Sheffield open for singles..?

[big.al]

No, not a question about whether the fair Yorkshire city is holding dating parties... in fact it's a question about Sheffield City Airport and whether they not accept single-engine fixed-wing aircraft.

Previously (as has been discussed here many times) the airport only accepted single-engined choppers and twin engined aeroplanes, due to planning restrictions. But I have now heard of an outfit offering flight training at SZD (www.sheffield-aviation.com) and wonder if the restrictions on S/E ops. have been lifted or are about to be. Anyone know what the facts are..? Like how much the landing fees are and whether any compulsory handling charges are applied? And before anyone suggests it, I'm not in their employ and not trying to drop a crafty advert in their favour.

Cheers, and Merry Christmas one and all!;)

[knobbygb]

Would be nice if it were true, but somthing just doesn't ring true about that website - seems a bit 'school project' like. I'll ask around, and might call them tomorrow.

[camaro]

Sheffield Aviation are operating trial flights and "sight-seeing tours" out of Sheffield. Currently it is multi engine only, with their SE stuff using Gamston.
Rumour at Netherthorpe and Gamston has it that SE ops at Sheffield are only a rubber stamp away.
Apparently all that is required is for the local authority to okay it officially at their next meeting (which I'm lead to believe is early in the New Year).
As I've posted before, the CFI at Netherthorpe had been flying CAA people in and out of Sheff during the summer and they had already approved SE ops.
Sheffield Aviation have also been doing quite a bit of circuit work in the twin to see if there is any reaction to the noise from the locals.....it appears that nobody has complained and so the council has finally given in.

Watch this space........

Camaro

[WorkingHard]

Camaro
"the CFI at Netherthorpe had been flying CAA people in and out of Sheff during the summer and they had already approved SE ops"
Could you explain a little more please? The restriction on SE was nothing to do with the licence to operate the airfield, it was a planning restriction. Just wondered why the CAA are involved.

[camaro]

I don't know why the CAA were involved again.
All I know is that our CFI did a few trips with CAA peeps in C152 and PA28 aircraft and they told him that they still didn't have a problem with SE ops from Sheffield.

[SuperOwl]

Hi everyone,

Just for your information, I live approx. 1.5 miles from Sheffield City Airport. My house is also 400 yards left of the centre of the approach for runway 28. I have not seen or heard a single engine aircraft on the approach or climb out ever (come to think of it I can't remember the last time I saw or heard anything other than the Police 'copter).

I have looked at the pictures on the Sheffield Aviation website and I can saw that one of the pictures of the single engine aircraft looks like it was taken at Sheffield City. Obviously I missed the occasion that this aircraft MAY have landed at Sheffield.

What I will do is go to EGSY at the weekend and check out if this "Sheffield Aviation" does exist and also if single engine operations have been approved. I'll let you all know either in this thread or by starting a new one.

Merry Christmas all!

SuperOwl (up the Owls!)

P.S. I have (jokingly) thought of a poll. One of my neighbours is a NIMBY and also goes caravanning...

"Is he a tw@t or not?"

(No offence to caravanners who do not hold traffic up at bank holidays, unlike those who although being retired have all bloody year to go on holiday but STILL insist on going away when everybody else does!) O.K. Rant over:D :D

P.P.S. Its my birthday tomorrow! (20th Dec)

[charlie-india-mike]

Happy Birthday SuperOwl

:) :) :)

[camaro]

I can assure you that Sheffield Aviation do exist, and as I said in my earlier post, they are only doing twin stuff from EGSY at the moment. They are even adverstising on one of the local radio stations!

Super Owl - let me know when you're gonna be at EGNF next and we'll meet up if you like (it's my local too!).

[rocafellascunk]

HAPPY B DAY SUPER OWL.

[Fast Erect]

This cracks me up. The outfit in question are flying from EGSY in a shagged out Piper Apache. Four up.
If one quits, or just runs roughly, it reverts to being a Cherokee....if you follow my point.
If the powers that be made the place available to Performance A twins only, then I could understand their reasoning. As it is now, it is just an unnecessary barrier to all the local single engine guys and girls who would find the place ideal to operate from.

And another thing......what differentiates a single engine helicopter from a single engine fixed wing?:mad:

Merry Xmas to all. :)

[poetpilot]

...it's worse than a Cherokee, it's a Brick... a lopsided Brick at that.

Best thing he could do in a nasty situation is pull the other throttle back, gear up and try to hit something with no humans in it.

[24Right]

Spoke to the guy at Sheffield Aviation the other week and he confirmed they were doing the trips out of EGSY with the Piper (which I like to think of more as a classic than the less flattering description used in earlier posts!) but were hoping - and expecting - to be able to use singles soon in the New Year. May even be able to rent a Diamond Star (if you can afford it!) from them at EGSY.

Shame the ILS is turned off now though - it would have been really handy to be able to fly in the dreadful Sheffield aviation weather and still land. I suppose you could do the (now) unofficial non-precision approach with the ndb if confident enough.

Still, looking forward to being able to fly 10 mins from home instead of the 90 min round trip to Gamston. Better brush up the cross wind landing technique though!

24R

[SuperOwl]

As yet I have not been able to get a straight answer from any of the staff at EGSY. The impression I get is that we ourselves know more than they do. I looked at the apron and could not see the single engine aircraft that were on the Sheffield Aviation site.

I will have to get the other half to use the same interrogation techniques on them as she does me when I come home p1ssed up with kebab down my front.

Thanks to those with the b'day wishes and merry xmas all! :cool: :cool:

[mad_jock]

Are they going to get someone who speaks english on the R/T?

"Eeee lad tho't be cleared for't approach" with a heavy Yorkshire/ Indian accent.

MJ

[SuperOwl]

"Tha'rt orreight fer't approach our kid" is what I believe you meant Mad Jock (you funny f*cker you):D :D :D :D

[mad_jock]

That last post was only half in jest.

I twice got bitten at sheffield.

First time was shooting a instrument appr and it took the combination of a jock, a gordie and a greek to understand him. And if handn't had the greek on board we would have been stuffed. Then just as I was at the FAF giving reds blues greens etc he started asking me for a credit card number to pay for the approach.

Second i was on an exam callsign on my CPL and transiting back north, the sweat was streeming after the third sayagain.
Thankfully from the RHS "f*ck them, were not diverting there with an engine failure anyway, they will likely shag us" and when I told him i was going to Leeds approach the reply was "okydoky"

MJ

[SuperOwl]

Mad Jock, I know you were having a laugh and so am I. When I've listened in on the Sheffield frequency I've had difficulty understanding the guy. I've got quite possibly the broadest Yorkshire accent in aviation as well. Having said that, I can understand Brummies better than people from Leeds (no offence meant to any Leeds folk).

As for the credit card being asked for, I cannot (but do) believe that. Could there be a case for CBUMPFFICH checks now?

Credit card at the ready
Brakes OFF
Undercarriage down
Mixture rich
etc
etc
etc

:confused: :confused:

Merry Xmas all

P.S. I still don't know if single engine fixed wing aircraft will be approved yet. My gut feeling is that while I have a hole in my arse that they won't.

[foghorn]

24R,

Ditto. If they remove the singles ban, my Tiger will be regular visitor, as both myself and a another group member have family locally and would prefer not to trek out to Gamston (nice little field though it is).

[Timothy]

I believe that the main reason for the single ban is the lack of apron space.

Sheffield is certainly no worse than many other airfields regarding EFATOs etc. Even Berlin Tempelhof accepts singles and they are right in the middle of the capital city with no open ground anywhere near (completely mad in my view).

I wonder if SY's solution will be to open to singles but make parking prohibitively expensive?

Incidentally, I have landed at SY many times, and spoken to the controller many, many times in transit, and have found him perfectly clear. I wonder if people think how offensive they might be being to a nice guy who may well read this forum himself.

[SuperOwl]

I've not found anything out from EGSY about singles but I believe that the current prices to land there are about £20 which I believe includes using the ILS although the last I heard this had been switched off.

As for the controllers, one of them is very clear and the other can sound a bit muffled. However, both of them speak English how it should be spoken (for these parts at least).

Living near to EGSY I would imagine that people who live in the village of Catcliffe which is right under the approach for runway 28 and half a mile from the threshold may have something to say about single engine aircraft flying over their heads. If you are low over Catcliffe make sure that you check that your wheels are still there just before you land 'cos some scrote may have had them.

[Timothy]

If you are low over Catcliffe make sure that you check that your wheels are still there just before you land 'cos some scrote may have had them.

I once did a trip in my Aztec to Teesside, Newcastle and Liverpool, then back to my Surrey base.

When I got back I saw the ground-crew scrabbling around under the aircraft. I asked what they were doing. "Just checknig the hubcaps" they said. :D

[24Right]

SuperOwl,

Last I heard, a basic landing fee was about £8 - don't know about former instrument approaches, but that's academic now there's no ILS. Compared to Wolverhampton that's cheap - and the facilities are better too (not to mention the local accent);)

24R

[SuperOwl]

If they do open Sheffield for singles and you take off from runway 28 and maintain runway heading, you should see a fairly large park. To the right of this park is Hillsborough football stadium. Home of the once mighty Sheffield Wedneday FC. They do nice pies there you know. Their beer is crap though. The team are worse still.

I believe that it could be used as an unofficial VRP for aircraft approaching Sheffield from the west. Get to the stadium, fly heading 100 and you should arrive fairly close over EGSY. Or use the NDB.

If you are landing on 28, watch my aerial! (After the high tension power lines)

24R, our accent in these parts is the best isn't it? Better than that new accent that all students speak regardless of where they are from. You know the one, where they raise the tone at the end of a sentence as if they are asking a question when they are merely stating a fact.

O.K....Rant over. (Or is it "O.K....Rant over?")

Up the Owls!

[FlyingForFun]

If people use a football stadium as a VRP (official or not), surely there'd be issues with the 1000m rule whenever a match was in progress? That would mean if you were directly over the ground, you'd need to be at least 3000' above it.....

FFF
----------

[big.al]

FFF - only if there is a gathering of 1000+ people, and with the way Wednesday are playing at the moment, their home attendance of three men and a dog is usually outnumbered by the players and officials.....:D

(No offence SuperOwl!)

[SuperOwl]

FFF: Good point. I already did realise but did not put in as I assumed people would understand this. You would need to be at a height anyway because between SWFC and EGSY there is a massive hill that I think (no charts handy) that goes nearly 300ft above SWFC anyway. I just meant if you are over the general area of the stadium that by taking a heading of 100 degrees would bring you fairly close to EGSY. I think the two are roughly 3-4 miles apart.

Big Al: No offence taken. I think that the dog is the technical director of football at SWFC. Also, the last time I was there, to save time they announced the names of the crowds to the players. Do you support Chesterfield? (Don't say SUFC)

[steamchicken]

...and you too will be able to see for yourself that the road past the Sheff Airport police station is actually called LETSBY AVENUE!

[big.al]

SuperOwl - no. My father-in-law is a SUFC fan, but I support Norwich City (come on you Yellows). Which means it's debateable as to whether I am a 'football' supporter...

Back to the issue though - interestingly enough, "Sheffield Aviation" never even bothered to reply to my e-mail asking for prices on PPL hire etc. Makes me wonder if they are just doing speculative advertising in the hope that S/E ops will one day be permitted at EGSY.

Having never flown out of Sheffield I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has, regarding where they would make a forced landing in an SEP (if they are ever allowed) if an EFATO occured. Taking off runway 10 would probably not be such a problem (quite a bit of open land between Catcliffe and the M1, but mind out for the power cables). But runway 28 might be more challenging, heading straight towards an industrial estate....

Steamchicken - if that's true, then somebody at Town Planning has a sense of humour. Shame it's not the same person who deals with the planning permission for the airfield...

[24Right]

SuperOwl, as a native of another part of the country (for the knowledgeable among you a little quiz - my local team is Port Vale - so where am I from?) it has taken me a while to understand the local lingo, but after 25 years in Sheffield I'm beginning to get the hang of it. Spent some time in Leeds recently - don't they speak funny up there? Rather more active airport though and you can even land there in a single if you can afford it.

I will have the misfortune to be at Hillsborough to witness another trouncing on 31 Jan, so anyone using the new VRP waggle your wings to give me something interesting to look at. Rather be flying, but duty calls.

24R

[SuperOwl]

24Right, Port Vale is in the Stoke area I think. But the Owls did well today, 3 goals in the second half to get a 3-2 win from 2-0 down. I know this is a flying forum not a football forum so I had better watch out before the moderator strings me up by the balls.

If anybody wonders what Hillsborough looks like it is a big blue thing with a big green rectangle in the middle roughly 3 miles west of EGSY. They sell nice pies there too.:D

[GrantT]

"Up the Owls!

Sorry to drag this post up again but i just had to say, UP THE BLADES! :ok:

[Jinkster]

Didn't realise they were so many ppruners from south yorks and ne derbyshire area.

From North Sheffield me self tha' nus!!

Jinkster