St. Helena Service
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Marco Is., FL
Posts: 75
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It was on Atlantic Star's facebook page but was removed. It's still on Rich Brown's page here: https://www.facebook.com/rich.brown.5437?fref=ufi&rc=p and a St. Helena page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/560571324116728/
Thanks for that info lolder, I hadn't thought to look there. Is the performance of a B 757 better than a B 737 therefore making it a superior aircraft to use serving the island?
There is no way a 737 is going in with those figures!
Recall operating the type to Mykinos in the 1980s when the runway was about 4,500 foot long there. There was no high pressure (bowser) fuel available there then so we had to land with enough fuel to get back to Athens for a tech (fuel) stop on the way back to UK so the landing weight at Mykinos was on max - good game!
Ah! the old Durassic! Yes, it probably would work. You could really FEEL those reversers - always assuming perfomance allows their 'use', of course for commercial work!
You really have to wonder who at the Department of Overseas development in London specified such a minimalist length runway in the middle of an ocean, and then what is in comparison a completely over-the-top sized terminal, given that there are airports with many times the prospective volumes here operating out of a couple of Portakabins.
Is the terminal actually the largest building on the island ?
Is the terminal actually the largest building on the island ?
Problem is, Firefly, reverser credit is not allowed for landing as far as I know, and can you guarantee a dry runway?
If the forecasts are not showing precipitation then reasonable to assume the runway will be dry on arrival? Also Perf rules include selection of alternate etc. You'd have to crunch the numbers with respect to diversion planning naturally.
We obviously have differing experiences of Met forecasts.
Firefly - I do actually understand the rules.
"The performance regulations with respect to landing distance at the destination" - these are where the problem may lie with the necessary div fuel. It may be that at St H some 'unique' routine alleviation would be required to allow committmal and excess weight to be burnt off/jettisoned where this is a problem. Brave stuff.
"The performance regulations with respect to landing distance at the destination" - these are where the problem may lie with the necessary div fuel. It may be that at St H some 'unique' routine alleviation would be required to allow committmal and excess weight to be burnt off/jettisoned where this is a problem. Brave stuff.
There is some more info about the 757 arriving on the sixth of March in the latest edition of the Saint Helena Independent 3rd March:
St Helena Independent 20170303 | The St Helena Independent
St Helena Independent 20170303 | The St Helena Independent
these are where the problem may lie with the necessary div fuel. It may be that at St H some 'unique' routine alleviation would be required to allow committmal and excess weight to be burnt off/jettisoned where this is a problem. Brave stuff.
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Marco Is., FL
Posts: 75
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The B 757 requires shorter runway lengths for equivalent payloads and flight lengths. The DFID did not specify the short runway length, it was the maximum they could build without huge additional costs. The killer was the certifying agency ASSI insisting on 300 meter RESAs reducing a 6397 ft. pavement to as little as 5036 ft. landing length. All flight planning to HLE will be with ICAO fuel reserves.
Report from the St. Helena Local about families and friends going out on a Sunday afternoon for nice meal and some plane spotting:
Sunday?s flight attracts a small crowd. * St Helena Island blog and forum,
Do you think it could catch on elsewhere?
Sunday?s flight attracts a small crowd. * St Helena Island blog and forum,
Do you think it could catch on elsewhere?
From today's St. Helena Independent:
Not a lot happening at the minute!
Tender Process
On 7 December 2016, St Helena Government released a Re-
quest for Proposals to provide scheduled air services to St
Helena over a three year period. The
closing date for receipt of bids was 6 February 2017.
It is hoped to announce the preferred bidder in early summer
2017 (May/June on St Helena). Commencement of air serv-
ices will follow once the regulatory permissions are granted
and the necessary practical arrangements are in place.
General Lines
St Helena Airport has been granted an aerodrome certificate
by Air Safety Support International and is open and opera-
tional. Whilst it has not yet been possible to commence regu-
lar scheduled commercial air services to the Island, opera-
tions at St Helena Airport are underway and consist primarily
of one-off charter flights and vital medevac flights.
Work continues to understand better the conditions at St Helena
Airport, including the challenges of windshear. We are confi-
dent the body of knowledge being developed will be of signifi-
cant value to potential operators.
The Governor continues to chair weekly meetings of her senior
technical and planning staff in order to manage the issues,
liaise with DFID, make decisions, ensure the public are prop-
erly informed in a timely manner, and push forward all areas of
work. These meetings began as soon as the issue of windshear
became apparent and they continue. Councillors are repre-
sented at these meetings.
Enterprise St Helena, the Bank of St Helena and SHG’s Busi-
ness Support Initiative continues to offer financial and techni-
cal assistance to tourism-related businesses that might find it
challenging to operate given the delays to scheduled air serv-
ices. The Business Support Initiative is a relatively new ven-
ture, launched in September 2016.
DFID has established a Quality Assurance Panel for the St
Helena Airport Project, made up of highly qualified external
experts, whose role it is to provide external validation of any
technical decisions being proposed for the Project. The QA
Panel has reviewed the outcomes from a number of success-
ful tests flights, provided advice on the most appropriate air-
craft and flight procedures for the “prevailing conditions and
assessed extensive wind data reports (collected to the
end December 2016).
The Airport Project has also been reviewed eleven times since
2003 by theInfrastructure Projects Authority (IPA). The IPA is
the UK government’s centre ofexpertise for infrastructure and
major projects, reporting to the Cabinet Office and HM Treas-
ury. Meanwhile, medevac flights and charter aircraft continue
to operate at St Helena Airport, and the RMS extension is
providing certainty of access for St Helenians.
Comair
The agreement with Comair for the provision of a scheduled air
service to St Helena is still in place, albeit in a temporarily
suspended state whilst a more permanent, reliable solution
for the Island is considered.
Comair remain very much engaged with SHG on air service
provision issues.
SHG
24 March 2017
ST HELENA AIRPORT - Update
On 7 December 2016, St Helena Government released a Re-
quest for Proposals to provide scheduled air services to St
Helena over a three year period. The
closing date for receipt of bids was 6 February 2017.
It is hoped to announce the preferred bidder in early summer
2017 (May/June on St Helena). Commencement of air serv-
ices will follow once the regulatory permissions are granted
and the necessary practical arrangements are in place.
General Lines
St Helena Airport has been granted an aerodrome certificate
by Air Safety Support International and is open and opera-
tional. Whilst it has not yet been possible to commence regu-
lar scheduled commercial air services to the Island, opera-
tions at St Helena Airport are underway and consist primarily
of one-off charter flights and vital medevac flights.
Work continues to understand better the conditions at St Helena
Airport, including the challenges of windshear. We are confi-
dent the body of knowledge being developed will be of signifi-
cant value to potential operators.
The Governor continues to chair weekly meetings of her senior
technical and planning staff in order to manage the issues,
liaise with DFID, make decisions, ensure the public are prop-
erly informed in a timely manner, and push forward all areas of
work. These meetings began as soon as the issue of windshear
became apparent and they continue. Councillors are repre-
sented at these meetings.
Enterprise St Helena, the Bank of St Helena and SHG’s Busi-
ness Support Initiative continues to offer financial and techni-
cal assistance to tourism-related businesses that might find it
challenging to operate given the delays to scheduled air serv-
ices. The Business Support Initiative is a relatively new ven-
ture, launched in September 2016.
DFID has established a Quality Assurance Panel for the St
Helena Airport Project, made up of highly qualified external
experts, whose role it is to provide external validation of any
technical decisions being proposed for the Project. The QA
Panel has reviewed the outcomes from a number of success-
ful tests flights, provided advice on the most appropriate air-
craft and flight procedures for the “prevailing conditions and
assessed extensive wind data reports (collected to the
end December 2016).
The Airport Project has also been reviewed eleven times since
2003 by theInfrastructure Projects Authority (IPA). The IPA is
the UK government’s centre ofexpertise for infrastructure and
major projects, reporting to the Cabinet Office and HM Treas-
ury. Meanwhile, medevac flights and charter aircraft continue
to operate at St Helena Airport, and the RMS extension is
providing certainty of access for St Helenians.
Comair
The agreement with Comair for the provision of a scheduled air
service to St Helena is still in place, albeit in a temporarily
suspended state whilst a more permanent, reliable solution
for the Island is considered.
Comair remain very much engaged with SHG on air service
provision issues.
SHG
24 March 2017
ST HELENA AIRPORT - Update
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Marco Is., FL
Posts: 75
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RMS St. Helena passenger/cargo supply ship for St. Helena left dry dock in Simon's Town S.A. after prop rpm control rod problem. The repair was unsuccessful. Ships sailing delayed at Cape Town and may have to go back into dry dock. Still no contract for air service. Nearest alternate for St. Helena at Ascension ASI is experiencing runway repair problems causing periodic closures and gross weight restrictions of large aircraft A-330 and DC 10s.
Sadly it looks like more bad news:
For more info see: http://whatthesaintsdidnext.com/2017...ion-nightmare/
NOTHING SPLENDID ABOUT THIS ISOLATION | Darrin Henry
Today, one year on from the Comair landing of 2016, the St Helena Airport ‘fiasco’ continues.
SHG officials and DfID have tried to conceal that “there will be some slight delay” in the new tender process currently underway to select an air service provider for St Helena. The evaluation period of three months to choose a ‘preferred bidder’ could possibly take up to five instead.
This comes at a time when the RMS St Helena has broken down, Ascension Island runway has cracks and knocking down King & Queen Rock is being discussed.
The Problem With Early Summer
There is a delay in the air service tender.
St Helena Government (SHG) officials and the British Government’s, Department for International Development (DfID) attempted to hide a delay in the announcement of a ‘preferred bidder’ by quietly discarding reference to the published 28 April 2017 deadline, replacing it with the more broader language of “early summer”.
News that the tender is now delayed, by any period of time, will add to the overall sense of frustration felt by islanders.
To recap, this was the original timeline the new air service tender was supposed to follow:
6 February, 2017 – Bid submission deadline. SHG said it was “encouraged by the response.”
28 April, 2017 – Announcement of preferred bidder due.
31 May, 2017 – Signed, minimum three year contract with chosen air service provider due.
Commencement of scheduled air service then widely expected to begin sometime before the end of 2017.
All seemed on track until 24 March, 2017, when SHG posted an airport update on their website which included this statement:
"It is hoped to announce the preferred bidder in early summer 2017."
Having previously promoted the original timeline on our blog as ‘things we knew for sure,’ I was concerned.
I’ve since made six written requests to SHG for clarification on whether the 28 April, ‘preferred bidder’ announcement date still stands. The replies have all avoided confirming or denying the fact.
However, the situation was confirmed by Executive Councillor, Derek Thomas, who sits on the weekly Access Board.
“Yes, there has been some slippage in the process, I have to tell you, I’m aware of that, so there will be some deviation from the original dates,” said Mr Thomas. “There will be some slight delay.”
I looked up the term ‘early summer’ as it applies to UK. It seems this could stretch into the second half of June, in which case this could then push the signed contract to the end of July. Potentially the tender process could be delayed by two months, based on current language.
So, we have a delay. Big deal, some might say.
Sure, but why not just be up front and say so, then? A delay is not such an unreasonable probability, but the sneaky handling after everything that’s gone before, is cause for concern.
It’s difficult not to doubt supposed experts who incomprehensibly failed to adequately consider wind shear when building an airport on top of a 1,000 foot cliff.
It’s not just an island thing either. In November 2016 the UK, House of Commons, Public Accounts Committee panel referred to the project as a ‘fiasco,’ concluding, “Thus far, the Department (DfID) has unquestionably failed the residents of St Helena and the British taxpayer.”
Attempts to hoodwink the public with this latest delay underlines the worrying detachment of those in charge, from the impact this ‘fiasco’ is having on the lives of Saints and everyone affected.
Today, one year on from the Comair landing of 2016, the St Helena Airport ‘fiasco’ continues.
SHG officials and DfID have tried to conceal that “there will be some slight delay” in the new tender process currently underway to select an air service provider for St Helena. The evaluation period of three months to choose a ‘preferred bidder’ could possibly take up to five instead.
This comes at a time when the RMS St Helena has broken down, Ascension Island runway has cracks and knocking down King & Queen Rock is being discussed.
The Problem With Early Summer
There is a delay in the air service tender.
St Helena Government (SHG) officials and the British Government’s, Department for International Development (DfID) attempted to hide a delay in the announcement of a ‘preferred bidder’ by quietly discarding reference to the published 28 April 2017 deadline, replacing it with the more broader language of “early summer”.
News that the tender is now delayed, by any period of time, will add to the overall sense of frustration felt by islanders.
To recap, this was the original timeline the new air service tender was supposed to follow:
6 February, 2017 – Bid submission deadline. SHG said it was “encouraged by the response.”
28 April, 2017 – Announcement of preferred bidder due.
31 May, 2017 – Signed, minimum three year contract with chosen air service provider due.
Commencement of scheduled air service then widely expected to begin sometime before the end of 2017.
All seemed on track until 24 March, 2017, when SHG posted an airport update on their website which included this statement:
"It is hoped to announce the preferred bidder in early summer 2017."
Having previously promoted the original timeline on our blog as ‘things we knew for sure,’ I was concerned.
I’ve since made six written requests to SHG for clarification on whether the 28 April, ‘preferred bidder’ announcement date still stands. The replies have all avoided confirming or denying the fact.
However, the situation was confirmed by Executive Councillor, Derek Thomas, who sits on the weekly Access Board.
“Yes, there has been some slippage in the process, I have to tell you, I’m aware of that, so there will be some deviation from the original dates,” said Mr Thomas. “There will be some slight delay.”
I looked up the term ‘early summer’ as it applies to UK. It seems this could stretch into the second half of June, in which case this could then push the signed contract to the end of July. Potentially the tender process could be delayed by two months, based on current language.
So, we have a delay. Big deal, some might say.
Sure, but why not just be up front and say so, then? A delay is not such an unreasonable probability, but the sneaky handling after everything that’s gone before, is cause for concern.
It’s difficult not to doubt supposed experts who incomprehensibly failed to adequately consider wind shear when building an airport on top of a 1,000 foot cliff.
It’s not just an island thing either. In November 2016 the UK, House of Commons, Public Accounts Committee panel referred to the project as a ‘fiasco,’ concluding, “Thus far, the Department (DfID) has unquestionably failed the residents of St Helena and the British taxpayer.”
Attempts to hoodwink the public with this latest delay underlines the worrying detachment of those in charge, from the impact this ‘fiasco’ is having on the lives of Saints and everyone affected.