Looking at opening / taking over an airfield

[rotorspin]

Hi all

I am looking for current operational airfields and potential sites to open a GA airfield in Hertfordshire.

Not looking to pop a 1930's scout hut in the middle of a field, but to build one of the most up to date facilities for GA in the UK.

Anybody with any "know how" on potential airfield sites, please PM me.

Thanks

[Will Hung]

I've always thought it would be nice to resurrect Bovingdon. Lovely long runway, loads of history, good location and I could roll out of bed into the flying club ! I dare say the cost would be prohibitive, the locals would create uproar (and they usually get their way). and HM prison service probably wouldn't like it. Oh well, I enjoyed thinking about it ! Keep smiling.

[IO540]

This was discussed here recently. If you search my posts a few weeks back it should turn up the thread.

It is possible to do it, provided you grab the bull by the horns and go for full planning from the start. That way, if you don't contravene planning policy you should get there eventually, 5 £ figures later, and complaints from NIMBYs won't be worth a great deal.

Whereas the traditional way is to start under the 28-day rule, hope nobody is counting the substantially larger movement figures, and after 10 years go for full planning. This works in the relative absence of complaints.

Everybody will say it can't be done but that's because everybody says that, so nobody tries it.

Bank on 5 digits spent on planning, expert evidence from noise surveys, etc.

[LowNSlow]

How about Panshanger for the take over of a current (and thriving by all accounts) airfield?

[niknak]

The sentimental old fool in me says "Yes, what a brilliant idea, go for it and we'll all come and help you make a go of it...."

The realistic cynic says, "Yes, go for it, it will cost you £thousands, you'll never get a commercial return, even if you do get past the planning and NIMBY process, you'll always be faced with aviation and non aviation people just waiting to trip you up (believe me - they are there in equal measure), and you'll probably regret ever having such a daft idea until such time as you sell it for building land, make a million, lose all your friends and move to a hot sunny island with a list of select Bimbo's".

A difficult choice.

[IO540]

IMHO a profitable GA-only airfield which is in a good well maintained condition is impossible to do in the UK.

The business is too thin and pilots are on the whole too tight.

The only way would be a full-planning job, for a small group of owner-pilots, with limited movements (say a few hundred per year) with the prime objective being to achieve security of runway and hangarage.

What are the rules for getting avgas delivered? I read somewhere only licensed airfields can get avgas deliveries - is this true??

[gcolyer]

Allocate a small protion of the airfield as a "Farm" then have the fuel delivered to the farm.

Back on the Isle of Man my mate has 2 55,000ltr tankers of 100LL at his farm, and will get a JetA tanker pretty soon as well.

[Lunchmaster]

Opening another field in Hertfordshire has to be welcomed. There's precious few places at present and the county does have some historic aviation sites.

Re: Panshanger. I was under the impression that the lease is up for renewal in five years or so and there are fears that the landowner will cave in and sell the site off to housing developers. It's a very well run and popular airfield at the moment - I fly from there.

Lunchmaster

[SlipSlider]

I read somewhere only licensed airfields can get avgas deliveries - is this true??

I think not .... avgas is certainly available at Popham, which is unlicensed.

Slip

[stray10level]

Start with a large one and invest in a GA airfield!:ugh:

[rotorspin]

thanks for your replies!

It will not be pure GA as there will be some commercial operations also running on the site. (you are correct in saying fortunes can be lost!)

All I need is the potential site - and I am keen to develop rather than take over.

[IO540]

The good thing about starting new is that you don't inherit the usual airfield resident bitching and backstabbing population. You can control who can be based there.

You can go downmarket or you can go upmarket. Most UK GA facilities are well downmarket, but there should be good business for an upmarket setup because nobody with a half decent plane wants to operate off grass and without hangarage.

Getting tarmac would be a triumph of planning though!

[A and C]

I wish you good luck in this venture and hope that you get what you want but I think that you have an up hill task.

Planning law willl be the death of the UK economy and you are about to hit it "head on".

[breakscrew]

Elstree is in dire need of some investment!

[IO540]

Elstree is in dire need of some investment!

I reckon that some five figures are spent annually at Elstree repairing props with dings in them caused by the stones. It's absolutely appalling how this can be allowed to continue.

Maybe it will take a big insurance claim to wake them up to fix the place, but airfields in poor condition usually escape liability; the aircraft owners claim off their own insurances instead. As the victim of a £20,000 pothole prop strike I know a bit about this :ugh:

[stray10level]

WHAT????:eek: They charged you £20.000 for making a pot hole IO540:confused:

[Cusco]

And when you've got your Herts airfield up and running please would you come to Suffolk and knock an airfield up here too?

There's only one licensed airfield in the whole bl**din' county.
Safe (but a bit sporadic) flying...

Cusco;);)

[WildDart]

That'll be good to have a airfield in hertfordshire, thats where im planning to go to uni in 2008. Not sure if this helps but there was a 4 page guide to setting up a airline, some of the stuff seems relevent to airport as well. Its in the magazine Airliner world!

good luck with it!

[twelveoclockhigh]

Cusco,

not one but two licensed airfields in suffolk - Elmsett & Beccles.

Rougham occasionally has a temporary licence so they can do trial flights on their airshow days.

[stray10level]

Ive got a quid, any one want to make a partnership to trump the bid:}

[Cusco]

Yep : forgot Elmsett as that's where all our maintenance work is done: I view it more as 'the menders' than a place to visit.

Safe flying

Cusco:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[will5023]

I see in 22nd June issue of Farmers Weekly that part of Bovingdon airfield is for sale, which is on the Herts,Bucks boarder, you may be interested to know ?
www.faulknersurveyors.co.uk (http://www.faulknersurveyors.co.uk)


Will.

[stickandrudderman]

Still long enough to be useful!:ok: