Dictionary Definition
airdrome n : an airfield equipped with control
tower and hangers as well as accommodations for passengers and
cargo [syn: airport,
aerodrome]
User Contributed Dictionary
Noun
Extensive Definition
An aerodrome is a term for any location from
which aircraft flight operations take place,
regardless of whether they involve cargo or passengers or neither.
The term was particularly used by the Royal Air
Force in the Second World
War (and its predecessor in the First) as
it had the advantage that their French allies, on whose soil they
were based and with whom they co-operated, used the equivalent term
(aérodrome).
In the United
Kingdom "Airfield" or "Airport" has
superseded the term. In the United
States, the word was modified into airdrome but has become
obsolete since the World War
II. In Canada and Australia
usage it is a legal term of
art for any area of land or water used for aircraft operation,
regardless of facilities.
The Canadian act says "...for the most part, all
of Canada can be an aerodrome.", however there are also "registered
aerodromes" and "certified airports". To become a registered
aerodrome the operator must maintain certain standards and keep the
Minister of Transport (Canada) informed of any changes. To be
certified as an airport the aerodrome, which usually supports
commercial operations, must meet certain safety standards.
Etymologically, the word was created on the basis
of "Hippodrome", a
word going back to Classical Antiquity and especially famous for
the
Hippodrome of Constantinople during the Byzantine
Empire.
In science
fiction stories written in the 1930s and early
1940s the
term "Spacedrome" was used in fictional depictions of a space
travelling future but the word has dropped out of use.
The term "Cosmodrome" was first used in the
former Soviet Union
and refers to a spaceport. Today the spaceport
of Baikonur is still
referred to as the Baikonur
Cosmodrome.
References
See also
airdrome in Contenese: 機場
airdrome in Basque: Aerodromo
airdrome in Galician: Aeródromo
airdrome in French: Aérodrome
airdrome in Portuguese: Aeródromo
airdrome in Russian: Аэродром