Beware landing at Farnborough
 

Yesterday morning I was flying a Seneca light twin over a fog bound London. Destination was Fairoaks. Ok wishful thinking but approaching CPT I got an actual for Farnborough which was next door to Fairoaks.

Weather was 1500 metres overcast at 200 feet.

Asked for a weather diversion into Farnborough to be told that they would accept me but at a minumum charge of £360 for a 1999 kg seneca.

So pilots of GA beware flying in weather were you need an ILS.

Pace

Diversions
 

???? I thought they were supposed to be free if the diversion was for saftey reasons. Were you flying private??

Seem to recall something like that, but not sure what sector it was aimed at.

Pace, were you IFR or VFR? And did the weather deteriorate unexpectedly, making Farnborough your only alternative?

One would hope at a minimum the intent was to be IFR once within 1000 ft of the fog layer.

My recollection of the weather yesterday morning in the area was - it was forecast to be foul and it delivered on the forecast - hence a bit of cheek trying to argue that landing at the ILS next door was a weather diversion.

I suspect somewhere like Biggin would have been more amminable to viewing it as a weather diversion (there is no incremental costs) whereas for Farnborough, it uses one of their very limited and hence highly valuable landing slots (which could have been used for a Hawker with a few limos and another couple of cases of Cristal from caterring :green eyed envy comming out: )

It is a shame the town has capped the movement level at such a low level (and also not put differential caps in - i.e 15k turbine movements/>7.5 tonne and 15k light movements) This would have kept the local peace but not so badly constrained the use of a wonderful facility.

I was flying IFR but outside controlled airspace. Weather was low all around London so admittedly poor chance of getting into Fairoaks but a chance if it lifted and broke enough on route.

They did have a weather diversion clause in place but now think you have to pay up front and then write in and make a good case which mine probably isnt :) I could imagine many would file for a VFR airfield when weather made it not possible and then divert???

One interesting point is i do not think Farnborough take singles anymore other than in a very genuine weather/emergency. A request by me to depart up north and return pm had the ops needing to check that a standard arrival was ok in a light GA. As it was a twin the answer was yes but never made it back anyway.

But it is a concern that GA lights are persona non grata and charged a fortune to keep them away. It would be interesting to hear others and their experiences and charges around other major london airports?

My point is if you do fly hard weather in light GA and have to use largish airports expect to be stung even if your destination was not achievable.

Genuine diversion would now read deteriorated weather at your VFR airport destination after departure not hoping for it to improve at destination before arrival :)

Biggin was in fog as is usually the case as it starts to lift from the ground.


Pace

The No Singles policy at EGLF is NOTAMed and is still valid.

Well, to be brutally honest, I don't think your flight, in this particular case, would have been called a "weather diversion" under the Strasser scheme. I'm not sure what the exact criteria would be, but it sounds like you could just as easily have diverted to any other airfield in SE UK (and fuel permitting, outside of that area as well).

I realize that Farnborough would be ideal as it is close to your destination (Fairoaks) but "being close to your destination" should no longer be on your mind for a genuine all-charges-waived weather diversion, should it?

That is a shame and I am sure would not occur in the USA. I can understand when a single could use Fairoaks, blackbushe etc in minimal VFR but where do they go when thats not the case?

But maybe you shouldnt fly a single above 100/200 foot cloudbases? That would upset the TBM700 and Pilatus brigade.

Backpacker

I take your point and to be fair to me I did not push for a genuine weather diversion or not wanting to pay( but pay what ? £360 seems very excessive for the weight of plane and is a warning to others.

Pace

Really easy to find that out while airborne.... Just need a satellite phone, linked to a PC running a web browser :)

There actually aren't that many bad weather options with an ILS around these parts. Southend or Bournemouth both offer 200ft or so DH. Biggin is much less likely to, being on top of a hill.

Manston perhaps? There seems to be a permanent notam that their radar is O/S.

Pace

Out of interest, where did you manage to land in the end and what did it cost you?

AP

I am sure EGLF's decision is based on the very limited number of movements they are allowed and the very small amount of money you can reasonably charge a single. It is a tremendous shame that such an asset has so many restrictions on it :(

IO - you sound almost like you have near time radar/ Serfics, TAFs, METARs and NOTAMs (for a few extra # given its larger page size) delivered via satcom to the cockpit ;)

Bournemouth:
Landing fee: £14.50 per tonne MTWA plus parking


Add fuel, ... , hmmm, not that bad I reckon

The old days of declaring a PAN come to mind :)

Landed at Farnborough and IT cost £360 but did not cost ME :) But in that sort of weather you are becoming limted with your options on cheaper landings.

would love to know why the no singles policy PC12 comes to mind?


Pace

Not even a masochist would be getting notams over a satellite internet connection :)

But, seriously, Farnborough is a bit like Italy :)

Oh I don't know... A single simple URL (Fly) will give you all current RA(T)'s in about 30K, works fine on small screen, etc.

I'm not sure why all the talk of singles, given that Pace was flying a twin.

I had to make a safety diversion close to Farnborough a few years ago - I was offered Odiham or Farnborough. I chose Odiham simply because they were nearer (but not by very much) who were the height of professionalism, and didn't charge me a fee because it was a safety diversion.

But, be aware that Odiham has no Avgas, only Avtur.

G

Just for info, this is the articulation of the policy.

So clearly no worries if your PC12 is EGLF based. And If you are a down on your luck rock star forced into the single engine turbine class you probably are an 'exceptional circumstance'!

EGTF
 

So I was 't the only one flying yesterday. Was nice being above the cloud but not fun getting down.

Agree with that the sky seemed devoid of light GA. Maybe Farnborough should say cloud below 300 feet and light GA welcome. They wouldnt have many callers as there werent that many idiots like us bashing around :)

Pace