AeroModeller – June 2018

25

Dave Hipperson shares his experience of changing the use of a suitable open space for FF...

with a big new Open Rubber model and

set about trimming it. I was there ‘til dark –

didn’t see a soul. As the summer wore on,

I was on the aerodrome on numerous calm

evenings and some early mornings too, and

never saw a single living thing, apart from

the occasional barn owl that would come

past wondering what on earth my owls were!

Change of Use

After a while, I discovered another way on

at the north of the fi eld, convenient for when

the drift was from that end. Radlett, I knew,

had in it’s Handley Page days been used

as the venue for the massively attended All

Britain Model Aircraft Rallies of the mid 50’s.

As I could see the potential of the place for

proper organised competitions, I did some

investigating regarding the current owner. It

turned out to be in the hands of Cork Gully,

a fi rm of receivers working for the Handley

Page Estate. On your behalf, I risked blowing

my cover and contacted them. They were

puzzled by my excitement and although

they had no objection to my continuing

the private use of their land, as long I did

no damage, they could not let me use it

offi cially, because to do so would require

a change of use. When I mentioned the

Vauxhall cars parked at one end, the man I

was speaking to sounded slightly surprised

and interested. It would appear Vauxhall had

not got change of use to a ‘car park’ as the

next time I visited all the cars were gone and

they never came back! This was late 1980,

and for the next few months I continued

visiting unimpeded, but all the while wanting

a fi rmer arrangement with the view to the

possibility of organising some events for

you guys. The stumbling block was fi rst, the

change of use. So, I changed it!

In those days you could apply for such

things at no cost as long as you drew up

the correct documents, which included an

accurate map and precise details as to what

you wanted to change the use to. You didn’t

need to be the owner of the land. I did all

this and sent it off on 17 February 1981.

“Can I use it, please, as a site ‘For

the fl ying of silent model aircraft,’ all

121 hectares of it?” You have got to be

joking. Six days later, I got confi rmation of

agreement in principal, as long as I didn’t

build on it! The offi cial DC3 (sic) document

confi rming it arrived on 25 March 1981,

and reminded me that I should keep the

document in a safe place, in case I ever

wanted to sell the property. I really liked

the feeling that someone thought I might

own this land. Sadly Cork Gully were still

the owners and still just as reluctant to

let me invite others on, but were perfectly

happy with my continued use, which I had

unimpeded for the next fi ve years. Indeed, I

was now an offi cial user and from what I was

seeing about the only one. I pretty much saw

no-one.

On one evening while I was there, a hot

air balloon came down and the crew were

able to ask me if there was vehicular access

before he ditched. They had the basket just

a few feet above the ground and I walked

along beside him having this conversation.

From time to time the aerobatics team from

Elstree would practice high above with

the confi dence that if they had an engine

failure they would have somewhere to land.

Otherwise my company was the odd barn

owl and the occasional baby deer that would

saunter up to have a look as what I was

doing.

Changes of use like mine run out after

fi ve years, so at the end of this time, when

Redland Aggregates bought the property in

1985, with a view to excavating for gravel,

I presumed I would be thrown off. Not a bit

of it! They wrote to me and asked if I would

be good enough to sign a couple of waivers

releasing them from any responsibility if I

injured myself on their fi eld. This I did and we

co-existed fi ne. They never came near the

place. The only slight hiccup I did have, was

when on one afternoon that year, I turned

up to discover Margaret Thatcher busy at

the southern end opening the last section

of the M25. The place was crawling with

security men, so I though that I would give

it a miss that time, although the champagne

and canapés in the huge marquee looked

tempting.

Enter Skyship 600

The next year, 1986, a fi rm called Airship

Industries wrote to me explaining that

Dave fi lled in the forms and worked with the bureaucracy to gain access to Radlett.

RADLETT.indd 25 26/04/2018 16:20