I find it difficult to believe that the airport’s current owners are going to get their money back on this project. Still, it’s their money not mine!

Regards

Can you really see the likes of Stobarts backing a dead horse?

Natrally its going to take a while to get their money back but with two airlines Flybe & Aer Arann already taking bookins (Jersey & Ireland) and anothe rairline looking at starting a service to main land Europe thins are looking up for the airport.

With the 2012 games just around the corner the airport will hopefully pick up some of the extra traffic, even more so should LCA be closed for any reason.

I still can’t help thinking that they have got the expansion plans all wrong.
The problem with the 06/24 extension is that once the currently proposed work is finished there is no way that there can be any future expansion of that runway simply because they have run out of room. At best the plans are trying to shoe horn a quart into a pint pot.
When you look at the figures involved surely it wouldn’t be too much more expensive to buy back the retail park under a compulsory purchase order and reinstate runway 33/15 which was the preferred option for the 1960’s expansion.
Warners Bridge is a problem with using 33/15 but the railway was allegedly lowered at the end of 06/24 a good few years ago now so surely something similar could have been done with Warners Bridge. The other alternative would be to realign 33/15 to avoid the bridge along similar lines to the widening/realigment of 06/24 to avoid the church.
The positives for 33/15 are that there is less density of population close to the airfield under the take off and landing paths, more scope to extend the runway into fields at the northerly end to take larger aircraft which would allow the runway threshold to be moved further inside the current airfield boundary at the Warners Bridge end meaning that the road outside the airport would be further away from the threshold.
In the 80’s local opinion seemed to be that the airport wouldn’t be around much longer which I assume was the reasoning behind selling off the fringes of the airport land for the retail park. This was no doubt a quick way of making a fast buck for the council at that time but long term it has left anyone wanting to make the place into a commercially viable airport again with very limited development options which will ultimately limit the airport’s potential to earn income due to the inevitable restrictions on the size of aircraft which can be operated safely. Well Done Southend Council!

The prevailing winds have a lot to do with it, they normally blow down the runway (24/06), re-opening 33/15 would have resulted in most flying activity taking place in cross wind conditions. Warners Bridge is also a major facter as is the golf course and stream at the end of 33/15.

Reports comming in that the Judicial Review in to the extention of the runway at Southend has today been thrown out.

Very very good news.

Out of interest, does anyone happen to know how come the Fiat happened to be at Southend? It would be great to hear about her acquisition and (initial) importation to the UK.

Thanks,

G

She is back in the UK

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=106424

The Lincoln is the Napier ice testing aircraft, nice to see a shot of her “in use”

One hopes they’ve checked for low bridges… 🙂

Zeb

and fly overs…

Darn missed it tonight, is it repeated?

Southend Update

This evening (Thurs 4th Nov) Southend Borough Council held four special meetings to discuss and vote on one of the major parts of the airport works, these meetings involved the proposed New Link Road between Eastwoodbury Lane and Nestuda Way.

The road is needed as at present Eastwoodbury Lane passes just a few feet from the end of runway 24 (06 threshold). The vote was to pass the land transactions from the current owners SBC to Stobarts the airport operators.

The transfer of land has a stipulation that should the Judicial Review be heard and comes down on the side of the apealant then all the land shall be returned to SBC without any cost to the council.

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/southend/8496769.Link_road_for_Southend_Airport_given_the_green_light/