Stapleford Aerodrome

Stapleford Aerodrome is an operational general aviation aerodrome in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England, near the village of Abridge. It is about 3.4NM south of North Weald Airfield and 4.5NM north of Romford. The airfield is just within the M25, close to the junction with the M11.Stapleford Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P472) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Herts & Essex Aero Club Limited).HistoryThe 1930sStapleford opened as Essex Aerodrome in 1933 as a base for Hillman's Airways, which provided a service to Paris and other European cities using De Havilland DH.84 Dragon and DH.89 Dragon Rapide biplanes. Amy Johnson was one of the Hillman Airways pilots. After running into financial difficulties, Hillman was bought up by Whitehall Security Corporation Ltd and merged with three other airlines that they already owned to form British Airways Ltd. Operations began in 1936, but after 4 months all flights were moved to Heston Aerodrome, leaving just a small number of private aircraft.