Prestwick Airport

[jstew15]

Recently got my PPL and now flying a PA28 from Prestwick. I have made several local flights, but I am wanting to get a little bit more out of my flying. Not sure or where to go or what airfield to check out first. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks:)

[BRL]

Prestwick to EDI would be the obvious one. Good luck............

[Flap40]

The landing fee at EDI will probably be more than the aircraft rental cost! Cumbernauld is also quite expensive.
Try Fife (£8 I think and they used to do a deal where the landing fee was waved if you spent more than £8 in their restaurant-think they stil do).
Perth is another option. Three runways, nice scenery. again £8. Oban is also beautifully scenic.
You could also go down towards Carlisle etc.

[jstew15]

Thanks, think I'll try Glenrothes(Fife). Sounds quite nice there. Hope the food is good.

[Holdposition]

Enjoy your trip think you are making a wise choice, let us know what the food is like! as flaps said EDI would be most unsuitable landing fee etc, not sure why EDI was suggested.....there again!!!!
In a month or two why not venture south past Carlisle, you would be most welcome at EGNH (Blackpool), plenty to do over a weekend if you can make it and nice round trip home.

[NLM13]

Hi there.

I can also recommend Oban, very nice people there. Also enjoyed going out to Islay and Tiree, great scenery over the islands and Islay runway is pretty big. I hear Glen Forsa on Mull is also good to visit but haven't been yet. Thats my next trip!!

Hope you enjoy yourself whereever you go.

NLM13;)

[mad_jock]

If you don't mind stretching your legs. There is a fly in at Dornoch on the 8th & 9th of June. Free landing fee's of course.

And hows the mighty ATOM doing these days ;)

MJ

[jstew15]

The mighty ATOM is doing fine, went flying in it on Saturday. Lovely weather for a trip down the west coast with a few friends.
Could you tell me little bit more abou the fly in. Might take a few other PPL friends with me and share the cost.
Cheers:)

[Spacer]

I flew from Perth on numerous occassions in 2000, and they are very helpful. I don't think the landing fees are that much, and you can get a good meal there at the cafe.

[Rusty Cessna]

A vote for Panshangar, wicked place, and it certainly beats EDI for landing fee's.

Stapleford is nice and so is Goodwood!

Rusty.:confused:

[Fast Jet Wannabe]

I would recomend Perth initially, as it is easier to find. Also the flight time is just right at around 40 mins each way (I've flown PIK-Perth and back many times). You get an interesting mix of working different types of ATC service. The direct route takes you right through the GLA zone, then you talk to Scottish Info, then finally Perth radio. The food is OK at Perth, the cafe is friendly and cheap. I was based there for my RAF FS and loved it.

Fife is another great little airfield. Like you I trained on a PA-28 at PIK (G-BOAH), and the only thing that I found when landing at Fife was that the runway is considerably shorter than PIK's! :D So watch out for that! However, the resturant at Fife is absolutley 1st class!

I can't think of anything to recomend Cumbernauld.

Let us know how you get on!

FJW.

[Who has control?]

Isn't Pprune wonderful - just when you want to ask a question, someone starts a thread about it.

Hope you MacPruners can help me now. Big Sis lives in East Kilbride and now I've told her that I'm buying a share in an aircraft, she wants to see it & have a flight. (Essex to EK in a day - I think not!) So whats the nearest airfield to EK? I understand that Glasgow is not GA-friendly which I suppose leaves Cumbernauld. Is there anywhere else?

[foghorn]

Glenrothes is a good friendly place, however a word of warning for those going for more than a day trip: overnighting there is not far off cost-wise as going at EDI plus you need to book in advance, as you will need a space in one of their hangers overnight because the local yobs have been known to take aircraft apart for scrap!

However when I visited last year without knowing this the folks there were really good and found us a space at zero notice, although I think it cost £40 for the night.

cheers!
foggy.

ps FJW - Glenrothes/Fife's runway was plenty long enough whne I was last there; what were you taking there? An A320 :D :D :D :confused:

[flying snapper]

FJW

Agree with you about Cumbernauld - went there on Sunday and was verbally abused for not making a crosswind call. I told the radio operator that I was in the overhead, then descending dead side. When I got down wind I made the call and was criticised for not telling him I was crossing the upwind end of the runway. How could I be interfering with departing traffic from there? I could see the traffic and it certainly was not a Harrier!

Anyway, the landing fee is about £9 and I believe there is a nice cafe in the terminal building. Other than that I can't see any reason to go there.

Who Has Control

The nearest and best place to land near East Kilbride is Prestwick. £10 landing and very friendly to GA traffic. Go to the Prestwick Flight Centre (Northside turn off 31/13 at Tango). I am biased I freely admit!

[Circuit Basher]

I've got an aircraft booked out of PTH for Sun 12 May 02 and have been doing a bit of thinking about where to fly to with a PPL mate who's up from Old Sarum / Compton Abbas country. I've flown around Fife (concur with all comments about Fife, but would also point out that the runway is V Narrow, which leads to a few perceived height problems if you're used to PIK) a few times and 'done' Kirknewton and Cumbernauld.

I was thinking of going to Carlisle if VMC prevails - suspect BPL's a bit out of range for a Sun aftenoon jolly. Seeing that PIK's only £10, I suppose I could try there.

Anyone else up for a fun XC / fly-in this weekend?? - email me if interested.

[Grainger]

Tipsy Nipper at Fife is great for a Sunday lunch. Greasy spoon at Perth will do you an excellent egg chip sausage and beans, and Paul K will look after you wonderfully with tea and biscuits over at Oban (please buy some fuel from him while you're there).

... and never mind the moaners, Cumbernauld is a fine place also - nice and laid back with a recently revamped cafe and close to great scenery (Stirling, Wallace Monument, Loch Lomond, Ochil hills, Trossachs) .

Well, that's your next few weekends sorted out: a superb plus is that you'll be flying through some of the most stunning scenery in the UK.

Have fun - and remember, you can always start that diet next week !

[Chocks Wahay]

Lots of options from PIK:

Carlisle - never been yet, but museum and cafe apparently. Will go there soon

Oban - top place, great scenery

Perth - odd runways - 03/21 is on a hill, 10 has nearby trees and a displaced threshold (and is very very short), 28's ok and the other one 16/34 is made of some grass-like substance. Lots of microlights landing parallel to the 03/21 which can be off putting. Great place, cafe ok, lots of interesting stuff in the hangers.

Fife - shorter runway than you're used to but a nice airfield, and free landing if you buy the equivalent in the restaurant - eat your landing fee!

Dundee - longer runway, friendly club, an hour from PIK Brewer's Fayre nearby for lunch.

The advantage of Carlisle and Oban is that they're on the west, so the weather is likely to be the similar to PIK - I've lost count of how many trips across the country I've had to cancel due weather. For Perth / Fife / Dundee route through Glasgow zone, or go round to the north and enjoy the scenery.

[Fast Jet Wannabe]

What a great thread this is turning out to be!

Foghorn , not exactly an A320 I was taking in to Fife - actually I'm sad to say only a PA-28! :p

However, as Circuit Basher helpfully points out, being used to PIK I percieved the runway to be very short and incredibly narrow! Actually, a quick look at my Pooleys backs up my point with the fact that Fife's runway is 700 x 18m, whereas PIK's runway 13/31 is 2987 x 46m! Of course I'm now waiting for all the "when I was a wee lad we used to land 747's on a football pitch... blah blah blah" from our more "experienced" PPRuNer's :rolleyes: :p

Flying snapper, so glad it wasn't just me that was abused at Cumbernauld! I was starting to think I'd somehow upset them.

From memory I think I did call crosswind (Something I'm now eternally thankful for as I was on my QXC at the time, and therefore relying on my form being filled out in a complimentary way!), yet I was still informed that I had parked inconsideratley, (think I'd nicked a company aircraft space), and that if I hit the company trauma hawk, which had subsequently parked next to me, I'd be sued!:eek:

Hows that for the spirit of general aviation nowadays! Don't worry guys, I'll shift the Warrior by myself before starting then:(

Never going in there again!

Who has control?, I would second the advice that PIK is within easy reach of East Kilbride, and is very GA friendly.

[Who has control?]

Thanks for your advice.

Something else that has occured to me, if you are based close to the Scottish FIR boundary, and decide to just to go to a nearby airfield for tea, would you routinely file a Flight Plan for a local flight as you are crossing an FIR boundary?

[TheFox]

I too have flown out of cumbernauld, and have found the ground station with ideas above his station, rather worrying is the fact that on the door of his little "tower" he has a sign saying air traffic control.

You dont need to file a flight plan if you are fly between the london and scottish FIR, though you might need to file one for other reasons.

Rule 20(4)
Without prejudice to the provisions of rules 20(3), 27 and 31, the commander of an aircraft who intends to fly or who flies across any boundary of airspace notified as either the London or Scottish Flight Information Region other than the boundary common to each, shall before so flying, cause a flight plan, containing such particulars of the intended flight as may be necessary for search and rescue purposes, to be communicated to the appropriate air traffic control unit within the London or Scottish Flight Information Region.

[VORTIME]

EIDW - Dublin Intl?

[foghorn]

FJW - no worries - you should have seen how firm my landing was there - no time for a long float :D:D:D