Not an airport, but a fairly major maintenance centre, with some of the UK's most interesting
aircraft. It used to be Dan Air's maintenance base until they went bust, resulting in a decline
in its fortunes for a few years, but business is now booming and it's as busy as it's ever been.
It specialises in the slightly more geriatric-jet side of things, such as 727s and early 737s,
and still occasionally produces the odd 707 and DC-8. Its main drawback is the fact that there's
not much apparent turnover, and some aircraft stay, literally, for months or even years. Still,
as long as you don't visit too frequently, you're almost guaranteed to find something of great
interest.
It's also one of the busiest glider sites in the UK, as you'll discover if you're there on a
sunny summer weekend - the activity is literally non-stop. And finally, there's a small, but
unfortunately rather dilapidated, museum here, too, with the rather misleading name of 'The
Second World War Aircraft Preservation Society' (SWWAPS) - misleading because all their exhibits
are definitely post-war!
a) The maintenance side is undoubtedly the most
interesting and, unless in the hangars (definitely out-of-bounds), most aircraft here can be
photographed easily and very successfully. Check in with the security office on arrival, where
you'll probably be told, "You can take whatever photos you like as long as you stay on the
road/perimeter track," so make the most of it - you won't find 'facilities' like this at many
other places. In general an afternoon visit is likely to be better, although whether the sun's in
a good position depends on how the aircraft are parked, and it's impossible to know this before
you get there - usually there'll be no problems, though.
5U-BAG Niger Govt. Being 737
XT-BBE Burkina Faso Govt. Boeing 727
b) The gliding side is slightly more problematic -
unless you're a member your car isn't insured here, so you can either drive around and suffer the
consequences if something happens, or park just outside and walk around (although whether you
are insured or not, I'm not sure).
Click on the icons below to see maps relating to Lasham airfield. Note that these are all
external links to other sites, and will open in a new window.
Lasham Gliding Society
Lots of info here provided by the LGS, who apparently now own the entire airfield. Of most use to
the enthusiast will be the comprehensive directions and map. Also some nice pictures of gliders.
The site itself looks nice, but isn't particularly easy to navigate around, without any real
logical structure to it.
