Tiree/Barra/Fair Isle/Sumburgh
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Tiree/Barra/Fair Isle/Sumburgh
Hi, just wondering if anyone has visited Tiree/Barra/Fair Isle or Sumburgh recently?
Always fancied a trip to the scottish highlands / shetland isles, how was it?
Cheers
Always fancied a trip to the scottish highlands / shetland isles, how was it?
Cheers
The Original Whirly
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Belper, Derbyshire, UK
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Five day trip to the Highlands last August, at the very start of that long hot bit of summer. It was wonderful. 
Airfields: Oban - Tiree - Barra - Inverness. High points...landing on Barra, flying down the Great Glen, hanging out in Oban which is the friendliest airfield in the world.
Tiree is..OK, flat, quiet...dunno, only spent half an hour there. Barra is open strange hours, dependent on tides, needs PPR so phone well in advance, not that difficult to land on (said my co-pilot, who did the landing), but looks scary and very wet from the air. Lovely place; wish we'd spent longer there. As many here will tell you, definitely go to Oban...you will, if only to get fuel.
There's loads more, but I'll leave others to add it.
Airfields: Oban - Tiree - Barra - Inverness. High points...landing on Barra, flying down the Great Glen, hanging out in Oban which is the friendliest airfield in the world.Tiree is..OK, flat, quiet...dunno, only spent half an hour there. Barra is open strange hours, dependent on tides, needs PPR so phone well in advance, not that difficult to land on (said my co-pilot, who did the landing), but looks scary and very wet from the air. Lovely place; wish we'd spent longer there. As many here will tell you, definitely go to Oban...you will, if only to get fuel.
There's loads more, but I'll leave others to add it.
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Landing isn't to much truma on Barra.
Hardly need to touch the bakes the sand sucks you down and you nedd hefty amounts of power to taxi.
Engine checks and TO are a bit more interesting.
Need to keep moving on the checks so the plane dosn't dig a wee hole the you fall into it with your nose wheel.
TO you don't accelerate. worse than a grass strip wet long grass etc. You feel you are struggling. Its OK going towards the sea but there are some big sand dunes going the other way. After you eventually get the gear off the ground the plane feels as if it leaps up and you have to watch you don't balloon outa ground effect so abit of work keeping the nose down until your fast enough to climb away.
MJ
Hardly need to touch the bakes the sand sucks you down and you nedd hefty amounts of power to taxi.
Engine checks and TO are a bit more interesting.
Need to keep moving on the checks so the plane dosn't dig a wee hole the you fall into it with your nose wheel.
TO you don't accelerate. worse than a grass strip wet long grass etc. You feel you are struggling. Its OK going towards the sea but there are some big sand dunes going the other way. After you eventually get the gear off the ground the plane feels as if it leaps up and you have to watch you don't balloon outa ground effect so abit of work keeping the nose down until your fast enough to climb away.
MJ
Join Date: Oct 2000
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Flying In the Highlands & Islands
Spent 2 yrs up there with the forces and did a lot of PPL VFR flying - can't speak highly enough of it.
Agree with all the above on Barra - just remember to plan your flt around the tide times!
Tiree is an old wartime strip, bags of runways. If you're there on a good weather day, it's gorgeous; the visibilty goes on for miles... However, on a bad day it's very bad. Can remember almost getting stuck in there as the cloud suddenly came down, and didn't enjoy creeping back to Oban along the Sound of Mull at LL in conditions that were barely VFR!
I did one trip to Shetland / Fair Isle. If you go that far, you might as well press as far north as Muckle Flugga lighthouse - most northerly in the British Isles, and well worth having the logbook. Sumburgh is fine, but you'd get a better reception at Lerwick - closer to the town as well and, when I was there, cheaper fuel.
Fair Isle is great. You can see some pictures at www.fairisle.org.uk. (Some of the aerial ones are mine!) The chap to speak to is Dave Wheeler - he runs the met reporting and the airstrip, amongst other things. Really helpful bloke and very pro aviation. Make sure you get a brief from him. The strip can have some killer rotor winds in certain conditions and he'll tell you where the worst concentrations of brids are at. Brilliant place though - can't wait to go back!
Don't forget the Orkneys - stunningly beautiful, and you can fly the shortest scheduled air route in the world.
PM me if you need more specifics
AA
Agree with all the above on Barra - just remember to plan your flt around the tide times!
Tiree is an old wartime strip, bags of runways. If you're there on a good weather day, it's gorgeous; the visibilty goes on for miles... However, on a bad day it's very bad. Can remember almost getting stuck in there as the cloud suddenly came down, and didn't enjoy creeping back to Oban along the Sound of Mull at LL in conditions that were barely VFR!
I did one trip to Shetland / Fair Isle. If you go that far, you might as well press as far north as Muckle Flugga lighthouse - most northerly in the British Isles, and well worth having the logbook. Sumburgh is fine, but you'd get a better reception at Lerwick - closer to the town as well and, when I was there, cheaper fuel.
Fair Isle is great. You can see some pictures at www.fairisle.org.uk. (Some of the aerial ones are mine!) The chap to speak to is Dave Wheeler - he runs the met reporting and the airstrip, amongst other things. Really helpful bloke and very pro aviation. Make sure you get a brief from him. The strip can have some killer rotor winds in certain conditions and he'll tell you where the worst concentrations of brids are at. Brilliant place though - can't wait to go back!
Don't forget the Orkneys - stunningly beautiful, and you can fly the shortest scheduled air route in the world.
PM me if you need more specifics
AA
Prior to flying into any of the outer isle Shetland strips I strongly suggest you talk to one of the Tingwall based Loganair pilots. The office number is 01595 840 246.
Tingwall: 750m
Closest airstrip to Lerwick. There's a mini-bus service that ties in with the scheduled Loganair flights. 1 quid to or from town (must book a day in advance for the 'from Lerwick' part), otherwise it's about 10 quid by taxi. Takes about 10 mins each way.
Avgas is usually available during Tingwall opening hours.
If the vis. is poor watch out for 5 wind turbines ~500 to the east of (longish) final Rwy 02. They're about 800' amsl. There's also an obstacle lit hill to the left of final for Rwy 20.
Sumburgh:
Also has a bus service that *mostly* ties in with the RPT flights. 2.10 quid & ~ 40-60 mins. ATC are very friendly & great to go drinking with.
Fair Isle: 06/24 x 450m (480m?)
Airstrip is unuseable if the wind is >20kts from the W-clockwise-NE, and also a small arc from approx. South (actually from a large pillar of rock. It causes a strong vortex to wash over the airstrip). Even at that strength it 'challenging'... Watch out for sheep.
Foula: 18/36 x 450m. Steep upslope at threshold Rwy36.
Unuseable if the wind is above 15kts from SSW-clockwise-NNW & also the E. Increasing limit as the wind moves from E'ish-clockwise-S. High, steep terrain & sheer cliffs cause vortices that make the airstrip *very* dangerous if the wind is as mentioned. Watch out for sheep.
Wonderful sheer cliff views on the W. side of the island. ~1200' high. Very spectacular.
Out Skerries: 09/27 x 380m
Watch out if the wind is from S or N. Airstrip lies between two close lying hills (~100m from the one to the S.) Rwy 09 has a ridge ~50 before the threshold that protrudes into the normal approach gradient. Rwy 27 has a lighthouse at ~200 or 300 m that protrudes into the gradient AND an island halfway between the threshold & the lighthouse that does as well. No undershoot area in either direction.
Papa Stour: 18/36ish x ~450m (can't remember)
Muddy& slippery if any rain recently ie all the time except mid summer. Rwy 18 has rising ground with an electricty line across the ridge. Hard to see the power line. Rwy 36 has a ridge crossing just prior to the threshold. Watch out for sheep.
Whalsay: 02/20 x 450 or so
No worries. No windsock either. It blew away.
It does have sheep & ponies though.
Fetlar: North/South-ish x 450ish.
Only used for ambulance flights. No windsock & is in a bowl between higher ground. No windsock.
Unst: Formerly licenced. Sealed. Sometimes used for drag racing (with permission, of course. It's an organised event).
None of the outer isle strips have fuel or maintenance. Some have no facilities at all apart from a hut to keep the flarepots or generators in for night ambo. flights.
Tingwall: 750m
Closest airstrip to Lerwick. There's a mini-bus service that ties in with the scheduled Loganair flights. 1 quid to or from town (must book a day in advance for the 'from Lerwick' part), otherwise it's about 10 quid by taxi. Takes about 10 mins each way.
Avgas is usually available during Tingwall opening hours.
If the vis. is poor watch out for 5 wind turbines ~500 to the east of (longish) final Rwy 02. They're about 800' amsl. There's also an obstacle lit hill to the left of final for Rwy 20.
Sumburgh:
Also has a bus service that *mostly* ties in with the RPT flights. 2.10 quid & ~ 40-60 mins. ATC are very friendly & great to go drinking with.
Fair Isle: 06/24 x 450m (480m?)
Airstrip is unuseable if the wind is >20kts from the W-clockwise-NE, and also a small arc from approx. South (actually from a large pillar of rock. It causes a strong vortex to wash over the airstrip). Even at that strength it 'challenging'... Watch out for sheep.
Foula: 18/36 x 450m. Steep upslope at threshold Rwy36.
Unuseable if the wind is above 15kts from SSW-clockwise-NNW & also the E. Increasing limit as the wind moves from E'ish-clockwise-S. High, steep terrain & sheer cliffs cause vortices that make the airstrip *very* dangerous if the wind is as mentioned. Watch out for sheep.
Wonderful sheer cliff views on the W. side of the island. ~1200' high. Very spectacular.
Out Skerries: 09/27 x 380m
Watch out if the wind is from S or N. Airstrip lies between two close lying hills (~100m from the one to the S.) Rwy 09 has a ridge ~50 before the threshold that protrudes into the normal approach gradient. Rwy 27 has a lighthouse at ~200 or 300 m that protrudes into the gradient AND an island halfway between the threshold & the lighthouse that does as well. No undershoot area in either direction.
Papa Stour: 18/36ish x ~450m (can't remember)
Muddy& slippery if any rain recently ie all the time except mid summer. Rwy 18 has rising ground with an electricty line across the ridge. Hard to see the power line. Rwy 36 has a ridge crossing just prior to the threshold. Watch out for sheep.
Whalsay: 02/20 x 450 or so
No worries. No windsock either. It blew away.
It does have sheep & ponies though.
Fetlar: North/South-ish x 450ish.
Only used for ambulance flights. No windsock & is in a bowl between higher ground. No windsock.
Unst: Formerly licenced. Sealed. Sometimes used for drag racing (with permission, of course. It's an organised event).
None of the outer isle strips have fuel or maintenance. Some have no facilities at all apart from a hut to keep the flarepots or generators in for night ambo. flights.
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Foula: 18/36 x 450m. Steep upslope at threshold Rwy36
Unuseable if the wind is above 15kts from SSW-clockwise-NNW & also the E. Increasing limit as the wind moves from E'ish-clockwise-S. High, steep terrain & sheer cliffs cause vortices that make the airstrip *very* dangerous if the wind is as mentioned. Watch out for sheep.
Unuseable if the wind is above 15kts from SSW-clockwise-NNW & also the E. Increasing limit as the wind moves from E'ish-clockwise-S. High, steep terrain & sheer cliffs cause vortices that make the airstrip *very* dangerous if the wind is as mentioned. Watch out for sheep.
***"Could you wait for a few minutes? We're chasing some ponies off the strip."
