Istanbul Hezarfen Airfield
Istanbul Hezarfen Airfield is a privately owned airport for general aviation located in Çatalca district of Istanbul, Turkey. The facility, one of the four airports in Istanbul, is named after Hezârfen Ahmet Çelebi, a legendary Ottoman aviator, who purportedly flew across the Bosporus in the 17th century, as told by a contemporary traveler Evliya Çelebi.
The airfield is situated on a peninsula surrounded by Lake Büyükçekmece to the south and by the motorway O-3 to the north. It is west of Istanbul. It serves, since 1992, as the first internationally acknowledged private airport in Turkey.
Its asphalt runway is long and wide. There are four taxiways parallel to the runway, a concrete ramp, and another paved one. The airfield's additional facilities are a motocross circuit, a long model airplane field, and a heliport.Hezarfen Hobbyland
The airfield, called also "Hezarfen Hobbyland", offers facilities for model aircraft flying, model car racing, motocross racing, drag racing, car and driver testing and flight simulation.
In addition to "Istanbul Aviation Festival" held each year in June, the Hezarfen Airfield hosts also the open air music festival Rock'n Coke, held since 2003 annually in September for two days attracting around 30,000 music fans.
The airfield is home to an aviation school training air traffic controllers, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter pilots. Turkey's only civil aerobatics school and team is also based here. Another school at the site is for training motorcycle racing.
Other social facilities offered by the Hezarfen Hobbyland are a restaurant and premises for business conventions, fairs and exhibitions. Its public recreational area include also a playground for children, a skateboarding ground, and a course around the airfield for jogging and biking, in addition to a picnic and barbecue ground.
