Richard Poad looks back at 80 years of White Waltham Airfield

White Waltham Airfield is marking 80 years of aviation history this week. Maidenhead Heritage Centre chairman RICHARD POAD takes a look back over the site's heritage.

Eighty years ago this week, pilot training began at the new White Waltham Airfield just west of Maidenhead, a tradition which has continued almost unbroken ever since.

Now the airfield is home to West London Aero Club; then, in 1935, it was operated by the De Havilland School of Flying, teaching students for the RAF Reserve.

Their planes were mainly De Havilland bi-planes Tiger Moths.

Tiger Moths are still in evidence at White Waltham 80 years later.

The Second World War saw the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) move its headquarters to White Waltham.

From bases up and down the country, its civilian pilots, men and women, took over from the RAF the routine movement of aircraft between factories, maintenance units and front-line squadrons.

More than 309,000 service aircraft were ferried by ATA pilots during the war. ATA is Maidenhead’s most important claim to wartime fame and its amazing story is told in a permanent exhibition at Maidenhead Heritage Centre in Park Street.

After the war, a number of famous aviation companies made their home at White Waltham – notably Fairey Aviation and Fairey Air Surveys.

The Gannet was test flown here and the revolutionary Fairey Rotodyne, the world’s first vertical take-off airliner, made its first flight at White Waltham in November 1957.

Sadly the Rotodyne project was cancelled five years later.

Meanwhile Fairey Air Surveys planes flew all over the world, from Australia to modern Zimbabwe; many of their aerial photos of Maidenhead are included in a temporary exhibition at the heritage centre.

ML Aviation and its predecessor companies worked at the airfield for more than 50 years.

Its Malcolm ‘bubble hood’ gave wartime fighter pilots greatly increased visibility and was installed in planes, including the Typhoon.

ML built a tiny aeroplane with an inflatable wing, which was the world’s first microlight, although it never went into production; neither did an ejection seat, a pilotless target-towing drone or the miniature Sprite spy helicopter.

But Bomb storage and Release Units were a huge success and installed in Jaguar and Tornado planes by the RAF.

The RAF itself occupied the south side of the airfield between 1946 and 1973, and Prince Philip learned to fly there. He made his first solo on December 21, 1952, then flew himself to Sandringham for Christmas.

RAF Home Command was here, while air cadets flew gliders and Chipmunk trainers, as did the students of the University of London Air Squadron.

The Ministry of Defence sold White Waltham in 1982. Since then the West London Aero Club has operated the airfield.  The airfield is a centre of excellence for aerobatic flying and many club members keep their planes here; the oldest resident plane was built in the Thirties.

Last year saw many vintage military aircraft passing through on their way to D-Day celebrations, and during this year’s Battle of Britain commemoration, Spitfires and Hurricanes filled the skies above White Waltham.

Few grass airfields anywhere in the world have such a fabulous aviation heritage. Maidenhead should be proud of it.

Maidenhead Heritage Centre, Park Street, is open from 10am-4pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Enquiries: 01628 780555. www.maidenheadheritage.org.uk