A SCOTTISH airport went up for sale yesterday with a price tag of #3m for one of Perthshire's prime pieces of real estate.

For 60 years trainee pilots from all over the world have come to the village of Scone, on the outskirts of Perth, to learn how to fly. But now the flying instructors are grounded and the airport is on the market.

Scone aerodrome, also known as Perth airport, was opened by Viscount Swindon in 1936 at a cost of #60,000 to provide flight training facilities for the RAF.

Owners Caledonian Investments broke the news following the closure of the international air training college, the oldest in Scotland, in April.

The aerodrome is now surplus to requirements although the selling agents, Ryden Property Consultants expect the sale to attract cosiderable interest as a going concern.

Roy Durie, managing partner at Ryden, explained, ``We expect significant interest in purchasing the airport to develop the airport facilities further.

``The airport benefits from very clear weather with very few lost flying days. It is also centrally situated at the gateway to the Highlands.''

In the thirties, a number of Air Navigation Acts and the expansion of the RAF, meant that there was a strong incentive to build more municipal airports. Scone, five miles to the north-east of Perth, was an ideal location.

When it first opened, ``the airport'' was a sparse area with grass runways, six cottages, a hangar and a handful of terminal offices. The original aim was to provide facilities for ten aircraft to fly 3500 hours a year. Recent figures illustrate the huge upsurge in activity since those early days, with the Air Training College alone contributing 20,000 flying hours to annual totals.

The aerodrome has played an important part in the local economy, with employment peaking at 200 and a staff of 80 currently employed.