airfieldcards site down?
 

For several days now I find myself unable to connect to www.airfieldcards.com - a most laudable initiative by one single getleman, called Vince, if I understand things correctly.
What could be ailing? Hopefully it is only stupid me who got the url wrong?

..... I’m not a member, but I think it is on Facebook.

Further to the above it looks like it may be back up and running in a few weeks?

Thanks, chaps, FB is a no-no for me. Will just have to be patient, I suppose.

IS ITDOWN RIGHT NOW? Is a useful site for those occasional problems!

I know Vince's other site www.microlightforum.com has been down for a few weeks now. I think it was previously the victim of a ransomware attack IIRC. I don't know if that is the case this time, but I hope they come back from whatever the problem is.

Well, after so many months the site is still unavailable (as is his other site), I suppose I should give up hoping.
Really sad, it was such a nice site, with all the information a recreational motor pilot requires - and no, FB is really not an option for me.

Agreed. It was really useful. I wonder what the reason is.

I looked up “airfield cards” on FB. The last post is from 2019 and the website link is dead.

I’ve sent a message. Perhaps someone in the UK might like to try the phone number.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....e5af0f63f.jpeg

If the site is not going to be revived there is some historic data available here: https://web.archive.org/web/20190821...ieldcards.com/

Obviously one would need to be careful about any updates since that date, but I suppose what's there could still be useful to some?

FP.

Well, I've just looked up our airfield and I would say this is quite dangerous and should NOT be used! The information is dangerously out-of-date.
We sometimes get people calling for PPR who are quite clearly using an out-of-date airfield guide. Fortunately, we are able to put these people straight but so many don't bother looking up the latest info and/or calling. Some people like to cling to their dog-eared old guide from 1982 or maybe they're just too mean to shell out for a new one, at the cost of a couple of gallons of fuel.
We had an aircraft over the weekend making an approach to a runway that had its layout completely changed and finally went around.
So, my advice is, DON'T TAKE THIS INFO. Ideally, in my opinion, the site should be taken down in the interests of flight safety.

TOO

Publication of outdated information is an eternal danger indeed and this is only one example. The worst of it is that some aerodrome operators don't even care to keep their own website up to date, far less its information elsewhere.
All but the most stupid of airfield directories carry disclaimers prominently, and so does this one
but then again, not everybody reads the manual of their mobile phone, nor even the notice included with medicine. Calling the destination aerodrome operator before take-off should be routine, even if only as a matter of courtesy. It is only certain North Americans who seem unable to understand/accept that evidency.

The trouble with efforts like this is that there will inevitably always be some out of date information, but taking down everything would be a major loss of the bulk of useful information. I manage a website with information on East African airfields. It carries a large banner saying:

material contained here ........
... IS NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION.
It is provided for entertainment only. It is known to contain errors

And every page carries the disclaimer:
Remember, this information is KNOWN to contain many errors! It can act as a guide, but must be carefully checked

(Also of course, by definition the archived link that the link above points to, carries out of date information and cannot (easily) be taken down!)