Another interesting caveat, this year at least, was that the landing had to be paid in advance. Fair enough, but 'what if we can't come due to weather' i asked. 'You'll get a 50% refund' was the answer. I queried this but was told that was standard and they wouldn't budge. So we have people overloading their 4 seat single due to the extortionate landing fee ( and I saw at least one small 4 seater off loading 4 large blokes), and then perhaps tempted to push on through poor weather as they will be 'fined' £100 for making a sound weather decision.
So we have people overloading their 4 seat single due to the extortionate landing fee ( and I saw at least one small 4 seater off loading 4 large blokes), and then perhaps tempted to push on through poor weather as they will be 'fined' £100 for making a sound weather decision.
They are overloading because they are irresponsible. Nobody is forcing them to overload, and if they do they are negligent. Likewise if they don't make sound weather decisons. Goodwood cannot be held responsible to other peoples decisions. Goodwood set their price, its their airfield and are reacting to demand in a free market economy. I bet people still used Goodwood and will continue to use it.
I cant understand the landing fee pricing at the GFoS, i fly a PA-30 and they want £440 pounds... Obviously being a twin i understand it'll be slightly more... the thing that really angers me is the fact that larger/heavier twins, be that the Cessna 310, 401, 402, 421, senecas, seminoles and cheyennes and even the odd turboprops are cheaper by a good margin....
If you are getting your pricing from the Gwd website, that tariff list is for the 2011 event calculated at £55 per seat (nb not per p-o-b.) and contains a number of anomalies ... such as the PA30 which seems to have stretched to 8-seats ie £440, and nothing to do with it being a twin.
I suggest a call to Goodwood Airfield Admin on 01243 755 087 to clarify the 2012 event landing fee charge for your specific aircraft based on the number of seats (again: not p-o-b!). From hearsay I believe it may be £67.50 per seat ....
cheers, £67.50 per head seems a lot more reasonable considerng the standard ticket price. i did try and call them this weekend to no avail although i shall try again tomorrow. I'd much rather fly in considering how long some of the traffic jams are.
As far as I can make out the prices are similar to last year. £55 per seat landing fee which doesn't include the admission ticket price which for an adult is also £55!! I went last year using the Flyer voucher (worked out at £75 each). Fabulous Day. Sunshine all day, cars, planes, motorbikes etc. No queues to enter or leave. I filled all four seats and had a wonderful day. The flyer voucher took the sting out of it by saving us £35 each! Would I recommend it if the price was £110 each and the weather was raining? That's a difficult one and possibly no.
That is a good wheeze!- charge a/craft to come in and then charge punters to look at them!
dick turpin's spirit lives on.
Market forces are one thing, usurious exploitation is another.you won't see me there....likewise BGP at Silverstone All the new stands at good vantage-points meant that the common herd missed out....cost to enjoyment ratio fell out of my range...stopped going.
I can understand what they're doing and why. I won't fly in.
I well remember my first and only visit by air which was, I think in '58 or '59, with a fellow DH apprentice who had a licence and flew from Panshangar. We went to the Whitsun race meeting in a Tiger (Moth) not Grumman!
Straight across the middle of London, a circuit of the Crystal Palace TV mast and onwards to Goodwood. No landing fee, no entrance fee, walked straight into the paddock and watched the racing from the "members" enclosure! Had our picnic and after tea flew home.
I've never flown to Goodwood and have zero intention of ever doing so.
At these rates you can fly to Shoreham (a far better airport with a decent runway and decent facilities) and get a (massively overpriced, as usual) taxi to Goodwood
I can't understand why people will pay so much to land on what can only be described as a field with a cafe to one side, but people are exactly that stupid. If no one flew in there then they wouldn't be able to charge anything. Much like their "free Mondays".
I've not come across a more expensive grass field.
Had a petrolhead mate who went to the Goodwood Festival Of Greed a couple of years back (not by air it has to be said), said it was brilliant fun but horrendously expensive.
Supply and Demand never justifies anything. A shafting is a shafting regardless. I suppose asset-stripping is a great British tradition. Keeps profits up and the riff-raff out I suppose, after all we can't have them there can we.
Interestingly for comparison there was a great classic car show in Inverness town centre a while back; totally free to watch and a great atmosphere. There again, run on different principles by different people. For 200-odd quid to land a PA28, without any tickets, thou canst kiss thy Glutus Maximus.
The North West equivalent CPOP is fantastic, and last 2 years when I atended it was FREE to land, and FREE entry for all aircraft occupants to the highest ticket-price version.
A really great event, well worth the time to visit (I flew up from Redhill for the day to attend). The only problem for most of you guys will be the need to gain a Helicopter Pilot qualification because there is no strip........ but....
Here's a thought, why not suggest to the organisers that next year they dedicate a field to the arrival / departure of lass able airframes?
Sorry to add to, what has turned out to be, bit of a 'Goodwood Bashing' thread, but I did enquire last Summer about joining the Aero Club down there, partly to support the aerodrome and partly to secure some discount on their landing fees.
The annual subscription of £150 seemed expensive but tolerable.The joining fee however is a further £100. Ouch!!
Was it Graucho Marx who said he wouldn't want to join a club that would accept someone like him as a member?
