Whats happening at Elstree (EGTR)

[CRAZYBROADSWORD]

Does anyone know whats going on at Elstree was there the other day and there was new tarmac, fresh paint the old aeroclub was being rebuilt and the tower staff where almost friendly.

Has the 21st century finally arrived there ??

[Gulfstreamaviator]

That's my best and only suggestion.

glf

or perhaps Google earth supplier was doing a low pass...

[trident3A]

New operators as far as I know. The runway was a right state before!

[18greens]

Has the angry controller been to charm school yet???

[Mr Cessna]

WOW... Im very suprised. Never thought I would see the day! :rolleyes:

[n00bie]

New management and a cash injection is the understanding. The guys in the tower are a much nicer bunch now too. Think Elstree is on the up, should make for an interesting summer.

[Sir George Cayley]

Is it re-licensed yet?

Sir George Cayley

[n00bie]

Think it got all licences back last week from what I hear. Would double check with the caa before relying on my knowledge of goings on though!

[asyncio]

I was at Elstree today, and the new cafe is now open in place of the old aero club.

It's very nice, and much better than I was expecting based on what it looked like before.
Hopefully they'll do well, as they certainly weren't short of customers when I was there :ok:

[Steevee]

There is a group of regular flyers and owners at Elstree who are hoping to encourage a friendly and sociable atmosphere at the airfield. We get together for regular trips from the airfield on Wednesdays and Saturday and some social events are planned as well. Just ask in the cafe and they will give you all the details. :)

[ShyTorque]

Well done, chaps! Elstree has been an excellent GA airfield "in waiting" for too long....

[Steevee]

The cafe was buzzing today, not least because all the AFIS transmissions are being broadcast by loudspeaker to those in the cafe garden. Great for all airfield movement fans and those who enjoy picking up on others' RT.:hmm:

[echobeach]

I expect that public broadcast of RT at EGTR helps keep everyone professional and polite, as well as being entertaining.

[Cross J]

Got fuel today which was served by an amiable chap I think called Steve, he was most helpful and even cleaned the windsheild.:rolleyes:

[Phil73805]

The unfriendly chap in the tower is known locally as Murky Mick and is well known for his ability to make a happy man slit his wrists on a fine spring morning. One of the ways Elstree has tried to combat this is to put the tower comms on a loudspeaker so that if he gets uppity it will be available for all to hear, live. He has apparently objected very strongly to this...which has changed nothing :)

As for the runway, it was closed after a CAA inspection declared it unsafe. It was closed for around ten days (best weather of the year of course) while they did some resurface and repainting.

[Deeday]

The unfriendly chap in the tower is known locally as Murky Mick and is well known for his ability to make a happy man slit his wrists on a fine spring morning. http://forums.flyer.co.uk/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif I didn't have a razor blade with me when I went there last week, but I did think of hanging myself with my tie-down.
Also: make sure you have some cash, to pay the landing fee, or the credit card surcharge is exactly 100% :eek:
The 3 Green café with R/T broadcast is a delight anyway. I was served a slice of chocolate fudge cake that was monumental.

[AndoniP]

the runway was closed a long time ago, last year for about a week to 10 days. it was unlicensed then, not recently when the aero club re-opened.

[Phil73805]

Elstree is where I fly from so I had no idea about the card surcharge. That is ridiculous!

[Deeday]

To be precise, the quote from the amiable chap in the tower (which matched pretty well the description of MM that you made) was £10 cash or £20 by card. Not sure how much it works out for bigger aircraft though (I was on a light single).

[madlandrover]

£25 cash or £50 card for a light twin 2009/10. Though occasionally £20 cash, depending on which FISO was taking the money...

[Steevee]

Found this post on the UKGA website, so it's not all bad. :ok:

----------------

Flew into Elstree today with 4 other from our airfield. Don't be put off by the unusual arrival / departure procedures as its pretty straightforward in practice, just use the VRPs and be prepared for some very long approaches as there is no ciruit as such. A noise abatement briefing is reuqired before leaving but again its all straightforward. Elstree Info was really helpful and not at all phased by 7 aircraft at various stages of approach at the same time. We got a really good welcome and a "discount for volume" - unsolicited but most welcome. Restaurant seemed fine although we were only stopping for tea and cake We will be returning ”

Quality and value of food / drink: 4
Standard of runway: 4
Landing fee / handling charges: 5
ATC / AFIS / A/G service: 5
Friendliness of welcome: 5

[robin]

What are the current landing fees?

[stickandrudderman]

Same as the sultanas..........

[robin]

Ho, Ho :D:D

[trident3A]

There's a thread on the other place which mentions Cabair pulling out of Elstree - anybody know anything about the this?

[AndoniP]

I believe Cabair maintenance and some of the small companies based in their offices are moving to Cranfield.

The school, I have been told by an instructor, is staying put.

[XL319]

To give the 'grumpy b*gg*r' some credit he actually only charged me one nights stay for 5 nights due to IFR conditions. I was most grateful. I think his bark was worse than his bite.

Elstree is one of my fave airfields to visit and by all accounts looking for another visit soon :D

[Teddy Robinson]

Look at the culture and accident rate at the place / from the place over the past 25 years... visit but don't buy in. It was always the wild west of GA.

[India Four Two]

the credit card surcharge is exactly 100%

I suggest that anyone who has paid this surcharge, should ask for a refund through their credit card issuer.

Here is a section from the Mastercard Rules under the European Region section entitled Prohibited Practices:

If a Merchant applies a surcharge for payment by Card, the amount or method of calculation of the surcharge must be clearly indicated to the Cardholder at the POI location and must bear a reasonable relationship to the Merchant's cost of accepting Cards.


I doubt that 100% would be considered "reasonable" :=

[MrAverage]

There is apparently no policy at Elstree to make a credit card surcharge for landing or parking. As long as the bill is payed on the day in question the charges are the same regardless of payment method. However, if payment is made at some later date there may be a 100% surcharge for late payment. This clarification direct from the mouths of Elstree management.....................

[Deeday]

Good. So now it's just a matter for the management to tell the guy in the tower...

[Phil Space]

My feelings as well deeday.
Why they employ a guy in the tower who seems to hate his job and people has always puzzled me.

I've always treated him with the contempt he deserves.

The day he leaves Elstree will be a great day for the residents and visitors.

[madlandrover]

Interesting. The way it was phrased to me in the past (a couple of years ago) was that it was a 50% discount for cash, rather than a 100% surcharge for cards.

[India Four Two]

mlr,

it was a 50% discount for cashThat IS an interesting way of putting it, but it's still in breach of the Merchant Agreement. If you paid with a card, get your money back from your bank.

[Sir Niall Dementia]

Used to love going to Elstree, but I stopped going there when the 100% surcharge for credit cards came in, it wasn't to cover late payment, they just did it. Reported them to my bank after the fourth time (also telling Elstree that it was against CC company rules) They didn't care, Denham gets my business now.

And Mr Grumpy is actually a really good bloke who for years fought the rearguard action against the stupid actions of Montclare Shipping.

[Steevee]

We should stop worrying about what happened at Elstree in the past and give our support to those who are trying to change things for the better. :D

[Phil Space]

Are MLP still going?

[Romeo Oscar Bravo]

He used to scare the life out of me when I was doing my PPL. Cut his teeth on tornados apparently and treated everyone as an RAF pilot. He was human though. RT message on my first solo "Congratulations, Mines a pint"

[ShyTorque]

Cut his teeth on tornados apparently and treated everyone as an RAF pilot.

So he's quite a new boy then...

[n00bie]

Not experienced the 50% discount for cash but if I did I would be interested to see if it went into petty cash or into the FISO's pocket.... If the later then it's not elstree management at fault.