Luton TWR

[jack-oh]

This isn't as sad as it sounds; can anyone tell me how much (and from what company) the TWR at Luton cost. We are currently looking into requirements for a new build, no one at Heathrow need reply as we do not have the national debt of Peru to spend.

cheers

[Gonzo]

Building only or equipment and integration too?

[SoftTop]

Have you tried speaking to the lads at HIAL? The Inverness tower ain't too flash but it's very functional and they all seem very happy with it.

I noticed the Elgin location .....

ST

[LTNman]

1. The tower is 48 meters,(157ft) tall
2. The tower shaft is thirteen storeys high
3. There are 225 steps to the top.
4 Each pane of glass in the control room weighs half a tonne.
5. The glass is 25mm,(1 inch) thick and contains a heating element embedded
into the glass to maintain visibility.
6. The tower cost £2,300,000 with the glass costing £78,000
7. The foundations consist of 16 piles up to a depth of 17.5 meters,
(57ft).
8. 130 cubic meters of concrete was used in the foundations with a further
200 cubic meters of concrete used to construct the tower
9. The swept neck below the control room contains storage for 67,000 litres
of water used by the terminal.
10. The control tower can accommodate 4 controllers and two assistants.
11. The tower is now around 10 years old.
12. Aer Rianta acted as Project Managers

[Lost_luggage34]

What's LHR got to do with it ? Are they getting a new Tower ?

Puzzled.

[jack-oh]

LTNman thankyou for those facts and figures. I ask because we are going through the requirements for a new build and have come across a stumbling block. The best position for the TWR is in the middle of the airfield, you can see all the bits you need and the VCR doesn't have to be too high. However, getting to it becomes a problem, especially as you would need to cross taxiways and dispersals. Not to difficult if you are a familliar ATCO but when you consider the amount of visitors for briefs and contractors etc, it becomes more of a problem. The solution, build it with a conection to an existing road. Problem is that to do this the TWR now needs to be a lot taller to see over existing hangars etc. I just asked about Luton as it appears to be one of the tallest. We have spoken to HIAL but our situations are alot different as the TWR has to accomodate radar as well as MET and ground radio. I have heard that Heathrow is having a new TWR built but the cost is going in the same direction as the new scottish parliment building.

[LTNman]

Brave men and not so brave men wearing extra large nappies went up in a very big cherry picker to check out the view before the tower was built to make sure it was going to be tall enough.

The control tower was once the tallest in the UK.

[Jerricho]

What's LHR got to do with it ? Are they getting a new Tower ?

Yes.

[vintage ATCO]

Brave men and not so brave men wearing extra large nappies went up in a very big cherry picker to check out the view before the tower was built to make sure it was going to be tall enough.

That was me, well, the former. I went up in the hydraulic platform one December day in 1992 and took the photos that were on the boardroom wall for many years. :D

[LTNman]

That was me, well, the former. I went up in the hydraulic platform one December day in 1992 and took the photos that were on the boardroom wall for many years.

If you still have them you should post a copy on the net so we can all see how much the airport has changed in 12 years.

[spekesoftly]

jack-oh,

Bristol Airport completed a new ATC facility in 2001, I believe the cost was about £3.5m. You may also know that, in addition to Luton, new towers have been built in the recent past at Stansted, EMA, Liverpool and Farnborough, and Edinburgh's is under construction.

Just to confirm your comment, Heathrow's new 87 metre control tower, due for completion in 2006, is projected to cost £50m.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

<<Just to confirm your comment, Heathrow's new 87 metre control tower, due for completion in 2006, is projected to cost £50m.>>

And the previous one has lasted from 1st April 1955, which can't be bad!

[dannyo]

And the previous one has lasted from 1st April 1955, which can't be bad!

How on earth do you manage to get all the reqd bodies into the tower at LHR?

[Jerricho]

How on earth do you manage to get all the reqd bodies into the tower at LHR?

You ensure that Point 7 leaves his ego in the car park!:p

[SoftTop]

Jack-oh,

to get back on topic a wee bit, if it's not a state secret, which airfield are you hoping to "improve"?

The new Edinburgh one looks like one of Dyson's vortex generators.

The Heathrow effort will be more like a box on a stick with a few guy ropes holding it up. Nose-bleed territory! I hear that it's going to have an "active damping" system to stop the boys and girls getting motion sick in the breeze! It'll be a bit of a walk from the car park too. Progress I suppose.

ST

[Gonzo]

Jer, lets get the digs in now, while Point Seven moves house and cannot get internet!

Our new tower was designed by those responsible for the Millennium Bridge in London.....you know, the one that wobbled too much! :uhoh:

[jack-oh]

Soft top, I don't think it is a state secret; it’s Lossiemouth. The present TWR was built in the 1940s and is now crumbling. There is not enough space the loos stink and you cant see all the RWYs from the VCR. The stairs leading to the VCR have been condemned by the H&S executive and all the ACR is very cramped with all the new radar equipment in it. The TWR was supposed to be replaced in 1998 but funding was cut. There now appears to be money in the pot and the build date is set for 2006. The MOD now runs on a smart procurement basis, in which we define requirement and then the contract is put out to tender. This means we are not tied to a standard wedding cake design but it also means that cheap and cheerful wins the day.

[Mooncrest]

Mind if I contribute my twopenn'orth ?

Some of our control towers are knocking on a bit and so replacement is going to become inevitable at some stage, or at least some form of refurbishment. I don't know what switch equipment they've got at Bournemouth but the quality of the R/T audio is superb. More to the point about structures, this classic old tower is currently surrounded by scaffolding. I'm guessing it's being re-glazed or painted or something like that. Must be life in the old girl yet.

Closer to home, the LBA pod on a stick has been doing its job since 1968 and apart from a couple of minor facelifts in 1984 has been virtually unchanged since then. I can't see it being replaced in the forseeable future. Build it any higher and the staff won't have a chance of seeing anything when the fog rolls in ! Ground radar anyone ?

[CAP670]

The view from LTN Tower is reportedly, superb. It remains the tallest Tower in the country in terms of height above sea level (NEMA's ranks # 2).

The operational facilities appear pretty good, especially since NATS has been running things.

But the staff restroom facilities are I'm told, crap: small, smelly, cramped and look like a relic from 1940s post-war austerity Britain.

:mad:

[jettesen]

The view from Luton tower is fantastic. On a clear day, you cann see the tower at Stanstead! Superb

[jumpseater]

'But the staff restroom facilities are I'm told, crap: small, smelly, cramped and look like a relic from 1940s post-war austerity Britain.'

They'll be just like the old ones then...... I'll get me coat!

From the old tower you could see crystal palace from the top of the roof, none too pleasant up there though!

[LTNman]

The view from LTN Tower is reportedly, superb. It remains the tallest Tower in the country in terms of height above sea level

Luton Airport has an elevation of 526ft while Leeds has an elevation 682ft. Luton’s 157ft tower brings the height up to 683ft above sea level. Assuming Leed’s control tower is more than 12 inches high they beat Luton. When Luton’s tower was built it was claimed that one could see Canary Wharf from the top as the airport is located at the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills

[vintage ATCO]

When Luton’s tower was built it was claimed that one could see Canary Wharf from the top as the airport is located at the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills

Er, you still can! All three of them. And the Nat West tower, the 'green gherkin', the PO tower and the new arch at Wembley. Yes, you can see the tower at Stansted but it isn't easy to pick out amongst the trees.

The rest facilities are best described as adequate but the tower was built to a cost. I am sure you have been there, CAP670.