Image: Hertfordshire Archive and Local Studies

Panshanger: the survivor

North London Flying School
Airfield: Panshanger
Where: 2.5NM W of Hertford
Membership: 450
Runways: 11/29 Grass
Facilities: Clubhouse, café, gardens, fuel, flight training: fixed wing and rotary, aerobatics, trial flights, engineering
T. 01707 391791
W. www.northlondonflyingschool.com

Built as a decoy to lure bombers, now a thriving GA airfield.
Many of Britain’s airfields date from World War II and many played an important role in that conflict. Some have made it through to the 21st century. Panshanger Aerodrome is one of the few that’s survived but only after a determined effort by the current operator and owner of the flying club based there, Israeli pilot Haim Merkado.

When Haim took over in 1993, as an out-of-work commercial pilot, it was the height of a UK recession, not perfect timing for a new venture. What’s more, the airfield was in a state of disrepair, full of debris and with an illegal gypsy camp. Determination and the help of club members meant that Haim managed to overcome these problems and nowadays Panshanger is a thriving recreational airfield.

In 1993, there was just one resident aircraft, 13 years later there are 35. A lot more has changed as well. The grass runway has been relaid at a cost of £25,000. A ramshackle collection of WWII buildings has been converted into a modern clubhouse with café, BBQ and outside seating. The clubhouse is full of training and flght aids including an Elite Pro Panel flight sim. Maintenance is now available on site – run by former Hatfield engineer Stuart Reeves.

What hasn’t really changed is Haim. Anyone who has met him knows that you either get on with him famously, or not at all. He’s a big character, extrovert, direct and often a bit abrupt. He can seem overbearing at first. But the members of Panshanger’s club, North London Flying School (yes, it used to be East Herts FC but the suburbs are shifting), are incredibly loyal to Haim – to the point of piling in with their specialist skills to help develop and renovate the facilities.

One member, Mike Manston, a retired advertising agency owner, told LOOP, “I stumbled onto Panshanger after trying Elstree and Leavesden. I decided to buy a Cessna 172 while still learning and Haim came with me to Welshpool to check it over. “I found learning to fly quite overwhelming but I persevered because Haim had the patience for me. Since then I’ve fl own all over the world – Europe, USA, South Africa.

“In 1999 I lost my licence after an irregular heartbeat and had to sell my aeroplane. Then, 18 months ago, thanks to the NPPL, I was able to get back into flying – here at Panshanger of course.”

	1941 Panshanger was built as a decoy site during 1940, to divert enemy aircraft away from the de Havilland production site at Hatfield. Originally named Holwell Hyde, the airfield was renamed RAF Panshanger in 1943.
	1941 Mock aircraft and wrecked cars were scattered around the airfield to trick the German bombers.
	1941 A Tiger Moth of ‘B’ Flight, No.1 Elementary Flight Training School which was moved from Hatfield to Panshanger in 1941. After the war, it became the No.1 Reserve Flying School but closed in 1953.
	1951 Apprentices training on a de Havilland Chipmunk belonging to the London Aero Club, which restarted at Panshanger in 1946.
	1962 Keegan Aviation moved to the airfield bringing in larger aircraft such as this Vickers Viking.
	1977 Local pilot, Ken Green, and his Stampe at the London Aero Club hangar.
	1989 Former RAF pilot Alan Adams and Iain McClelland set up the Panshanger School of Flying in May 1982. The fleet consisted of two Piper Tomahawks and two 4-seater Archers. A two-hour flying lesson cost £49, including an hour on the ground. The business stayed afloat until 1992, when it was priced out of the market due to factors such as rising hangarage costs.