mb
Full Member
Posts: 201
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Post by mb on Oct 27, 2014 21:16:11 GMT 1
I have to disagree ,vehemently,with tommyw3.He rates our elected representatives far too highly
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Post by bulldog on Oct 28, 2014 14:52:52 GMT 1
Irrespective of whether I agree with sentiments or not, one should be careful making statements pertaining to fiddling and corruption you never know who is watching or listening these days!!! For those who know1984 the thought police are out there
On the point however Blackpool is obviously not in the south east so is of no concern to Westminster, most probably couldn't even point to it on a map. Obviously a catalogue of issues going back in time with Blackpool but it still comes down to the sad but harsh reality that it was losing too much money, and was never likely to make a return on investment if someone bought it.
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Post by Biggles on Oct 28, 2014 23:17:30 GMT 1
Here is an off the wall idea, persuade Sir Richard Branson to put some of his £multi billions in and use it as a base for his little budget Virgin Airline, I bet someone with money and thought could make Blackpool a going concern.
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Post by ac2348 on Oct 29, 2014 17:09:20 GMT 1
Here is an off the wall idea, persuade Sir Richard Branson to put some of his £multi billions in and use it as a base for his little budget Virgin Airline, I bet someone with money and thought could make Blackpool a going concern. I've seen this idea constantly on comments on the bbc articles and the local Blackpool gazette and it annoys me. I don't know if people are being ironic and sarcastic or not when they say it.Little red is closing up, Branston and virgin is now mostly owned by Delta I believe. Why would he possibly care about Blackpool? Especially when Virgin trains now run direct to London from Blackpool, which is both cheaper and quicker than flights. Virgin operate some long haul from Manchester so its unfeasible for them to move to blackpool. Blackpool in this climate cannot compete with Manchester or Liverpool. It isn't feasible anymore and I'd be very very surprised if anyone was to buy it. Yes its sad but thats life, time we face facts. Blackpool as a town is run down and past it and is not an attractive destination unless you're part of a stag and hen do or are a kid looking at the lights. The town has been dying for years and will need to be revived significantly before you can even begin to revive the airport. I bet those Jet2 flights only took Blackpool residents to and from their destinations and didn't have significant foreign visitors on them...
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tjs
New Member
Posts: 43
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Post by tjs on Oct 30, 2014 6:48:37 GMT 1
The best thing for Blackpool would be to become primarily a hub for GA. A great base for flying schools and clubs, including microlights, and the helicopters for the off-shore rigs and air ambulance. Competitive landing and fuel fees, and a decent cafe (nothing posh, and spotter friendly to increase custom) and it would be a great destination for flying day trips or lunch stops, particularly in the summer.
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Post by ronturner on Oct 30, 2014 7:54:26 GMT 1
As I wrote a while ago, the problem now is that the place got too big for its boots in the lo-cost boom before the bust, expectations beyond reasonable with investment and liabilities out of hand. Now the owners (administrators?) have to find a way of paying back those bills. The ideal, from an aviation point of view, is for a deal to be made, probably involving public money, or at the very least the use of planning powers, to return the place to what it did best. A GA field providing economic links for the town and nearby with daily flights to the Irish Sea destinations. Those of us that remember the Silver City DC-3s, later BUA and with Heralds, will know exactly what I mean. The existing terminal is not necessary. Sell it to Tesco ....! A glorified shed and a security scanner is all that is needed. If anybody wants to see how a very small terminal is run, with just a few flights a day, using ATR's or smaller, come to any of the very small French airports and see how its done. This is the challenge for those with clout and a real interest in their town
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Post by buspilot on Oct 30, 2014 8:24:17 GMT 1
Word is that the management were not made redundant,but transferred to another Balfour Beatty Group company.
You also have to wonder what the real cost of the Balfour Beatty Group company debt of £19 million was and how and for what was it run up?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2014 11:29:21 GMT 1
As I wrote a while ago, the problem now is that the place got too big for its boots in the lo-cost boom before the bust, expectations beyond reasonable with investment and liabilities out of hand. Now the owners (administrators?) have to find a way of paying back those bills. The ideal, from an aviation point of view, is for a deal to be made, probably involving public money, or at the very least the use of planning powers, to return the place to what it did best. A GA field providing economic links for the town and nearby with daily flights to the Irish Sea destinations. Those of us that remember the Silver City DC-3s, later BUA and with Heralds, will know exactly what I mean. The existing terminal is not necessary. Sell it to Tesco ....! A glorified shed and a security scanner is all that is needed. If anybody wants to see how a very small terminal is run, with just a few flights a day, using ATR's or smaller, come to any of the very small French airports and see how its done. This is the challenge for those with clout and a real interest in their town I totally agree, Ron. However, there is no appetite for this in the UK. The nearest example I can think of is Oxford (Kidlington), which has a similar set-up. However, Oxford sits on the base of the M4/M40 triangle, which is the home of some of the richest people in the UK (and I'm talking about British multi-millionaires, not Russian oligarchs and Malaysian football club owners) . Significant then, that Oxford and Farnborough are only 70 miles apart, yet both cater to the top end of the market. I don't believe Blackpool can survive on GA alone. There's a 6000' runway to maintain, plus lighting, ATC, etc., etc. With the best will in the world, I don't think GA brings in enough money to cover the costs of running an airport of that size. They missed the bus with the announcement by Virgin that they're starting a flying academy at SOU. That could have been BLK, but would anyone from Balfour Beatty (a construction company) or a moribund local council been aware of that? Probably not, so they couldn't even put in a bid. www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/11196454/Richard-Branson-wants-Virgin-pilots-with-no-flying-experience.htmlAs others have pointed out in the past, the country is heavily divided economically and a huge percentage of the money is in the south. Sadly, I don't believe that will ever change.
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Post by ronturner on Oct 30, 2014 15:03:07 GMT 1
Barry, to some extent I follow your argument. I would however like to draw attention to la Roche Sur Yon (LFRI) which is the administrative centre of the Vendéé. We have 5000 ft of runway with lighting and a GPS based approach system. (Was ILS until recently.) There is no ATC but there is AFIS at certain times of the day, and not a weekends, However the airport is always open but the rescue category changes when AFIS are not there. (If you are operating a commercial flight , pre book in advance and AFIS turn up. Lighting is pilot controlled and the GPS system needs no maintenance by the airport. Fuel is available H24 by use of a credit card, just like at a supermarket petrol station. Thus the airport supports GA, flying clubs, gliders, an executive jet charter and most importantly local businesses and commerce. (Michelin as an example.) UK towns and cities should follow this example which is the norm in France.
On your comments about the North/South divide. yes I agree totally.
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Post by bulldog on Oct 30, 2014 23:19:18 GMT 1
Some GA fields survive and prosper. Eg sleap, halfpenny green Gloucester and many more. As Ron says cut your cloth appropriately. Bpl was relatively large in land area for few commercial movements. One option is Sell off what could be sold and see if one runway and a few hangars are viable. Unfortunately in UK land values due to need for housing , due to our rapidly expanding population, due to our wonderful EU membership makes the land more valuable for this than aircraft. Maybe this could be heathrows third runway as our cowardly politicians cannot make a sensible economic decision to build down south.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2014 16:42:42 GMT 1
Loads of activity on 118.4 today, has Blackpool ATC reopened ?
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Post by ian531 on Nov 4, 2014 19:11:14 GMT 1
I was in Blackpool today and saw a few aircraft in the circuit
The airport didn't look much different, including loads of cars in the car parks
Most of the hangars were open and a few of the regulars were on the apron
A Citation could be seen in the Jmax hangar but I couldn't read the reg.
Ian
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