What a sad state.
I learned to fly at Newcastle, and was impressed by the quality of instruction from Messrs Lister (K & J), Bennett and Corlett, and others. Then I wanted to develop my flying and there was nothing to fly other than relatively tired PA28s. So a friend and I stuck our heads above the parapet, got elected to the committee and tried to get a touring plane to see whether people would stay in the club to tour rather than going off into private groups. maybe the TB-10 was a dog, maybe it wasn't, but all we got for it was grief and hate mail. I kid you not, I got obscene mail through the post to my home address for having implemented what was a committee decision.
Then it was decided the TB-9 should be put up for sale. It was flying more hours than the Duchess, but while this made the TB-9 uneconomic, it was argued that the same number of hours didn't make the Duchess uneconomic. Odd, I thought. Except that there were those who wanted to turn the club into a CPL/IR training establishment. A grand and genuine idea, but not a serious business proposition - ever. With one tired Duchess with a Janitrol heater that cut out, doors that leaked, and a grotty teaching area, we could never have competed with Multiflight.
So the TB-9 was sold for a song; and with the VAT refund the club bought a brand new PA28. Why? Half the price would have bought a 2,000 hour machine with a new engine.
And, month for month the TB-10 flew more hours than the Duchess, but this did not establish the case for a touring plane for those tired of renting stuff with instruments that may or may not have worked from day to day, and pootled along at 95kts.
The achievements I am proud of while on the committee? Getting a decent radio fit into G-BUIF. And proving that a touring aeroplane was commercially viable, even if the committee didn't feel able to continue having one at that time (no, no THAT one I grant you, but it proved a point.)
Whatever the whys and wherefores of the the Arrow, I flew it a bit and until it went U/S it was a damned good little plane, and one I would have flown a lot more.
The final straw for me was having a plane booked 2 months in advance for three days away, and being bumped the day beforehand because 6 of the 7 planes were u/s; and someone else had been wrongly booked in the column before me.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, so I called Cleveland Flying School, newly bought by Northern Aviation. And yes, I could have a plane at 24 hours notice, for 3 days. Was it alright that it was only a C152? Well, it was one just refurbished by Marshall's, looked great and everything worked. Check out - yes we'll arrange one for you. What more could I want?
Living half way in between EGNT and EGNV it was a no brainer. My membership at Newcastle has almost lapsed, and I have been flying at Teesside for a year and a bit now. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff there, the planes are refuelled before you go, they are clean, the instruments work, they are even pulled out of the hangar for you if you want to leave early.
Poor old Newcastle Aero Club has, IMHO, lost the internal battle it has been flighting with itself for years. Some people simply couldn't face the fact that the gentlemen's club which had existed there into the 70s and 80s was dead, that people don't go to airport clubs to eat average food any more, yet despite this money was poured into facilities in the clubhouse. In the meantime, no one could grasp the nettle and run the flying side as a business. To this day I don't know why - the reasons could range from innocent inability to communicate and organise, a lack of time for those on the committee, through to far worse. I do think that the club wasted thousands of pounds of unnecessary legal actions.
When member operated clubs work well, they are fantastic - look at Sherburn for example, and the gliding clubs mentioned in an earlier post. When they start killing each other it's only a matter of time. And it seems that time has come.
And lastly, Mr Parkin's salary in the year to 31/12/03 was, according to companies house, £290,000.
The airport wages bill in that year was down from just under 16 million to just over 14 million, turnover up by 1 million to 40 million, and profit after tax up from 7.8M to 11.5M
In the face of those figures I don't think Mr Parkin need worry about GA too much. I suspect we are a distraction from his core business; he needs to let Samson carry on since they keep business aviation away from his precious stands on the north side and if he closed that he would face the wrath of the ERG at the CAA. But he can claim he is making provision for GA through Samson, and that's all he needs to do.
Any chance Eshott could get a licence? Come on Storm, could you do that?
Last edited by dde0apb; 2nd Dec 2004 at 23:14.