Wanted: big open tarmac area to hire
Discussion
As per the title really, I'm on the hunt for a big, flat, wide open good consistently tarmac'd surfaced area with no obstructions (e.g. lamp posts) to hire for vehicle test work. The closer to Berkshire the better, although we're prepared to travel as necessary for the right venue.
So far we've considered the usual vehicle testing suspects (TRL, MIRA, Millbrook, Longcross) but have yet to find anything suitable. Also checked out a few RAF bases, but they're either busy with air traffic or the runways we've seen so far aren't wide enough. Ideally we need something like 80 or 100 metres wide by 250 metres long with an approach road so we can enter the area at 60mile/h or so. Some sort of grassy run off surround would be useful for the inevitable 'moments'.
Possible areas could be big, occasionally used car parks (something like those at Silverstone, football stadiums etc.), dockyard car storage areas seem to be full of cars presently, storage distribution type industrial estate yards might be good, a huge warehouse would be OK for testing indoors providing there were no steel posts!
We're struggling to find anywhere that fits the bill, so I'm enrolling the mighty PH! Please let me know if anywhere springs to mind, and contacts whom to enquire with would be even better.
TIA
So far we've considered the usual vehicle testing suspects (TRL, MIRA, Millbrook, Longcross) but have yet to find anything suitable. Also checked out a few RAF bases, but they're either busy with air traffic or the runways we've seen so far aren't wide enough. Ideally we need something like 80 or 100 metres wide by 250 metres long with an approach road so we can enter the area at 60mile/h or so. Some sort of grassy run off surround would be useful for the inevitable 'moments'.
Possible areas could be big, occasionally used car parks (something like those at Silverstone, football stadiums etc.), dockyard car storage areas seem to be full of cars presently, storage distribution type industrial estate yards might be good, a huge warehouse would be OK for testing indoors providing there were no steel posts!
We're struggling to find anywhere that fits the bill, so I'm enrolling the mighty PH! Please let me know if anywhere springs to mind, and contacts whom to enquire with would be even better.
TIA
http://www.bovingdonairfield.co.uk/photos.htm
Fairly large but probably not wide enough (40 meters?) for your needs.
Fairly large but probably not wide enough (40 meters?) for your needs.
Elvington?
Not exactly in Berkshire, being in Yorkshire, but the runway does stretch an appreciable way back down south, and the parking apron is the size of Bracknell: edited, (well, 320 by 520 metres, but a bit of hyperbole never does any harm).
Not exactly in Berkshire, being in Yorkshire, but the runway does stretch an appreciable way back down south, and the parking apron is the size of Bracknell: edited, (well, 320 by 520 metres, but a bit of hyperbole never does any harm).
Edited by eharding on Monday 16th March 22:13
Tycho said:
Dunno if Prodrive hire their test track out near Warwick. Would be pricey if they did but it is huge and used for Scoobies dicking around on.
Ah yeah, Fen End. Did some work there yonks ago. It was always enjoyable to see Scoobies being put through their paces. I'm fairly sure it's been considered and wasn't wide enough.Length isn't a problem on most ex-airfield sites, lack of width or broken up lumpy surfaces usually rules them out.
Looks like Bovingdon has potential size wise, I'll check it out. The photos show the problems we've come across though - the surfaces were laid yonks ago and there are dips from stuff being parked on them, cracks, lots of banding and weeds etc. Bruntingthorpe especially.
Elvingotn is a loooong way away for repeated visits, but worth a check, same goes for Hethel.
Done a fair bit of work myself at Millbrook and I work with a few ex-Millbrook guys. The concrete pan falls into the middle so the camber varies as you travel across it, which isn't ideal for our work. The other place we considered was the triangle pan at the end of the mile straight (I think it's known as) ruled out as being too small.
I'm being picky I know, I'm hoping people may come up with a few off the wall suggestions that were surfaced more recently, disused car parks or the like.
If only the runways at Greenham Common hadn't been dug up...
Elvingotn is a loooong way away for repeated visits, but worth a check, same goes for Hethel.
Done a fair bit of work myself at Millbrook and I work with a few ex-Millbrook guys. The concrete pan falls into the middle so the camber varies as you travel across it, which isn't ideal for our work. The other place we considered was the triangle pan at the end of the mile straight (I think it's known as) ruled out as being too small.
I'm being picky I know, I'm hoping people may come up with a few off the wall suggestions that were surfaced more recently, disused car parks or the like.
If only the runways at Greenham Common hadn't been dug up...
Random one. How about Blackbushe. Never been to the market but was at the airport next door flying a helicopter the other day.
"The purpose built outdoor market site with tarmac surface and supervised free onsite parking for over 10,000 vehicles covers an area the size of 20 football pitches."
"The purpose built outdoor market site with tarmac surface and supervised free onsite parking for over 10,000 vehicles covers an area the size of 20 football pitches."
I nearly hired Blackbushe airfield (there's a large bit of unused airstrip) a few years ago. British Car Auctions http://www.british-car-auctions.co.uk/ own it and they administer everything from their HQ at Hindhead.
Ah yeah, Blackbushe. Good call, will definitely enquire with BCA. That's the kind of ideas I'm after as we've covered most of the army and RAF bases.
We've worked at Upper Heyford a few times already. It's a pretty good surface, but the lack of width has resulted in a couple of grass-tracking excursions already. It's fairly lumpy soil underneath and has the potential to end in tears with the stuff we're doing.
Keep pressing and guessing, cheers!
We've worked at Upper Heyford a few times already. It's a pretty good surface, but the lack of width has resulted in a couple of grass-tracking excursions already. It's fairly lumpy soil underneath and has the potential to end in tears with the stuff we're doing.
Keep pressing and guessing, cheers!
Wroughton Airfield (near Swindon) might be worth a look. You can hire it for events, though it might not be wide enough. Easy to get to from the M4.
Owned by the Science Museum - enquiries: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/about_us/doing_bus...
Owned by the Science Museum - enquiries: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/about_us/doing_bus...
Edited by prand on Wednesday 18th March 13:20
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