North Weald C-54 Skymaster gets the chop .........

[martin collins 1]

I love North Weald as an airfield, i still remember it from the early 70`s when my father used to compete in car club Sprints there and the only other users were the Epping gliding club who were regularly winch launching while the cars tore round the circuits laid out on the hard stands and peri track. The weather was always sunny and the sound of skylarks overhead made the picture complete, the whole site looked reasonably cared for and intact from when the RAF had left, this may be due in part to the filming of scenes from the Battle of Britain movie several years earlier. I have regularly visited over the last twenty years, Wings & Wheels was always a date eagerly marked on my calendar early in the year, it was a sad day to learn that thanks to Epping council and Google 2023 would be the last show held there. I was passing by on the M11 today having picked up a kit in Kent and thought i would pop by the Squadron cafeteria on the far side of the aerodrome, i had heard they had shut the cafeteria but i was pleased to see it in operation again under a new name and by the looks of it thriving. On my way back round the peri track i stopped to look at the C-54 which has been there since 2002 and was horrified to see it being chopped up with petrol saws, the tail lay on the ground and the tail number was being cut from it presumably as a memento. The owner was looking on and seeing me taking pictures and video he came over for a chat and to explain why he had decided that this was his only option. He has owned the C-54 for 17 years having purchased it after a failed film on the Berlin Airlift had left it un airworthy and decaying at North Weald. He said he had been trying to find a buyer for it for 17 years and no one had come forward, he had to draw the line somewhere on the money it was costing to keep it there and that day had come, the fuselage back to where the tail was chopped off has been sold as a glamping pod, so hopefully we will see more of that in the future. The wings and tail sadly will be going to the scrap yard, the engines have been removed and are apparently for sale, i asked if i could have a small piece of aluminium from the aircraft and he obliged by giving me a piece of the outer skin to remember this lovely aircraft by. There was a group who have worked wonders on this plane over the last few years, getting to the stage of having three of the engines running, their dream of returning it to the air was unfortunately never going to happen due to the costs involved and it seems both they and the owner had different interpretations of what was agreed over the ongoing ownership of the aircraft............

[J D 8 - Moderator]

  Looks like it is being chopped up with some care, hope some parts go to help the upkeep of other C 54's.

[Cuban8]

Having lived in nearby Loughton for twenty years prior to moving to N.Essex in 2005, we too were regular visitors to North Weald and supported many of the events there at the time. Epping Forest District Council had their faults but I do have to say their air mindedness and support for NWA in the past and to this day is worthy of recognition. The fabulous Fighter Meet Airshows and of course our own Wings and Wheels are much missed, but at least we can say we enjoyed the experiences while we had the chance.

I see that the model flying club still operates from the airfield so that is also good to know

A shame about the C54, although one can understand the owner's point of view and he's done very well to keep it as long as he has, and thereby given it a fair chance of a future as a whole airframe - it just didn't work out.

[SIMON CRAGG]

I was stationed there for three years, many moons ago.

 

Used to work in one of the original hangers. 

 

Lots of adventures exploring the derelict control tower, various huts and accommodation.

 

On a recent visit I was gutted to see that the old officers mess adjacent to the parade square, had replaced by a Bookers!.

 

So many memories of the whole airfield. Stunning place back then.

[Cuban8]

What I saw at the time as being a huge error, was not capitalising on the fact that North Weald had it very own underground station that could have shuttled thousands of commuters into London after parking their vehicles on a suitable part of the airfield during week days. A win-win situation as seen by many as an opportunity to ease congestion and offer an easier and faster trip directly into Central London and Docklands, plus a nice little earner for the council to invest in the airfield.

London Transport were determined to close that section of the Central Line comewhat may and there were  concerns about increased local traffic at peak times, so the scheme was never even given a chance to see if it would work. Given the amount of residential development that's taken place nearby and in Harlow recently - which has always been a dormitory town for London - I reckon a trick was missed.

At least there is a nice heritage steam railway running on the closed underground line, and NWA itself is still a very busy airfield catering for all sorts of users. Could have been very much worse of course, when one sees the fate of other decomissioned RAF airfields.