How Bristol-Airfield.co.uk began

Bristol Airfield .co.uk is the creation of Web designer Andrew Grist. Andrew was bitten by the Civil Aviation bug around 22 years ago when he went on a family holiday to Jersey and ever since then his passion for aviation has grown. My first flight I had never flown before and knew very little about aviation, until a very misty summers morning when my mum, dad and I arrived at Bournemouth International Airport EGHH to catch our flight on a Jersey European Short's 360 to the island of Jersey for a weeks holiday. - The aircraft just like the one we flew on is pictured below. I recall walking out across the apron to this aircraft and feeling both nervous and excited about my first ever flight. After that initial flight I was hooked on aviation and my passion grew so much so that I decided to take it up as a hobby. I began to read aviation magazines which helped me to learn about the aircraft and about aviation at which time I discovered that if I bought a scanner I would have the ability to be able to listen in to aircraft transmissions. Listening in, it’s addictive! I bought my first scanner which was an AR800E which I purchased from Lowe electronics in Bristol (now closed down), I have to admit that it was a little hard to use the radio to begin with as the radio came with no instructions or an airband guide for that matter.. Over the years I learned what radio frequencies to listen into and I settled down to enjoy my new hobby. Points West Interview Around 16 years ago I watched an interview on Points West focusing on a father who took his son up to Bristol Airport to do some plane spotting, when I saw the location I traveled there myself one Saturday afternoon and I couldn't’t believe my luck. There is a road which tracks all the way down on one side of the airfield which then turns and cross's under the final approach of the western end of the runway and carries on up the opposite side of the airfield, you can freely drive along the road and then safely park on the side to watch the aircraft. and when the aircraft are landing from the west you can get some fantastic photos. So, following on from the discovery of this road I began to visit more frequently and each time just got better. Bristol-Airfield is born Three areas that I am passionate about are web-design, Air Traffic Control and having information at my finger tips, I began to search the internet for information about Bristol Airport so that I could enhance my knowledge of aviation and Air Traffic Control and there were’t really any websites that satisfied my craving for information, therefore I decided to search for individual topics and then build a website to house the information within. My vision for Bristol-Airfield.co.uk is to provide the aviation enthusiast with the answers to their questions when it comes to learning about all aspects of aviation at Bristol Airport including Movements, Air Traffic Control, The airlines, ATC Procedures so that anyone who wants to learn about the airport can easily do so. Bristol Airport I have flown from Bristol a few times now and I really take my hat of to the airport and all the staff that help to run the airport. Although Bristol is nowhere near the size of Heathrow or Gatwick it plays a vital part in this modern age of air transportation that we are now in. The airport is local, the people are friendly, from the moment that you arrive at the terminal all processes are easy to follow with minimal fuss or disruption. Bristol Airport is a credit to the South-West of England.