Baldonnel-Casement / Weston & Dublin Wednesday 5th March 2008     Dave Anderson, Ian Ellington, Geoff Hyde & Stuart Reid

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I had been threatening for a few years to pay a visit the Irish Air Corps so when the opportunity came up and Ryanair were doing £20 return to Dublin from Newcastle for the day, the trip was booked. There wasn't much at Newcastle other than the Swedish Citation that left not long after we arrived, generally the airport was very quiet,  EI-DLJ our Ryanair 737 left on time and arrived at Dublin in cloudy but dry weather, the new terminal used by Ryanair is a million times better than the old temporary cattle shed that has now gone, more important the bizz area can easily be seen as you walk out . By the time we had picked up the hire car it was time to head off to Baldonnel, about 15 miles South West of Dublin. The tour guide took us to all active area's and even opened hangars that were closed, all but eight of the Irish Air Corps were seen during the trip,  from a brief run around the perimeter it doesn't look a very good airfield to see anything from the outside. A museum on site (not open to the public) houses a nice collection of some of the older types and a look around this finished off the well worthwhile trip. A quick burger at MCD's and it was on to Weston a few miles away, the airfield had undergone a major transformation four years ago, with a new terminal, aprons and hangars being built, a very friendly place, and after asking for ramp access, a nice young lady handed our high viz jackets and took us around the whole area. We had a few hours before it got dark and spent it along the runway back at Dublin, ideal for photo's but the weather was a bit grey and overcast, Ryanair's latest 737 EI-DYA had arrived on delivery just before we got there. A few pints of the black stuff went down well and our flight on EI-DAR arrived back at Newcastle almost on time.

Newcastle Airport Wed 5th March 08 0700am

Baldonnal-Casement, Eire Wed 5th March 2008

Weston Airfield, Eire Wed 5th March 2008