Originally Posted by
Fortissimo
Leeming staying open was indeed a close call. I remember the papers and also recall pointing out to the VSO who would make the decision that the runway was one of the very few in the UK that pointed N-S and that its proximity to LFA 17 meant it had already saved many damaged or otherwise sick aircraft that would not have made it as far as another airfield.
Linton had a cable for a while (85 or 86, I think), while Leeming was being resurfaced for the F3. I ended up writing a decision-making flow chart to guide the duty staff through managing a cable engagement - the execs were all non-FJ and hadn't realised the runway would be unavailable (BLACK) for the period between rigging/supporting and clearing the aircraft from the cable, so possibly 15-30 mins, during which time they would have to deal with all the aircraft now running out of fuel, including solo students (divert or hold?). The JP wasn't cleared to trample cables at speed.
I saw an F3 (I think) take the cable at Linton one day. Not sure if it was real or a practise to test the newly installed rig but it was quite spectacular to see. I think the idea was for any stude JPs to bolt for Fenton or Dishforth pronto with the option for the short runway if an Instructor?