Lydd??????????

[BRL]

I have been asked to meet someone at Lydd for the airshow there in September.

Upon investigation, I have just discovered they call themselves "London Ashford Airport". London!!!!!! Have I missed something here-they are closer to Paris than London, what's going on there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyhow, It made me laugh a bit when I read that, anymore gems like that out there....? Airfields that are no where near the place they are named after. :)

[Fuji Abound]

I always remember a wise barrister telling me London is a place, not a qualification. Unfortunately people think other wise.

Mind you when I was there recently a lot had changed. Certainly much smarter, a shiny new ILS and carts to the golf course.

If only it wasnt a cross country hike to Ashford it would be a good place for commercial ops from an enviromental point of view.

Mind you with London Shoreham City must now be on the cards :) .

[Halfbaked_Boy]

I've always considered London Luton, Stansted and Gatwick to be oxymorons somewhat...

Jack.

[helicopter-redeye]

There's gotta be a 'London Robin Hood' soon. Everybody else has one.

h-r

[DubTrub]

h-r I think its full title is London Doncaster Sheffield Sherwood Forest Maid Marion Robin Hood International Airport.:uhoh:

So don't you forget it, eh? :ouch:

[benhurr]

Dub

you missed out "John Lennon"

[Flying Boat]

Don't forget George Best.


Or Coventry being West Midlands International Airport, almost due south of NEMA (Nottingham in the name but next to Derby).


Isn't Shoreham 'Brighton International Airport'???

[Ace Rimmer]

Almost........ Brighton City Alan Mullery Intergalactic Megaport

[SkyHawk-N]

I was at Shoreham Airport last week for the first time in ages. Sitting there chatting away as you do and suddenly over the PA system came an "Unattended baggage may be destroyed" broadcast! just like you get at Gatwick, Heathrow, etc. I couldn't believe it. There was also a security guard pacing up and down the outside viewing area. How things have changed there.

[IO540]

Be grateful, boyz and gurls, that somebody is spending some money on a GA airport, rather than selling it to a property shark.

Especially in the part of the country referred to here (the South East).

The great shame with Lydd is that it is in the middle of a wilderness called Kent, from which not many people have come out alive :O

Personally I couldn't care less if Shoreham or whatever wants to destroy unattended baggage, or makes one wear yellow jackets. The financial reality for airports which GA pilots have traditionally regarded as their own is that they can't make money from the declining PPL training activity (and allowing more schools to set up just causes the schools to go bust sooner) and there aren't enough people doing burger runs either. So they are trying to get some regular business, which means commercial services. The alternative is to shut the airport and sell up.

Shoreham's particular problem is that the shortage of hangarage prevents people with decent planes (the sort who would fly often, on business) basing there. The hangars there appear to be full of planes many of which rarely fly.

[SkyHawk-N]

Personally I couldn't care less if Shoreham or whatever wants to destroy unattended baggage, or makes one wear yellow jackets. The financial reality for airports which GA pilots have traditionally regarded as their own is that they can't make money from the declining PPL training activity (and allowing more schools to set up just causes the schools to go bust sooner) and there aren't enough people doing burger runs either. So they are trying to get some regular business, which means commercial services.

Look at the arrivals and departures on the Shoreham Airport web site and you will see who is currently using the airport. If making the airport more 'commercially' attractive makes it less pleasurable for their current customers to visit or be based at the site, this will not help their cause. And it certainly won't improve the chance of more hangars being built. I have no problems with them TRYING to attract more commercial operators but IMHO I think their 'let's be like Gatwick' approach a bit misguided. I have the same thoughts about Lydd.

[chevvron]

Don't think they should call themselves Ashford; that was the name of Lympne in the last few years before it closed. What goes on there now I wonder; last I heard a guy called Pat Luscombe was using it to develop his canard microlight/ultralight aircraft (Vitality, Vigilant etc).

[Ace Rimmer]

Joking aside, it’s LCY they want to be rather than Gatters. Shoreham’s new owners bought/took a long term lease (or whatever) the place for a large number of ackers and they want a return on their investment (perfectly reasonable).
In order to do this, they will doubtless want to develop the place along the lines proposed by the airport and the previous owners (Brighton and Worthing Councils). This includes the construction of a new runway of 1,199m (or LCY length)
Certainly, the existing proposals (on the website) present a variety of alignments but since the ones that best avoid built up areas (and align better with the prevailing winds) will call for an approach over the higher ground to the northeast so I suspect they are going to have to have a steep approach (in EASA speak that is one 4.5 deg or steeper) which means LCY type operations – which means Q400s F50s E-170s 146s and up to A318s (don’t forget this last type will have LCY capability very soon). Clearly then it will need a new terminal the existing one won’t be able to deal with the proposed pax numbers (actually they’d like a new railway station too – multimodal don’t you know?)
The other thing is they intend keeping the movement limits to 100,000 per year – and you do you think will get those the A318 with a hundred happy duty free shoppers (and airport charge payers) or Joe Blow off to bash circuits in a Traumahawk.

Great, it won’t be a housing estate, but for GA the net result might well be the same. UK airport owners don’t seem to develop co-existence strategies.

Not convinced? I present in the south…Southampton (GA squeezed out) or what about Bournemouth (doing their best to price it out)?

[Cricket23]

Don't know how true this is, but the (apparent) story behind Lydd, is that an oil sheik bought 'London Ashford' without seeing it, or knowing its true location because he wanted a quick journey into London. He was understandably amazed and a bit miffed that it took him 3hrs or whatever to get from his London airport into London.

However, I'm led to believe that he was pondering what to do with the place and decided to buy the golf course next door! So at least he can nip from the airport to the golf course!

I guess the new investment is also down to him.

C23

[ChampChump]

"The great shame with Lydd is that it is in the middle of a wilderness called Kent, from which not many people have come out alive"
Ah, we do have straws in our ears but them yuppifiers are moving in and civilising us with new-fangled dual carriageways and other nonsense. Rather than fight, I decided to join and have a legal radio in my aerial carriage:{

[Robing]

I note that from next year the Ashford - London travel time is reduced again to 36.5 minutes with the opening of section two of the CTRL.

http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/news.php?id=12&u=news.php

[chevvron]

Maybe but how long does it take from Lydd to Ashford station? Not less than 45 min I'd guess.

[Robing]

Well, I have just driven round trip to Gatwick, passing through Ashford both ways. 20 mins.

[helinick]

i agree its 20 min tops from Lydd to Ashford :E

[helinick]

Upon investigation, I have just discovered they call themselves "London Ashford Airport". London!!!!!! Have I missed something here-they are closer to Paris than London, what's going on there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



:8

The company name is " London Ashford Airport Ltd" @ Lydd Airport

and for the record they are closer to London that Paris !

[chevvron]

Lympne was the 'original' London Ashford Airport.
Did you hear the one about 2 Tiger Club pilots flying across from Le Touquet? Spent the whole flight pre-occupied with arguing about how they should pronounce Lympne. Asked the refueller when they taxied in; he gave them a funny look and said 'Shoreham'!