Abingdon to be used as filming location for new TV series - News

Driving experiences at our Abingdon Airfield venue in Oxfordshire at the end of this month have been temporarily postponed - but the reason why is quite exciting. In fact, the former RAF airfield is set to be the main filming location used for a show that will connect back to its wartime roots.

None other than Oscar winning Hollywood film star Tom Hanks - best known for his roles in Forrest Gump, You've Got Mail and Castaway - will be starring in a new TV mini-series that will be shot here and directed by Steven Spielberg.

Set in World War II, Masters of the Air is set to air on Apple TV+ later this year, and will be a follow on from Band of Brothers, the highly acclaimed HBO series from 2001 that was Hanks' directorial, production and screenwriting debut.

It's believed that the series will centre around a dramatization of the 100th Bombardment Group (a unit of the US American Air Force) who were based in Thorpe Abbotts in Suffolk during WWII. However, as the real Thorpe Abbotts is now survived only by the former control tower, which is home to The American Air Museum, Abingdon is being used as the backdrop.

Paparazzi have already captured photos that have made the national press on site at nearby Dalton Barracks, of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress plane being constructed, that will be used in the series. Filming was meant to commence in March, but had to be delayed due to planning applications, hence why it is starting at the end of June instead.

And the good news is that our suppliers of our driving experiences at Abingdon have advised us that not only will new rescheduled dates become available in the near future as soon as they have them for anyone with affected bookings, but that there will be more added besides to make up for time lost due to the filming commitments there.

Make sure you keep an eye out for all the latest date availability for driving days at our Abingdon venue with TrackDays' regularly updated Events Calendar. Or why not purchase one of our open Gift Vouchers?

They offer fantastic flexibility to be used and redeemed at a later date as much as 10 months in advance, so you can have total peace of mind to go and enjoy it when the time is right - and at a venue that’s set to be on screens everywhere in a matter of months, no less!