What the ####s happening at Oban?
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Track record ... ?
I think it was Sheffield - and we all know how successful that was .....
Seems rather sad that something that worked so well has just been sacrificed on the Council sponsored altar of 'bigger and better'.... and that applies to Council egos too ...
"Carpetbaggers" from 'down south' come in, and 2 local well-respected and liked operators lose their jobs. Is that progress ?
On one hand money spent on airfield upgrades is always a good thing, but there is a very nasty taste in the mouth here ....
1- Paul was shafted by the Council because they were jealous of his success, and he dared to disagree with them when they first came up with their grandiose plans
2- What will happen in 2-3 years time when the airfield is running at an inevitable loss .... who will pay ?. The local tax payer ? GA ? Before Paul came along the Council charged £20 a landing and got no visitors.... not too long before we see that again I think ... or else it will be sold off for housing development as all the services are now being put in place ...
3- Paul single-handedly has added a huge amount to GA on the west coast, because he is passionate about it. I can't see the other operators having quite the dedication or understanding of GA ... I am bothered that they may just end up as HIAL clones more worried about playing at being air traffic controllers ...
I hope I am proved wrong here, but Oban will now have to work doubly hard to win back a lot of cheesed off/disillusioned pilots ....
Seems rather sad that something that worked so well has just been sacrificed on the Council sponsored altar of 'bigger and better'.... and that applies to Council egos too ...
"Carpetbaggers" from 'down south' come in, and 2 local well-respected and liked operators lose their jobs. Is that progress ?
On one hand money spent on airfield upgrades is always a good thing, but there is a very nasty taste in the mouth here ....
1- Paul was shafted by the Council because they were jealous of his success, and he dared to disagree with them when they first came up with their grandiose plans
2- What will happen in 2-3 years time when the airfield is running at an inevitable loss .... who will pay ?. The local tax payer ? GA ? Before Paul came along the Council charged £20 a landing and got no visitors.... not too long before we see that again I think ... or else it will be sold off for housing development as all the services are now being put in place ...
3- Paul single-handedly has added a huge amount to GA on the west coast, because he is passionate about it. I can't see the other operators having quite the dedication or understanding of GA ... I am bothered that they may just end up as HIAL clones more worried about playing at being air traffic controllers ...
I hope I am proved wrong here, but Oban will now have to work doubly hard to win back a lot of cheesed off/disillusioned pilots ....
Better red than ...
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Appleby-in-Westmorland Cumbria England
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I was in Oban yesterday also. There are now two parts to the service arrangement at the airport. You go to a new green shack to pay for the landing fees, and somebody fills in a coloured flight strip to control the flights. Helicopters outnumbers fixed wing for the first time in living memory. There were more aircraft movements at Glenforsa than Oban in the CAVOK conditions of Saturday.
Only 03/21 in use. The old 19 numbers current about 5 feet deep under diggers. The approach to 21 is over high-ish ground and over the light aircraft park.
Paul and Alan have been moved to the spot next to the green Oban Flying Club hangar and dispense fuel, tea, dodgers & etc as before. Brian has been laid off due to a significant fall in trade as have all the part time local staff.
On the phone the airfield manager mentioned that Sheffield was his old airfield but did not mention if it was as one of the succession of 'General Managers' of the old Sheffield City International or as a GA pilot who was resident there. Either way, local employment 0, incomers 1. Strange out-turn for a local authority inspired plot to develop the local ecomony.
If you want GA to survive in the region, for Gawd's sake get up there and buy some fuel .... (go in dry
).
Only 03/21 in use. The old 19 numbers current about 5 feet deep under diggers. The approach to 21 is over high-ish ground and over the light aircraft park.
Paul and Alan have been moved to the spot next to the green Oban Flying Club hangar and dispense fuel, tea, dodgers & etc as before. Brian has been laid off due to a significant fall in trade as have all the part time local staff.
On the phone the airfield manager mentioned that Sheffield was his old airfield but did not mention if it was as one of the succession of 'General Managers' of the old Sheffield City International or as a GA pilot who was resident there. Either way, local employment 0, incomers 1. Strange out-turn for a local authority inspired plot to develop the local ecomony.
If you want GA to survive in the region, for Gawd's sake get up there and buy some fuel .... (go in dry
).
Join Date: Apr 2001
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I don't think the new Aerodrome Development Manager is ex-Sheffield. You may be thinking of Terry Marsden, who is the council's long-term airport consultant and is currently running Oban pro tem until the newly appointed person comes in.
Do remember though that Paul no longer gets any income from landing fees, only from fuel, so don't go in there expecting him to be running a cafe as well as a bowser.
Meantime, anyone got some spare cash to buy an Islander off Loganair and lease it back to them? That now looks like the only way there'll ever be any passenger services out of the new Oban because the end of Loganair's air ambulance contract on 31 March means they can no longer cross-subsidise basing Islanders at Kirkwall and Tingwall and have no requirement for one at Glasgow.
NS
Originally Posted by helicopter-redeye
Paul and Alan have been moved to the spot next to the green Oban Flying Club hangar and dispense fuel, tea, dodgers & etc as before
Meantime, anyone got some spare cash to buy an Islander off Loganair and lease it back to them? That now looks like the only way there'll ever be any passenger services out of the new Oban because the end of Loganair's air ambulance contract on 31 March means they can no longer cross-subsidise basing Islanders at Kirkwall and Tingwall and have no requirement for one at Glasgow.
NS
Better red than ...
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I should add that there is a service charge for 'handling' (£5 for 3 people to drink tean and eat JD's) - still good value IMHO
h-r
Updated, by Paul in exchange for the 'services' (i.e. Tea and biccys, just like every other cafe in the known world)...
The cost of Avgas was quite significantly less than I paid later in the weekend at EGNC (Carlise) but a little more than Sheffield or Wellesbourne.
h-r
Updated, by Paul in exchange for the 'services' (i.e. Tea and biccys, just like every other cafe in the known world)...
The cost of Avgas was quite significantly less than I paid later in the weekend at EGNC (Carlise) but a little more than Sheffield or Wellesbourne.
Last edited by helicopter-redeye; 3rd May 2006 at 08:12.
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I am not sure from the last post who is making this handling charge(?) and I am always a little bit wary when I hear the dreaded "handling charge" phrase, especially in relation to a small field Like Oban.. Is this charge in addition to the landing fee? ie is Paul now making his own private landing fee? and if so how much are the landing fees for singles and twins under the new regime? and how does Paul's price for Avgas compare with the average? ( I realise prices are on the up at the moment.) I am not knocking Paul ( great guy) but he cant be there to feed us all with jammy dodgers and has to eke out a living more than ever these days, so what are the real cost comparisons here?
