No worries ozexpat
Gee ozzy no sweat!! This is an airport for two flights per week or one per day. Not even as busy as Norfolk!! If you look at a topo or talk to Shelco/CAA they'll explain better than I can that N->S there is only 1700metres economically and ecologically okay land that will accommodate a 3 degree glideslope. So 1700m less 300m RESA is 1400m LDA. But trade winds being trade winds and the island being where it is Auty's Law gives you a fine ESE prospect and 2200 metres in which to construct a take-off runway; if you fancy a 9 degree glideslope, mist and turbulence then you can land on it too! Careful about aircraft fuel... the 180-mins is essential because it is an island with no suitable diversionary (ASI is 800nm away) but a wetahre corrected range circle based on a 2000nm still-air geodesic of 2000nm takes in Rio, Recife, Sal and Cape Town. With a love puff it takes in Durban.
It wont be class G airspace it has to be 180mins ETOPs despite FHAW/ASI being 800nms away as I say. But having said that as you know Norfolk is non-controlled, no ILS, an uncommissioned SLS2000, an MBZ, 1950 metres ASDA 60 metres RESA (not even 90), the runway ends are pitched up on ramparts, the hospital can't do major trauma, there is no morgue, there are three 40 year old fire engines. Now that is a nightmare.
Back to fuel. A B737 (especially a BBJ) has heaps and heaps and heaps of fuel. A straight 737-800 won't break sweat at 124 pax and 1700nm to Cape Town, nor will an A319... (BRW for these from STH would be 70.5 tonnes off 1850 metres, RESA extra). The B737/A319 with 124 pax and a 2hr island reserve can fly from Recife/Sal Amilcar/Rio/Capetown. Coming and going a A319CJ has range with 50 pax for Orly and a BBJ similar has range for Stansted and Fort Lauderdale KFLL. Young kids and backpackers are not going to be coming for the sun, sun, sun and the business hoteliers planning things have estimated 250 pax per week is a fair go. San Antray this airport is not going to be.
There will be a 300m RESA and two aircraft a week so it isn't ah-tall a nightmare. Talking of RESA 240 metres is enough but BALPA want 300 so 300 it is. (ICAO base their 240 metres on stopping from 90 knots at the REIL with a deceleration of 13ft/sec/sec).
What is a nightmare is having people die there on St Helena for want of surgery because a ship is nowhere near. People always think an airport is for access IN (at least tourists think that way); Islanders look at it for access OUT as well as in.
And no you cannot, absolutely cannot land on the long runway. It is there at 2200 metres (or will be) with 300 metres of RESA purely for take-off straight into the eye of 15 knots trade wind. You cannot land on a westerly approach without becoming a statistic of CFIT. So how do you land?? With a modest crosswind you can enjoy 1700 metres landing of which 300 metres is RESA and believe me 1400 metres is enough for all B737 and A319.
We've been through all this since 1986, the twin runway Vee-shape is Okay with Ove Arup (airfield specialists), Boeing, Airbus, ASSI, CAA and with 300m RESA, Cat 7 fire cover and a decent navaid it will be fine with me.
What is critical is a good landing system and GPS as it stands at hesitant Cat1 just is not it. SCAT-1 was supposed to be on NLK in 1998, then 1999, then 2000, then 2002 and now it is 2004 and it is still a pile of brushed satin poo in a brick outhouse. That navaid couldn't find a skimpy in a Kalgoorlie bar on Saturday night. There is over 200dB of space loss twixt a satellite and your VDU, in L-Band and the receiver/antenna gain has to make this up and receive the broadcast DGPS datastream either or both of which can be suffering precipitation loss, and not degrade below certain "stringent" standards. Sheesh!! And one of those standards is an unsatisfactory bit error rate up to two minutes. Two minutes! At 150kts that is 5nm. Sorry, in my book any landing system that can have that long an outage of precision and may be 30 metres in error for that period is not precision.
The manufacturers say they have xx systems installed. Yeah. Installed in brick huts but how many are actually commissioned and working and how many are Cat 3 capable? Norfolk is a prize example... installed yes, working no and the wrangle goes on.
At this rate we'll just get it built and the oil will run out!