The lights are called "touchdown markers". I only know this because an Aer Lingus crew once asked the tower over the RT as they taxied in what they were called ... !
LCY requires special pilot training too, I believe you have to have made a certain number of approaches before you can be in the LH seat, and for most operators it's a captain-only landing. When a new operator starts here they always turn up a few days beforehand and do a day of circuits, I believe with an instructor they have to get from one of the established opeartors.
Canx and diversions not too bad. Autumn fogs in the early morning hanging along the Thames (just like at the start of Dickens' "Great Expectations", which of course took place not too far from here !) can wreck the morning parade. And in stormy crosswinds there are a fair number of go-arounds which I hear powering over my house. Also trying to squeeze every movement in during the morning peak could cause go-arounds due to the long backtrack for 28 and radar releases not coming through when expected, but the new eastern holds completed this year should fix that.
Original credit goes to, of all people, the old Brymon Airways who had Dash-7s in their fleet and put one down for show not here but on Canary Wharf, even nearer to London and right where the big office tower is now. It had all been cleared for redevelopment. Just think what a difference if that had gone ahead - no Canary Wharf offices. And they could never have got 146s in there. Contractor Mowlem put up the money, LCY was built, and for years ticked along losing Mowlem money. Ironically as soon as they bit the bullet and finally sold it, traffic skyrocketed. It seems to have fallen back a bit in recent years, which I attribute to people in North-East London, for whom LCY was the most convenient airport, now being able to get easily to the much expanded services at Stansted, but the new business jet centre has made a lot of difference (some mornings up to 10 aircraft in there) and the improvements to the taxiways have increased the runway rate. LCY's problem has always been too many movements around 08.30 and 18.00 (when you got a lot of holding over Kent) and not a lot during the day. And airlines operating in from outstations do fine, but being based here never seems to work.
No one's ever gone off the runway yet, I believe. There were arrestor pits either end of the runway until recently but last year they were concreted over.
I paxed up to Edinburgh and back last week from there. The famous 60 seconds from walking down the aircraft steps to getting in a taxi is still there !
Last edited by WHBM; 23rd May 2004 at 09:14.