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Mount Pleasant Airport
Airport Directory » Falkland Islands » Mount Pleasant » Mount Pleasant AirportAirport information for Mount Pleasant AirportCountry: Falkland IslandsLocation: Mount Pleasant Coordinates: 51.49.00S / 058.27.00W IATA Code: MPN Timezone: GMT -4 Direct flights form Mount Pleasant Airport Direct flights to Mount Pleasant Airport Find connecting flights to Mount Pleasant Airport Find connecting flights from Mount Pleasant Airport |
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RAF Mount Pleasant (IATA: MPN, ICAO: EGYP) (also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, Mount Pleasant Complex or MPA) is a army base for the Royal Air Force in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The installation is division of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI). The station, place to between 1,000 and 2,000 British armed forces force, is turn up approximately 30 land mile southwestward of Stanley, the capital of the Falklands, on the island of East Falkland. The world's longest corridor, a half-mile long, relates barracks, messinesses and recreational and public assistance area of the ground. The ground is now and then bring up to by its inhabitants as the Death Star because of its sometimes confounding layout.
History
RAF Mount Pleasant is the most recent purpose-built field in the Royal Air Force. The RAF antecedently had a little ground at Stanley field after the cease of the ill will in 1982. During the Falklands War when the islands were busy by Argentine armed forces squeezes, British aircraft were directed to disenable the landing track with RAF Strike Command Vulcan bombers (Operation Black Buck) and Royal Navy Sea Harriers. The marauds were fairly successful, and on the 1st Black Buck missionary post 1 1,000 pound bomb hit the landing track in the center, disenabling it. However, impermanent doctors by the Argentines did let Hercules C130 transport aircraft to bring in provides and move out casualties until the finish of the battle. After the cease of ill will the landing track was full doctored by British armed forces technologists.
After the give up of the Argentine army on the islands, the British still face up the job of potentiality Argentine air assails from the Argentine fatherland, so an attack aircraft carrier had to stay on station to guard the islands with its squadron of Sea Harriers until the local flying field was prepared for jet plane. HMS Hermes was the 1st to take sentry go, whilst HMS Invincible moved northward to modify (at sea) a gear case that had interrupted while going away the mainland UK. The Argentines demanded the attack aircraft carrier was hit on May 30, and take fix. Invincible then returned to alleviate Hermes which desperately take to return to the UK for steam boiler make clean. Invincible returned until she was palliated by the new constructed HMS Illustrious, which was rapidly hied southward and commissioned during the journey. Once the Port Stanley landing track was available for jet plane, Illustrious was palliated by several RAF Phantom FGR.2.
The British authority experience that Stanley field was not the most good option for a big, lasting ground and make up one's mind to build a new RAF station and pull round the centerpiece of the Islands' substantially beef up defenses. This was thought to discourage anybody future Argentine tries to take the islands by pressure. Mount Pleasant, to the due west of Stanley, was taken as the location for the new station. The field was opened by Prince Andrew in 1985 (Prince Andrew assisted in the Falklands War), and got full operational in 1986..
Current equipment
RAF Mount Pleasant has a broad bush of societal and sporting installations including a gymnasium, swim bath, links course, plunking center, karting, laserquest, library, celluloid, bowling, mounting wall and indoor and outdoor sports skies. There are 2 NAAFI stores, stylers, a medical center, and an teaching center on the ground. There is also a building complex that includes a café and a little store (RONOKEs), which are both owned and run by the Falkland Islands Company.
Currently found at Mount Pleasant are No. 1435 Flight with four Tornado F3s, No. 1312 Flight, with a individual VC-10 tank ship and 1 Hercules C130, as good as No. No.1564 Flight (since November 2007) with two Sea King eggbeaters back up by SKIOS (Sea King Integrated Operational Support), an aeronautical technologist coaction between AgustaWestland and VT Aerospace. There are also two Sikorsky S-61 civilian Helicopters run by British International Helicopters Limited (Brintel). Ground units include No 7, 303, and 751 Signals Units and a Rapier disengagement from the Royal Artillery. This was antecedently cared by the RAF Regiment but the RA currently have sole duty for functioning the Rapier.
33 Engineer Regiment (EOD) furnishes constant quantity back up and is division of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which lies of RAF and RLC EOD squads. It is primarily found in Stanley but there is also a disengagement at Mount Pleasant. The group's office is to destruct unexploded weapons system from the Falklands War; to legal brief soldieries, holidaymakers and citizens on which area are safe; and to mark uncleared minefields.
There is also a Joint Communications Unit (JCU) supplying the electronic war and bid and control system for the Royal Navy, Army and Air Force.
Operational units
- No. 1435 Flight
- No. 1312 Flight
- No.1564 Flight
- SKIOS
- Royal Artillery Detachment
- 33 Engineer Regiment
- Joint Communications Unit
Passenger voyages
Using the IATA aerodrome code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, alongside with its armed forces office. Flights open to civilian riders are functioned twice each hebdomad. Since fall 2008 these voyages have been functioned by a civilian air hose, Flyglobespan, on behalf of the Royal Air Force. They wing to and from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, with a refuelling halt at RAF Ascension Island in the south-central Atlantic Ocean. These voyages now use Boeing 767 aircraft although once in a while an RAF Lockheed Tristar cargo aircraft or an Antonov An-225 bring in big points of cargo.
Additionally, every Saturday LAN Airlines functions a scheduled commercial voyage to the town of Punta Arenas in southern Chile, halt at Río Gallegos, Argentina one time a calendar month.
Original article.