ISC is too short for loaded Do228NG's, Do228NG's need around an 800m runway.

Either Islander's or Twotter's or some of these:

Products - Griffon Hoverwork

I am however surprised that Flybe hasnt tried to add a codeshare onto the existing NQY-IOS routes or that they havnt tried to get in on the route maybe by way of Loganair ex NQY allowing onward connections ex LGW, EDI and MAN through NQY

cs

It is not just the heliport they are protesting about. The ultimate plan for St.Erth international parkway (railway in joke in these parts) is for a monster pnr as part of the heliport with punters encouraged to abandon their cars and use the chuffer for St.Ives and PNZ.

The link to the Scillies isn't that heavily promoted off the train, I wonder if that will change?

A codeshare would be nice; it's the lack of a through booking that has always put me off from flying into NQY and then onto St Marys. However Skybus charge very high fares which are essentially flexible so probably makes little difference on the outbound journey- different matter on the return.

As for fixed wing, as others have said, St Marys airfield is too small for most operators. When BA ran Brymon they did explore extending the runway at St Marys but this was rejected (rightly so in my opinion) as being too invasive.

More importantly, fixed wing doesn't deal with the very wealthy clientele who use Tresco. The island is now virtually all timeshares, so a predictable number of people travelling on a regular basis. There are regularly 4 and even 5 flights a day for a large part of the year, although this drops to 2 a day in winter. My experience is that these flights are nearly always full and make a significant contribution to BIH overheads which, if lost, would make this apparently loss-making route something that would be ripe for complete closure.

The problem, moreso, with fixed wing is when the Scillies gets fog.

Fog clears by the sun breaking through, warming the land, and the heat from the land clearing the fog. The trouble with the Scillies is that there's so little land that, by perhaps lunchtime, they might have just achieved perhaps 1500M visibility but the, fixed wing, approaches are still clagged up thus missed approaches, diversions, are moreso than at regular airfields.

I doubt because of their small land area that the Scillies would ever get radiation fog, which is cleared by sun radiation or stronger wind, the fog that the Scillies suffer is basically low cloud in warm sector conditions that cling to the higher ground, the same problem that Lands End airport suffers. No amount of sun or stronger winds will disperse this, only a drier airmass.
A lot of Islands suffer the same problem, all the Channel Islands for instance...

Welkyboy,

Q: Have you ever worked in the Ops Department of a DHC6 operator operating ISC routes such as BRS, EXT, PLH & NQY?

A: I have and I know the operational problems associated with ISC operations!

Yep, been stuck on ISC for 3 days waiting for the fog to clear..... Not low cloud on high ground.... Fog, stuff that sticks thick to the sea and envelopes the whole Island. Quick to form, quick to clear, it's just the bit in between that can take a while.... Sometimes in a 30 knot wind too! Good place to be stuck though! :-) I was LND based.

Will BIH be able to build a new heliport at St Erth? There is lots of local opposition and you name the last airport/heliport to be built in the UK, it must have been back in the sixties??
Brings me back to my original point, despite all of the valid arguments above, will BIH not have to go fixed wing from Newquay if they want to continue operating this route if they dont get St Erth?

Local opposition - BBC News - Cornwall heliport 'noise pollution' challenged

Sheffield City Airport, London City Airport, to name but two weren't built back in the sixties!

It would appear that St Erth is a non starter and BIH have officially dropped the plan, shame. Let's hope they find an alternative soon.

BBC news is suggesting a temp move to NQY with the idea to buy some time to look at a new site.

I cant see NQY being viable for long as very poor rail conenctions into NQY, they will either need to move close to a mainline railway station or sort out some sort of codeshare with BE to feed the service ex NQY

cs

DSA is more recycled than new, but very much a 21st century arrival as a commercial entity.

I imagine that BIH will only ever lease a site, not buy it, otherwise it defeats the move out of PZE and releasing the capital value of the site to buy new machines for the North Sea and other operations.

Newquay from around April onwards on a Temporary Basis until a New Site is found, that"s what we told last Shift.

NQY will be useful if connecting to the islands by air, and it's not too far from the A30 for people driving into Cornwall, but by train will be hopeless (very slow and sporadic service on the branch from Par) compared to the current location at the end of the Great Western.

Current return fare for the approx forty miles each way trip to Scilly is £179. How much will they need to charge if they operate from Newquay and in peak summer will there be sufficient time to operate the numerous trips the S-61s make at that time fo the year ?

Non Emmett hit the nail on the head. What will BIH have to charge from Newquay, the current flight time from Penzance is 20 mins, NQY-ISC in an S61 must be 45 mins, over double the time, would this mean double the ticket price?
Takes me back to my origonal question, if rotary is too expensive then why not try fixed wing from NQY-ISC with maybe a shuttle from St Marys to Tresco with the rotary??????

I don't think Brintel would be interested in going into fixed wing - especially not in competition with Skybus. They will have to find a new site which is closer to Land's End but near the railway.

Isles of Scilly fear costly transport links will hurt economy and tourism
 

Isles of Scilly fear costly transport links will hurt economy and tourism | UK news | The Guardian

Brymon MK2 can ferry the locals to and fro in a dash 7 if they extend 14/32 a little bit! :E