Aerodrome closed: Could yours be next?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 เม.ย. 2024
- Is this an existential threat to general aviation? I give my thoughts on the alarming rate of airfield closures.
The Greenfield/brownfield airfield petition
petition.parliament.uk/petiti...
The Flying Reporter is sponsored by AOPA UK. Get 25% off your AOPA UK membership here:
www.aopa.co.uk/flying-reporte...
Join my Supporters' Club for bonus content and exclusive updates.
www.jonhunt.net/
I'm involved in the housing debate and industry. We don't have a housing shortage. We have localised and acute housing shortages in some areas, but others there are thousands of unsold new homes. There is so much spare space in places where homes are needed, there's no need to build on airfields.
I've signed the petition and shared your video with my followers too.
I've now also joined AOPA UK thanks to your persuasion on this matter.
Thanks for this important work Jon.
There's certainly some acute local shortages, where are these unsold houses?
The problem is that no one wants to live in areas where there isn’t any work. That’s why the north has lots of unsold homes, but around London there is a major shortage.
You are right - Rushcliffe BC which is the planning authority deciding on the fate of Nottingham City (Tollerton) EGBN has over performed in housing delivery year on year at 122% for the next 5 years and that EXCLUDES the "allocation" for Tollerton... this is not a housing need.
Good story. Once an airfield is closed is gone for ever. In the States we are learning the hard way.
Small airfields should be public facilities, like they are in the US. Same as “parks” are. Free for all to use. G.A. Is being marginalised out of existence in the UK.
absolutely
Nice idea, but it will never happen.
The reason America has so many publicly owned small airfields is because America is a vast country, and there are many small towns that don’t have access to the Interstate system or to the railroads, so they rely on general aviation as an actual means of transportation.
On the other hand, GA in Britain is almost entirely a leisure activity for people who have a lot of disposable income which people increasingly don’t with the cost of living crisis and wage stagnation.
Small aerodromes in Britain won’t be taken over by local councils or by the government, and even if that did happen they’d sell the land off to housing developers anyway.
@@bigred5287it's not the entire picture. There are many GA pilots that simply train to become commercial pilots. In the US there is a higher bar to become a airline pilot with 1500 hours required. This, and the bigger commercial aviation needs drives the GA in the US significantly.
My experience over the past 30plus years is that public airports are the first to be closed because the politicians in charge have no interest in them, consider them only as a money drain and noise maker and don’t consider the pilot community to be their electorate. Airfields must be under flying club control, best owned by the clubs. I fear we have to learn to live with landing fees as well as airfields are expensive to maintain and we cannot expect the public to fund private interests.
@@marc-andremuller1954 GA airfields are no different than public parks. Otherwise, why have I got support things like soccer fields, tennis courts, etc…?
Many years ago I met this real estate developer who told me he bought cheap land around airports and then created a fake neighborhood campaign to close the airport so his land could appreciate in value. I lost all hope at this point, you can't compete against this.
Yes you can. It's how the elite are acting now. We all need to pull together.
I think that the new and expanded microlight category, offering far far far cheaper aircraft in terms of purchase price and running cost could just pull it back from the brink.
The cost of hiring a 172 type plane is just astronomical for a club. They chuck out lead and are noisy. I fly commercially. I wouldn’t consider for a second flying PPL type aircraft. £200+ an hour, not a chance!
Add in the development of electric aircraft. Silent (ish), much cheaper to run. Add that to a microlight category aircraft with relevant licensing and that’s where people will turn to.
I cannot fathom why anyone would walk into a showroom and buy a ‘traditional’ PPL type plane new anymore when the microlights are so good and barely a quarter of the price.
But you’re right. If the traffic isn’t there, the money’s not there, the viability isn’t there.
Totally agree, I obtained my PPLA and instantly bought a Flight Design CT (Microlight) as they are so much cheaper to run, faster and roomier than say a Cessna 152, maintenance is pennies too by comparison!
There are also 4 seater permit aircraft available through the LAA so there's just no real reason to buy/hire an old school GA aircraft unless you need more seats which I doubt many of us do.
Thats something I have been watching for a few years as I slowly get myself into a decent financial position, though microlights also seemingly are having a few issues at least from my point of "looking in" where a lot of the cheaper designs are now starting to cost significantly more with very few locally built up, meaning import fee's and so on, yet alone the Gyro side of things which is pretty grim to look at.
Then you have the issue of a few companies no longer producing their cheaper models and replacing them with new models which cost double what the old ones cost with a bunch of extra things jacking the prices up, making the microlight field start to become expensive as well. (not really applicable to the UK but the Super Patrel LS for example I believe has been stopped for the XP version which is 50-75% more)
Kind of makes me concerned that we might see something semi similar to cars where the used market will also react with prices going up due to that too.
PLEASE HELP Popham Airfield and others like it! A lovely community airfield, a real asset, now living under the sword of Damocles that is HOUSING!
I learnt to fly at Popham. Made great friends and a lovely community. Serves others such as classic cars, motorcyclists etc.
Hi Gary, do you know if the landowner has entered a joint venture with a land promoter who has submitted an application for housing on the site?
@@BTR9091 tbh, I’m not sure.
Really unbelievable what has happened to Old Sarum and what could happen to Popham.
Just sent this of to my RAF air cadet group, when we become pilots we also want to be able to enjoy these airfields. thank you for raising awareness!
One lesson from Popham has got to be that the aviation operators need to be the land owners, or at least have a very longterm lease. Otherwise, the owner can simply sell the site if he gets a better offer.
Declining numbers:
Gonna say the same thing here that I say in Australia.
We’re all ambassadors for aviation, we can inspire other people to do it. Jon’s videos are excellent advocacy, but every other pilot has a platform too.
We all meet people every day who want to be pilots. Some of them have fostered the dream since they were kids but haven’t had the opportunity, others have no idea how easily they’ll fall into it if they get a little push, some know full well that they want it but don’t know where to start.
It behooves us to recognize those people and give them a little push by giving them a free flight. If we’re going somewhere anyway and have an empty seat, offer it to someone and fill it.
Most of them will enjoy it and that’ll be that. But some, every now and then, will catch the bug and want to take it further. Help them out by pointing them at some flying schools. Check in later to see how they’re going and whether they need any encouragement. Help them become a pilot.
Why do this? Well. Each of us will eventually have to give up aviation, we can’t keep doing it until the heat death of the universe. But if we’ve inspired someone to step up as our replacement, when we leave we won’t reduce the numbers. If each of us finds just ONE other budding hopeful pilot to replace us when we leave, our numbers will stabilize.
Even better: if each of us convinces just TWO newbies to get into it, our numbers will double overnight. More activity, more fuel sales, more maintenance orgs, more airplanes, more flying schools. More demand for airfields.
It’s that easy. Two people.
Over the 13 years I’ve owned it, by giving friends, colleagues and strangers free flights in my RV-6, I’ve caused 9 private pilot licenses, three RAAus certificates, and the acquisition of at least three aircraft by my ex passengers. My back of the envelope estimates suggest I’ve stimulated at least $2 million worth of downstream economic activity in the GA industry. It takes a bit of time and effort, but it’s also a heap of fun, and a worthy investment in the future,
All of us can do this, anyone can inspire other people. If we all set our minds to it, the decline in GA will rapidly become a thing of the past.
So sorry that i have come to your channel late, and have missed the opportunity to doing some good for air field's and general aviation pilots by signing the petition due to it now being closed, but however you have reached over 11,000 signatorys, as a none pilot (inner ear issue) but allways looking to the sky tip of person, thank you for your work on reporting news and issues that do matter and making clear and to the piont reporting.... charles
Jon, thank you for running with this. In my mind, the point of the petition is bringing the matter to debate and highlighting the larger issue to central government. I agree that a reclassification is not necessarily the answer. We can only try! All the best.
Jamie
Absolutely right Jimmy - its just part of our campaign to Save Nottingham City (Tollerton) Airfield
Thanks for championing this Jon, even if the petition does not achieve it's objective, it is helping to raise this issue again and that is a good thing. It's looking like the petition will exceed 10,000 signatures, which is over 30% of the active pilots in the UK. Imagine if 30% of the active car drivers signed a petition. It was shocking to hear you state that 23 airfields have closed in the last 3 years. Once they are lost, they will never come back again. Some airfields are really trying to make a go of it expanding their commerical activities - after all, an airfield is a great venue for all kinds of outdoor events. Down on the South Coast here I'm thinking of Sandown, Goodwood, Compton Abbas and even Popham puts on some great public shows. Please keep us updated on this, especially if some kind of unified organised campaign develops.
Speaking from a ypunger generation, flying as a whole, be it as a career or as a hobby, is extremely unaccesable. The cost of learning to fly even to just get your NPPL here in the UK is astronomical. Unless something changes, I feel GA will be hit extremely hard. Flying needs to be made more accesible to everyone. Not just rich middle-aged people with the dispoable income to undertake the training.
Never known any petition to actually yield the desired result.
Everything has to have a first time
Your video on Sandown Airport (on the Isle of Wight) shows that owners can grow the success of their Aerodromes by doing things differently. The best business are often the ones driven by passion & creativity... we need more of that thinking.
This has been going on for years. I flew for twenty odd years from the early nineties until medicalled out by Type1 Diabetes. The problem is not so much planning but, as you say, the ability to make money out of GA. We need some lateral thinking about this.
Jon, thank you for your perspective on what is clearly a hot topic in GA. Thank you also, for using your skills as a broadcaster, to bring us input from significant players; although I thought the minister you had interviewed in the past was definitely in the "I'll tell you anything you want to hear" camp
If they made flying cheaper, it would attract alot more people, me for one. But the cost of GA in the UK at least is insanely expensive, aircraft hire is expensive, irs not sustainable for most people.
Unfortunately yes, but less people into it and more expensive it has to get. Experimental aircrafts tends to be much cheaper (and newer), so part of the problem has to be certification.
Hello Jon. I’m not a pilot but an aviation enthusiast, alright a spotter if you like!
A very interesting and thought provoking video.
Your series going around the various airfields highlighting services available just goes to show how valuable these assets are to the country. There’s a shortage of commercial pilots, where else are the going to learn and train but general aviation airfields.
Some airfields could do with investment, my own local one Barton being a case in point but is still a very important part of the local economy.
Well done for highlighting the issue.
Good point, I used to fly out of Barton however due to poor ground conditions and limited staffing / opening hours I had no choice but to move airfields. Barton could be a business jet hub if it wanted offering cheap alternative to ringway however would require significant investment. I think Barton would thrive with proper investment and successful management team.
Nobody is interested in preserving or increasing our numbers of usable airfields. This country is fast becoming one of the worst places for GA in the world and talk of making it one of the best is laughable. Don’t get me started on this subject, Jon.
I was training at bicster in TMG. They lost their airfield on the 1st of April. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to complete my training in time before the closure. Such a shame they were forced to close by the private owners.
Such a shame,spent many hours flying into little airfields with a wooden club house and a mug of tea available.Maybe farmers strips are the way ahead.
I don't want to sound negative but I think there is little hope of pilots and GA enthusiasts having any credible input into the future of most if not all airfields. As you said Jon there are only around 30,000 GA pilots. My own nearest airfield Filton Bristol closed years ago despite making its owners an annual profit (the owners being BAe who originally acquired the airfield free from the government and went on to make a handsome profit from the land sale to developers) but the spin and the lies told plus the promise of new housing was far too powerful to ever overcome. We had a march of airfield supporters along a busy dual carriageway that passed the airfield and I remember thinking there were just a few hundred people protesting on that day so what difference would we make. A listed hangar was pulled down as if there was no demolition protection at all and no one was prosecuted and despite the airfield being of Concorde heritage there was never any hope of saving it. Sadly it's always all about the money. You did not sound negative in the production of your latest video Jon just realistic but thanks for making it anyway.
A bigger threat to general aviation is the weather. I have booked my introductory microlighting experience, and so far it has been cancelled 6 times. I haven't even seen the microlight yet. It's no wonder the aerodromes aren't making any money.
You’ll need to get used to that 😂
Well one thing we can argue for sure: the aerodromes that have their surrounding grass or crops cut/harvested for use as animal feed etc are definitely NOT brownfield. Many have sheep grazing 🐑🛩️🐑
Great video, and a hot topic. Just chucking a question into the mix : is GA missing out on a big pool of support from enthusiasts? Organisations like the BGA, AOPA etc are great, but as an enthusiast I'd really feel a bit out if place joining something like that. I can't help thinking that GA pilots are too small and exclusive a group to really have huge clout, the signature numbers on the Petition being a case in point. Time for a GA Enthusiast Group? Time to more openly advertise airfield cafés and so on to the wider public? As i say, just throwing the ideas out there.
Totally agree!
Unfortunately, you are right; we are fighting a losing battle. I’ve had 40+ years as a professional aviator and I know I’ve been lucky and privileged. That career started with a flying scholarship at Marshall’s of Cambridge; something that will be unavailable to future generations. GA in the U.K. has entered a terminal spiral of image versus cost. It is viewed as an elitist, environmentally bad unattainable luxury that should be used as an exercise in extracting every ounce of cash from the few who pursue it. This leads to Cambridge being developed for housing, the CAA being amongst the most expensive regulators in the world, the once vast array of WWII airfields being dug up for hardcore and the remaining airfields being able to increase prices making GA evermore elitist. My father bought a Chipmunk from the RAF and with three friends flew it from Swanton Morley, once Europe’s largest grass airfield and now long closed, and flew it for years at minimal cost. When I think of some of the many airfields we landed at the majority are now no more. What’s the solution? Make aviation popular again. How do we do that? Well, and I take my hat off to those who sit on them, not through committees, but by promoting aviation as fun, attainable and useful. Unfortunately, and I absolutely don’t mean this in a disparaging way at all, we’re older white grey men, and I’m older than you and even greyer, flying rather tired unfashionable machines, who are not the demographic that will change the image of GA. So what to do about it? Encourage a different demographic to experience the sheer joy of aviation. I thought I’d have a share in something like a Cirrus when I retired. Then I thought I’d buy block of hours in a Diamond DA40. I’m now gliding, which I think is cool and is relatively affordable; although I’ve felt the need to but a pretty expensive machine with a pop up get-you-home motor because of the lack of landing airfields plus the difficulties of field retrievals. Farmers now regularly block entrance and are perhaps less welcoming than they were 30 years ago. What should we do? I’m joining a group who take youngsters flying in a motor glider. Perhaps you could fill those empty seats en-route to Anglia with budding young enthusiasts. There are groups, the Guild of Air Pilots etc., who try to spread the word by offering flying to potential talent. The BGA has a great crack at encouraging entry to aviation, they just had a weekend of promoting women in the sport. It has cadet schemes and really promotes competitive flying for juniors. We need to make aviation in the U.K. cool again, like it is in the former Eastern European states. Unfortunately, I’m in my sixties and definitely not cool. If Cambridge can close the fight is definitely being lost. Rant over…… Keep up the good work. 👍
This comment is absolutely spot on.
Excellent take!
Sadly the land at Popham Airfield has been earmarked for development in the latest draft of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's local plan because of ineptness by the local council in not being able to demonstrate a 5 year housing land supply. Of course, Charles Church who himself was a developer, had an ambition to turn it into the home of the Spitfire, until a fateful day when he was killed flying his yellow Spitfire while practising for an airshow. The Director of Old Sarum Airfield is also confident a new application to build hundreds of new homes on the site will be approved. Ironically where Charles Church was also a fellow member of the Wiltshire Aero Club!
If you’re a Planning Officer sat handling complaints about noise from aircraft landing making constant throttle changes, is it any wonder if you see earmarking it, in your New Draft Local Plan, as going for housing, as killing 2 birds with one stone!
Just what we need in Basingstoke is more tiny new builds with next to no parking and no new infrastructure to support them. It's funny to me though that down at Lee-on-Solent, where they want to build new homes over hangars on the airfield, the local council is coming up with ways to obstruct that new house building.
You do not need more homes,just less people.
Owners are the main problem, fuelled by the lack of ability to make money from general aviation. This in turn means owners are reluctant to invest in projects that could make them profitable. Airfields in the main have huge potential for making money by opening up facilities on free space to the public. Understanding how to maximise these revenues is the key and that’s the reason I’m against this petition, because we want more planning on airfields. It’s just that we want planning to bring in revenues that keeps them secure by making money for their owners.
We cant afford more houses....we need less people...all house builders should build schools and hospitals for the next 25 years
Why not innovate and enable the transformation of some airfields (voluntarily) to airparks. This keeps the airfields AND increases housing.
Just one of those things isn't it. Ultimately, in the UK general aviation does cost a hell of a lot of money, especially when you compare it to the relative affordability of it in the US. We need to look at this issue from the starting point of the UK being an unfriendly country to GA. Whilst we do have a thriving GA community, we seem to be lumbered with all sorts of regulations and rules and ultimately costs that our EASA friends, and those across the pond don't seem to suffer with.
I don't mind airports increasing their fees when absolutely necessary for survival. What would we rather, an expensive airport, or no airport at all? However what I think would really soften the blow would be for decisive action from the government to secure our airfields. We need the CAA to just back off a bit with their over regulation of the hobby, and for NATS to get round a table and think about what they can do to make the airspace more friendly for GA aircraft.
I'm sure I speak for many UK GA pilots when I say it often feels like we are at the bottom of the pile when it comes to addressing our concerns. Ridiculous noise abatement requirements at some airfields, completely over-punishing pilots when it comes to busting airspace, even if its a simple class-G ATZ and NATS siding with the millionaires in their private jets at Farnborough by letting them have all that airspace, instead of siding with GA pilots. Although in fairness the Farnborough controllers are excellent at giving transits.
I feel like this hobby of mine is dying a death by a thousand cuts. We don't need petitions, we don't need to completely uproot the entire GA framework and replace it with a new one overnight, although admittedly we'll have to at some point. Just, for now at least, a simple gesture from the powers that be to reassure the GA community that 'no, your hobby isn't going anywhere' would do a hell of a lot to quell the justified anger from pilots. The GA community provides four billion pounds to the economy, perhaps they could invest a fraction of that money on the upkeep of select airfields round the country idk, maybe I'm an idiot and this whole comment is a waste of time I'm just a dude on the internet.
Either that or plan B would just be to have the Americans take charge and just re-organise UK GA into the way they do it 🤣
No but in all seriousness whatever they do seems to work bloody well, could be used as a model but would take decades to implement.
Cambridge due to close by the end of the decade and replaced by many thousands of houses. Loss of one regional airport - gain for Marshall group and, of course, the local council. Certainly not the city, it can’t deal with the population it already has. If that’s not a travesty I don’t know what is.
Signed
My local airfield is Coventry its under threat and id hate to see it close 😢
Always love it when the customer brings cake or pizza. Still don’t get your plane out the hangar any quicker
Blackbush has now reopened after a runway update but more development is planned,
P.S donuts could cause blood pressure issues..not least the price of those boxes!
The loss of 3 Commercial flying schools on the South coast within the past couple of years is also a shame.
A proper national aviation strategy Jon.
With Jordan Bridge at the CAA we stand a chance as he is a licenced current pilot & FI
wish i could afford to fly, and pay for it. our society being re balanced would help.
"50% drop in GA active pilots over last 10 years". I think the UK government & CAA *actual* GA policy is working really quite well...
When theres no new pilots, we wont have anyone to fly our military airplanes.
We won’t need pilots to fly our combat aircraft for much longer. In reality do we need pilots at all. The world is moving forward quickly and unfortunately our king of flying is becoming a thing of the past
As a friend "across the pond" I can say that this issue hurts everyone. The same thing happened when inflation was crazy in the 70's, and tens of thousands of businesses went under, and activities that the middle class could previously afford became unaffordable. Now with inflation back (not as bad, but add in $10/gal gas), and we're back to being unaffordable. AOPA is working to reduce the costs of certifying aircraft, and fighting hard against closing airports, but I fear it won't be enough. Young people just aren't interested. I'm in flight school now and all the "kids" here have no interest in GA... in fact I can say that they actively dislike it. It's not even arguing against driving someone or flying a small plane - it's between driving somewhere and staying home in front of the TV. It is frustrating and seems to be going the wrong way. I don't see how technology can even solve this problem. We have carbon fiber planes flying around - great but expensive. Maybe the new more efficient deltahawk engines will help. Or something new. Best of luck and if you find something that works let me know. But of the two problems you mentioned - airports closing and half of GA pilots no longer flying... the latter is the bigger problem.
The best solution is that more people need to get into flying. What can we do if we are only 30000? If there are twice, or triple as many pilots, there will also be more profits for airfields, and GA will be treated more seriously.
GA is very much seen as a rich person's hobby as it's prohibitively expensive to get into. If the Tories who ruled for the last 15 years were not interested, I doubt if Labour will be. RIP GA in the UK
I do hope you will be able to join far sighted people who feel that an alternative approach is needed. We consider airfields as a national asset,national security issue and leisure spaces for all of us to support industrial production of GA aircraft in the UK a high worth industry providing many high paid rural green jobs.
The CAA is currently investigating a complaint that the ATD is currently an illegal tax and should be reinvested as a air transport environmental leivee instead.
It became illegal by a small amendment under Cameron which exempted children from payment but not blind or visually disabled registered UK people illegal under primary legislation and international treaty.. This has made the payment of such regressive taxes nothing but a voluntary issue in law.
The proposals for a change of such taxes to become legal in the UK and territories.A new tax would be leiveed called ETD which exempts only UK registered citizens who are severely disabled blind only.
Part of the proceeds would be hypothetical to fund the building of a filton space centre ,a GA aviation green population centre and grant aid for all GAUK airfeilds. One of the reasons for this is the latest threats from European war which would require full functional updated airfields to be available for military use within three years.
To do
Lobby the CAA about illegal taxes ATD
For a airfield council to uniformly supervise the grants (not CAA)
Your local MP to secure our national assets with the threat of war.
Change planning use it special national infrastructure. Surrey County Council is currently looking at reopening wisley airfield as a f1 high tech aviation park and air museum. Each planning authority must increase airfeild infra structure with population growth.That means new airfeilds and aviation parks for business to yeild high paid aviation manufacture which china hopes to achieve .
Probably a most inappropriate use of the term “brown field site”. The vast majority of these airfields are in open countryside with at best a reduced area of original concrete runway or grass landing strip and have been mostly used for agriculture since the 1940s / 50s.
Agreed, Nottingham City Airport under threat!!
I think the rot set in for GA in this country many years ago. I doubt very much that in 20 years there will be a single solely GA airfield in the country.
I do wonder how the rules about shared payment changed the usage of light aircraft from a few years ago, from what I gather (not a pilot but hope to join in a few years!) it used to be that you could share the costs as a pilot by putting the bulk of the flight costs etc on the passengers and contributing as little as £1 to the overall costs, now it has to be 50/50? I could see that limiting a lot of peoples flights as you now have a lot more money going out vs before?
Next bit I assume theres good, solid reasons it isnt done, but it is something I am wondering on.
I also wonder if with the new weight limits etc with microlights if there should be a consideration on a rules change/new version for commercial licences to be able to reduce costs on pilots/owners or even break even, as you need to spend near £100k to get the licence right? Why not implement a limited commercial licence for microlights/light aircraft that just wish to perform air tours where yes, you still need to go through training, but it isnt so excessive in costs to get the qualifications and it allows for use with a wider range of airstrips/aerodromes? Afterall if small airfields are having issues being financially viable, wouldnt that help them to get a bit more money pumping in? As in practice, theres not really any difference between cost splitting which doesnt need a commercial licence vs charging a fee for an air tour as a "job" so to speak.
Airfields should be protected as a UK Resource/Asset. Often they were once an old military asset so it was Government owned (Thats You and Me - The UK Tax Payer). Unfortunately, these were often sold-off instaed of rented out or considered as "dual use" and as stated. Once in the hands of private individuals who know nothing about flying. We need to think out of the box, for instance, is it necessary for airfields to have protected areas around the actual runway. A farmer might find it more profitable to maintain a grass strip if imedialy next to it they could plant a crop that would not adversly affect safety of any aircraft that accidently went of the runway!
I have very little hope around the future of GA, but a few opinions. I’m a fairly young PPL holder, and can barely afford the hobby as it is. Younger generations don’t have the income to sustain a hobby like this and it’s only going to get worse as the older generations with the money and time eventually retire from flying. There’s going to be nobody to replace them.
Generally speaking there’s very little support for the hobby outside of the industry. Why would someone without any aviation background or interest support their local airfield when it just seems to be an elitist hobby for people with money that they can’t relate to? Why would they fight for it when it’s just a noise nuisance and a large proportion of the aircraft still burn lead into the environment? On the list of people’s worries and priorities, GA airfields closing down is going to be rock bottom. Apart from us, who cares?
I feel like I’m on borrowed time and am trying to fly as much as I can before it either becomes too expensive or too much hassle. The former is certain to happen first. The hassle I can deal with, the cost issue I can’t.
The future, in my opinion, is large commercial FTOs at established regional airports doing the flight training, and very small grass roots farm strips flying Rotax ultralights from sheds. I’m fine with the latter, as long as I can still afford it.
There’s too little money to be made and not enough people to upset for people in positions of power to do anything about it. Imagine a protest around this. The majority of the public would be incredibly unsympathetic.
I think the south of England is particularly bad for aerodromes. There's plenty of golf clubs though. When I lived in York I noticed there were many flying fields in the area. General aviation is a wealthy person's pasttime but we need to maintain social freedoms and give people alternatives.
working people should be able to afford two medium cost past times or one expensive one like owning and operating small plane. but that would mean dispossessing some banks and massive landlords of the excesses in their wealth - id say thats a good idea. i grew up trying to be a pilot, became a software engineer, took all extra normal jobs and jumped through all the hoops to have a normal life but this economy is fucked.
Hello John followed for sometime now as a student pilot, I appreciate your very educational videos and interesting trips around UK and to Europe.
I have a but and it’s a big BUT regarding you comment on the need for housing in the UK.
Basically by saying this you are giving a green light to local authorities to build on mostly former military aerodromes, original bought from landowners WW2 use, not to have re use for any other purpose.
We do not need lots of private housing in our country, and I’m very disappointed that you said this, in fact supporting a labour policy of changing greenfield to brownfield, for this repurposing, it only supports council revenue, nothing else.
I am sorry, but the state of UK airfields leave a lot or room for improvement, to put it mildly. Ask anyone that also flies around Europe and USA. Most look like retirement homes that has gone derelict. If we want GA to survive, we need to attract young people, and that is not going to happen unless there is something nice for them to spend time in. There are a few airfields that has actually made an effort instead of just sitting in an old rotting clubhouse and ancient cafe, and they get plenty traffic. I am not saying spend millions on infrastructure - I know that won't happen - but one can freshen up things a bit, get some bloody wifi access, think about some kind of transport link between the airfield and civilisation, then we might have a chance. Put some atmosphere in the clubhouse, have some form of accommodation available to pilots and social members and run a bar in the evenings. For some examples one can reference the skydiving community, which I once were part of (in a much younger life). It works. As for airfields closing due to housing developments - goodness me, there are no shortage of airfields in the UK - why do they want to build on the active ones? What is wrong with the tons of disused fields? I think there is more to it. Like others have said, there is no shortage of space....Then again I am not a property developing expert, just some basic ignorant observations which might be completely wrong...
Oh, and people have to get real about landing fees, parking fees and the like....it is not 1960 anymore. I am happy to pay more for proper facilities when I land somewhere and actively pick out airfields that do have facilities and I happily pay the extra they ask.
Planning for nottingham airport looks very likely general aviation stopped
It hasn't! There are still 2 flying schools (fixed wing and rotary) operating, with links to the Air and Space Institute, an active flying club, and two engineering works.
You always have to buy the land “around the airport” along with the runways itself to keep out the overpopulation riffraff. Otherwise you make the deadly mistake believing that no one will come in close enough to ruin your Reno Air race program.
GA is dying
I`m Sorry but the owner of any land can not do what they want please contact my self an Wellesbourne Matters and I will give you a run down about the RIGHT WAY to flight this. Bill Leary
Good video, this subject needs more exposure too.
My experience of the planning process (as a resident and one who's spoken with SME and large scale construction industry builders), local councils/authorities? Corrupt and under funded, whereas developers are often corrupt with plenty of funds. In the councils, good people ground down, driven out, those who lack merit, ability or morals, let in, recruited. Developers assume they'll get their way through leverage, corruption and other methods. The last in the food chain? Our sovereign people, the tax payers and local airfields likewise.
Look at what happened to Old Sarum, saved, only just (now a husk of what it used to be?). Iirc the hangers there? Some dated back to WWI, they were nearly lost. I watch as vintage hangers crumble at RAF Yatesbury et al too. Government couldn't give a toss about GB's aviation heritage either (we've lost good airworthy ancient aircraft even in the past 5 years). Look at the state of the last mess hut at Biggin (why isn't that preserved, restored, perhaps housed within an outer shell/modern building?).
Our government doesnt give a 💩 about us or our heritage, most of them are WEF, Le Cercle, CCP Neo Maoist shills, who don't care about the PsyOp and misery of the last four years, nor deaths and illness associated with such, let alone GA or local airfields. Ergo their 'erotic' dream is autonomous drones everywhere, owned by their puppet masters and illegal lobbyists, those such as Amazon et al. Don't believe me? Check out some of the surveying Ops covertly going on over UK airspace at night - grid pattern mapping etc.
Then look at who owns BA, the CAA - more foreign concerns. Even Thames Sewage (Water) has the CCP as a major shareholder.
Great Britain has been eroded since at least the late 1940s.
Our aviation industry didnt just fail because of duplication, poor management and/or unions (infiltrated by government rentamob types and commies - the perfect storm). One only has to look to the Miles Corporation and the AVRO Arrow et al to see how our aviation industry was sabotaged. In 1966, Farnborough Airshow? nearly everything there was GB made or had GB engines in it - we led the world. Even Concorde was knobled though. We can barely manufacture a whole fixed wing microlight now.
We are being boiled like frogs!
We have to get smart and push back in other ways.
Aviation (GA) has to be made more accessible to the public too - which some airfields work hard at. The general public need befriending to get away from the 'them and us' issue, the perceived elitism. We don't all own jets and go to Davos or Bilderberg twice a year, the general public think that though, but then theyre also told to despise the sick and disabled too.
Bread and circuses prevail whilst GB burns.
All members of the aviation community need to take part, including spotters, enthusiasts, airfield based companies, locals et al.
Im skeptical about petitions, protest marches, even voting, as politics, democracy, is moribund in GB, in the West. There is no government of the people by the people for the people. MSM never cover - at a national level - what's important to us (the pandemic made that abundantly clear), only far left agenda issues that suit their paymasters or political bias are aired by the MSM now, on the whole.
The GA community is going to have get radical and fight smart.
Theres no shortage of housing per se - especially if Treason May hadnt cancelled coastal patrol boat orders and ushered in what appears to be the Culdhove Kalegari Plan - but we do have VERY leaky borders (even during a pandemic). Its about the construction industry making money, greed, the love of money above all else, but as I've seen theyre driven by greed and short termism, giving lip service to 'partnerships', the environment, local environs and the community.
Equally there's the fake Carbon Climate Change Agenda (affecting everything), whilst our planet fills up with waste plastics, filthy lithium battery supply chains and real world issues.
We need a sea change across many fronts, we need to wake up too.
Ive seen several local airfields close, unfairly, with three more under threat. Something needs doing, but we cant remain naive.
Petition signed.
I’ve kept my PPL medical current through a health setback and then the covid fiasco but I’ve decided once this medical expires I will throw in the towel.
If the result of the next GE agrees with current polling not only will the country be screwed but so will General Aviation.
I doubt that the current government really cares a jot about GA, and any likely successors even less so. But there wouldn't be a housing shortage if the government did anything about immigration, legal or illegal.
This is an Issue that I as an Irish Patriot and longtime aviation enthusiast living 22 years in the U.K. and with extended family still living in Rural Ireland am hugely concerned about, both after 9/11 and post-Covid - this is not just the case in the U.K. or Ireland, this is a global issue, as increasing restrictions have been placed on GA in the US, especially after 9/11, not least of which have been the unreasonable and astronomical costs associated with every aspect of flying, even for GA flying - aside from Labour, we know that because of false and fake issues relating to climate change, itself a falsehood, they want to totally shut down every aspect of the aviation industry for all of us except for it being the globalists exclusive preserve and with the 15 mins smart cities and people banned from rural areas - psyops, staged events and controlled opposition figures have been put forward to try to hide the truth, but the truth has been well out there long before Covid - I could not find a local pilot from my local U.K. airfield and fly in a GA aircraft direct to a local Irish airfield without a whole raft of red tape and regulations associated with crossing the Irish Sea, even compared to 20 years ago, except if I was mega rich and powerful
First!
F0015
You just dont understand do u
That MP has done absolutely fuck all. You should get him back on for an interview and hd him accountable!!
GA in the UK the best in the world 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🫣