Woodford Aerodrome Rescue Plan - reviving the UK civil Aerospace industry

Project Woodford - A New Centre Of Excellence

Introduction - Woodford

Woodford Aerodrome represents a centre of excellence in the heart of the British aerospace community in the North West of England.

With a long history of manufacturing and servicing aircraft it possesses a skilled workforce of several hundred engineering professionals.

It is planned to close this great factory and abandon all this expertise by the year 2012 unless an alternative rescue plan is put into action.

This is the plan.

Top of page

New Opportunities: Products, Contracts, Work

Although the world economy faces tremendous economic problems at present (August 2010) many of these can be solved by large-scale investment in innovative technologies, helping to lift the world out of recession, create jobs and the prosperity needed to clear national debts.

There are numerous opportunities for a centre of excellence such as Woodford to thrive in such a future economic revival.

From my own experience advising fledgling American aerospace companies in 2007 there was an abundant market potential for thousands of light executive jet aircraft around the world; and this is likely to return as the recession looses its grip on spending, offering business executives the convenience of travel at any time without having to pass through the delays and increasing indignity and inconvenience of airport security controls.

At a unit price of about £1,000,000 per light jet the market for 5,000 will earn a substantial share in £5,000 million. Add the income from services, fitting, refitting to this as a focal point for the European and middle Eastern markets.

Additionally there is a new market for several thousand rotary wing aircraft beginning to awaken around the world. Another opportunity for production into the civil markets.

Opportunities exist for new technologies and the revival of old and proven technologies in specialist lifestyle markets for the exceptionally wealthy buyer or buying consortia - more opportunity to lift a company out of the threat of recession.

And in the most extreme case there are opportunities in space technology and development that promise long term benefits in mastering and producing new long range transport for the world.

These opportunities lead to all the benefits of a revived aerospace venture:-

Design, development and delivery of the new civil aircraft ranges.
New contracts for suppliers.
Employment for the existing workforce and growth in the future as the new opportunities take-off.

If you want to share in all this then give all the support you can today.

Top of page

The Space Venture

After the end of the Apollo programme, motivated by the political drama and terror of the Space Race to beat the Soviet Union to the Moon, the Americans effectively ended any attempt at further intense technology development and long range exploration.

Yet the continuing public interest in space travel, in its excitement and glamour shows there is a huge potential of enthusiastic supporters waiting to be tapped.

The long term plan for Woodford is to tap into this worldwide enthusiasm, with a popular public appeal to fund a revolutionary initiative - to gather together the expertise, the scientists, the engineers, the workers, outside of the political scheme of control, and launch a new venture in space - at no financial risk to anyone.

Woodford is a potential home of such a venture, a venture that can be funded by private supporters around the world, and which will bring enormous benefits to the world. This will lead to the creation of thousands of additional jobs, the development of new breakthrough technologies and much more.

Top of page

New Innovations

This vision is a way to trigger new innovation in a wide range of fields.

We know it's possible to launch missions into space, but today people lack the motivation to lift their eyes and hopes to the stars.

It's also possible to create a suitably safe programme of finance that removes all financial risk. Everyone will receive a rewarding refund from the revenues of the project at the end of its twenty-to-forty-year term.

I have already proposed a design for a long range mission, a new design of vessel that will lead to such opportunities as long range space tourism and many other advances.

However, I see the benefits more down-to-Earth - in focusing scientific and technical expertise to solve many key problems facing the world today - the space effort is the glamorous packaging around a more fundamental approach to the world's economic and environmental problems.

For example:-

The research and development in superconductive materials for magnetic shielding on the "SpringShip" long range spacecraft will lead to future breakthroughs in compact high capacity battery storage for electric personal urban transport. This means an environmentally friendlier transport solution to reduce pollution, and congestion, in our crowded, polluted cities.
The development of cheaper space launch ships will lead to the creation of high orbital solar power space stations (no more unsightly wind turbines spoiling the British countryside).
Advances in material sciences will lead to new manufacturing and construction methods and architecture.

Top of page

A Diverse Future For Woodford

The future of Woodford is as a centre of excellence for a diverse range of development, new products, services and opportunities in the civil aviation and aerospace markets.

I won't publish detailed plans until after we are successful in raising all the support needed to follow-through, but here are a few peripheral ideas I see worth pursuing:-

Stimulate new public interest in aviation - bring back the Woodford Air Show, for entertainment and a showcase for all the new products.
Encourage a new generation of people to understand and appreciate the value of science and technology for our economy and everyone's prosperity - launch and support social clubs and events with a strong technical emphasis.
Liaise with the rest of the supply and buy side market - creating a new networking and business development organization to bring suppliers together with a key interest in the new projects and offer new marketing and showcase opportunities; and working more closely with buyers and agents to understand and embrace the value of a new generation of innovation and opportunity.

Top of page

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Site Map
This web site is best viewed in a standards compliant internet browser such as Firefox or SeaMonkey,
you may experience more errors if viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Sponsors, Advertisers, Affiliates, and Assorted Friends

Acknowledgments: Vulcan photography in Woodford section, courtesy of Tim Bell