The little airport that could

STUCK on the west coast of Scotland, Prestwick, like Gander in Newfoundland and Shannon in Ireland, is one of those out-of-the-way aerodromes that owe their existence to fog and propellers. In foggy weather, they remained open when their inland peers had to close down (at least in the days before instrument landings). They also provided convenient refuelling stops for propeller-driven aeroplanes that could barely limp across the Atlantic without their petrol gauges flashing.