Is GA activity down?

[D SQDRN 97th IOTC]

Just been flying from Southend - and to the north of the airfield doing some general handling.

Weather is 100% CAVOK.

But strangely quiet.

How come peeps? Is it a sign of the times, and GA is becoming too expensive, or are people becoming less confident about the economy, and are saving up for when the recession comes?

[Echo Romeo]

I can only speak for myself and maybe one other friend, we both own the same type, which is a permit aircraft and are quite thirsty, we can only run on avgas.

Whilst our fixed operating costs have remained pretty much the same for the last 2 years, fuel hasn't, and so for that reason we have flown less hours this year.

Whilst the oil price is about 20% down on this time last year avgas just keeps on getting more expensive, why? it makes no sense! I'm rapidly approaching the limit for what I'm prepared or indeed can afford to pay for an hours flying and to do enough hours to feel comfortably current.

[Grob Queen]

Did you go INTO the delightful Sarfend???? (oh, and if you think the high street is bad, you should try the Golden Mile!!)

Joking aside, i hear from a friend of mine who is ex-RAF, that one of Sarfend's runways, with the railway line at the threshold is a pig to get over...Maybe why its not a popular airfield (and the flying club fees are frightening!)

[thing]

Funnily enough I've just been flying and I thought the same thing. Had an hour over Rutland and the fens and I thought it would be heaving what with it being a Sunday and probably the last of the good weather this year. Plenty of gliders about but uncannily quiet on the local radar frequency, in fact I was on the point of doing a radio check when someone piped up for a basic service.

[VictorGolf]

I think you are all right. I live at the North end of "Mig Alley" between the Luton and Stansted Zones and on a sunny Sunday, if I'm not flying myself, there's nothing better than a cool drink, the Sunday paper and my binoculars watching the light traffic dodging the zones. And yes today was very quiet. One PA-28 from Panshager and a Spitfire heading North and that was about it. Strangely yesterday was quite a lot busier but there's no doubt people are feeling the pinch. I did an hour's local on Friday and never heard or saw a soul.

[IO540]

It is common to find that when some way into a long period of nice wx, not many people are flying.

The usual pattern in UK GA is there is manic activity on the first weekend after a long period of bad wx, and this sets the pattern, in the usual UK situation of frontal muck passing through. But if you get too much good wx, people probably spend their budgets after the first one or few weekends.

The latter part of the great summer of 2003 was very quiet at otherwise busy GA airfields.

[Sir George Cayley]

Is activity down? Yes. CAA figures on licenses shows a long term downwards trend. Just casual observations at my local field suggests the same.

Cabair's apparent withdrawal from PPL training seems to back this up.

SGC

[Genghis the Engineer]

Lovely day at Booker today, and the circuit and nearby area was absolutely heaving up until about 4pm when I think that most people went home for Sunday dinner.

G

[soaringhigh650]

But strangely quiet.

Maybe they arrived a few days ago and already enjoying their vacation?

When the weather is about to change for the worse I'm guessing a crazy "let's pack our bags and get outta here" so you'll get another pack of movements.

[Rod1]

The strip I fly from is up on movements by a factor of about 3 and the LAA fly in I attended on Sunday was busy, but I accept that that may not be true nationally.

Rod1

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Flew from Biggin yesterday. Can be very busy sometimes, but I had a clear run from rejoin to finals with no traffic. With Cabair gone, so have most of the GA aircraft too. Not good at all.:{

[bad bear]

the sky was empty, no commercials at Norwich either, just empty sky. Has EASA won? has aviation ended?

bb

[UV]

The latest movements at North Weald show no difference from the last few years. So far! Steady at approx 20,000 p.a.

Sundays are always less busy than Saturdays.

Funnily enough Wednesdays are often busier than Sundays.

If, however, you get a nice day lots of people go abroad which may be why the OP saw less activity in the local area north of Southend. I hate to think what it was like at Le Touquet yesterday.

[Kengineer-130]

All down to cost, I cannot afford £150-180 for an hours flying at the moment, a lot of the problem is not the aircraft hire, but the fuel surcharge & extortionate landing fees :ugh:

[abgd]

Had a lazy day picking blackberries. There seemed to be a very reasonable amount of flying over Guildford, including a Long-EZ.

[IO540]

the sky was empty, no commercials at Norwich either, just empty sky. Has EASA won? has aviation ended?

The security morons at Norwich probably confiscated everybody's toothpaste (they got mine a while ago) and who wants to stay at one of the Norwich motels without bringing their own toothpaste?

Who needs EASA and Part M when you have such commitment to ruin right on your doorstep?

[Whiskey Kilo Wanderer]

A small but representative selection of aircraft showed up at Abbeville for lunch. The rest of the GA world seemed to have pitched in to Le Touquet for the same reason. Listening to London Info and Lille both out and back, there sounded to be plenty of folks enjoying the unseasonably pleasant weather in the South East.

[FlyingKiwi_73]

From our side of the dial, it was a corker on Saturday unusually light winds totally CAVOK, it was just me and a student in a 152 (doing unbelievably large circuits, i could have done a touch and go and come back again and he'd still be on base)

A couple of guys transiting overhead (much higher alts) and that was it.... I had the whole place to myself....

it cost me $220 NZD for 1.4 and i was happy to pay.

[Jetblu]

I took the kids and the C310 into Clacton on Sunday for lunch and a stroll along the beach.

Clactons visitors parking area was quite full. What fantastic wx for October.

Southend sounded reasonably busy on radio.

[maxred]

Yes, the perception has to be that it is all getting less busy. Fuel, elfin safety, security now at a ridiculous stage at some airports (has been for a while mind you), and the worries not only over the economy, but Easa/fcl has to take its toll.

I ain't poor by any means, but to fill my aircraft is now double what it was perhaps a year ago, and I tend to think about it now. I never used to.:uhoh:

The mood at our flying group is that aircraft are NOT being flown, certainly not to the extent they were two/three years ago, and a lot of serious questions are being asked now about validity of the aircraft.:sad:

Gloomy I know, but reality methinks. Not sure where it will all end up, clearer brighter skies ahead anyone??????

[maxred]

Yes, that logical end being end of..........:)

There's life Jim, but not as we know it:cool: