scenic flying around London from Biggin Hill?
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Rapunzel's tower
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City Zone Transits
London City is at its busiest between around 7.30-10am and 5.30-8pm Mon-Fri.
Sat mornings are fairly quiet, then very little or no traffic from 12.30pm Sat - 12.30pm Sun (planning regulations), traffic ramps up a bit again in peak hours of Sunday evening.
Best to avoid those peak hours, particularly in a fixed wing, as delays are almost inevitable.
Having knowledge of the VRPs in and around the zone will help (Banbury Reservoir - Three Mills Gasometers effectively defines the Lea Valley, and routes over the Olympic Park....M11 J4 - Beckton Roundabout follows the line feature of the A406 North Circular....Thames Barrier to the south is self explanatory...."Isle of Dogs", whilst not a VRP, is a commonly used holding point over the River Thames at Greenwich).
Knowing the basic IFR traffic pattern also helps...
RW27 arrivals are generally a straight in approach from the east, SID departures all turn to the north abeam the O2 Arena (or "the dome").
RW09 arrivals are mostly downwind righthand (at 2000ft), base leg generally just inside the City zone, before establishing on the ILS near London bridge. SID departures from RW09 turn to the north about 1nm from the end of the runway (abeam restricted area R107).
For North-South or South-North Transits
If LCY is on RW09 the Lea Valley route to/from Isle of Dogs is generally the best (this effectively deconflicts transit traffic from the departures, leaving only the inbounds to contend with).
If LCY is on RW27 the A406 route to/from Thames Barrier is generally the best (again this effectively deconflicts transit traffic from the departures, leaving only the inbounds to contend with).
If holding is necessary fixed-wing aircraft are generally given instructions such as "Hold south of Thames Barrier VRP/Isle of Dogs" or "hold north of Three Mills Gasometers VRP/Beckton Roundabout VRP" due to the larger orbit than helicopters. This helps to protect IFR traffic on final approach from nuisance TCAS RAs.
Oh, and if you're trying to get visual with IFR traffic on approach remember it's a 5.5degree glidepath so they may appear a little higher than usual!
Heathrow Radar freq. 125.625 (first contact), if no joy try Thames Radar 132.7
If LCY is busy expect to be transferred to City Tower 118.075
Feel free to ask me any questions...I'll try and answer as best I can!
Happy landings (although preferably at your intended, not LCY!
)
Sat mornings are fairly quiet, then very little or no traffic from 12.30pm Sat - 12.30pm Sun (planning regulations), traffic ramps up a bit again in peak hours of Sunday evening.
Best to avoid those peak hours, particularly in a fixed wing, as delays are almost inevitable.
Having knowledge of the VRPs in and around the zone will help (Banbury Reservoir - Three Mills Gasometers effectively defines the Lea Valley, and routes over the Olympic Park....M11 J4 - Beckton Roundabout follows the line feature of the A406 North Circular....Thames Barrier to the south is self explanatory...."Isle of Dogs", whilst not a VRP, is a commonly used holding point over the River Thames at Greenwich).
Knowing the basic IFR traffic pattern also helps...
RW27 arrivals are generally a straight in approach from the east, SID departures all turn to the north abeam the O2 Arena (or "the dome").
RW09 arrivals are mostly downwind righthand (at 2000ft), base leg generally just inside the City zone, before establishing on the ILS near London bridge. SID departures from RW09 turn to the north about 1nm from the end of the runway (abeam restricted area R107).
For North-South or South-North Transits
If LCY is on RW09 the Lea Valley route to/from Isle of Dogs is generally the best (this effectively deconflicts transit traffic from the departures, leaving only the inbounds to contend with).
If LCY is on RW27 the A406 route to/from Thames Barrier is generally the best (again this effectively deconflicts transit traffic from the departures, leaving only the inbounds to contend with).
If holding is necessary fixed-wing aircraft are generally given instructions such as "Hold south of Thames Barrier VRP/Isle of Dogs" or "hold north of Three Mills Gasometers VRP/Beckton Roundabout VRP" due to the larger orbit than helicopters. This helps to protect IFR traffic on final approach from nuisance TCAS RAs.
Oh, and if you're trying to get visual with IFR traffic on approach remember it's a 5.5degree glidepath so they may appear a little higher than usual!
Heathrow Radar freq. 125.625 (first contact), if no joy try Thames Radar 132.7
If LCY is busy expect to be transferred to City Tower 118.075
Feel free to ask me any questions...I'll try and answer as best I can!
Happy landings (although preferably at your intended, not LCY!
)
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: ESSEX
Age: 55
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Or you could just fly into Damyns Hall (EGML) (inside the M25 close to the QE2 Bridge) its free landings and fuel is £1.80 and talk to the award wining Deepac (resident instructor there) and he will talk you through flying that bit of airspace to view the dome etc.
PS, singles banned at City not strictly true, I flew a single in and out of there last year
PS, singles banned at City not strictly true, I flew a single in and out of there last year
Sub Judice Angel Lovegod
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: London
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I fly my Aztec on a sightseeing tour from Biggin along the Thames most Sunday mornings.
The route is Crystal Palace, Westminster (orbit), St Paul's, Tower (orbit), Docklands, Greenwich, Dome, Olympics, Thames Barrier, Biggin.
I normally do it for charity, as a fundraiser, but would be willing to look at a cost sharing trip if three people fancy it.
The route is Crystal Palace, Westminster (orbit), St Paul's, Tower (orbit), Docklands, Greenwich, Dome, Olympics, Thames Barrier, Biggin.
I normally do it for charity, as a fundraiser, but would be willing to look at a cost sharing trip if three people fancy it.
