Robin Hood Airspace needed?

[bad bear]

Just been looking at the Doncaster Robin Hood arrivals and departures board for the last few days and it is rather quiet. Today there is only one arrival and departure in day light hours plus 3 after 8pm. Can anyone remembers what their initial airspace grab claimed they were doing and expected to do in 2012?
bb

[JOE-FBS]

No idea but I can say that I have flown over and into Doncaster, Gamston and Sandtoft a few times over the last couple of years and the controllers have been nothing but helpful, cooperative and welcoming so if the airport owners keep funding the infrastructure what's the problem? The only slight complaint I have about Doncaster is the compulsory handling for small aircraft but even there Signature are very helpful and their pricing is sympathetic to light aircraft on genuine leisure flights.

Between Doncaster and East Midlands, if I go high enough I can get from Halton to Yorkshire with a big chunk of the trip safely in class D which I like a lot.

[stickandrudderman]

Between Doncaster and East Midlands, if I go high enough I can get from Halton to Yorkshire with a big chunk of the trip safely in class D which I like a lot.

Good point!

[astir 8]

Maybe they'll make the whole country class D and really cheer up you two!

[The Heff]

the controllers have been nothing but helpful, cooperative and welcoming

I'll second that. I've never had a problem with getting a transit through Class D airspace, although I prefer flying outside CAS if I can get away with it. Humberside manages well enough without controlling the airspace, so I don't understand why Doncaster needs it.

[ShyTorque]

I third that. Doncaster Liverpool, sorry Sheffield Robin Hood (!), controllers are always very helpful.

All it takes is a radio call.

[thing]

It's next to me and I've never been refused a transit. Always helpful. Mind you I agree with the OP, Humberside manages quite well without class D, with the amount of movements Doncaster has I don't really see why they need it.

[yates]

Humberside manages quite well without class D

Ironically, Humberside were applying for class D at exactly the same time as Donny, but, despite having a much stronger case for Class D, Huy ATC Management didn't exactly handle the process properly whereas Doncaster's knew exactly what they were doing. They've got Class D, it's unlikely to dissapear anytime soon. HUY haven't and never will get it.

Doncasters passenger figures remain significantly better than HUYs, despite the lack of movements in the Socialist Republic and depending upon the day of the week, that's what the CAA take into account.

[WorkingHard]

Humberside dont have any CAS as you say but they still provide an excellent LARS service so thanks to you all at Humberside.

[ozbeck]

I use Doncaster and Humberside for service quite a lot and they have always been very helpful and easy to talk to.

On one occasion when in a rented PA28 (outside class D), I had a 'non transponding' transponder (if you know what I mean). I had asked Doncaster and Humberside (my route meant that I changed from one to the other) a couple of times after recycling if they were receiving my squawk, both replied 'negative'. A new guy came on shift at Humberside and when I asked for a third time he stated that he hadn't seen a squawk from the aircraft I was flying for quite a few days. When I landed, I checked the tech log and found I had missed the comment that the transponder was US.

You can't beat a charming personalised local service like that!

I do think that the class D has a slight psychological negative affect though, which is probably down to my lack of experience.

[loaded as a dice]

I speak to both Doncaster and Humberside regularly and always receive an excellent sevice :ok:

[mad_jock]

To be honest if they are giving transits and are giving a good service there isn't really a problem having class D.

The only time there is a problem is when they don't have enough resources to service the airspace and it remains empty for no reason.

[mrmum]

As the CAA and other government agencies are all scrambling to find ways to generate extra income, the ideal way to ensure CAS is actually required is to charge for it. If the controlling authority/airport had to pay per cubic metre, per day for their exclusive control of a bit of sky, we'd soon see which was actually needed.