Kidlington now "London Oxford"
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Kidlington now "London Oxford"
According to the news yesterday, Kidlington airport at Oxford has been renamed "London Oxford" by management - only 69 miles from London! 
Anyone feel another airspace grab coming up?
Note:- Apologies. A pi** taking comment on the name change has already posted in Jet Blast but it's the potential TMZ and then Class A creep that worries me - the Oxford/Abingdon north-south corridor is already very crowded open airspace without any more squeeze effect.
Anyone feel another airspace grab coming up?
Note:- Apologies. A pi** taking comment on the name change has already posted in Jet Blast but it's the potential TMZ and then Class A creep that worries me - the Oxford/Abingdon north-south corridor is already very crowded open airspace without any more squeeze effect.
Last edited by astir 8; 18th Aug 2009 at 10:51.
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<<the potential TMZ and then Class A creep that worries me >>
Why should it worry you when you accept that it's already crowded airspace? I was a controller at Kidlington in 1971 and what went on in the surrounding uncontrolled airspace frightened me to death! Heaven knows what it's like nowadays...
Why should it worry you when you accept that it's already crowded airspace? I was a controller at Kidlington in 1971 and what went on in the surrounding uncontrolled airspace frightened me to death! Heaven knows what it's like nowadays...
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I wish it WAS controlled airspace, for similar reasons to Heathrow Director. I've had a couple of worrying occurrences in that area over the years.
Oxford have the busy airspace but no radar, Brize have the radar but not the airspace.....
Pilots who declare a VFR departure from Oxford but go IMC in the climb towards transit traffic when still on Oxford's approach frequency don't help.
It can be difficult to know who best to speak to at times.
Oxford have the busy airspace but no radar, Brize have the radar but not the airspace.....
Pilots who declare a VFR departure from Oxford but go IMC in the climb towards transit traffic when still on Oxford's approach frequency don't help.
It can be difficult to know who best to speak to at times.
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Not a lot - goes on.
There is a rumour that Oxford is no longer all that GA friendly.
There is a reasonable amount of training some of which departs airways and not a lot else.
The surrounding airspace is not particularly busy other than sunny weekends when every where is busy.
I visit Kidlington quite regularly. The new GA terminal is wonderful and they should make an effort to be more GA friendly, lest so many airports forget that the executive jet traffic can disappear as quickly as it came, as can all the intense young students and the CAT.
There is a rumour that Oxford is no longer all that GA friendly.
There is a reasonable amount of training some of which departs airways and not a lot else.
The surrounding airspace is not particularly busy other than sunny weekends when every where is busy.
I visit Kidlington quite regularly. The new GA terminal is wonderful and they should make an effort to be more GA friendly, lest so many airports forget that the executive jet traffic can disappear as quickly as it came, as can all the intense young students and the CAT.
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Wouldnt read too much into it its just a marketing ploy to encourage business aircraft to use Oxford enroute to central London.
Possibly also a google thing to bring up Oxford on typing London Airports
The same happened with good old Halfpenny Green turned into wolverhampton.
Pace
Possibly also a google thing to bring up Oxford on typing London Airports
The same happened with good old Halfpenny Green
turned into wolverhampton.Pace
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..and then back into Halfpenny Green.
East Midlands into Nottingham East Midlands then back into East Midlands....
East Midlands into Nottingham East Midlands then back into East Midlands....
I think you're all being too parochial. Come on, let's think out of the box! Why let distance from London and lack of transport links limit who can call themselves "London Airport"? From the Beeb article:
Distance to London Airports
What's wrong with London Insch? (Aberdeenshire, 554 miles or 886km driving distance from Parliament Square.)
- London City nine miles (15km)
- London Heathrow 18 miles (29km)
- London Gatwick 30 miles (48km)
- London Luton 34 miles (55km)
- London Stansted 38 miles (61km)
- London Southend 43 miles (69km)
- London Oxford 62 miles (100km)
- London Ashford (aka Lydd) 73 miles (117km)
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It's all so they can attract RYR!
If there is to be an airspace grab then I think it would more logically be an extension of the Brize Delta - especially when the Herc's move from Lyneham.
Personnally - can't see it happenng for a few years yet, if at all. People have tried starting scheduled services from Oxford a number of times in the past with little success.
If there is to be an airspace grab then I think it would more logically be an extension of the Brize Delta - especially when the Herc's move from Lyneham.
Personnally - can't see it happenng for a few years yet, if at all. People have tried starting scheduled services from Oxford a number of times in the past with little success.
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London Oxford
I have no idea what you lot are on about.
I operate out of London Aberdeen. Its only c.550miles from london and there ARE train links, flight connections, National Express AND taxi's to the city centre.
69 miles!!!!! You don't know you're born.
London Oxford! What a load of old sh*t.
I operate out of London Aberdeen. Its only c.550miles from london and there ARE train links, flight connections, National Express AND taxi's to the city centre.
69 miles!!!!! You don't know you're born.
London Oxford! What a load of old sh*t.
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Flew into Oxford about three weeks ago in a PA28 and found all the staff very friendly and helpful so I don't think it can be rumoured that they are not GA friendly. With 1319 metres of main runway I don't think they can have too many pretensions at being a major player in the "London Sweepstakes."
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London Oxford
I just hope that they can make the airport financially viable. Oxford is one of the very few regional airports that are open decent hours have a published IFR procedure and are reasonably placed and priced. I was there last Friday for a checkride and found all the staff very helpful especially the controller. Airspace around Oxford is busy if VFR with Weston Brize etc so for me controlled airspace where you can get service like the excellent Farnbrough facility would be great in the centre of the England.
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I remember when Schiphol used to advertise itself as "London's Fourth Airport". So something 'local' like Oxford can probably claim to be a London airport just like London-Luton and London-Stansted.
I do worry about the potential for increases in controled airpsace in the area - that'll further choke the remaining Open FIR traffic into an ever smaller space. To the East of Brize on a sunny day you'll find hundreds of GA, Microlights and gliders all in the same area. If that area is then shrunk further then the collision risk must grow quite significantly.
I do worry about the potential for increases in controled airpsace in the area - that'll further choke the remaining Open FIR traffic into an ever smaller space. To the East of Brize on a sunny day you'll find hundreds of GA, Microlights and gliders all in the same area. If that area is then shrunk further then the collision risk must grow quite significantly.
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Not that it has any more reevance than a good many of the other posts in this thread...but I recall that Southend renamed themselves London-Southed in the AIP a few years ago. The CAA took a rather dim view - demonstrating a surprisingly good grasp of geography - saying that they were nowhere near London and that they couldn't change the name.
The airport still calls itself London-Southend, and that's the company name too - but in the AIP it's still plain old Southend (in so many ways).
And I doon't think there was much of an airspace grab after that little episode.....
The airport still calls itself London-Southend, and that's the company name too - but in the AIP it's still plain old Southend (in so many ways).
And I doon't think there was much of an airspace grab after that little episode.....
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Spitoon -you are wrong. Southend was not renamed to London Southend in the AIP a few years ago. All that happened was that to increase functionality of the document,AIS put an extra cross reference in for Southend under 'London Southend' under the airfields entry list because so many people know the airport as 'London Southend' after it was renamed that in the early 1990's. The AIP entry itself remained as Southend.
I believe pressure was then brought to bear to remove the extra link.
The CAA would seem to agree that Southend is a London area airport - look at the airport statistics page on the ERG pages.
I believe pressure was then brought to bear to remove the extra link.
The CAA would seem to agree that Southend is a London area airport - look at the airport statistics page on the ERG pages.