Sandhurst

Note: This map only gives the location of Sandhurst within the UK.



SANDHURST: Army Officer Academy but also a civil/military temporary flying site and ballooning site

Users: Military personnel probably?
 

Location: Just north of Camberley town centre
 

NOTES: Within the grounds of the Sandhurst military college probably? The reason I call it civil/military is simply because I believe Army officers and visitors, arriving by air during the 1920s and 30s, used the site mainly on an unofficial basis? I would much welcome ‘concrete’ evidence of this.

BALLOON LAUNCHES
In his book Flying and Ballooning John Fabb has a photograph captioned, “A balloon at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.” The date is given as c.1890.

A FORCED LANDING
In the early 1950s the Miles Magister G-AIUE made a forced landing after engine failure flying out of nearby BLACKBUSHE in HAMPSHIRE. An account of this is told in the Miles Magazine October 1996 issue.

MISTAKEN?
I’ll happily stand corrected but would be surprised if, in more recent years, helicopters – especially military helicopters (?) – haven’t used this site?

 

 
 

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Terry Clark

This comment was written on: 2018-02-04 11:49:47
 
In the late '70s/early '80s, 3 Counties Aero Club at Blackbushe had a contract to train some Sandhurst Officer Cadets to PPL standard. Such was the rapport built up that the owner was asked if it would be possible to land a C150 at Sandhurst, the main parade ground being about 250m long. Derek Johnson, the half owner or 3 CAC decided to try it in one of the C150 Aerobats (either GBBNX or 'NY I can't remember which) and a few days later, I happened to be on radar when Derek took off from Blackbushe and announced he was intending to land at Sandhurst. I watched on radar as he did one or two circuits then said he was going for it; a few minutes later he reported he had landed safely. He later took off with no problem and returned to Blackbushe. I think that was probably the last time a fixed wing arcraft landed at Sandhurst; as for helicopters, although I can recall many landings at the adjacent Camberley Army Staff College, I don't recall any at Sandhurst apart from the era when Princess Anne lived there with her first husband when a Queens Flight Wessex would occasionally gone in to transport her to/from a Royal visit.
 

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