Simviation Forums

hey guys, just wondering if anyone knows of any good sites that list some public test tracks or abandoned airfields in the UK i have looked everywhere and cant seem to find anything on this. i would like to get some decent driving practise in as here its nothing but stop start stop start avoiding cars parked on the side of the road.
cheers guys

Hi Craig... ...!
You are obviously more into airfield drag-racing than sensible driving instruction and observing the Highway Code, like a good citizen should.... ...!

Brmmmm....Brmmmm.... ...!

LOL...LOL...LOL...!

Cheers me 'ol mate... ...!
Paul.
(England).

Craig. There must be plenty of disused ex-RAF/FAA airfields in your area. I would think you could find all the information you need on a local Ordnance Survey map. Either purchase one or the local library should have something.

All driving instructors will have selected quieter roads where you can practice things like parking & 3-point turns. Unless you're going in for off-road driving or racing it might be best to learn to cope with everyday traffic. This is what driving is like these days. Things ain't going to get any better.

thanks guys:) seriously though even the basics of driving are almost impossible where i live you cant move more than 10 feet forward before having to pull in to let others by and its like that everywhere, i am looking for the airfields to just get used to the whole forward motion of driving changing gears properly that sort of thing.
thanks again guys:)

Hi Craig, well like Hagar said OS maps are a good start, also try contacting any local motor clubs, they're bound to know of some , look in the Yellow Pages or phone directory.
I have to say I spent most weekends (with my dad in his big bad Renault) while I was learning to drive up at an old airfield near us and I found it really helped me to learn smooth gear changes, and accurately predicting corners, and my emergency stops were spot on I also lost my worries about speed and once I hit the roads with a driving instructor I made much more rapid progress and quickly passed my test. Still had a lot to learn though, some of it the hard way

Good luck
Mark

I learned to drive on the perimeter track at Shoreham Airport. Some kind flying club members even let me loose on their Jags.
The peri track was classed as a private road & I didn't need a licence or L-plates. Not sure if this is the case now or what would happen about insurance if I had hit someone.

I have generally found that every square inch of land in England is private, and owned by some-one or other,
and if found "tresassing" on it, especially with a vehicle,

cheers again guys:) the only car i can get insurance on right now is my dads, and since i only see he him once a week its rather less practise than i need, my mums probe which is what i want to get my hands on, nobody will insure me on untill i have my license. which we both were surprised at, would have payed whatever cost upto

got my eye on a 2004 dodge intrepid but they are only automatics so i would have to pay out and have the transmission changed over to manual

I've heard of people paying extra for automatic transmission but never the reverse. Learn how to drive a manual by all means before changing over. My auto takes all the stress out of driving, especially in the stop-go traffic conditions you were talking about. I would never go back to a manual gearbox.

def learning on a manual cant afford to learn in automatic, i just like the added flexibility a manual gives you, although auto is def better in the stop start world these days. me and my dad went out for a test drive in an automatic rover and it just didnt have any power to it.