In mid-April, BAE Systems announced that it was closing the airfield side of the historic Filton site, near Bristol, on December 31,2012. BAE sold its interest in the division that dealt with Airbus wing and other aerostructures work to GKN Aerospace in 2009, but the runway and airport facilities were not part of the deal. With the likelihood that a portion of the site at Brough, Humberside, will be developed for housing and leisure - thereby curtailing use of the runway there - the only BAE-operated runway will be at its Warton plant in Lancashire. (See Yorkshire's Finest in the June issue.) In February 1910, the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company (renamed Bristol in 1920 and ultimately becoming part of BAE Systems) was established in tram sheds at Filton. From these early days, Filton became a huge aviation production centre, not just for airframes but also engines. The last type to roll out and fly from the production line was the Concorde supersonic airliner.
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