[Thunder & Lightnings]
[Buccaneer] [Gannet] [Gnat] [Hunter] [Javelin] [Lightning] [Phantom]
[Scimitar] [Sea Hawk] [Sea Vixen] [Swift] [TSR.2] [Valiant] [Victor] [Vulcan]
[Airfield Viewing Guide] [Links] [Forum]

CRANFIELD

[RAF Barkston Heath] [RAF Benson] [MoD Boscombe Down] [RAF Brize Norton] [Martin-Baker Chalgrove] [RAF Coltishall] [RAF Coningsby] [RAF Cottesmore] [Cranfield] [RAF Cranwell] [Duxford] [RAF Halton] [RAF Holbeach] [Kemble] [RAF Lakenheath] [RAF Lossiemouth] [RAF Lyneham] [RAF Marham] [RAF Waddington] [RAF Wittering] [RAF Wyton] [RNAS Yeovilton]
This page last updated on 10th November 2005

[Description] [Attractions] [Viewing] [Other Info]

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Cranfield is a civilian airfield that used to be an RAF station. Once home to the famous College of Aeronautics, the technical site is now the campus of Cranfield University which incorporates the College of Aeronautics; some of the hangars are in use with the University which has on charge several aircraft of its own. The airfield is home to a number of flying schools. It is located between Milton Keynes and Bedford, on the edge of Bedfordshire around 4 miles North of junction 13 of the M1.

ICAO	Telephone	Web sites
EGTC	01234 750111	Cranfield University
		Popular Flying Association
		Aerial view

Frequencies
Frequency	Description	Last heard
122.850	Approach	01/03/2003
121.875	ATIS	01/03/2003

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO SEE

Spam cans galore, around 40 movements per hour at a guess (or one every 15 seconds at the end of the PFA Rally!). There are some ex-military attractions here, but fewer than before with Kennet Aviation's move to North Weald.

General day-to-day activity can include the occasional ex-military aircraft; mostly Chipmunks or the odd JP, but there is also an ex-RAF Beagle Bassett based here, still in RAF colours. There is also a Lightning preserved in taxiable condition; it carries out a number of fast taxi runs (with reheat when at all possible) throughout the year but these are not advertised as they are not public events.

Activity is highest during weekdays and office hours, with very little happening in the evening. Weekends are quieter in winter and when the weather isn't great, but when the sun is shining it can be very busy. I may have been lucky but I've always seen either a Gnat or a JP up in the air on recent visits (no doubt this will no longer be the case with Kennet's departure).

VIEWING

Assuming you're coming from Cranfield village having come off the A421 by the Happy Eater and Burger King, proceed West through the village. Just follow the road and you'll come to a pub called The Carpenter's Arms on the right, with the village sign on the green on your left. There's a lane running down past the pub (Merchant Lane) - go down here. This lane leads to crash gate 2 (A). You'll be able to se a HS.125 on the dump, though it's the other side of the runway from you and too far for a good photo. The sun is behind you for most of the day so this is a pretty good spot for photos, however you're not very close to the runway. Spam-cans departing from 22 are obscured until they're airborne. Helicopters sometimes practice just West of the crash gate, but the sun makes photos of that difficult in the afternoon. Departures from the paved 04 are often ony just airborne as they pass here but you really need more than a 300mm lens for truly good photos. Anything using grass 04 is even further away.

Back down the lane and turn right at the pub and proceed West out of the village. The next useful spot you'll find is a layby on the right side of the road (B). This is crash gate 3 and gives some view across the airfield and may be useful for logging serials, though poor for photography due to the distance the aircraft are from you. Not a particularly good spot at all.

Continue on the road and very shortly there'll be a right turn which you should take. You'll see that this road curves up ahead; you want to come off the road on the right-hand side just before this curve. You'll often see cars parked on the grass here so it's not hard to see where to go! Don't park in front of crash gate 4 or in the entrance to this area; you can safely park on the grass and gravel to the right of the crash gate (C) (though you may get oil spots on your car from incontinent spam cans).

Chipmunk holding (taken from point C); author

JP just about to land (taken from across the road from point C); author

There is a lane to the left of the crash gate which you can also park in, but somebody lives down the end so to make life easier for them try and park to the right of the crash gate if possible. When runway 04 is in use, some aircraft will taxi to just in front of the crash gate and hold, then continue onto the runway and depart away from you - lighter types often taxi onto 04 further up though, and won't go anywhere near this crash gate. Landing aircraft will come in from behind you, sometimes very low over the hedge (and the road!). When runway 22 is in use, departing aircraft line up almost out of sight and will often fly right over you; how low depends entirely on the pilot and type, but normally that's quite high. Arriving aircraft normally land out of sight and turn off the runway before getting close enough for a good photo. Helicopters tend to ignore the runway and fly over the trees to your left regardless of wind direction.

A walk down to the end of the lane (D) will give you a good view across to Kennet's former hangars and the aircraft parked on the disused runway 08/26; fine for serial logging, acceptable for photography though a 300mm lens or larger is needed. Even late in the day the sun shouldn't bother you too much. The Lightning is normally parked here but is covered by tarpaulins etc. except when it's being worked on or readied for a taxi run; however, the Lansen (also usually parked here - it rarely moves, and certainly not under its own power) is usually uncovered and can be very photogenic.

Jet Provost (taken from point D); author

Lightning being worked on (taken from point F); author

Leaving this spot, turn right to get back onto the road and keep going to the roundabout. Turn right here and then take the right-hand lane straight away, curving off to the right. You'll soon reach another roundabout, turn right and you can park in the Innovation Centre's car park (E) which is fine out of office hours but may be difficult during the day. Walk to the next roundabout and from the top of it and the earth bank along the roadside (F) you can get a good view of the aircraft parked on the disused runway, and anything parked around Kennet's green hangars (though the hangars will obscure a lot of things). Just don't trample any plants or spotters may become unpopular with the University. Photography is best done during the middle part of the day, in the morning and late evening the sun will prove annoying. Crash gate 5 is on this roundabout - do NOT park here.

Back to your car and drive past the Innovation Centre to the roundabout and turn left. Keep going and there's an industrial unit with a small yard on your right (G). You could quickly stop here for a closer look at anything parked nearby, often aircraft are parked right up close to the chainlink fence here.

Back in the car and drive back to junction, and back out to the road. Turn right and shortly you'll see a petrol station on the left with a mini roundabout ahead. You want to go straight ahead. Further up, on the right hand side of the road the first turning you'll see is into the University. During the day the traffic control here will usually not be in use so you can enter the campus easily; it can occasionally be active, if so, press the button and say you're going to the airfield, they should let you through. Keep left and follow the road around until you get to a junction. Turn right, then pick a car park - any car park! From here you can see one of the areas between the large hangars and can walk right up to the edge of the airfield with only a tiny grass bank between you and the aircraft (H). You can continue to explore within the University areas on foot; do it in your car and you will probably attract campus security's attention. Views of aircraft on this side of the field are fairly limited but you can get very close to those that are between the hangars. Just don't stray onto the airfield itself.

Beagle Bassett CC.1 XS770 (taken from point H); author

Wasp (taken from point I); author

Continuing further towards the airfield itself, drive towards the large hangar that has 'SPORTS HALL' painted on its doors and turn left after it. You'll go past a large red brick building. Just past it on the right there are a load parking spaces - park somewhere here. At the end of this parking area you'll see some portakabins, one of which is Bonus Aviation's. You can walk between them to a fenced area (I) for more views of aircraft parked nearby, which in summer means some of Kennet's fleet - the fence is nice and low so no problem for photos. If there are no spaces available, continue past this parking area, turn right then right again and you can drive right up to the airfield fence and park in front of the Cafe Pacific (I again, just a little further East). Decent food, big servings and reasonable prices - and a bar and toilets too! From the front of the cafe you have similar views of the parked aircraft, and anything taxiing past to get to runway 04.

Back in the car and drive back out and turn right once more and you'll see the control tower - usually plenty of places to park nearby (or you can always walk from the cafe area). You can walk up to the edge of the tower (J) for a view of the area in front of the hangars; might be worth popping into the tower to ask if you can have a wander round airside - you never know! Just bring a high-vis vest if you intend doing that.

Back to the car again and go out the way you came in (you could turn left instead of right back towards the sports hall - if so, another left turn brings you down to near point G again - you can park by the roadside before the airfield barrier). However, let's continue out - take the one-way road to the exit (and the entrance!), keeping left. Turn right onto the road again and just after the 'national speed limit' sign you'll see a track off to the right. Go down here and you'll come to crash gate 1 (K); there's room to park in the field at the end of the lane on the left (don't block the field entrance, the lane or the gate). From the crash gate you have a clear view of the HS.125 on the dump, plus fairly decent views of movements on runway 22/04. When 22 is in use, aircraft will taxi past the dump within easy reach of a 70-210 class lens, but the sun is in your face except in the morning. Aircraft departing from 22 are out of sight until they lift off, but you have a good few seconds in which to get a clear shot of them in the air. For aircraft landing, this spot isn't very good because they're out of sight and then partially obscured by the lie of the land on their roll-out. A walk back down the lane will get you distant views of aircraft parked by the hangars, and better views of anything departing from runway 36 (which rarely happens).

Dumped HS.125 (taken from point K); author

Now, you can either walk into the field for clearer and closer views of aircraft on the taxiway or on the runway, or if you don't want to risk annoying anyone by parking down here, go back to the road (personally I park here - there is a public footpath from here after all). Turn right, and you'll quickly come to another opportunity to turn right. There's room for one car to park here, and a white gate just in front of you. The stile to the left of gate leads me to believe it's a public footpath along the field edge here, so climb over (avoid the stile step, it's knackered) and you're now on an old dispersal taxiway. Keep walking straight ahead along the side of the field and you'll come very close to the taxiway alongside runway 22 - you'll know when to stop because there's a line of wooden posts marking the edge of the field, plus a bit of a grass bank and some trees along this line. Being this close to the taxiway it's superb for aircraft taxiing onto runway 22, or anything finishing its landing roll on 04 (though most of the smaller types will have turned off back by the dump).

Lightning fast taxi run (taken near point M); author

Walk further North-East into the next field and you can get very close to the runway end (M), though a building starts obstructing it the further along you go. Great landing shots can be had from here in the afternoon. There seems to be quite a large area of the field that isn't planted so I don't think the local farmer will mind - I've certainly hung around here for a good half hour (waiting for the Lightning!) without problems. The airfield personnel don't mind either - though you'll get some looks from anybody driving round that way, obviously wondering about the sanity of anybody standing there freezing to death in the ever-present Cranfield wind! This is the best spot if you want to experience some Lightning noise, as runs are normally carried out from this end - somebody complained about their car window being blown in by the Lightning when it carried out a fast taxi run from the 04 end. Strikes me as nonsense as the hedge absorbs most of the force but since that complaint, it's runway 22 only for the Lightning's taxi runs.

Back to the car and turn right out of where you parked; a couple of minute's drive will get you to a junction. Turn right here and you're now on the road running back to Cranfield village, which goes by the end of runway 22. However, the hedge and distance makes views onto the runway difficult, and the only places to park are in the three field entrances to be found on the right hand side of the road after the approach lights. Some people do park on the edge of the road (N) but this is very dangerous - lots of drivers come along this road at high speed and coming round a corner to be faced with a speeding idiot on one side of the road and a spotting idiot on the other is not a pleasant experience. Photography can be good but the sun is against you in the morning and most pilots are still fairly high as they cross the road. You cannot get closer to the runway as the farmer who owns this field doesn't like people going into it - all the gates are securely closed to keep the sheep in as well as people out!

Bulldog on finals (taken near point N); author

OTHER INFORMATION

University security are active in the evenings and on weekends and may frown upon you taking your car into the campus area (though I've never had any problems with them); on foot you shouldn't have too many problems. During the day there are so many people going in and out of the various car parks I think security just give it up as a bad job and no doubt concentrate on watching specific areas for trespassers. The airfield side of things at the edge of the campus is normally not a problem to wander round in, and relies on big fines to deter idiots from going airside without permission. The cafe is well worth a visit!

Cranfield is also the normal home for the annual PFA Rally; not much of interest to those into military types, though it may give you closer access to some of the ex-military residents and is no doubt great value if you're into spotting general aviation types. The primary approach frequency normally has a recorded message on it for the duration of the rally, and two other frequencies are used for the grass and paved (hard) runway operations respectively. However since 2003 the rally has moved to Kemble instead - it may or may not return to Cranfield.

There is a petrol station and convenience store within the campus area; petrol price is high compared to that in Milton Keynes or Bedford though. There are also a few petrol stations, various shops and a Budgens supermarket in Cranfield village.

Duxford is not much more than an hour's drive away to the South-East - the quickest route is to take the A421 across to Cardington, come off onto the A603 to Sandy, onto the A1 Southbound, off onto the A507 at junction 10 (just before the A1 becomes the A1(M)) towards Baldock, hang a right in Baldock onto the A505 to Royston and just stay on the A505 round Royston and on to Duxford.

Contributors: author.

[Back to top]

All these pages and 'author' credited images copyright © 1997-2006 Handmade by Machine Ltd.