ru the next EGCD SATCO??

[Cryolosophorous]

Thinking of this as a career move? I have the ear of a woodford know-all…here goes!


1 The last ATCO to leave emigrated to NZ. The SATCO left for Scatsta in January this year. The ATCO before that resigned after management tried (unsuccessfully) to get rid of him. The SATCO before that resigned in disgust due to perceived ill treatment from management. Just 2 ATCOs left.
2 The only departments on site not subcontracted are RFFS, ATC, Tels, and security. Even HR were ousted during the most recent shake-up. TUPE for ATC just around the corner??
3 No traffic of note. Average 4-5 runway movements per day.
4 No shift-pay for the foreseeable future. . Don’t take it for granted at EGCD: it’s a factory with a runway, not an airport.
5 Staff told that there was a guarantee of 6-7 years of work at EGCD. MOD cancelled 3 Nimrod: only 18 now required. There are 4 Nimrod airframes on site with management stating publicly that EGCD has a future if EGCD “performs.” (No civil manufacture after disastrous foray into civil a/c market.) Hmmmmm.. This means that it is possible that EGCD could refurbish the 4 a/c on site then shut the site and re-locate Nimrod, if management calculate that the site is not performing! This is approximately 4 years worth of work. Woodford lost in the region of £200M on the Nimrod contract last year. Strikes did not help the site.
There might be some good news..could it outweigh that lot? Will you get an hour alone with ATC staff? I think not!IGood luck!
:eek:

[Scott Voigt]

With four to five movements a day, it begs the question, why are they wasting money on having a controller there????

[Cryolosophorous]

Autonomy coupled with safety, I guess. In the uk, we're not that far down the route of airports or (grass strips, for that matter) with no ATC presence with manouvring areas for multiple aircraft movements. I'm not sure if the UK flying fraternity would care much for that either. Woodford is situated in a TMA environment in close proximity to a major airport. It is now soley military; remove atc and they effectively lose some control of their flight test and development programme.

[bagpuss lives]

All said though they are still a pain in the ar** to us when they use their circuit ;)

They come nicely ion handy for the VFR lane though ;)

[Cryolosophorous]

Ahhh.. but they were there first, non? ;)

[bagpuss lives]

Coming first is nothing to be proud of :D

[canberra]

i was told last year that woodford was going to close as a bae facility. on the subject of atc at airports, i landed at a place in newfoundland called deer lake in a b737, this place had no tower even though it got several airliners a day.

[niknak]

So has Lindsey gone????
I was offered an interview for the that last job that was advertised there, but managed to wriggle out of - call it ESP if you like.............:confused: ..

[Cryolosophorous]

i presume Lindsey was the last SATCO, eh? If that's the case then yes... jumped ship (just in time?) whilst the going was...errr..going! :p :p

[SU27]

I know several people in the know at Woodford and have consulted them on matters discussed in this forum. What you will find is that the information regarding EGCD is highly irrelevent, in the main untrue and just a mere addition to the large amount of false rumours being spread around by misinformed people, most of whom do not have a clue about aviation. As a concerned ex employee I urge you all who may be interested in a post at Woodford to take care on how deeply you look into the information contained within this forum. I have never worked in ATC at Woodford however, I do know that there is significant investment being placed into the aerodrome which will put the airfield in the best condition it has ever been in. Think Woodford is finished ? the story is only just beginning................................................... .......................

SG

Dumfries

[Descend to What Height?!?]

SU 27

If Woodford has a future, how come the BAES suites have told us that when (if) they ever finish converting our new toy, that we are going to have to find another airfield to operate from??????

For some reason they are having problems finding third party operators and bases for us! Ho Hum....

Any one know how the runway resurfacing work is progressing?

[Cryolosophorous]

SU 27..so go on then, let us all know which points are irrelevent. (sic). “in the main” Hmmmm…. ru a manager? Don’t make us laugh. Methinks it’s you who’s full of speculation and conjecture, with nil ATC licences to risk. Put some concrete in your next post and you might be taken more seriously

[SU27]

Chilli monster

The money is not being wasted. It is being spent on upgrading an ageing airfield to a level whereby it can accommodate a project of national interest. You say Woodford is under used.That can be said about all BAE sites, but you have to remember that they are not airports and this is not America. They are production facilities with runways.
With regards to : "the BAE site with the most movements" I can only guess you are writing about Filton as every other BAE site has seen huge investment in recent years. If it is Filton then I know little of the place , only that Concorde once graced the four walls of that huge hangar. I suspect that your knowledge of Woodford is just as limited, in which case, as I have mentioned be careful of which rumours you take note of, beware the media, and most of all read the red print at the bottom of this froum page.

SG

Dumfries