chivenor

[flybeboy]

heard that the local council would like to open the airfield to ga and fly in holiday makers like they do at newquay they say, but the navy are also looking into this, council says.

[Talk Reaction]

I don't understand, why would the Navy want to fly in holiday-makers to north Devon??

[alisoncc]

That's obvious. Chivenor has been declared a world heritage site, 'cos in 1957 I had my first flight in an aeroplace there. They did the same with the house where I was born.

[[email protected]]

Then they would have to fork out a huge amount of dosh to get the airfield and runway up to the required standard and I don't suppose the council will pay for that.

Then the Marines will have to stop running/cycling/driving all over the airfield ignoring traffic lights and they won't be able to do HGV driver training there any more.

This is a regular question from locals who see an airfield there and wonder why it isn't used. Try asking Newquay International how much it cost to get their airport sorted once the RAF pulled out.

[airborne_artist]

And ask about the state of the runway at Abingdon - so poor that there were no FW movements at the airday last w/e.

The set-up and running costs could easily outweigh the income from a few summer-time flights. What's the size of the local population in N Devon?

[Tallsar]

All good points! The population and working demographic of N Devon does not IMO support a profitable equivalent to Newquay (and one wonders if that will ever be profitable!). The tourist season clearly has some possibilities particularly for sight seeing and transits to Newquay or S Wales, and maybe Brum ....both the latter are still main suppliers of said tourists. That said, as Crab says, there would have to be one hell of a compromise in the way the Booties now use the land, and whatever emerged would be just a small part of the runway and facilties if it were ever to be cost-effectively operable - yuck what a phrase!.

[Lima Juliet]

Then they would have to fork out a huge amount of dosh to get the airfield and runway up to the required standard and I don't suppose the council will pay for that?

For GA the airfield does not need to be licensed - in fact some of the GA fields I have landed at have more potholes than the UK's roads!!! (Wickenby was particularly bad until they resurfaced it in recent years).

Passenger carrying flights are a different matter, though.

[grandfer]

The runway can't be that bad seeing the Grobs of the "Fightin' 624th." use it most weekends playing at Fighter Pilots-"Dagga-Dagga-Dagga" !

Grandfer

[fly_surfbeach]

Chivenor....... Awesome place.

How many people would actually fly from Chivenor to London, Brum etc. Especially when Air Southwest have reduced flight to London City?

Would site seeing from the air really take off in this area?

I think the GA world would love to have Chivenor as a destination, although the Marines wouldn't!

[proplover]

Airbourne Artist - think you may find that the runway issue at Abingdon may just of been a slight over reaction by the local Defence Estates people. I understand that their concern on this issue was only highligted to the Air Show Organisation 3 days before the event. I believe that the CAA were happy on their inspection and that RAF and the Dutch F16 people said thet they would of been happy to use it when they looked at it - in better condition than some that they offically use. So Im not sure that in this case its a good example for you to use.

[arandcee]

Sounds like a bit of fantasy empire building by the local council again. If you excuse the pun I can't see it ever getting off the ground. Well, not until after they've reinstated the Barnstaple- bideford railway and built a bridge to lundy.

[[email protected]]

Ah, just the thought of all those GA Cessnas and Pipers heading down to Chiv with their surf boards on their roof/wing racks

There is a perfectly good GA airfield 5 mins away at Eaglescott