flying to plymouth

[vectis lady]

hey guys,

im a fairly new ppl and am thinking of flying to plymouth on monday (from sandown) & i was just after any advice/thoughts that anyone may have. basically is there anything i need to look out for/be aware of before i go

thanks for the help

[Fuji Abound]

without wishing to be smart the weather might be the main thing to look out for.

My guess looking at the charts and VVP is that it may well be IFR (IMC) and quite windy. Hope my guess is proved wrong.

The direct track takes you quire some distance away from the coast and through the danger areas. I guess you will want to avoid that.

Probably better would be Hengistbury Head, Sanbacks (avoiding the need for a Bournemouth transit) but as you know they will provide you with a useful LARS if you want, Axminster, Plymouth. That route keeps you clear of all the danger areas, with Yeovelton giving you a transit on 127.35 (I think). Exeter will also give you a service if you want. You may find at low level there is a gap in the service from Bournemouth to Exeter.

Plymouth is straight forward sitting up on the mound as it does. If you have to, from the West you can meander up the river low level in reasonably poor conditions maintaining VMC and spot the runway off to your left (obviously only doing so within your own comfort levels).

Exeter is a useful diversion if you must.

The moors are of course high ground and you dont really want to land there if you had to! Far more scenic is along the coast over Salcombe and Kingsbridge - spectacular scenery!

Enjoy.

Hope that is some help.

[scooter boy]

VL,
Plymouth should be 1 hour or so for you in a PA-28. The fuel is usually cheaper than most mainland airports.
Plymouth weather can be harsher than the rest of the South Coast with stronger winds.
The airport is on the Southern edge of Dartmoor so can be cloudy - Exeter is lower and almost always has a better ceiling and lower winds.

Low level along the South Coast should be OK but call Bournemouth/Exeter to get advice on the activity of danger areas before entering.

Fuji is absolutely right in that you will be out of radio contact for a while between Bournemouth and Exeter. If you are low level you may not be able to contact Exeter until almost South abeam.

Rumour has it that the Rampisham masts may be partly to blame for this and may also interfere with your GPS reception.

Plymouth will probably ask you to report at Ivybridge and tend to favour rwy 31 (it is uphill).

Happy flying,

SB

[Lucy Lastic]

My favoured route is via Sandbanks to Bere Regis then towards Lyme Regis passing south of Exeter.

After Bere it might be worth working Yeovilton. Stay clear fof Rampisham though, as it can interfere with on-board equipment

If the cloudbase permits, a route passing over Dartmoor can be great, but if not route around the coast.

[evansb]

visit http://www.eghd.com for useful information and photographs of Plymouth Airport.:ok:

[vectis lady]

thanx guys really helpful, i know it will prob rain/snow etc as it always does if i wanna go flying but the info will still be good whenever i go

[englishal]

I'd just follow the coast. Call Plymouth Ops on 01752 557550 before you go and ask the staus of D031, D026 and D012. If they are cold you can go right through. Then I'd just go Sandown - NEDUL - Studland (remaining South of Bournemouth) then follow the Heritage Coastline (inland if D012 is active ) to Branscombe (to have a look at the Napoli) then direct. You could go directly across Lyme Bay if you're brave enough.

I'd call Bournemouth at the Neddles, then call Exeter at Bridport......At 90Kts this should take 1:09.

A nice flight, it would be exceedingly difficult to get lost! And my bet is the weather will be fine on MOnday.....;)