Rakkestad Airport, Åstorp

Historie

Rakkestad Airport, Åstorp is a private general aviation airport located at Åstorp in Rakkestad, Norway. It features a 1080m runway aligned 15/33. The airport serves a maintenance base of Norrønafly–Rakkestad, the aviation club Rakkestad Flyklubb and the parachuting club Nimbus Fallskjermklubb. The airport is operated by Rakkestad Flyplass AS, which has Rakkestad Municipality as a majority owner.The airport was built by Norrønafly in 1970. Originally it featured a 600m grass runway. It has been home to the aviation club since 1972. The airport underwent a major upgrade in 1998 when it received state grants to build a 860m asphalt runway.HistoryNorrønafly was established by Odvar Korsvold in 1953. The airline was based at Oslo Airport, Fornebu, where it both operated charter services and provided maintenance. The proprietor bought the farm at Åstorp in 1970. The company built a 600m simple grass runway and a 2000km2 hangar. The latter was used for maintenance of smaller aircraft. Most of the company's operations remained at Fornebu. The operations at Rakkestad were later spun off in a separate company, Norrønafly–Rakkestad AS.Rakkestad Flyklubb was established during the winter of 1971–72 and bought a Piper Cherokee in April 1972. They built a small wooden hangar next to the runway which they used as their club house. A year later the aircraft was written off in an accident, and replaced with a Piper Challenger. That year the club commenced forest fire scouting services, which provided an important income for the club.