I was flying out of Shoreham last week and was charged a £30 circuit charge plus £17.50 landing fee all for a 28 day check. Is Shoreham the biggest rip off in GA in the UK?
If you fly to some unkept dump calling itself an airfield, pick up a few stones in your prop while taxiing, causing damage which (accumulated) costs 3 or 4 digits on the next prop overhaul, would that be called a rip-off?
I am not sticking up for Shoreham in particular but that is the choice we face in GA.
Shoreham is in very good condition, well maintained, and has excellent and most helpful and courteous ATC.
If you taxi into a pothole and smash the prop and have to have the engine stripped (say £15k-£20k) that's not so good either. I know renters don't need to worry about that but it does eventually translate into higher costs which have to be passed on.
Of course many will say a 400m grass strip is all they need, which is OK for the appropriate aircraft types, running mogas.