Walalla
22nd Jul 2003, 05:25
Dear PPRUNERS,
There have been a number of posts following the letter sent to Cambridge Aero Club members regarding the fleet changes and the impact that it may or may not have on availability of aircraft for training and private hire. I have posted this message to try and clarify the situation and dispel some of the rumours and incorrect assumptions that have come to light.
The letter in question stated that the reason for replacing most of the 152s is one of practicality mainly regarding the increasing difficulty of operating the aircraft within POH weight and balance limitations. As you are aware, these aircraft are rather long in the tooth, and following several repaints and internal refits have become significantly heavier than their original manufactured dry weights. With a useful fuel load and two 'grown adults' onboard this more often than not renders the aircraft overweight and outside permissible limitations.
It is true that many operators suffer the same predicament, and some clearly choose to operate the aircraft under these circumstances using a certain amount of 'license' when it comes to interpreting the figures. However, I'm sure that you will agree when I say that the Cambridge Aero Club is a conscientious and professionally run organisation, and under these circumstances could no longer accept the situation as it was. After much deliberation and soul searching the final decision was always going to be inevitable. Obviously, the club has a number of crucial obligations to which it is bound, the most important of which are duty of care towards it's students, and to remain within the legal framework under which it must operate. In addition to this, it is incumbent on the PIC (the Instructor when dual) to ensure that the flight is carried out safely and legally, and failure to do so could have disastrous consequences both in terms of safety and legality.
The decision to exchange 4 152s for a fairly new 172SP was not taken lightly nor was it done on the spur of the moment. The club does not have the resources to maintain the fleet of 5 152s and purchase additional aircraft for instructing purposes, so the economics of the situation determined that something would have to go. The fact is that the fleet of 152s were terribly under utilised during the week, and while they are spending time on the ground they are not paying for their keep in terms of overheads. Remember, the CAC as well as all other flying schools is facing ever increasing levels of expense, and where the priority of the organisation is to provide high quality flight instruction and aircraft for private hire wherever possible, it must be able to do so whist remaining financially viable. It is true that the aircraft are more heavily utilised during weekends but this alone is not enough to maintain such a large fleet - half of which sat mainly idle during the rest of the week. therefore, the decision to exchange 152s for a 172 was not one to simply downsize the fleet, but was taken with the aim of compromise and to enable the Aero Club to survive and therefore continue to offer an efficient and professional service.
The priority of the CAC is to train students to pass the PPL skills test and to provide them with the background skills and knowledge to become good safe pilots, and this will continue to be the case. The Club is now better equipped to carry out this remit due to the fact that it has better and more capable aircraft. In addition, improved efficiency will enable the club to remain in service and be more competitive in the long run.
The question of availability is one which has not gone un-addressed, and it is certainly premature to assume that it will be a major issue at this early stage. The CAC's ability to accommodate it's existing students will not be affected, and every effort will be made to make aircraft available for private hire as has been the case to date. There is still (1) 152 available for PPL hire, and in most cases there will also be a very new and well equipped 172. It is worth pointing out here that this fleet is comparable to in size to that of most medium sized schools in the country - and these schools like the CAC have to do the best they can to fully utilise the aircraft and service the requirements of PPL holders who wish to hire. These circumstances are not always ideal for both parties, but they are a fact of the business and therefore it takes flexibility and compromise on both sides of the fence. I have in many cases not been able to privately hire aircraft from other providers due to a lack of availability, and I'm sure that most other pilots have had the same experience.
It remains to be seen how the new situation at CAC will 'pan out', but what I do know is that we should all wait and see how it works before jumping to the conclusion that it's all over.
Further to the above, I'd like to point out that all existing students of CAC, regardless of whether they have 1 hour or 100 hours will continue their training on 172s at exactly the same rate as they were paying for the 152s dual. Under these circumstances the changes represent a very good deal as they will be flying far better aircraft for the duration of their training, and without the need for further differences training should they wish to continue flying 172s when they have completed their courses. In addition, the CAC will be lowering the private hire rates for what are two very nice 172 aircraft.
Finally, the comments made by a previous poster regarding the downsizing of the CAC as being part of a move away from general aviation and into the realms of Cambridge City Airport are rather ill-conceived and poorly informed at best. The CAC is a limited company operating at Cambridge City Airport, and it's existence there goes back in time far enough to make it the oldest flying club in the UK. It's operations are in no way a reflection of other goings on at the Airport.
Hope that clarifies the situation.
W
There have been a number of posts following the letter sent to Cambridge Aero Club members regarding the fleet changes and the impact that it may or may not have on availability of aircraft for training and private hire. I have posted this message to try and clarify the situation and dispel some of the rumours and incorrect assumptions that have come to light.
The letter in question stated that the reason for replacing most of the 152s is one of practicality mainly regarding the increasing difficulty of operating the aircraft within POH weight and balance limitations. As you are aware, these aircraft are rather long in the tooth, and following several repaints and internal refits have become significantly heavier than their original manufactured dry weights. With a useful fuel load and two 'grown adults' onboard this more often than not renders the aircraft overweight and outside permissible limitations.
It is true that many operators suffer the same predicament, and some clearly choose to operate the aircraft under these circumstances using a certain amount of 'license' when it comes to interpreting the figures. However, I'm sure that you will agree when I say that the Cambridge Aero Club is a conscientious and professionally run organisation, and under these circumstances could no longer accept the situation as it was. After much deliberation and soul searching the final decision was always going to be inevitable. Obviously, the club has a number of crucial obligations to which it is bound, the most important of which are duty of care towards it's students, and to remain within the legal framework under which it must operate. In addition to this, it is incumbent on the PIC (the Instructor when dual) to ensure that the flight is carried out safely and legally, and failure to do so could have disastrous consequences both in terms of safety and legality.
The decision to exchange 4 152s for a fairly new 172SP was not taken lightly nor was it done on the spur of the moment. The club does not have the resources to maintain the fleet of 5 152s and purchase additional aircraft for instructing purposes, so the economics of the situation determined that something would have to go. The fact is that the fleet of 152s were terribly under utilised during the week, and while they are spending time on the ground they are not paying for their keep in terms of overheads. Remember, the CAC as well as all other flying schools is facing ever increasing levels of expense, and where the priority of the organisation is to provide high quality flight instruction and aircraft for private hire wherever possible, it must be able to do so whist remaining financially viable. It is true that the aircraft are more heavily utilised during weekends but this alone is not enough to maintain such a large fleet - half of which sat mainly idle during the rest of the week. therefore, the decision to exchange 152s for a 172 was not one to simply downsize the fleet, but was taken with the aim of compromise and to enable the Aero Club to survive and therefore continue to offer an efficient and professional service.
The priority of the CAC is to train students to pass the PPL skills test and to provide them with the background skills and knowledge to become good safe pilots, and this will continue to be the case. The Club is now better equipped to carry out this remit due to the fact that it has better and more capable aircraft. In addition, improved efficiency will enable the club to remain in service and be more competitive in the long run.
The question of availability is one which has not gone un-addressed, and it is certainly premature to assume that it will be a major issue at this early stage. The CAC's ability to accommodate it's existing students will not be affected, and every effort will be made to make aircraft available for private hire as has been the case to date. There is still (1) 152 available for PPL hire, and in most cases there will also be a very new and well equipped 172. It is worth pointing out here that this fleet is comparable to in size to that of most medium sized schools in the country - and these schools like the CAC have to do the best they can to fully utilise the aircraft and service the requirements of PPL holders who wish to hire. These circumstances are not always ideal for both parties, but they are a fact of the business and therefore it takes flexibility and compromise on both sides of the fence. I have in many cases not been able to privately hire aircraft from other providers due to a lack of availability, and I'm sure that most other pilots have had the same experience.
It remains to be seen how the new situation at CAC will 'pan out', but what I do know is that we should all wait and see how it works before jumping to the conclusion that it's all over.
Further to the above, I'd like to point out that all existing students of CAC, regardless of whether they have 1 hour or 100 hours will continue their training on 172s at exactly the same rate as they were paying for the 152s dual. Under these circumstances the changes represent a very good deal as they will be flying far better aircraft for the duration of their training, and without the need for further differences training should they wish to continue flying 172s when they have completed their courses. In addition, the CAC will be lowering the private hire rates for what are two very nice 172 aircraft.
Finally, the comments made by a previous poster regarding the downsizing of the CAC as being part of a move away from general aviation and into the realms of Cambridge City Airport are rather ill-conceived and poorly informed at best. The CAC is a limited company operating at Cambridge City Airport, and it's existence there goes back in time far enough to make it the oldest flying club in the UK. It's operations are in no way a reflection of other goings on at the Airport.
Hope that clarifies the situation.
W