Brighton City Airport, also known as Shoreham Airport (EGKA), is a piece of aviation history in southern England. It’s the oldest airport in the United Kingdom and the oldest purpose-built commercial airport in the world that is still in operation.
Throughout its long lifetime, Shoreham Airport played an important role in the two Great Wars, given its location close to continental Europe. World War II, especially, was a period of great activity and importance for this airport, with extensive use by the RAF for coastal patrols, pilot training, and in preparations for the Normandy invasion. For its important role, the airport was attacked several times, and there are still some signs of wartime damage that can still be seen today!
Shoreham Airport is definitely a great airfield to have as a base to explore the southern coast of the UK, and nowadays it’s this precise role that it’s mostly used for. Wartime is long gone, so now you will see GA aircraft, business traffic, and helicopter operations going in and out. It is, therefore, a perfect airport to enjoy in Flight Simulator, as recognized by Orbx, who recently launched a very good-looking recreation of EGKA.
If you’re looking to save some cash, then today we present you a freeware recreation of the airport, created by mkvy (who also did the excellent freeware Gatwick Airport, and is currently working on Heathrow). This free version of Shoreham Airport is filled with great details and realism!
Here you will find an accurate representation of the airport, with all of its important features, from the iconic Art Deco terminal to the many hangars that populate the place, and even the famous memorial with the B-26 propeller.
EGKA features one tarmac runway and three grass strips, with trimmed grass in the latter as is often seen with payware airports. The developer even went further and added door animations to the hangars, a really cool feature that definitely uplevels the immersion. If you’re a fan of helicopters and fly either the Airbus H135 or the Bell 47, you will be happy to know that this freeware EGKA also features some dedicated helipads with a precision landing system to guide you down into the ground.
Brighton City Airport is a truly great place to base your explorations around the southern coast of England, enjoying some stunning views over the coastline and the picturesque British towns in the countryside below. And for the special price of FREE, you have here a brilliantly improved airport to set out on your adventures!
