Prestwick Aviation Tours

17/06/2024

Huge thanks to the brave group of 10 walking tourists yesterday who braved the damp conditions to undertake the tour! Also a big thanks to Paul and Linda Downie of 'The Elvis Touch' who attended and informed me that, despite all the press reports, Elvis actually transited Prestwick on March 2nd, 1960, as opposed to March 3rd as is stated widely. Thanks Paul Downie! I'll now have to update the tour brochure!

16/06/2024

Virtual Tour Update: We're back on track thanks to Derek Pake and G-WEEV! After we were refused permission take drone footage of the airfield Derek has stepped in and helped us out by using the underwing cameras he has on his RV8, G-WEEV. We are now in possession of the footage and will be working on this over the next couple of months to provide the backdrop to the virtual tour presentation. Thanks again Derek!

12/06/2024

Good news for Storm Aviation's Prestwick Facility. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/storm-aviation_a330approval-part145-ukcaa-activity-7206292745324216320-1i9q?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

10/06/2024

Looking to take a break from ( or even avoid) the Open Golf at Troon in July? The consider joining us for one of our History of Prestwick Airport Walking Tours.
We have decided to run a tour for every day of the Open and these will run from Monday 15th July through to the following Monday the 22nd.
There will be many visitors (particularly from North America) who may have a connection to Prestwick so why not pass on the word to your friends and family who may have an interest in learning about Prestwick's amazing history. Book at www.prestwickaviationtours.com

06/06/2024

We've been given the news that our request to fly a drone over the airfield has been refused due to security reasons which is understandable. This has set us back a tad in terms of the creation of the 'History of Prestwick Airport Virtual Tour'. We had planned to use the footage from the drone flyover as the backdrop to the virtual tour but we now have to resort to possible Plan B and even C. However, if there are any ideas out there from our then we'd be delighted to hear them! What could we do to ensure we have a really engaging and interactive virtual tour of the airfield? All ideas and suggestions accepted!.

02/06/2024

Exactly a year ago this weekend, and after attending ( and being inspired by) the 3 Hampdens Walking Tour run by Glasgow Football Tour I decided to run with Prestwick Aviation Tours and test the walks out last October. I am delighted to report that we have gone from strength to strength and the numbers attending the tours over April and May (when we started our official season) have been excellent with a total of 115 'tourists' over the two months. This brings our running total (including the October 'test' runs and a Christmas Tour) to 153. Advance bookings for June look good whilst as yet July offers plenty of availability. However as we are finding, as the word gets out, availability tends to diminish at fairly short notice.

Huge thanks go to everyone who has attended and fed back to date as well as those organisations who have supported the venture to date including the Monkton Community Church for the use of The Pioneer Cafe (our base), Glasgow Prestwick Airport, and the Security folk at Spirit Aerospace and HMS Gannet who are now used to (sort of) our frequent 'gatherings' close to their security huts!

Some news on the Virtual Tour progress is that progress is very slow due to not being able as yet to secure a slot to get the drone footage that we require in order to provide the back drop to the virtual tour. It may well be that we don't get this permission until after the summer flight schedules end but we'll keep you posted of developments. We may run with a 'prototype' version of the virtual tour so watch this space.

In the meantime, we still have the 2 hour and 4 hour walking tour options and these can be booked at www.prestwickaviationtours.com Don't forget that we also can arrange private tours out-with the 'open' scheduled tours.

30/05/2024

I was delighted to welcome a 'well kent' face in Ian Welsh (former leader of South Ayrshire Council) to a tour yesterday. Ian was one of a good number of people who were instrumental in not only saving the airport but enabling it to flourish once it had been taken off the hands of BAA in the late 80s. I am humbled by his feedback.

30/05/2024

On this day 75 years ago, KLM starting connecting Holland with Canada on a scheduled basis, and these early flights involved Prestwick.

Today marks the 75th anniversary of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' inaugural flight from Amsterdam to Montreal. On May 29, 1949, a KLM crew welcomed the first passengers on board a Lockheed Constellation 749 named 'Batavia' and registered as PH-TDB. It was the first commercial connection between Canada a...

28/05/2024

Just under 2 weeks until our 1940s Home Front event on Saturday 8th June.
We have living history demos and live music planned.
Cream Teas are available in Faithful Annie's cafe (whilst the scones last).
Normal museum entry applies (half price admission if you wear period dress).

We're still looking for a few more period vehicles to help set the scene. If there are any interested owners in the area please get in touch.

24/05/2024

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/glasgow-prestwick-airport_runtherunway-savethedate-charityevent-activity-7199844121950199809-QHes?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

24/05/2024

Fascinating to see the original 1935 hangar and admin building concrete bases from the air. Much of the admin building was destroyed by a fatal fire in 1941 and the Anson and Tiger Hangars were demolished in 1960. However the original Fokker hangar still survives and is occupied by BAe Systems.

23/05/2024

Late May / June Airport History Walking Tour availability.

We have some available places on specific dates over late May / June for our 'History of Prestwick Airport' Walking Tours. These are:

May 30th - 4 spaces
June 3rd - 3 spaces
June 6th (4 hour tour) - 10 spaces
June 9th - 7 spaces
June 13th - 8 spaces
June 16th - 1 space
June 23rd - 6 spaces
June 27th - 8 spaces
June 30th - 8 spaces.

May 29th, June 10th, June 11th, & June 24th are booked for Private Tours but we have the odd June date also available for private tours.
Book at:

Join us on a Walking Tour or a Virtual Tour (June 24) of Prestwick Airport & discover the amazing history of the airfield.

23/05/2024

https://www.ajot.com/news/glasgow-prestwick-airport-invests-over-two-million-pounds-in-new-cargo-equipment

The UK hub has taken delivery of its second new high loader helping it to deliver turnaround times of under two hours

23/05/2024

Nice article on Prestwick from Doug Maclean in the Ayrshire Daily News

10/05/2024

Great Linkedin post from Lorraine, one of our tourists from last Thursday's tour.

10/05/2024

With us coming into the warmer weather why not try our latest walking tour which is more than 2 x the length of our established 2 mile tour where we tell the fantastic history of Prestwick Airport.
We have tested this new walk ( our thanks go to the Maybole Mofs Walkers and the Troon OIR Walking group) and the feedback has been excellent.
The new walk is approximately 4.5 miles in length and covers both the North and South sides of the airfield, covering the existing 2 mile tour and then adding in a loop around the main runway past the present day terminal to Orangefield and ending up at 'The Mound'.
We have set some dates up on the website (Thursdays, 1 per month through the summer) starting at 9.30am and finishing at approximately 2pm and these are 'open' tours. Should you have a 'walking group' and would like to set up a tour outside the set dates then please get in touch by calling Allan Mackintosh on 0776 416 8989 or email him at [email protected] You can find more information at www.prestwickaviationtours.com

10/05/2024

Well worth a visit if you are in the area.

09/05/2024

Good to see Storm expanding their activties at Prestwick. https://www.stormaviation.com/storm-aviation-strengthens-presence-at-glasgow-prestwick-airport/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0KewPhHZpk47nxNSgMWjGucWmWvTN5c7eDbdRQJ8NeAsXwzY9zEUko0I4_aem_AdCtN7G9COgEanp_K5RP6ctKqHC3gEJkA7-sl7SxWTUJCa2oDX-EG_MIVcDZuvUOk3FIJqopKjm3ngSKAdwxti6d

Storm Aviation, part of FL Technics, has firmly established its base maintenance operations in Glasgow- Prestwick Airport to provide a full spectrum of aircraft maintenance solutions to existing and future customers. Looking ahead, Storm Aviation will exclusively operate its base maintenance operati...

08/05/2024

I'd like to say a huge thanks to two local Ayrshire Walking groups who have just undertaken 'extended' Airport history walking tours. Our usual North Side walk is just under 2 miles from Monkton to HMS Gannet and back and last week, and yesterday, Tuesday 7th May, the groups did a 4 and a 5 mile walk both of which took in both the North and the South Side of the airfield. Last week we had 10 members of the Maybole Wednesday Mofs, and yesterday 18 members of the Troon OIR Walking group. Both were excellent groups and we were blessed with fine weather to tell the story of the airfield over these extended walks. I may now look at an another bookable walk in addition to our present 2 mile North Side walk. My thanks to both groups for their input and feedback and a special mention to Colin Harris of Troon OIR who showed me a path I never knew existed! Watch this space for a new bookable route!

06/05/2024

We've hit another milestone in the short history of Prestwick Aviation Tours and it was great to welcome our 100th 'tourist' on the Walking Tour today (Monday 6th May) when Blake Hancock joined our group this afternoon. Blake was visiting family all the way from Brisbane, Australia and his sister had set the tour up as a surprise. Blake thought he was going on some form of activity event, maybe a treasure hunt or even paintballing, but was delighted when I told him he was taking part in a historical walking tour about Prestwick Airport. Blake is an aviation enthusiast having worked for many years at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Airport and then the new HK International Airport. As a boy he used to travel down from Greenock to watch the aircraft at Prestwick during the early 70s. Thanks for your contributions today Blake and safe home to Brisbane when your visit ends next week. Destination South Ayrshire

06/05/2024

I have had a few enquiries about when the Virtual Tour will be available for booking. The original plan was to launch at the end of April but we've had a few challenges getting permission to fly the drone over the full area of the airfield in order to provide the back ground footage for the virtual tour. At present our request sits with the airport itself and we will be following this up over the next couple of weeks. With increasing activity at Prestwick (and it only takes a Ryanair or a Jet2 in the circuit for hours on end) finding a time slot for our drone may be challenging but let's see how we go with our discussion with Airfield Ops at the airport. My hope is that we are all good to go by the end of June. (This year!)

05/05/2024

May Walking Tour availability:

Monday 6th - 4 Places
Tuesday 7th - Private Tour
Thursday 9th - 2 Places
Sunday 12th - 3 Places
Sunday 19th - 5 Places
Thursday 30th - 6 Places

Places can be booked at www.prestwickaviationtours.com and there is the odd date still available for private tours. Call 0776 416 8989 for details.

Join us on a Walking Tour or a Virtual Tour (Apr 24) of Prestwick Airport & discover the amazing history of the airfield.

03/05/2024

It will be interesting to see how this airline develops and if Prestwick is involved in some capacity moving forward.

Good Morning Ayrshire - Could the magnificent Airbus A380 be a much more frequent visitor to Prestwick?

Doug Maclean our Aviation editor takes a deep dive into that possibility, read more below…👇

https://www.ayrshiredailynews.co.uk/news/first-ever-airbus-a380-super-jumbo-touches-down-on-prestwick

Pic - Global Airlines

01/05/2024

It was a busy day for the tours today as we did our first large group 'extended' walking tour of 4.5 miles (as opposed to our usual 2 miles) with the Maybole Walking Group (great group of people!) and then this was followed by a live interview with the Ayrshire Daily News (which didn't go to plan due to sound issues) on the arrival of the first Airbus A380 into Prestwick. I'll post some photos of the morning walk and hopefully a link to an abridged recording of the A380 landing.

30/04/2024

That's our first month of the new season and here's the stats for the Walking Tours:

Tours Run - 6
Tours Postponed - 2 (weather - 1, illness - 1)

Total Tourists - Adults - 19, Youths - 2, Concessions - 14. Total - 35
Total Postponements - 5 Concessions (illness)

The majority of tourists came from Ayrshire, (27) predominantly South Ayrshire, (19) with several from both North (4) and East.(4) There were 2 persons from Glasgow, 2 from Lanarkshire, 2 from Renfrewshire, and 2 from East Lothian. I have been very pleased with the feedback on Tripadvisor to date!

May bookings are 'OK' at present ( 6 planned with 21 tourists booked to date) but with good availability on these plus still some free dates for 'private' tours should anyone want exclusivity. In addition, we have two 'special' tours for larger Walking Groups (12 and 17 persons) on a longer 4-5 mile route so watch this space for how these go!

Join us on a Walking Tour or a Virtual Tour (Apr 24) of Prestwick Airport & discover the amazing history of the airfield.

23/04/2024

Our May Walking Tours are now open for booking and due to other 'tour' business we have a limited number of Walking Tours taking place in May. All dates at present have availability and these are:

Sundays - 5th, 12th, 19th.
Monday - 6th
Thursdays - 9th and 30th.

Book now to avoid missing out. www.prestwickaviationtours.com

Join us on a Walking Tour or a Virtual Tour (Apr 24) of Prestwick Airport & discover the amazing history of the airfield.

22/04/2024

For those of you who are interested in Airport stats (including Prestwick) then you can find these at: https://www.caa.co.uk/data-and-analysis/uk-aviation-market/airports/

18/04/2024

If you are able to visit Glasgow then Kevin's Walking Glasgow tours (free!) are fantastic.

Hey you, aye you! Are you coming oot tae see me the morras morning on Kevin's mural tour. (24 of them)
Guid, let him ken, an I'll see you at 10 o'clock at St Enochs. Okay.

17/04/2024

We’ve hit another milestone in our short history in that we’ve received our first 20 Tripadvisor reviews of our walking tour. Good progress and still lots to learn! Huge thanks to those who have fedback to date!

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.