NPAS News 2022
I we could all spend all day dismantling that statement which appears not to have been written by Mayor Tracey.
But I have another one from a different mayor to marvel at. It appeared on line as a quote from the London Assembly Hansard last month.In late June a member of the London Assembly, Unmesh Desai, put in a request for information after receiving a number of complaints from members of the public on Brewer Street, in the Soho District of central London. He was asking on average how many Police helicopters are there flying over London per day and how often do they fly past Brewer Street?
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, replied that although the Metropolitan Police advised that it was not possible to indicate how many times a police helicopter has transited specifically over Brewer Street.
In contrast NPAS stated they spend limited time over central London due to the extensive Closed Circuit TV network that can provide similar imagery overview. That is the future then, CCTV and drones.
The Mayor was provided with information regarding deployments of NPAS helicopters to Westminster postcodes between January and May 2022 inclusive:
January 1
February 5
March 1
April 2
May 0
In five months only 9 passes were made over Soho central London with a helicopter from a fleet of four?
It is fair to say that those people with knowledge of police helicopter flights over central London ‘a few years ago’ were horrified at the low numbers.
NPAS London struggled to get anything over the Jubilee celebrations, just one 145 out of four it now has allocated. The real reason may well be mechanical and management related.
But I have another one from a different mayor to marvel at. It appeared on line as a quote from the London Assembly Hansard last month.In late June a member of the London Assembly, Unmesh Desai, put in a request for information after receiving a number of complaints from members of the public on Brewer Street, in the Soho District of central London. He was asking on average how many Police helicopters are there flying over London per day and how often do they fly past Brewer Street?
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, replied that although the Metropolitan Police advised that it was not possible to indicate how many times a police helicopter has transited specifically over Brewer Street.
In contrast NPAS stated they spend limited time over central London due to the extensive Closed Circuit TV network that can provide similar imagery overview. That is the future then, CCTV and drones.
The Mayor was provided with information regarding deployments of NPAS helicopters to Westminster postcodes between January and May 2022 inclusive:
January 1
February 5
March 1
April 2
May 0
In five months only 9 passes were made over Soho central London with a helicopter from a fleet of four?
It is fair to say that those people with knowledge of police helicopter flights over central London ‘a few years ago’ were horrified at the low numbers.
NPAS London struggled to get anything over the Jubilee celebrations, just one 145 out of four it now has allocated. The real reason may well be mechanical and management related.
It is fair to say that those people with knowledge of police helicopter flights over central London ‘a few years ago’ were horrified at the low numbers.
NPAS London struggled to get anything over the Jubilee celebrations, just one 145 out of four it now has allocated. The real reason may well be mechanical and management related.
It is said that NPAS (or a person in NPAS) were horrified how the Met made their maintenance work. This was an organisation that started up around 1980 and built up expertise focussed on the aircraft in their charge (successively Bell 222, AS355, EC145) to make it work. In the early days there may have been some eyebrows lifted in surprise at the style but in later years less so. As Rigga stated they produced the goods when needed.
It worked but it was not how things were to be done in the new regime.
The operatives were made redundant. The maintenance was transferred to Airbus at Oxford.
Unfortunately, as anyone who is familiar with the maintenance line up at Oxford will testify, there are lines of EC135 and AS350 and 355 in bits but not a sign of any BO105 or BK117 derivatives other than the newly arrived NPAS airframes. In short they may as well have sent Oxford three Mil Mi-8s for all the expertise that they had. They have been behind the curve ever since, even as they got the hang of maintaining the engineer hungry 145s NPAS pulled the PBH to save money.
It worked but it was not how things were to be done in the new regime.
The operatives were made redundant. The maintenance was transferred to Airbus at Oxford.
Unfortunately, as anyone who is familiar with the maintenance line up at Oxford will testify, there are lines of EC135 and AS350 and 355 in bits but not a sign of any BO105 or BK117 derivatives other than the newly arrived NPAS airframes. In short they may as well have sent Oxford three Mil Mi-8s for all the expertise that they had. They have been behind the curve ever since, even as they got the hang of maintaining the engineer hungry 145s NPAS pulled the PBH to save money.
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DSA news.
Doncaster Sheffield Airport may be closing according to different news outlets.
Will NPAS move their new hangar or become night watchmen for Peel which happened at another airport a few years ago.
Peel owners news statement.
https://www.business-live.co.uk/econ...d-set-24477162
Will NPAS move their new hangar or become night watchmen for Peel which happened at another airport a few years ago.
Peel owners news statement.
https://www.business-live.co.uk/econ...d-set-24477162
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Fixed wing move to North Weald… sorted 
There are several stories in publication on this. Wikipedia gives a fair outline.
This may be a tactic.
In their dealings with other properties (they are after all simply property dealers and have no expansive knowledge or love of aircraft) they have changed their ownership percentages to suit their war chest. They managed to divest themselves of Teesside to the local authority after threats to close and may have thoughts of doing the same here. It is notable the Peel go where UK emergency services aviation goes. Liverpool [John Lennon, once home of Merseyside and Cheshire], Manchester City [police and air ambulance], Sheffield City [South Yorkshire], Teesside [NEASU] and DSA. They have NPAS and 2Excel the ever growing suppliers of Coast Guard fixed wing. So they are not without customers and 25 year leases at DSA but the Peel empire is only partly based on aviation.
Sheffield City was closed because it was failing and was a threat to their new project DSA [when it was Robin Hood]. That wrong footed South Yorkshire but they are still there using an industrial unit.
Another hard runway down the road at Gamston/Retford is now reducing aviation in favour of car testing.... possibly because there is simply insufficient aviation there. The industry is in a state but hopefully it will pass and the people of Doncaster and Sheffield will be off on holiday again and this [like Sheffield City] will just be a bad taste.
This may be a tactic.
In their dealings with other properties (they are after all simply property dealers and have no expansive knowledge or love of aircraft) they have changed their ownership percentages to suit their war chest. They managed to divest themselves of Teesside to the local authority after threats to close and may have thoughts of doing the same here. It is notable the Peel go where UK emergency services aviation goes. Liverpool [John Lennon, once home of Merseyside and Cheshire], Manchester City [police and air ambulance], Sheffield City [South Yorkshire], Teesside [NEASU] and DSA. They have NPAS and 2Excel the ever growing suppliers of Coast Guard fixed wing. So they are not without customers and 25 year leases at DSA but the Peel empire is only partly based on aviation.
Sheffield City was closed because it was failing and was a threat to their new project DSA [when it was Robin Hood]. That wrong footed South Yorkshire but they are still there using an industrial unit.
Another hard runway down the road at Gamston/Retford is now reducing aviation in favour of car testing.... possibly because there is simply insufficient aviation there. The industry is in a state but hopefully it will pass and the people of Doncaster and Sheffield will be off on holiday again and this [like Sheffield City] will just be a bad taste.
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Doncaster Sheffield
Article written by a respected aviation journalist, rather than the general mass media
https://www.regionalgateway.net/donc...ertain-future/
https://www.regionalgateway.net/donc...ertain-future/
There are several stories in publication on this. Wikipedia gives a fair outline.
This may be a tactic.
In their dealings with other properties (they are after all simply property dealers and have no expansive knowledge or love of aircraft) they have changed their ownership percentages to suit their war chest. They managed to divest themselves of Teesside to the local authority after threats to close and may have thoughts of doing the same here. It is notable the Peel go where UK emergency services aviation goes. Liverpool [John Lennon, once home of Merseyside and Cheshire], Manchester City [police and air ambulance], Sheffield City [South Yorkshire], Teesside [NEASU] and DSA. They have NPAS and 2Excel the ever growing suppliers of Coast Guard fixed wing. So they are not without customers and 25 year leases at DSA but the Peel empire is only partly based on aviation.
Sheffield City was closed because it was failing and was a threat to their new project DSA [when it was Robin Hood]. That wrong footed South Yorkshire but they are still there using an industrial unit.
Another hard runway down the road at Gamston/Retford is now reducing aviation in favour of car testing.... possibly because there is simply insufficient aviation there. The industry is in a state but hopefully it will pass and the people of Doncaster and Sheffield will be off on holiday again and this [like Sheffield City] will just be a bad taste.
This may be a tactic.
In their dealings with other properties (they are after all simply property dealers and have no expansive knowledge or love of aircraft) they have changed their ownership percentages to suit their war chest. They managed to divest themselves of Teesside to the local authority after threats to close and may have thoughts of doing the same here. It is notable the Peel go where UK emergency services aviation goes. Liverpool [John Lennon, once home of Merseyside and Cheshire], Manchester City [police and air ambulance], Sheffield City [South Yorkshire], Teesside [NEASU] and DSA. They have NPAS and 2Excel the ever growing suppliers of Coast Guard fixed wing. So they are not without customers and 25 year leases at DSA but the Peel empire is only partly based on aviation.
Sheffield City was closed because it was failing and was a threat to their new project DSA [when it was Robin Hood]. That wrong footed South Yorkshire but they are still there using an industrial unit.
Another hard runway down the road at Gamston/Retford is now reducing aviation in favour of car testing.... possibly because there is simply insufficient aviation there. The industry is in a state but hopefully it will pass and the people of Doncaster and Sheffield will be off on holiday again and this [like Sheffield City] will just be a bad taste.
As usual, Wikipedia is way off the mark suggesting Peel are following emergency services aviation.
Manchester Barton - They jointly owned Barton with Manchester City Council under the Manchester Shipping Canal Company. GMP moved to Barton under this ownership when the City Centre site was found not to be suitable for the AS355. When the joint ownership came to a natural end, Peel continued ownership and put money in to develop the airport. In fact they built a new home for the Air Ambulance in the Manchester Heliport site. The plan was to develop scheduled flights from it but the business case wasn’t there. It is probably kept now due to its closeness to Peel’s HQ at the Trafford Centre.
Liverpool John Lennon - This was bought as part of their ports and airports business which forms part of the even bigger Mersey Gateway Project a multi-billion pound project that links Manchester and Liverpool via the Manchester Ship Canal, which Peel own, along with huge amounts of land either side which are being developed for commercial and residential property. When passenger numbers at JLLA grow to a level where increased security meant that the Police crews had to go through the main airport security, it became unviable so the new base at Woodvale was built.
Sheffield - This was bought for the land. It was a huge brown field site near the City Centre that was never viable as a commercial airport. Even after Peel bought, then closed the runway, SYASU continued to operate from it. It was NPAS that closed the base.
Teeside and DSA - Bought as part of expanding Peel Airports Group and to be run as commercial airports. The above article highlights this and the reason why it is under review.
You cannot run commercial ventures solely on the little rent provided by NPAS or 2Excel.
Peel are a very successful property company that identify opportunities at low prices and then develop them with private and government money. If they prove successful they keep them in the portfolio, if they don’t, they sell them. Nothing to do with following emergency services aviation.
FNW
FNW, the reference to Wiki was only so I did not have to give chapter and verse on the broader history of the company.
I note your comment on the rental value of NPAS and 2Excel but a letter has emerged on Twitter from the Mayor of South Yorkshire to the local MP that suggests that others are involved. Apparently Peel are trying to get a £20M loan off the local authority. Discussions were paused while Peel opened their books..... (pregnant pause?)
It seems that there are other loans out there £3.5M by the MCA in 2018/19 and another £5.02M in March 2020. These amounts are in addition to the local investment in infrastructure the Gateway East Site and the Great Yorkshire Way. I assume the 'MCA' is Coast Guard money and, if my assumption is correct, very much in addition to the 2Excel rent and a real time MCA investment in the services provided by 2Excel. It seems that 'government' is actively pouring loads of money into the airport in loans and builds.
****** Although the letter on-line at Twitter clearly states "MCA" reading through the Twitter account of Oliver Coppard the Mayor of South Yorkshire also later states "... loan would have been on top of the £8 million already loaned to them by South Yorkshire." I now think that by MCA he may mean something akin to Metropolitan County Authority as the numbers are the same. The fact that there are other MCA's on the airfield was just a diversion.
I am not greatly into airlines but I read the loss of Wizz as not a major change. Wizz announced they were setting up a base at DSA in 2020. It appeared to be a statement that Wizz were 'basing an A320 there' so if, two years later, they are no longer having that one aircraft base it is not as if there is a massive change in fortunes - indeed was it ever instigated?
Lots of land has already been turned over to house building and there appears to be more areas where that might continue. Hence my query about tactics.
I note your comment on the rental value of NPAS and 2Excel but a letter has emerged on Twitter from the Mayor of South Yorkshire to the local MP that suggests that others are involved. Apparently Peel are trying to get a £20M loan off the local authority. Discussions were paused while Peel opened their books..... (pregnant pause?)
It seems that there are other loans out there £3.5M by the MCA in 2018/19 and another £5.02M in March 2020. These amounts are in addition to the local investment in infrastructure the Gateway East Site and the Great Yorkshire Way. I assume the 'MCA' is Coast Guard money and, if my assumption is correct, very much in addition to the 2Excel rent and a real time MCA investment in the services provided by 2Excel. It seems that 'government' is actively pouring loads of money into the airport in loans and builds.
****** Although the letter on-line at Twitter clearly states "MCA" reading through the Twitter account of Oliver Coppard the Mayor of South Yorkshire also later states "... loan would have been on top of the £8 million already loaned to them by South Yorkshire." I now think that by MCA he may mean something akin to Metropolitan County Authority as the numbers are the same. The fact that there are other MCA's on the airfield was just a diversion.
I am not greatly into airlines but I read the loss of Wizz as not a major change. Wizz announced they were setting up a base at DSA in 2020. It appeared to be a statement that Wizz were 'basing an A320 there' so if, two years later, they are no longer having that one aircraft base it is not as if there is a massive change in fortunes - indeed was it ever instigated?
Lots of land has already been turned over to house building and there appears to be more areas where that might continue. Hence my query about tactics.
Last edited by PANews; 17th Jul 2022 at 11:30. Reason: Edit on the meaning of MCA
Here are the stats for 2021/22. The slow decline continues. Even with the inclusion of Fixed Wing Action Calls the number is less than last year. Flying hours are down on last year as well with the total now less than half of what was being flown prior to NPAS.
The overall cost of Air Support is down by 4.4%, but there is the usual mix of some paying more than last year and some less. The way that NPAS charge Forces continues to be somewhat of an enigma. Going by the easy option of cost per Actioned Call, we have at opposite ends of the scale, GMP at £1215 per call and Cambridge at a whopping £10,382 per call!
So, I asked NPAS the following:
With regards to charges made to Forces for Air Support, how is that broken down? A couple of items don’t appear to make sense.
Cambridgeshire were charged £705,951 and had only 68 Actioned Calls, which works out at £10,382 per call. GMP paid £1,325,186 and had 1091 Calls, which equates to only £1215 per call. Amongst the other Forces charges per Call range from £1413 to £8258. Why is there such a variation?
Their answer:
Is there a “standing charge” raised as soon as an aircraft arrives on scene, regardless of how long it remains? If so, how much is that?
Well that wasn't much help so I went back to them:
In order to help me further understand the charging regime for Air Support, would it be possible to have a breakdown of how the amounts for Cambridgeshire and GMP(for the period 2021-22) were arrived at?
As clear as mud then. 
The overall cost of Air Support is down by 4.4%, but there is the usual mix of some paying more than last year and some less. The way that NPAS charge Forces continues to be somewhat of an enigma. Going by the easy option of cost per Actioned Call, we have at opposite ends of the scale, GMP at £1215 per call and Cambridge at a whopping £10,382 per call!
So, I asked NPAS the following:
With regards to charges made to Forces for Air Support, how is that broken down? A couple of items don’t appear to make sense.
Cambridgeshire were charged £705,951 and had only 68 Actioned Calls, which works out at £10,382 per call. GMP paid £1,325,186 and had 1091 Calls, which equates to only £1215 per call. Amongst the other Forces charges per Call range from £1413 to £8258. Why is there such a variation?
Their answer:
Their answer: The action calls to service model has not been used in NPAS for 2 financial years. When it was used it was based on the previous years calls so there wasn’t a direct correlation between Forces contributions in a financial year and the actioned calls for the same year.
The new funding model sees Forces contributing towards the fixed costs of NPAS within a regional structure as well as making a contribution towards variable costs based on an agreed regional user requirement.
In order to help me further understand the charging regime for Air Support, would it be possible to have a breakdown of how the amounts for Cambridgeshire and GMP(for the period 2021-22) were arrived at?
West Yorkshire Police can advise that amounts for all Forces are arrived at by applying the National Police Chiefs Council Direct Cost Charging model. This is done on a Regional Basis and then Forces within those regions agree how much each Force will pay as their share of the regional total.
The total regional charges are established by allocating three types of cost per Region. Those costs are Fixed Costs of Bases, Variable Costs of Flying Hours and an allocation of NPAS Operating Overhead.
The total regional charges are established by allocating three types of cost per Region. Those costs are Fixed Costs of Bases, Variable Costs of Flying Hours and an allocation of NPAS Operating Overhead.
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Thanks for taking the time to do all of that MG.
It's been almost a decade now and it would seem nobody but me, you and a handful of others really cares what has happened to air support in the UK. I am now just thankful that I saw and played a very small part in the golden years.
It's been almost a decade now and it would seem nobody but me, you and a handful of others really cares what has happened to air support in the UK. I am now just thankful that I saw and played a very small part in the golden years.
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Doncaster airport - Announcement tomorrow. NPAS
Doncaster Airport owners Peel are making an announcement on Monday at 11.30 regarding the future of the airport.
NOTAM - Airport is closed for an hour 11.30-12.30 so the staff can attend the meeting.
Wonder if the NPAS management have been invited?
NOTAM - Airport is closed for an hour 11.30-12.30 so the staff can attend the meeting.
Wonder if the NPAS management have been invited?
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
‘I’ve heard’ that the South Yorkshire Mayor wants to take over PCC powers and put SYP into the hat of taking over NPAS. This could possibly be a move in order to safeguard Doncaster Airport with the proviso that government money will guarantee the future of the airport and with it, job security for the community.
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news...m-2024-3696144
Well, stranger things have happened
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news...m-2024-3696144
Well, stranger things have happened
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
…. or b.
https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/20...ffield-airport
BREAKING NEWS
Flights to start 'winding down' as bosses say Doncaster Sheffield Airport will close.
https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/20...ffield-airport
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NPAS plans to move from DSA
NPAS announcement.
No mention of where the planes are going. Wonder if they can move the new hangar?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan...mpaign=KARANGA
No mention of where the planes are going. Wonder if they can move the new hangar?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan...mpaign=KARANGA