Fleeing from the Great London P.E Games

John, in answer to your query there wasn’t anything special about Duxford’s access. This was available to anybody who was within 3 miles of the restricted area boundary and bothered to apply. Duxford did, as a lot of the warbirds and the Classic Wings Tiger Moths don’t have transponders and so an exemption was applied for and obtained. Simples. And now the system has settled down it appears to be working quite well. Hopefully it isn’t so successful that they decide to keep it!!.

Yes, it is an obsession. And the media are foaming at the jaws with it all too. It is also a crazy paranoia. The whole se of the country shut down to general aviation unless pilots behave like those on the airways. And the worst thing is that WE are all paying for it too. WTF ?

.Happy flying and if you do get aloft it would be good to see you in the Thame area.

Actually, was over Thame yesterday eve, at whatever the legal minimum is , plus 10 %.

Just off to the east, I could see the seething cauldron of hazard and menace, through which no man dare fly ( without a transponder and PhD in B*ll*cks )

As an aside, I tried to watch a bit of the BBC news tonight, but they are simply consumed, obsessed, with Olympic fervour, and can barely talk of anything else.

And it hasn’t even begun yet. Enough already.

Maybe they could try for a gold medal in STFU..

If it can be done with Duxford it can be done with the rest that are in some danger of reduced income as a consequence of the restrictions. I wonder what it is that is so special about Duxford as to merit special attention. Answers on the back of a postage stamp please.

John Green

Please do note that Duxford has a corridor / exemption. Flying-in there is possible without a faff – or yellow jackets.

The airfield lies just inside the northern boundary of the restricted zone R112. Permission has been granted for aircraft and pilots to fly from and to IWM Duxford through a small defined part of R112 as described below (the “Permission”). This is suitable for flights from and to airfields outside R112.

http://www.iwm.org.uk/sites/default/files/public-document/IWMDuxfordflyingRestrictionsDuringOlympics.pdf

Moggy

The boundary of the restrictive zone seems pretty arbitrary, drawing straight lines between bits of existing airspace , with little consideration seemingly for the airfields that are just ‘caught’ but which with a little wiggle, could be freed up, with no meaningful loss of security.

Places such as Duxford, Booker, Headcorn and Blackbushe could all have been left out, and numerous others such as White Waltham, Henlow and Fowlmere given an exit corridor, straight in and straight out, to at least allow some level of recreational flying.

The various forums seem to indicate that Atlas is a very moody and ( at present ) confused agency with which to deal, and the overly complex system is not really functioning as intended.

Conspiracy theorists will say that it was INTENDED to drive down traffic to negligable levels, and discourage GA utillisation , and by that measure it is working like a charm.

As someone who flies from Booker in my efforts of learning to be an airman I have to agree. If the are going to draw arbitrary boundaries in that way they could have just as easily extended the zone West as far as Kidlington. Oh sorry that is too much like treading on the toes of the increasing number of companies choosing to base their corporate jets on my doorstep.
As regards the G4S fiasco: The only people who thought that G4S would be able, as a single company, would be able to provide the required manpower was G4S. All security companies have a core of manpower for the rostered staffing of contracts plus the bare minimum of relief oFficers to cover hokidays and sickness, they carry no more frontline staff than they absolutely have to. Even two years ago staff of any security company you cared to ask would have told you that no single company had the spare staff to cover such a large commitment and still service their regular contract. What G4S seems to have banked on was poaching officers from other companies for the duration of the event. I think a lot of companies may have done the same as ours and forbidden their staff from applying as it represents a conflict of interest..

They bid 25% less than anyone else. No one asked why. Now they know and G4S are blaming the IT systems.

If what you say is correct, part of the blame lies with whomever decided to take the lowest cost option without first comparing prospective suppliers’ ability to deliver the goods.

Hindsight is wonderful, and some would argue the Olympics are such a unique event that they are bound to find weaknesses in operating systems in any company involved, but even so a discrepancy of 25% less than the second lowest bidder should have raised alarm bells.

As ever…”You get what you pay for“

I work in a town in the South East that has higher than average unemployment, and that will suffer two half-days of total traffic disruption as the torch passes through later this week. What benefit will this town see after the torch has left?
Paul F

That wouldn’t be chatham would it?

My wife works there and has been asked to come in a few hours early as the Olympic torch makes its way down the A229 to Maidstone thus closing off several major roads into and out of Maidstone and surrounding areas.

From Friday week I have no high speed train service as thats being given over to the Olympics. Compensation has been mentioned but there has been no solid answer. I am hoping I can work from home and avoid the mess.

There were reports of a 32 mile tailback on the M4 as the first Olympic lane opened -> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2174218/Rush-hour-chaos-Olympic-lane-opens-M4.html

The DfT haven’t looked into it and have simply called it ‘rubbish’ -> http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/2012/32-mile-m4-tailbacks-just-rumours

so I think that underscores quite nicely where the Govt’s priorities lay.

It’s G4S the so-called security firm that you have to blame for ‘thousands of troops before kick-off’. Their ‘organisation’ or, lack of it.

They bid 25% less than anyone else. No one asked why. Now they know and G4S are blaming the IT systems.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/07/16/software_caused_olympic_security_fiasco/

I have it on decent authority that G4S computer systems couldn’t cope before the Olympics and are very outdated.

Re 26

Paul 178

Nearly there matey but, not quite. It’s G4S the so-called security firm that you have to blame for ‘thousands of troops before kick-off’. Their ‘organisation’ or, lack of it.

Organisers? The Olympic Games has oganisers so why do we suddenly need thousands of troops two weeks before kick off?

I wonder if any of those airfields – or anyone else – who is likely to experience financial losses as a consequence of incompetant Olympic organisers will try to obtain compensation or, simply shrug and think that the forces arraigned against them are too powerful ?

I bet I know what the organisers are thinking. I’m hoping and praying that someone tries. Think O2 and the banking computer debacle.

John Green

The boundary of the restrictive zone seems pretty arbitrary, drawing straight lines between bits of existing airspace , with little consideration seemingly for the airfields that are just ‘caught’ but which with a little wiggle, could be freed up, with no meaningful loss of security.

Places such as Duxford, Booker, Headcorn and Blackbushe could all have been left out, and numerous others such as White Waltham, Henlow and Fowlmere given an exit corridor, straight in and straight out, to at least allow some level of recreational flying.

The various forums seem to indicate that Atlas is a very moody and ( at present ) confused agency with which to deal, and the overly complex system is not really functioning as intended.

Conspiracy theorists will say that it was INTENDED to drive down traffic to negligable levels, and discourage GA utillisation , and by that measure it is working like a charm.

Ladyboys aside (plenty of them in the Bigg Market!), come up north – hundreds of miles of empty skies, no missile batteries (unless you fly over Otterburn), and friendly people in the club huts. Whilst the south east doesn’t want you, the glorious North would love your custom.

Somebody PM me when this madness is over or the beach vollyball is on in the rain!

one or two of them look like possible lady boys !!

Either that or, significant numbers of taxpayers are either bored witless or can’t afford the monstrous ticket prices.

John Green

…or have simply given up on the event as a lost cause after the ticket lottery fiasco?

It seems that those closely involved in the event cannot see (or perhaps deliberately choose not to see?) how much adverse impact it is having on those who have no interest in it, and upon those who cannot see any lasting economic or social benefit coming to most places outside London.

I work in a town in the South East that has higher than average unemployment, and that will suffer two half-days of total traffic disruption as the torch passes through later this week. What benefit will this town see after the torch has left?

Visitors travelling to London for the Olympic are unlikely to travel this far south, not least because the rail companies are already warning residents to expect travel disruption, and asking resident commuters to avoid travelling to work in London if they can. Will those commuters get a rebate ont heir season ticket for those two weeks? Why would tourists choose to spend 90mins each way on a train to visit the South Coast when you have all the tourist attractions in London to visit?

If the organisers really thought visitors would travel this far out of London, then surely they would have organised beach volleyball on a sandy beach on the South Coast, rather than in Horseguards Parade. And why not hold Equestrian events at Hickstead, or at Badminton, instead of in Greenwich Park?

Regardless of the platitudes being offerred to the wider UK, “London 2012” is just that, it is fast becoming clear that few other towns or cities in UK will see much lasting benefit. Even those hosting the few “out of town” events will probably see little lasting benefit after the games have moved on, as most of the facilities being used already existed.

It also appalls me that BBC continue to promote their olympics coverage on a daily basis, at every single opportunity, given it will disrupt “normal” BBC TV schedules anyway. It’s hardly as if the UK population are likely to forget the Games are imminent. I dread to think how much of our Licence Fee has been wasted on all those flashy BBC TV reminders and advertisements, while the main BBC channels carries ever more repeats of old programmes? The self-promotion adds nothing to the service the BBC provide, so why waste money on it in the first place?

Paul F

Looks as though all that security could be having an unintentional effect. My newspaper reports that one point five million (1.5) tickets remain unsold. Has the army of ‘gorillas’, guided missiles, Eurofighters, attack helicopters, aircraft carriers, and for all we know; thermonuclear devices, putting people off from attending the Olympic jamboree?

Either that or, significant numbers of taxpayers are either bored witless or can’t afford the monstrous ticket prices.

John Green

They closed down all the car parks around Stratford back around June 18th. also, a lot of the train services are being cancelled/reduced so the whole thing is a pain in the neck – not just from the GA side of things.

Wycombe is firmly within the zone and our shortest route out is about 3-4 miles to the boundary. I suppose I can consider my self lucky that my commitments in the near future look like keeping me grounded until the silliness is over. I can guess what will happen, some poor soul is going to accidently infringe the zone and the knee jerk reaction will be the banning of all GA activity anywhere in the zone. The stupid thing is the silies don’t start until the 27th yet the restrictions kicked in at midnight Friday. Surely 3 days prior to the start of the Games would have sufficed. I agree with Moggy that the whole mess is total overkill. Why clamp down on light aviation so severely when a Transit van full of explosives would make a much bigger , louder statement? The government seems to have taken a lleaf out of my son’s book. When in doubt massive overkill is the only answer.

Piper Cub

Back to nice things,it was nice to see the two cubs in the hangar together.I see the other cub on occasions in the Bucks/Oxon region,always a good reminder for me of a faded picture of a past relative with his cub in the ‘good’old days.Happy flying and if you do get aloft it would be good to see you in the Thame area.

Somebody PM me when this madness is over or the beach vollyball is on in the rain!