Sherby

[KarlwithaK]

Is what used to be one of the finest flying clubs in the North of England now on its knees? Hours are drastically down, closed one day a week, membership dwindling, good staff have left and a Revenue court case looming in February that could cost them dearly. The current chairman, Mr Whitewash claimed that bad weather and the current economic climate were to blame. What he failed to recognise was that it was his attitude and more so the attitude of the current CFI, Mr Stringfellow, a well known theatrical, that was the cause of many members leaving this club. Come on Mr Whitewash tell us how many letters of complaint you have received about Mr Stringfellow during his disastrous two year reign. So sad to see the club which was built on the hard work of so many good people, be allowed to run down by two head strong megalomaniacs neither of which seems to commands any respect. Is it not time for the members to take a stance, after all it is a members club and they can choose who is at the helm. It is my opinion that the current skipper and crew will sink the ship.

[Pilotdom]

There is already a Sherburn thread running, which I am sure the mods will merge this thread with/to.

Sherburn is still a good club. Some people get too caught up in the politics of the place. If you simply want to turn up and fly, you won't have any problems. Ok, ok it's closed Mondays, but if it helps club finances then so be it. The club is now an Archer down aswell, but there was really only one member who flew it anyway. Might aswell have been his own aircraft. Hours are down, but the weather in Yorkshire has not been kind this year. Economic strains are probably showing aswell.

One of my main problems is the ridiculous rule of 6 members to any aircraft group. It creates an elitist element that is not required. Sherburn need to realise that PPL's want to take aircraft away for the whole day, and not have to pay a minimum of 3 hours for a day trip to Connington. They need to embrace the emerging non-equity groups that will improve fuel sales and cafe sales for the greater good of all who use the club, and increase memberships aswell. They have a great facility, which is underused at the moment. If I were in charge, i'd have a couple of non-equity groups running, maximum of 20 in all based aircraft and it would be raking money in.

I don't know the reasons why they don't, I presume it's those at the top, but how do we go about changing it?

[Fake Sealion]

Taking an (average??) 60 hours, a PPL in a AT-3 will cost around £1200 less than in a PA-28.

In the current climate this is surely great marketing copy to attract new student potential?

I am therefore amazed that the AT-3 is not even included on the SAC website "Fleet" page. The club have been operating them for nearly 12 months!! There is a small photo of one in the "club house" page but nothing there that alludes to the low cost/ideal trainer route to PPL/NPPL.

Unless of course both aircraft are achieving 100% useage and people are being turned away.

[Overthehorizon]

I know Sherburn Aero Club very well. See the CFI with regard to an aircraft for the day or longer and he'll explain it better i'm sure.

How its explained to me and confirmed in the Pilots Orders is this. You are quite right that you must pay for a minimum of three hours in a whole day at the weekend but during the week it is a minimum of only two hours. Any unflown hours are not charged at the full rate, in fact any unflown hours are charged at only £20.00 per hour pro rata. Find a club which is as fair as that, you won't.

The airfield is operated solely by the club and as far as I understand it there had been major problems with large groups operating at Sherburn in the past, acting as a business on what is a private airfield. Private aircraft are encouraged and treated equally for training and are only charged for instructing/checks etc a small fee per hour. If you want it changed then speak to the committee, but the committee reprersents the whole membership not just a few. The group size rule has existed many years well before the current committee were elected.

Fake Sealion your talking out of your backside. What kind of tosser are you to be so offensive about an elected Chairman and committee who work for free and is left to make real decisions on behalf of the membership, NOT just popular ones. As for being so rude about the CFI who is an excellent professional and has worked so hard for the club and the members, you should be ashamed of yourself.

[Overthehorizon]

Pilotdom

We only pay £20 per hour pro rata for any unflown hours in a day. The rule is two hours per day during the week. I can't find a club anywhere that beats that.

Fake sealion your talking through your backside. What staff have left, I haven't seen any change and moral is good and Sherburn is a great club and very relaxed and laid back. Instructors change as they do everywhere as they get jobs with the airlines. Your obviously a tosser and probably don't get on with anybody unless they're a winger.

[Yorky Towers]

Are you refering to 'KARLWITHAK' rather than 'Fake sealion' with reference to his comments about the Committee & CFI? Am I missing something? :confused:

[Pilotdom]

OTH,

Many thanks for the info on hours not flown etc.

Chris Stringer is a very good CFI. He puts in alot of hours at the club. He has worked hard for the club over the last 2 years, and the instructors available at Sherburn are first class.

[flybymike]

Can someone please clarify the group membership rules.

Is 6 the maximum, the minimum, or the only number of group members allowed?

I ask since I have been considering basing an aircraft there.

[Overthehorizon]

Yorky Towers, many thanks for picking up on my mistake and my apologise go to Fake Sealion.

Yes I do mean KarlwithaK who's contribution is appaling.

[Fake Sealion]

Terrible Mistake

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yorky Towers, many thanks for picking up on my mistake and my apologise go to Fake Sealion.

Yes I do mean KarlwithaK who's contribution is appaling.



Apology accepted and . . . . welcome to Pprune:ok:

[Yorky Towers]

Known Chris for over 20 years, he is a very good Instructor and top bloke. Also known 2 of the present Committee for that time too, one of which has been on the board for well over 15yrs. Thought you could only be a Director of SAC for a maximum amount of time before having to step down. Correct me if I'm wrong but that was the case years ago!
regards
Yorky:ok:

[Pilotdom]

Flybymike,

The maximum number of members in an aircraft group at Sherburn is 6. There a couple on the field that have more, but they were formed before this particular rule came in.

[Silent Aviator]

As a Ex flying member of sherburn, I found that the aircraft were well looked after, although sometime very difficult to book one on a weekend unless booked well in advance.
The facilities were very good. However like anything you pay for that with a higher membership fee’s which is fair enough.

However when my membership ran out a couple of years ago, along with 6 of my other friends that were flying members we decided to fly elsewhere. The club seemed to be making it difficult for any members to fly. .
Many times on an evening in the summer we wanted to fly but unfortunaly the club wasn’t open, Problems with booking aircraft. What infuriated us more was turning up to find the aircraft we had booked had been taken by someone else, mainly instructors.

Ok all clubs have problems but when it’s a business you should want to make it successful and by doing things we felt the need to leave.

However early this year when renewing our membership elsewhere we looked a sherburn again to see what changes they were. After looking and speaking to the guys across there why would we pay a membership fee of £138 and then have to pay a rejoining fee of £60 before we even get to fly?

Let’s say they lost out on 6 memberships!

[SFCC]

'OW has had 10 members in it's group for a while, as Yorky Towers will know.
If that is still the case, does it not set a precedent?

Maybe a chap needs to be somewhat Masonic to get on at Sherburn:}

[liam548]

done 21 hours at sherburn and still glad i picked it to start my training.

The instructors are all good, the desk staff helpful and ive not had any issues with lessons or taking exams.. Fair enough i turn up have my lesson and drive home but still.


Whats with all these anti sherburn threads?

[SFCC]

You haven't been there long enough yet old son.

[liam548]

You haven't been there long enough yet old son.

Maybe not but i can still comment on how i find it and state that it serves its purpose, at the moment, for me.

In other words, its not all bad! and someone reading this site deciding on where to get their NPPL or PPL should not be put off by these threads.

[KarlwithaK]

There is nothing wrong with Sherby as a facility. Having been a member for over 20 years I have seen many battles and many people come and go. Instructors do move on to the airlines but it would be naive to think thats the only reason they leave. I cannot remember a time when the instructor team was ever anything but good. So why should fee paying members be lost to other clubs? It is difficult to please everyone but over the past few years I have seen really decent long standing members, (see Silent Aviator + 5,) leaving because of how they have been treated. People are going elsewhere to finish their PPL training, do IMC traing, skill tests, revelidations etc and some are doing these things in Sherburn aircraft! Why go elsewhere? Ask those that have left. Cas at Full Sutton seems to take a good overspill because he knows how to treat people well. Perhaps he should come back and educate the management in customer service. My advice to the management, though they never listen..... always put the customer first and not your egos and maybe business will improve.

[bogbeagle]

Am I right in thinking that the Archer was taken into Crosland Moor? There, it over-ran the runway and was smashed, as I understand things. I'm sure that someone will correct me, if I'm wrong with respect to this.

You gotta ask what the aeroplane was doing there. As I recall, the FOB specifies that the CFI's permission must be sought prior to Club' aircraft being taken into unlicensed fields.

[Pilotdom]

Bobbeagle,

The Archer was at CrosslandMoor. CFI's permission was granted. The aircraft suffered a loss of power on the take-off roll. Take-off aborted, but wheels made contact with wet grass and skidded off the end of the runway. Im sure the AAIB report will tell you what happend, but I t has already come out on other fora as to what mistakes were made. It was an accident. No-one hurt, other than a bit of pride I suspect.

[honda cbx]

Totally agree with ya mate !!:D

[Yorky Towers]

What ya make of all this then ol Son?.....:ugh: Ready for a beer then Kid, Talk about good ol' Sherburn days;)

Regards Yorky
Ps: OW was started with ten members and still has! maybe your right...funny hand shaker's still rule Sherburn.:= Up the Mafioso!:E

[bogbeagle]

I've now seen the pics on UKGA...shame; YO was a nice aeroplane.

Silent Aviator points out that the Club's aircraft were very well maintained. In general, that is true. When I first began to fly at Sherburn, the maintenance was very good, indeed. Problems would be addressed instantly, where possible. Where time was needed for repairs, it was usually the case that an alternative aircraft was to hand.

Then, there were some policy changes. These changes saw the engineering staff labouring under much tighter financial constraints. At around this time, there was a noticeable frostiness in the relationship between management and engineers.

Reliability started to slip as the Club's Committee decided that it was going to have "something for nothing". Then, we had the, "let's transfer maintenance to Sturgate" debacle. That was good.

You can't start your engine, and there's nobody on-site who is willing to help. Oh, well, let's call out the engineer. He can drive over from Sturgate!...fix the engine and all will be well. What! He wants a £250 call-out fee and it's a
2-hour drive?

I don't know about the current relationship between the Committee and the engineers...but I can guess!

I can't begin to imagine where Over The Horizon gets his information and opinions. Oh, wait a minute, I see that he's a brand-new poster. Let me think, what might that mean? Do you think that it's possible that he has only appeared so as to have his say on these issues?

Come on, mate, use your real name. Don't go around calling people "tossers" when you're clearly hiding behind your keyboard. Or, at least, maintain a civil tone.

David Turner
ex-Sherburn Employee