Olympics interception practice ?

[pabely]

IN FOCUS: Business aviation Olympic preparations accelerate

Just forget any GA during the Olympics in London area. You will not be welcome!

[FREDAcheck]

Just forget any GA during the Olympics in London area. You will not be welcome!

Not just in the air. Traffic on the ground will be a nightmare, with ZIL lanes for Olympic traffic reducing road capacity, and public transport similarly constrained. Some hotels have been speculating that Olympic business might not make up for loss of normal business revenue, as everyone not involved in the Olympics is treating London as a Total Exclusion Zone for the summer.

We often have business meetings in London as it's often the easiest place for everyone all around the UK to get to, but over the summer we'll have meetings on Pluto in preference to travel to London.

[UV]

IN FOCUS: Business aviation Olympic preparations accelerate

Says it all really...from the CAA in the above document...

The operators of these aircraft will need to book a slot to enter the wide area of restricted airspace that will apply from 14 July to 15 August, but the CAA says few have done so.

From Biggin Hill...

As an example of what London area business aircraft airports can expect, Biggin Hill airport business development manager Robert Walters said about 180 slots specific to Olympics attendance have been booked with Biggin as their destination, but he expects many more. This is over and above the normal 1,200-1,800 business movements that the airport gets anyway, with July always at the higher end of the range. Walters advised booking slots soon because "their numbers are finite".

So Biggin have approx 10% more than their usual movements. Or in other words, about 5.5 slots per day overall during the 33 days of the games..no wonder Walters is encouaging bookings!

At our Airfield ( 12 miles from the games) with a 6000 ft runway we have, wait for it, ZERO bookings!

[peterh337]

I am not actually suprised.

I am reliably informed that the vast majority of high net worth individuals are going to be absolutely nowhere near London for the whole duration of the games. And those who are desperate enough to watch some event can fly to London, in great comfort and with limo service at both ends, using 1st class airline travel.

The silly "Welcome to London [insert airport name**] Airport, your gateway to the London Olympics" stuff has been grossly overdone.

** Southend, Manston , Lydd , Biggin, Norwich... which ones did I leave out?

[MichaelJP59]

It does seem strange.

The operators of these aircraft will need to book a slot to enter the wide area of restricted airspace that will apply from 14 July to 15 August, but the CAA says few have done so.

Have they even considered the possibility that few have done so because the demand just isn't there? Was there a massive influx of private jets for the 2008 Olympics?

Anyway, hope it all goes off well, I'm sure everyone's looking forward to see who wins the 100 yards dash

[fulham fan]

Two points - the kind of people who book these flights tend not to do so until the last minute - so not expected that the numbers of bookings are currently low. Secondly the last world cup in South Africa had more business aviation movements than the Government is currently predicting for the London Olympics!

[piperarcher]

** Southend, Manston , Lydd , Biggin, Norwich... which ones did I leave out?

London Oxford Airport ;-)

This used to bother me, but then you fly to an airport with the word "Milan" in it's name, and you end up somewhere equal in similar distance that 'London SouthEnd' is to central London

[Nibbler]

I'm waiting for London Newcastle

Pleased to see the Scots seem to have more sense, or do they have more regional pride!?

On topic - I wonder what the likely affect of a 'serious' (although non-terrorist) incident would have on the future of GA?

[Rod1]

How fast is the helicopter the RAF are using? I thought it was 150kn, which will not catch some light aircraft.

Rod1

[pulse1]

Don't know about the RAF helicopter but the RN are using the Lynx which has a top speed of 200 mph - more than enough for most light aircraft, I would have thought.

[aluminium persuader]

Just watch out for wake turbulence - both Puma & Merlin are "small"

[FREDAcheck]

** Southend, Manston , Lydd , Biggin, Norwich... which ones did I leave out?

London Oxford Airport ;-)

Not forgetting LKI (London Knettishall International)

[abgd]

Just watch out for wake turbulence - both Puma & Merlin are "small"

I wonder if there's any class of aircraft capable of intercepting a powered paraglider without killing the pilot. Perhaps an autogyro. Or an airship.