Air Atlantique moving?

Just to back up Tom’s statement, Air Atlantique Classic Flight will certainly remain at Coventry this year, and for the immediately forseeable future. Much of the speculation over a potential move has been fuelled by the very real problem that for organising public events, the airside hangars at Coventry Airport present real challenges, being sited on a very active portion of a busy regional airport. These challenges can be overcome, but tend to restrict our public events to occasional, stressful but ultimately hugely enjoyable events!

Our real desire is to have a public ‘shop window’ for the fleet, accesible to the public day in, day out, with the attendant gift shops and cafes that generate revenue for the upkeep of our unique collection. Behind the scenes, this challenge is still being given serious consideration, with many potential venues being looked at. The venue needs to have to have all of the neccesary factors to make such a huge undertaking feasable, an airfield with a high percentage of what is required, but a few fundamental drawbacks, simply will not do at this stage!

In the short term, we are very busy preparing a programme of events ‘at an airfield near you’, bringing our pleasure flying experience to a variety of scenic, smaller airfields around the country. The next one, on April the 15th, will be at Wolverhampton Business Airport, the fee for the flight is modest for such a unique experience….

FLY IN A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT OVER BRIDGNORTH AND THE SEVERN VALLEY

On Saturday 15th April, Air Atlantique Classic Flight, Europe’s premier operator of airworthy vintage and classic airliners, offer a fantastic chance to get a privileged view of Bridgnorth and the scenic Severn Valley from the Air. The flights are available in two fascinating historic aircraft, the de Havilland Dragon Rapide and the fascinating Percival Prentice. The Dragon Rapide was designed in 1935, and carries eight passengers in great comfort, the thirties equivalent of a private jet! The Percival Prentice was designed in 1944, as a successor to the famous Tiger Moth. Air Atlantique’s Prentice spent much of its early life involved in military training flights in the local area, based at Halfpenny Green with the No. 2 Air Signaller’s School.

Flights on Saturday 15th take place from Halfpenny Green, now better known as Wolverhampton Business Airport. Flights cost £55 per person on either aircraft, simply arrive on the day for an unforgettable flight. From the airport, your classic aircraft will fly west to Bridgnorth, offering stunning views of high town, the church, castle ruins and the furnicular cliff railway. Spectacular views of the river, the Severn Valley Railway and Victoria Bridge are included as the aircraft returns to the airfield.

Call 0870 330 4747 for more details, contact us by emailing [email]classic@airatlantique.co.uk[/email] and see more about our fascinating fleet at www.classicflight.com.

BOOK ONLINE AT WWW.CLASSICFLIGHT.COM

Suggestions are welcomed for other venues that you would like to see us visit, we watch these forums with keen interest and have taken notes of ideas already posted! Please rest assured that the classic flight team is striving, and working all hours, to secure the future of our very special collection, keeping them where they belong, in the air! Our public flights are a hugely important source of income, by checking in passengers are investing in our efforts to keep real aviation available to everybody 🙂

I would imagine one factor that is limiting them is the need to be in a location that is accessible to the majority of the public, if the ‘Living Museum’ idea is to pay for itself. (Thus ruling out Coltishall)

Thanks for the honest answer Tom

Hi all,

I think it’s safe to say we will NOT be moving from CVT this year, and probably not for the foreseeable future. We would *like* to move somewhere to establish a ‘living museum’ featuring our collection, but finding the right airfield is a big problem. Staverton came very close to happening but the infrastructure was just not quite suitable for us, the runway length and hangar size being to two main issues. We need somewhere with no or little commercial operation, a 45000 sq ft hangar and 1800m of runway.

Cost is also another issue. Somewhere like Deenthorpe would require huge investment well above what we could afford. Contrary to what may be believed in the community, Air Atlantique’s other activities (i.e. the ATR operation) no longer support Classic Flight, and we have to stand on our own two feet and make enough money to cover our costs. If we don’t then its all over and this unique collection will be lost.

Tom.

I hope we don’t lose the Classic Flight such a brilliant team and collection off aircraft be very sad to lose it all 🙁 Could they not move too Manston 😀

Hope you find somewhere.

James

A long shot, but i had a tour of the lovely RAF Manby the other day, it’s an almost complete RAF expansion period site, hangars abound (although some are in the inevitable agricultural guise) the tower is still there, although derelict, as is the main and ample runway configuration.
Plenty of the admin site is still in use by local business and the council too, and the place looks in a remarkable state of preservation considering the complete lack of action on the flying side of the site, bar a local model flying club i think.
Just waiting for a business and organisation with a love and respect for the past, and a vision for the future ?

Both runways were ripped up in 1982. Only the peritrack survives.

Hi all,

I think it’s safe to say we will NOT be moving from CVT this year, and probably not for the foreseeable future. We would *like* to move somewhere to establish a ‘living museum’ featuring our collection, but finding the right airfield is a big problem. Staverton came very close to happening but the infrastructure was just not quite suitable for us, the runway length and hangar size being to two main issues. We need somewhere with no or little commercial operation, a 45000 sq ft hangar and 1800m of runway.

Cost is also another issue. Somewhere like Deenthorpe would require huge investment well above what we could afford. Contrary to what may be believed in the community, Air Atlantique’s other activities (i.e. the ATR operation) no longer support Classic Flight, and we have to stand on our own two feet and make enough money to cover our costs. If we don’t then its all over and this unique collection will be lost.

Tom.

Coltishall’s just become available… 😀

Would there be issues co-locating to Bruntingthorpe?

This is why Classic Aviation Projects moved Canberra WK163 away from Bruntingthorpe to Coventry in the first place. The approvals and permits require hangarage for yearly maintenance and also there are so many other activities on the runway, it makes operating a nightmare at times. Many is the time that we were kicking cones off the runway when XH568 was almost overhead waiting to land!! 😮 Not an ideal senario?
I would guess that Bruntingthorpe needs that revenue to survive but sadly, that makes it difficult to operate from regularly.

Regards
Chris

Staverton came very close to happening but the infrastructure was just not quite suitable for us, the runway length and hangar size being to two main issues. We need somewhere with no or little commercial operation, a 45000 sq ft hangar and 1800m of runway.

Sounds as though Dunsfold could have been a possibility, but I believe there are now plans to turn it into a housing estate.

A long shot, but i had a tour of the lovely RAF Manby the other day, it’s an almost complete RAF expansion period site, hangars abound (although some are in the inevitable agricultural guise) the tower is still there, although derelict, as is the main and ample runway configuration.
Plenty of the admin site is still in use by local business and the council too, and the place looks in a remarkable state of preservation considering the complete lack of action on the flying side of the site, bar a local model flying club i think.
Just waiting for a business and organisation with a love and respect for the past, and a vision for the future ?

what about scampton?

Would Scampton not be viable?

Would there be issues co-locating to Bruntingthorpe?

Indeed their would be issues at Bruntingthorpe, no hangar and the runway being used for part of the test track on a daily basis, to name but two.

The cost of re-location of a fleet and operations the size of AA would be too scary for most bean counters.

Other sizeable costs would be incurred relocating the non-flying airframes such as the Shack and the various hangar queens.

If AA do move it would be good for the public to have more access to the historic fleet.

Would there be issues co-locating to Bruntingthorpe?

According to a pulled thread I saw the other day, may be not 😮

Visious rumours and speculation Blue. Don’t worry 😉

I agree with Blue Max – oh and Northants Planning ain’t too keen on airfields………

TT

I agree with TwinOtter, but then Air Atlantiques personnel are pretty active forum members – which I’m sure we all greatly appreciate.

Steve.

Hi all,

I think it’s safe to say we will NOT be moving from CVT this year, and probably not for the foreseeable future. We would *like* to move somewhere to establish a ‘living museum’ featuring our collection, but finding the right airfield is a big problem. Staverton came very close to happening but the infrastructure was just not quite suitable for us, the runway length and hangar size being to two main issues. We need somewhere with no or little commercial operation, a 45000 sq ft hangar and 1800m of runway.

Cost is also another issue. Somewhere like Deenthorpe would require huge investment well above what we could afford. Contrary to what may be believed in the community, Air Atlantique’s other activities (i.e. the ATR operation) no longer support Classic Flight, and we have to stand on our own two feet and make enough money to cover our costs. If we don’t then its all over and this unique collection will be lost.

Tom.

I thought it was refreshing and encouraging to receive such an open and honest view on the situation at Coventry.

The Atlantic Group’s financial structure, whilst scrupulously legal, is also quite complex.

Trying to do any simple arithmetic on operating costs and income for individual parts of it is a fairly unrewarding activity.

Presumably its ownership of Caernarfon ceased long ago?

Moggy

Contrary to what may be believed in the community, Air Atlantique’s other activities (i.e. the ATR operation) no longer support Classic Flight, and we have to stand on our own two feet and make enough money to cover our costs. If we don’t then its all over and this unique collection will be lost.

I hate to sound negative on this matter but the above comments slightly alarm me. Knowing a bit about the economics of operating jet aircraft I would think there is very little chance that enough revenue would be generated by airshow and other appearances by the aircraft to be able to cover it’s costs. I thought the operation was being funded by MC out of the proceeds of selling airfield lease to Thompson?

Hope that I am wrong with my pessimism above as it is a highly significant collection which we can ill afford to lose. I would think a prority for them should be to try and get dry, warm hangarage asap, the hangars at CVT seem a mite draughty!

Rob – apart from the runway there is nothing of any substance there. It does however make it easier to put up new build hangars which are warm and don’t leak!
I would say that the future at Coventry for anyone will be interesting if the airlines make a success of it.

The Runway would need a huge amount of work to make it useable for that sort of opperation!

Hi all,

I think it’s safe to say we will NOT be moving from CVT this year, and probably not for the foreseeable future. We would *like* to move somewhere to establish a ‘living museum’ featuring our collection, but finding the right airfield is a big problem. Staverton came very close to happening but the infrastructure was just not quite suitable for us, the runway length and hangar size being to two main issues. We need somewhere with no or little commercial operation, a 45000 sq ft hangar and 1800m of runway.

Cost is also another issue. Somewhere like Deenthorpe would require huge investment well above what we could afford. Contrary to what may be believed in the community, Air Atlantique’s other activities (i.e. the ATR operation) no longer support Classic Flight, and we have to stand on our own two feet and make enough money to cover our costs. If we don’t then its all over and this unique collection will be lost.

Tom.

As MAM’s popularity continues to grow, it is going to be around for a very long time

According to a pulled thread I saw the other day, may be not 😮