This was just a short overnight trip. The place has only just opened up to visitors and is filling up fast, and staying several nights means doing some boat trips to see the rest of it, which we didn’t want to do, to avoid catching the virus… The TB20 is perfect for this sort of trip – under 2hrs, against at least a whole day to get there conventionally.
Perranporth
St Ives, I think
The Scilly Isles
Final runway 09. You can see the steep (~5%) upslope. I did a crappy landing but didn’t break anything. Next time I will totally avoid this first 1/3 of the runway…
Only grass parking nowadays. In 2002 they did hard surface but they don’t need GA because they make looooads of ££££ from the twin TP tourist flights for which the passengers pay a fortune
This place is just down the path from the airport and does great food, but is open only 1200-1500 local so generally you never see it open
One could just take pic after pic of the scenic coastline
“Nowhere” used to be a surf shop; closed maybe 10 years ago
The main street
Crab sandwiches
A really nice cafe in the main street. Everyone working is wearing masks and there are transparent screens between the tables. But, still, 1 infected person indoors will get a lot of people… better to eat outdoors
A funny p1sstake of the coronavirus era
Spectacular rock formations. Geology is very similar to Ouessant
Booking.com and Airb&b are heavily avoided by the local property owners. They don’t need these ripoff outfits because they are inundated with demand every summer. You need to go via the tourist office (website, and booklet). These are nice self catering apartments. We stayed in the Atlantic Hotel which was ok; better than the overpriced dump called Tregarthen we had 2 years ago
Loads of boat trips to the other islands – definitely worth doing although we did them 2 years ago
The obligatory sunset – needed more cloud really
Kids playing on the beach the day before
It’s a laid-back life there… must be a great place for kids to grow up
Looks like his handbrake didn’t pass the MOT
Tame wildlife
Calamari at the cafe mentioned at the start
Departure. They allowed a circle around the islands, 1500ft
Back to “England”
Land’s End airport. Had millions spent on it, funded by the exorbitant fees skimmed off the Scilly Islands tourist trade History doesn’t really change over the centuries
Bournemouth Airport, I believe
I had a load of hassle with Solent not allowing a transit on the way back, but the Bournemouth controller was outstanding; also in helping to avoid what would have been a really close “encounter” with IIRC another TB20…
A super destination and would be brilliant for a fly-in, except that (a) most European pilots would not fly to the far corner of Europe, and (b) accommodation is tricky unless going off-season. You could have a really nice casual meet-up where everybody enjoys it, do various boat trips, etc.
Airport charge was £46 of which 1/3 was the overnight parking.
There is no fuel there of any kind, and if you need major maintenance, it will probably write off the aircraft.
EGKA-EGHE-EGKA, landed with 36 USG in the tanks
Strangely enough I have just heard that somebody phoned EGHE for the PPR yesterday and was told it is closed to GA! Actually – I phoned them just now – they are closed to day-trippers, and need the hotel name on the PPR form. However, since payment is done by calling the islands admin office (you don’t go anywhere near the terminal, for which you would need to wear a mask anyway) and the entry/exit to your plane is via a gate in the fence close to it, it is obvious that you could just put any old hotel name on the PPR form, and do wild camping (which is technically illegal)
Peter:
Lovely write-up and beautiful pictures.
It has whetted my motive to try and go there in the next two weeks or so.
Luckily I have a contact on the island, so should be OK for a bed – even at the height of the season.
When I have flown to the Scilly’s before I have always used/filed Land’s End EGHC as an ‘alternate’ – especially as tons of money was spent on it giving it Instrument Approaches.
In the past, they claimed that you could only use the Procedures if you had telephoned for PPR beforehand – very sensible logic when you fly in the UK with changeable bad weather and you wish to divert!
Now I see the plates say: “Use of the RNAV procedures are strictly limited to flights authorized by the Aerodrome Authority”.
Does anyone know if a R/T request due to a weather diversion gets permission?
You make me want to go back so bad
Peter_G : you probably know Our Lady Star or the Sea. Such a cute church
Nice pictures Peter, pity no fuel there otherwise I would have gone in a single seater with 2h endurance
Peter_G wrote:
Does anyone know if a R/T request due to a weather diversion gets permission?
I learned the hard way that one still need PPR to land when you divert to an alternate due to weather, so I expect the same PPR if you are planning on using their IAP? big runways tend to be happy to take one on simple RT diversion call (Lands End probably) but using grass strips for VFR diversions without PPR or personally knowing the guys tend to be a nightmare, well some tend to be policed by “GA nazis”…
I always call Southend before flying or during en-route when going to Stapleford/North Weald if weather is iffy to explain that I may end up back with them if my destination is no-go, saves explaining things on the “challenging leg”, I think that would work with Lands End on your outbound leg?
I learned the hard way that one still need PPR to land when you divert to an alternate due to weather
Where was that? I would declare a mayday on that one!
Peter_G : you probably know Our Lady Star or the Sea. Such a cute church
That’s the ‘contact’ that I claimed in my previous posting I knew!
Peter wrote:
Where was that? I would declare a mayday on that one!
A grass strip in SE of England (Spilstead Fm), not mayday just weather did not look great ahead and decided to land on the way from Bembridge while rain and visibility improves
On mayday, I landed dead engine in EastChurch (nearby ATSU called him after my mayday), while the owner was not happy with a visitor from France neither him or me had much choice , but he did make getting aircraft sorted and flown away a painful experience to everybody…
Great pictures! The colors resemble Mediterranean
Outstanding, I must visit someday!
Really well captured. Some of my photos of Cornwall and the Scillies are here.
However, coming from Europe, I will not be flying to the UK this year, with all the current addtional paperwork requirements…