Saint Helena

[hulahoop7]

BBC News - Remote UK island colony of St Helena to get airport (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15578596)

Saint Helena gets an airfield .... How far to the Falklands again?

[sycamore]

Try Google Earth,use the `ruler` function....

[Capetonian]

http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/468096-airport-st-helena.html

[Jimlad1]

Hmmm, how long before we see demands for RNR operated SHARs and GR9s operating from there to safeguard the falklands, our territory and a small Walrus called Basil?

[Union Jack]

To quote one of the posts on Capetonian's link:

One of the most challenging airport projects ever

As one of the probably relatively few people on PPrune to have been to the island, you can say that again in spades.

On a lighter note, I seem to recall that a significant number of the islanders bear the name "Shipman", quite simply because in days gone by the unknown fathers came off a ship.

If the airfield is indeed completed, does this mean that that some future islanders will be named "Airman"?::E

Jack

[OafOrfUxAche]

No, still SAP...:oh:

[GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU]

you can say that again in spades.


Spades? Bloody hell, Sir; you're living dangerously. :}

I have to say that St Helenian must be one of the most difficult to understand English accents and dialects. It matters not, though, because I found them to be amongst the warmest and likeable people I've ever met. Some have a remarkable taste in waistcoats, too.

[cokecan]

isn't SH only (i say only) about 600 miles south of Accension?

if we're looking at building a runway that could potentially be of use to the FI (rather than of great use to the islanders), would Tristan de Chuna not be of more use?

can the proposed SH runway take any of the kit we've got - Voyager, E-3, C-17etc..?

[c-bert]

Google Earth makes it about 150 miles closer to the FIs. Really worth the hassle?

[Union Jack]

Spades? Bloody hell, Sir; you're living dangerously.

Probably that's because I have a house not a million miles from you!:)

Thoroughly agree your other views.:ok:

Jack

PS You really should play cards more often:=

[piggybank]

cokecan.

I reckon Tristan de Chuna not a good choice. It has a bad habit of blowing its volcanic top every now and again. I remember some of the refugees were in my school at Oundle when the last en mass evacuation took place in the 60's.

Back to St Helena. That airport has been talked about for years and no one was in a rush to stump up the money.

There is a site called SARTMA I get updates from. Local gossip. I found it when looking for a long relative who was Governor there.

[500N]

piggybank

"in my school at Oundle"

What year and which house ?

N78 - 82, my father would have been maybe early 50's.

Take it off line via PM if you like.

[jamesdevice]

save the money
instead design / build a fleet of large flying boats. Maybe some could be converted into MPAs.....
Surely we must have the skill to do that still somewhere

[Ken Scott]

I would have thought that the airfield is being built for the benefit of the islanders themselves rather than British military...

If we want to keep the FI so badly then all HMG has to do is not send the wrong messages to the Argies by massive defence cuts etc....

[alisoncc]

Wasn't the Ark Royal up for sale recently? Just moor it in the harbour and they would be quids in. Mind you if they had two of them end-to-end they would be able to land bigger airies. :ok:

[GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU]

jamesdevice. Do you mean a bit like the Blackburn B20?


http://freespace.virgin.net/john.dell/B20/Boat1.JPG

Suitably updated, would we ever get the Americans or Brazilians to build it for us, though? http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/icons/mpangel.gif

[Navaleye]

Moor Ark Royal in what harbour? It hasn't got one. Only been there once, it was incredibly hot and the largest employer on the island is the prison service.

[Goprdon]

This government has promised not to cut the overseas aid budget.
I read somewhere that the money for the aerodrome was coming from the overseas aid budget.
It all seems a good idea to me.

[alisoncc]

the largest employer on the island is the prison service.

Somebody should tell them Napoleon croaked quite a few years back. :D

[cazatou]

We could send WEBF there to build a SHAR (out of scrapped parts) for the Air Defence of the Island.

[Mechta]

Jamesdeviceand GBZ, look no further. The Beriev Be 210 version of the Be 200 below carries 72 passengers. They may need to speak to Shin Meiwa in Japan about modifying it to cope with Atlantic waves though.

http://www.indiandefence.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Beriev-Be-200.jpg

Here's the Shin Meiwa PS-1 doing a STOL takeoff from the open sea:

3LKAh3KpmtI

[Mmmmnice]

Just fished out my atlas and checked a couple of things:

Saint Helena is about 750m SE of Asi, and not really any closer to FI

Not sure if an airfield on Tristan de Cunha (anagram of Chuna) would actually be much use to the population of SH - bit like building another London airport in Carlisle because it would make bombing the Faeroes more convenient?

......or am I missing something here?

[jamesdevice]

Mechta (http://www.pprune.org/members/213423-mechta)

Looks good! Checking Beriev's wesbite shows they have a SAR version as well -
"Be-200 search and rescue aircraft can loiter within two-hundred-mile zone for 6.5 hours"

Not a Nimrod replacement, but half way there...
And before anyone writes them off as "Russian" and so lacking support, according to Wiki theres a support agreement in place with EADS, and a possible RR engine option

I wonder what the cost of a mixed batch of passenger and SAR configured ones would be? Maybe the overseas development budget would pay......after all most maritime rescues appear to be from third world flagged ships....

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Too rough for reliable seaplane ops, I believe. Used to teach a couple of lads from there, and one of them did his geography project on a proposed airport which I helped with. I seem to remember the airport was the only sensible option, but no cash was forthcoming at the time. The RAF used to fly them to Ascension every hols, and they got the boat from there.

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Don't think there's enough suitably flat land on Tristan for an airport without a huge engineering job to level bits of the island. The potato patches would probably have to go.

Agree with the dialect being almost unintelligible. The Tristanians speak the same form of 18th century English with a thick accent. Warm and hospitable people and good fun on the urine once you get to know them.

[racedo]

If we want to keep the FI so badly then all HMG has to do is not send the wrong messages to the Argies by massive defence cuts etc....

Naaaa that would plainly be a stupid thing to do.....................will never happen :ugh::ugh:

[racedo]

Somebody should tell them Napoleon croaked quite a few years back. :D

Royal Mail sending the message by 2nd class post so message should get there in 10 years or so.