Madrid-Cuatro Vientos airport, the oldest of all Spanish airports, is located just eight kilometres from the centre of the capital. It is a joint civil-military aerodrome used for general aviation flights.

In Cuatro Vientos, basically flying schools, services of the State (State Police Headquarters, State Traffic Office or TRAGSA) coexist, as well as companies involved in maintenance, training of maintenance technicians, representatives-installers of aircraft manufacturers and equipment, and associated service companies.

In 2005, there were 64,657 flight operations.

History

On 11 January 1911, a military commission proposed to the War Ministry that it acquire land for use at Cuatro Vientos to set up a school for pilots. On 8 February the first troops arrived, who installed themselves in tents; the heads and officers installed themselves in a temporary cabin. Two mobile or Bessonneau hangars arrived from France to house the first aircraft: two Henri Farman biplanes, with a 70 HP Gnome engine, and a Maurice Farman, also a biplane, with an 80 HP Renault engine. On 12 March, the first aeroplane landed at Cuatro Vientos, from Ciudad Lineal.

In the winter of 1911, construction work began on different buildings in the airdrome that concluded in March 1912 with the installation of another hangar, a barracks for the troops, a garage and a building for the guard corps. In 1914, construction started on the control tower, the oldest in Spain.

In 1918, construction began on the Aerodynamics Laboratory. The aerodynamic tunnel came into service in 1926 and was the most important of those in existence at the time. From 1920, the Mechanics School started operating at Cuatro Vientos and, as from 1925, the Classification School, which moved to Guadalajara in 1927. In 1928, the Advanced Aerotechnical School opened on adjoining land.

In February 1936, Cuatro Vientos was authorised as an alternative airport to Barajas and began to operate as a national airport for all purposes.

During the civil war, the airdrome was used as a base for the fighter and bomber squadrons of the republican government. After the war was over, the Section of Studies and Experiences remained at Cuatro Vientos and was absorbed into the National Institute of Technical Aerospace (INTA) at the end of the 1940's. The Advanced Aerotechnical School became the Military Academy of Aeronautical Engineers and, years later, the Transmission School.

Loring, a private airdrome, had been set up in 1929 to the east of and bordering Cuatro Vientos airdrome. In November 1947, The Royal Flying Club of Spain, RACE, was established here and was given the facilities. In 1952, free use was granted of the airfield that bordered the military airfield to the west and which had a 600-metre runway that it shared with it. In December 1951, the Air Ministry ceded RACE 97,000 square metres in ownership and, in March 1952, another 338,000 metres.

In May 1957, Cuatro Vientos airport was classified as category three. In March 1961, a new delimitation was established between the civil area (the paved runway and south area of the airdrome) and the military area (north zone of the paved runway). In September 1965, it officially became Madrid - Cuatro Vientos airport and, in 1967 it was classified as category two.

At the start of the 1970's, the airport had a 10-28 runway (1,200 metres long and 30 wide), a parallel taxiway and another parallel runway of compacted land, 1,650 metres by 75. In July 1971, Madrid - Cuatro Vientos was opened to domestic and international passenger traffic, under VFR flight conditions.

In December 1975, the runway was extended by 300 metres, taking it to 1,500 metres. Moreover, work began on the new control tower and small terminal building. The airfield is thus formed by a paved runway with a 10-28 orientation, 1,500 metres long and 30 wide. Besides, there is also a non-paved runway, of natural ground, which is for exclusive use and rights of the air base.

Madrid-Cuatro Vientos Airport - AENA airport

Address: Ctra. de la Fortuna, s/n. Apdo. de Correos 27005 28044 Madrid

Telephone: 913 210 900

Fax: 913 210 949

URL: http://www.aena.es/madrid-cuatrovientos

AENA accepts no responsibility for the information posted at this site neither for the possible damages caused for the use of this information.

Runway 10/28

4921 x 98 feet
1500 x 30 meters

Runway 10L/28R

3698 x 148 feet
1127 x 45 meters

Navaids

Madrid-Cuatro Vientos Airport - AENA airport

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2006.
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