Elstree

London Elstree Aerodrome lies 2.6 NM east of Watford, next to Borehamwood, and is owned and operated by Aldenham Aviation as part of the Aldenham Estate. It has a single asphalt runway, 08/26, of 651 × 20 m, with an Aerodrome Flight Information Service during licensed hours (09:00–20:00 local or sunset, whichever is earlier). Resident aircraft can operate 24 hours a day by arrangement, and the aerodrome offers ground handling, Avgas 100LL and Jet A-1, and limited hangarage and apron parking.

Before the Second World War polo players at the nearby Aldenham Country Club flew their de Havilland Puss and Leopard Moths into Elstree's grass strip. During the war the Ministry of Aircraft Production laid a concrete runway and built the large Bellman hangar to work on Wellington bombers towed down from their Watford factory. John Houlder then ran the aerodrome for a remarkable 56 years.

Today Elstree has more than a hundred fixed-wing customers and a growing rotary base. Six fixed-wing schools train here — Air Academy, CFS London Flight School, Flight Training London, Fly Elstree, Flyers Flying School and Stars Fly — alongside two helicopter schools, helicopter and fixed-wing charter operators such as Hilti Air, whose fleet includes a Pilatus PC-12, and several maintenance businesses. The Aerodrome Cafe is open seven days a week.

We work to Elstree's procedures for contractors and arrange access with the aerodrome before each job, wearing high-visibility clothing airside as the aerodrome requires. We bring our own water container and generator, and our exterior wash is waterless, so we don't depend on facilities at the aircraft. Training aircraft and privately owned tourers have an instant online price; larger turboprops such as the PC-12 are quoted after a short on-site inspection.