This article is from page 21 of the 2011-06-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 21 JPG
THE first aircraft ever owned by Aer Lingus was in West Clare last week to help celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the Spanish Point Airfield.
The “Iolar”, which was a working aircraft more than 80 years ago, was one of 30 working light aircraft which travelled to West Clare to mark the historic event.
Miltown Malbay man Joe Ryan landed an aircraft at a farm in Legard South in the 1970s. An experienced pilot and instructor at the time, Joe knew that the strip of land was suitable as a runway and, after another 20 years of careful examination, it was decided to open a runway and establish a Flying Club in Spanish Point.
The club ran successfully for many years but was badly hit by downturn in the sector after the September 11 attacks, while the salty air also quickened the corrosion of aircraft in Spanish Point.
After successfully training many pilots, the club closed nearly 10 years ago but the airstrip itself has remained in use and has recently seen a large increase in traffic.
“Unfortunately everything took a hit after September 11 and the training school had to shut down,” said Ruth Bagnell of the Spanish Point Airfield.
“There are three aircraft based there at the moment and we are getting more and more people coming to use it.
“The airfield has a long history. I know there was a pilot who crashed a Spitfire close to the site back towards the end of WWII. He was in trouble and saw the flat stretch and tried to land.
His plane crashed but he did survive the landing,” she added.