Fly-in-air-home / Flamping :)
 

Greetings,

So thought id just have a quick ask around on here to gauge interest and comments please on a potential project that could...... come to fruition subject to the normal caveats....

So, if there was a fly-in community at Bembridge (EGHJ) on the Isle of Wight, and you could taxi and park next to your holiday home (it would be a park home variety - NOT bricks and mortar or your own design) or you could fly your plane down to the island for a long weekend and rent one of the new park homes actually on the airfield would you be interested?

For those that have been into Bembridge, you will know that all around the airfield is holiday static caravan parks, a stunning beach with a couple of Cafe's on it, and a whole host of restaurants and beautiful walks etc.

There would be electric / eco cars you will be able to use, bikes etc and hopefully a shop, reception cum tower kind of thing.

It would be operated in exactly the same way as most park home holiday parks in that you could buy your own or rent - but effectively it would be the Isle of Wights version of Spruce Creek fly in community in Florida.

So this is just a concept / plan at present and will be meeting the land owner next week to discuss, it would be really good to get some feedback if possible on whether you think there is sufficient demand to maybe take next steps and ask the planners........... (which is where it could all fall over....) however the Isle of Wight is a major tourist destination, Bembridge has a concrete 800m runway and is close to all amenities and its a fab place to hang out and relax.

Please remember this is just a concept and proposal and looking for feedback on interest / demand.

Many thanks indeed if you can share your thoughts either public or in private to me.

Blue skies and don't forget to round-out :ok:

the storm that blows through and flips your aeroplane has a message.
HANGAR.

...good to see you get that message.

There are at least two air parks here in France

there are a good deal more

No doubt, but I only know of the "local" ones

Nice idea.

Would one be allowed to live there permanently?

I thought this exact plan was mooted on here a number of years ago.

Bembridge do not appear to be currently very aviation friendly. I don't know of the two which is the most aviation averse - Bembridge or Lee !

Since there appear to already be various campsites within walking distance from the airfield and presumably one can already rent/lease/buy stationary mobile homes there already, what will the new scheme offer that the old one does not (apart from electric scooters to get around :cool:)?

You may get a good idea of the viability of the new scheme by trying to find out the fill rate and profit margins on the existing campsites.

On a personal level, I can think of nothing worse than stationary mobile homes :yuk: - even with an aeroplane parked outside - so you can count me out.

Finally, be careful as it may become the thin end of the wedge - if you persuade the landowner that more of those horrid tin boxes are the way to make more money, the whole aerodrome will soon be gone :ugh:

Baikonour

Depends on your idea of "Aviation Friendly".
I often fly to Bembridge ...

Call the Vectis GC, leave message and contact number along with callsign and ETA.

Fly over , Blind call , fly the appropiate circuit, Land and park on grass North of Runway, walk round to Propellor Inn/ Hangar deposit Landing Fee.

Leaving , check windsock , Blind call intentions ,Taxi to whatever end of Runway and depart ..........
What more do you need ?

I call this extremely Aviation Friendly !

Only wish more airfields could operate like this !


Good idea by the OP, but fear the market might be quite small so return on investment would take a long time.


Static Caravan would not be as appealing as ,say, a Timber Lodge style home

Need to cater for Aviators bring their own home with them ( Tents ! )

Shobdon do this very well

Biggest bonus that Bembridge ( or any other Airfield for that matter ) could provide would be a number of Hire cycles located on the airfield

My idea of 'aviation friendly' is that the last time - admittedly some while ago - we thought about going to Bembridge we were told that the airfield was closed to all but the gliding club owing to a dispute between the farmer (landowner) and someone else.

If you are saying that it is now all change and everything is now 'sweetness and light', that's great !

I have been there since itwas taken over by the gliding club (~2 years ago), it was all friendly then.

Captain Kremmen

Yes, Bembridge has been open for flying in as I described for something like the last 18 months.

Instructions are here....

AIRFIELD INFO


landing fee for a single is £12

Easy walk to town for Crab and Lobster or Beach Cafe, Whitecliff Bay for Swimming, Propellor Inn on airfield for refreshments , Lunch /dinner if not venturing off the immediate area.

Now right next door is very friendly Sandown, having radio helps too.

Hangarage sometimes available, otherwise plenty of open parking. Avgas on tap. Microlights land for £5, bigger stuff AFIK £10.

Two owners bought it early last year & both fly for fun, one used to have flex wing, both now gyro's. Bought the field to get it functioning & have done the drainage needed uprating, mow the grass and sorted the cafe's premises etc.

Nice cafe all week at the main buildings. Caravan site next to the top west corner, speak to Carla in the cafe if you arrive at short notice.

Bembridge, TBH is pretty bleak and unattended. Never answers radio blind calls when passing, pretty open to public access and I'm not aware of any security.
Thus a big investment without any initial base custom to provide income, might take some seasons for publicity and 'the word' to get around. I'd be curious why BN did leave as one gathers the owner fell out with them in a big way and constructed bunds/earth mounds to prevent their a/c accessing the runway. One rumour is owner wanted big £££ for maintenance.
Might be worth asking Sandown what they could do - it has a lot more by way of GA traffic for a start.

mike hallam.

Jetscream, I like the idea, and with retirement coming up I would certainly be interested.
Don't dismiss the comments of the naysayers but equally, don't let the miserable buggers get you down. The UK needs something like this.

Hi Jetscream,

I also think the idea has legs.....and wish it well.:D
Please keep us up to date with progress.

Reading my post it looks like I was a naysayer... :oh:

The point I was trying to make (ignoring my dislike of tin boxes and trying to be constructive :) was that what you want to achieve already almost exists - albeit with a slightly longer walk than it would be if you could leave your 'plane outside your own door.

At Bembridge, and also at many other aerodromes, there are already mobile homes within (very) easy walking distance from the strip.

What I would therefore suggest is that you:
a. find out how those similar offerings are doing financially
b. find a way to clearly differentiate your offering from what already exists
c. try to estimate how that difference will translate into increased income/reduced outgoings...

Call me deluded, but I think that the UK already has lots of things very close to this.

Out of interest, Shoestring and FBM - have you looked at purchasing/renting a caravan/mobile home in one of the many campsites/caravanparks close to aerodromes across the country?
If not, why not?

Baikonour

I for one think this is a great idea. I would like to echo the comment regarding static caravans though. They are pretty ugly things that I wouldn't pay to spend the night in. However, proper cabins would be great.

I reckon the way to make it work is to allow the non-flying public to also rent the cabins, that way the money would keep coming in and the investment would be recouped in a sensible amount of time. You would of course need to locate the aircraft parking far enough away from the cabins that kids throwing things around wouldn't be able damage aeroplanes.

If there were then electric cars/scooters and bicycles available for a reasonable fee then I reckon that completes the picture. I would certainly fly in.

@Mike Hallam, I'll also be popping in to Sandown! I love the field and haven't dropped by since you guys took over. I applaud your can-do attitude and wish there were more people in British GA like you. If I'm not feeling flush enough to rent one of Bembridge's chalets then I'll be dropping by to camp with you.

Good luck guys, its the risk takers like you that will reap the rewards. Perhaps there are local authorities that will help you out with loans or grants if you're drawing 'wealthy aviators' to the island? (Though I'm sure you've probably explored this avenue already)