.

The flight is 260 miles long with 11 landings. Any GA aircraft, single engine or twin, that can operate from a 1800-foot runway is suitable. I will probably be in the BS Analog Bonanza. Please fly what you like.

The flight plans are here.

Recommended scenery:

Turweston – EGBT

Mildenhall – EGUN

Old Buckenham – EGSV

Marham – EGYM

Chatteris – EGGS

Cottesmore – EGXJ

East Midlands – EGNX

Tatenhill – EGBM

Wolverhampton – EGBO

The complete package is here.

At or via ORBX, EGBT, EGMJ, EGSV, EGSP, EGBM, EGBO, and EGCW are available as payware.

We try real weather. Please set your sim for a 9 am local departure.

Multiplayer Particulars:

Date and time: Sunday, February 15, 2026. 17:00 UTC

Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server

These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark. For these Sunday flights, we use DTP’s Discord Server for communication.

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