Naval Air Station Eastchurch

RAF Eastchurch
The Eastchurch aviation memorial
IATA: none ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Operator	Royal Air Force
Location	Eastchurch, Kent
Built	1909
In use	1909-1946
Elevation AMSL	83 ft / 25 m
Coordinates	51°23′40″N 000°50′48″E / 51.39444°N 0.84667°E / 51.39444; 0.84667Coordinates: 51°23′40″N 000°50′48″E / 51.39444°N 0.84667°E / 51.39444; 0.84667
Map
RAF Eastchurch Location in Kent
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 00/00 0 0 Asphalt 00/00 0 0 Asphalt 00/00 0 0 Asphalt

RAF Eastchurch was a Royal Air Force station near Eastchurch village, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England. The history of aviation at Eastchurch stretches back to the first decade of the 20th century when it was used as an airfield by members of the Royal Aero Club. The area saw the first flight by a British pilot in Britain.

In 1910 it was offered to the Royal Navy as a training aerodrome and it was known as the Naval Flying School, Eastchurch. It was also in the 1910s the airfield was designated Royal Naval Air Station Eastchurch. With the amalgamation of the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps on 1 April 1918, the station was transferred to the newly formed Royal Air Force and was re-designated Royal Air Force Station Eastchurch, or RAF Eastchurch for short.

The members of the Aero Club of Great Britain established their first flying ground near Leysdown on the Isle of Sheppey in 1909. One of the Club's members, Francis McClean, acquired Stonepits Farm, on the marshes across from Leysdown, converting the land into an airfield for members of the Aero Club. A club house was established nearby at the Mussell Manor (now known as Muswell Manor). At the same time the Short Brothers established an aircraft factory at Shellbeach on Isle of Sheppey. This was the first aircraft factory in the British Isles and the first factory in the world for the series production of aircraft, these being license-built copies of the Wright A biplane.

It was here that John Moore-Brabazon (later Lord Brabazon of Tara) made a flight of 500 yards in his Voisin biplane The Bird of Passage, officially recognised as the first flight by a British pilot in Britain. Later in 1909, Moore-Brabazon piloted the first live cargo flight by fixed-wing aircraft. In order to disprove the adage that pigs can't fly he attached a waste-paper basket to a wing strut of his aircraft and airlifted one small pig inside the basket. Later Moore-Brabazon, Professor Huntington, Charles Rolls and Cecil Grace all used the flying club's services. In May 1909 the Wright Brothers visited Sheppey and inspected the airfield before moving on to visit the Short Brothers' factory. They then took lunch at Mussell Manor with members of the Aero Club and there was considerable discussion regarding the possibility of establishing a flying school in Sheppey.