Strips and radar
Photos from about 1984 show Prestwick’s ADC (aerodrome control) and APC (approach) desks working with paper flight strips (atchistory). Marconi’s S511 primary radar family appeared around 1980, and Prestwick later ran an S511-based “Hybrid Watchman”.
Open skies ended Prestwick’s transatlantic monopoly in 1990, and Ryanair arrived in 1994 (ABCT). HMS Gannet’s Sea Kings flew search and rescue from the airfield throughout.
The desk in this era
The plate shows a beige console with a round radar display, a strip bay, a telephone and intercom panels, gooseneck microphones, a CRT met display, an airfield lighting panel and red LED clocks (showing live UTC and UK time, with QNH on the third display): a typical UK layout of the period, not a record of Prestwick’s desk. Artist’s impression (AI-generated with Grok Imagine), typical UK layout.
// What happened
The same 1962 tower block; no refit dates were found.
- c.1980Marconi develops the S511 primary radar family (first installed at Newcastle in 1981); Prestwick later operated an S511-based set, installation date not found. [RWE Enoch Hill 2 EIA Ch 8 (Aug 2023)]
- c.1984Photos show the ADC (tower) and APC (approach) desks working with paper strips; the APC desk later became the GMC desk when the BAe Flying College opened. [atchistory: Prestwick Airport]
- 1989An air show controller recalls the Sea Fury ditching from the tower, with HMS Gannet’s Sea King covering the pilot’s bail-out. [atchistory: Prestwick Airport]
- 1990–94Prestwick loses its transatlantic monopoly under “open skies” (6 Mar 1990); Ryanair starts flights in 1994. [ABCT: Prestwick]
// Equipment in this era
| System | Status |
|---|---|
| ILS: localiser, glidepath and DME | Typical UK practice |
| ATIS: Prestwick Information 121.130 | Not known |
| Voice switch and telephones | Typical UK practice |
| Radio: VHF, UHF and standby sets | Typical UK practice |
| Radar displays and the ATM | Typical UK practice |
| Surface movement radar and A-SMGCS | Not known |
| Lighting control panel (AGL) | Typical UK practice |
| Met display | Typical UK practice |
| Weather instruments | Typical UK practice |
| Flight progress strips | At Prestwick (sourced) |
| Signal lamp and the Aldis | Typical UK practice |
| Binoculars | Typical UK practice |
| Crash alarm | Typical UK practice |
| NOTAMs and briefing | Typical UK practice |
| Military links and hotlines | At Prestwick (sourced) |
| UTC clocks and indicators | Typical UK practice |
// Photographs
