Notwithstanding the politics of it all, here's my take on those options
- Shoreham - never been a logical location being on the border of the county it serves with only sea beyond, but really the only Sussex airfield anywhere near the centre of the region it currently serves. The weather impact of the South Downs has always made me wonder too.
- Redhill - too far north? Would it's then closeness to London may be creating a future requirement for taking one Met machine out after the Olympics are behind us.?
- Dunsfold - geographically, this looks to be the best location to serve Hampshire and Kent from. Why has it been sidelined?
BUT... How similar is the Sussex situation to Wiltshire? In Wiltshire they have a dilemma because the Police have a contract to serve the Wiltshire Ambulance until some date in 2014 or 2015 with big financial penalties if they don't. Does this scenario arise in Sussex too?
On the airframe hours comment, the Sussex machine is a mere babe with the CAA website showing it with 6656 hours at Dec09 when it was 10 years old. At the same date the world #1 high time aircraft in West Yorkshire had flown 11487 hours in one year less.
And dare I ask why the Sussex Police Explorer needs to do EMS work today when there are Explorers at Marden (Kent) and at Dunsfold (for Surrey and Sussex) dedicated to that task?