UK Aviation Suppliers

[gcolyer]

What is it about UK based aviation suppliers ripping us off??

I ordered two French maps from AFE at the cost of £14.99 each and £3.95 delivery. When they arrived I notice a price printed on them of 15 Euros. Now down here in the South West UK £14.99 is not equal to 15 Euro.:suspect:

[GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU]

Alas, it's called aviation. It seems that if you can afford to fly, you can afford to pay over the odds. Regrettably, nobody briefed my wallet on that point.

[gcolyer]

I know that...But why do the UK always stick it to you??? Especailly when the price printed on the map by the SIA is under half what the UK robbing ******* charged me?

I was charged Pound for Euro?? so so wrong.

[IO540]

Most of UK GA is scraping out the bottom of the barrel and has been for many years, and is getting worse.

There is too little business generally, and most of the pilots that do fly are stingy as hell.

Most of the merchandise that pilot shops sell is never changing old junk which goes mainly to a) ATPL students and b) posers who spend £300 on WW2-style leather jackets etc.

There is next to no innovation, so 99% of today's merchandise is identical to when I started flying 7 years ago. This makes it hard for shops to sell stuff, because everybody else is selling the same stuff. I suppose LED torches on key rings is the major innovation in recent years...

I can't blame a pilot shop trying to scratch out some kind of existence, in such a thin market. They should remove the price tag of the website they bought it from though ;)

[gcolyer]

It's worse than a price tag. It is actually part of the print ont he map!!

[Fly Stimulator]

For that very reason I've been buying charts online from European suppliers for the last few years.

Google 'Boutique Aero' and 'Boutique du Pilote' for example for French charts. I have used both of them with no problems. The delivery times are slower than with some UK suppliers; about two weeks for the 2007 French IGN and SIA VFR charts which I have just received, but it does save a good deal of money.

The savings do vary of course - I need Norwegian VFR charts for June and they are at their most expensive at Transair and Flightstore; AFE are about a fiver less whereas the Norweigian Aero Club's online store is another few pounds less than that.

For a single foreign chart the postage could cancel out the savings, but if you're buying several it's an option worth looking at.

[dublinpilot]

Buy your French charts direct from SIA, and they won't even charge you postage!

http://http://www.sia.aviation-civile.gouv.fr/asp/frameset_uk.asp?m=9

dp

[gcolyer]

What a ****e country we live in!!

[IanSeager]

If you buy a CAA half mil chart from a pilot shop in France (inc delivery to France) it will cost you £23.50.

Ian

[BlueRobin]

The CAA DAP chart is laminated. If you get the French IGN laminated chart, it's €19.50. That's near-as-dammit the £14 you get charge for a half mil here.