Ballenstedt

51°44'45.03"N 11°13'46.00"E

Runway 09/27 - 685x35m - Asphalt
Runway 09/27 - 560x35m - grass
Runway ../.. - 1000x150m - grass

Airfield Ballenstedt (german: Flugplatz Ballenstedt, also known as the former Fliegerhorst Ballenstedt, ICAO: EDCB) is an airfield at the northeastern edge of the Harz-region, Saxony-Anhalt in Germany.
Although gliderflying occurred near Ballensted as early as the 1920s it took until October 1932 for a dedicated airfield to open north of Ballenstedt. Only a year later the airfield was annexed by the German Air Sports Union (Deutsches Luftsportverband), a covert front for what was to become the Luftwaffe. Between 1935 (first hangar) and 1942 (current hangar) severeal new buildings were erected.

After World War II the Americans soon allowed glider flying, continued by the Soviets and later the East German government in 1949. From spring 1953 the flying schools were resurrected. Every year averaged about 2500 starts.


An-2 'Colt' SSSR-02245 of Aeroflot at airfield Ballenstedt in 1989 (source).


An-2 'Colt' SSSR-84581 of Aeroflot at airfield Ballenstedt for crop dusting duties in 1989 (source).

Between 1979 and 1990 glider flying came to a standstill when the East-German government realised the risk of people fleeing the GDR over the Inner-German Border was becoming too great. Ballenstedt was one of the airfields deemed to be too close to the border. In 1994 the airfield received a new asphalt runway next to the grass runway. 
The Open German Helicopter Championship was hosted at the airfield in 2006. Today the airfield is the only civilian airfield in the Harz, with about 18-20,000 air movements. It allows aircraft up to 5,700kilos, helicopters, gliders, ultralights, parajumping and airships. Night time landings are allowed PPR-only.


Approach map of Ballenstedt


Airfield Ballenstedt in 2001 (Google Earth)