Anyone have any (recent!) experiences with Bournemouth (EGHH), or any other nearby airfields / airstrips?
Backround: in July, I would like to visit Sandbanks, Swanage and maybe a couple of other nearby places. Bournemouth airport would be ideal in terms of location. They also have cheap rental cars there, which is a big plus.
Unfortunately, the airport has delusions of grandeur and has been made very expensive for light GA. Landing, handling and two night’s parking would cost roughly 130 pounds / 170 Euros (I checked this with the handling agent.). The handlng agent is Bliss Aviation, formerly Bournemouth handling, and their staff seems friendly and responsive. But gosh, why so expensive?
Apart from the costs, any recent experiences worth sharing?
As nice as it is, on this occasion, I really woudn’t want to use Compton Abbas and then go hunting for an expensive taxi to take me to some expensive car rental place with poor opening hours. But geez, Bournemouth is expensive… Also, one actually ought to boycot places where some jobsworth was allowed to write BS in the AIP like:
Pilots must Book-out with Bournemouth Handling or ATC by telephone 01202-364150 prior to departure. Booking-out on RTF is not permitted and pilots may face lengthy delays.
Any other ideas?
Bliss is operationally efficient, answer the phone, take your money, book out for you etc.
The fees are high partly because the airport is owned by Manchester Airport group. It is a full service airport with IAPs and radar service.
Beware that the GA facility is miles from the passenger terminal, so you need a taxi to get anywhere.
Also I’ve been invoiced directly by Manchester accounts twice now despite having paid landing fees due to mix ups in their accounts department. A couple of phone calls needed to resolve the issue.
No obvious closer airport that I could suggest.
@boscomantico,
Unless you need more than 1/2 km of runway, there’s Newton Peveril or Bowerswaine Farm, both within easy cycling distance of Wimborne. Or, if you talk nicely to them, Wimborne Car Hire might meet you at the airfield.
Old Sarum EGLS is not too far away, perhaps.
I wonder why EGHH is so expensive now. Is it the 1500kg+ bracket (SR22)? Myself (1400kg) I never paid anywhere near that much, though I haven’t been there for about a year.
The normal way to avoid handling there is to fly “to” a based business “for maintenance”. Obviously the handler knows this… Then you pay just the landing fee, and the company probably has a special deal on that. If not actually going for maintenance you need a relationship with the company, obviously.
I did wonder about Lee On Solent (EGHF), they are now extremely GA friendly. But, Google maps tells me it’s a 50 mile car trip that will take an hour. Looks a bit like it might be a case of gritting your teeth and putting up with Bournemouth.
Transport around that area is poor because the A27 is a long way up (north of) the coast. And it gets much worse if there is traffic.
So while LOS is a nice airfield, you have a long drive from there to the A27 and then another long drive from the A27 to the coast near Bournemouth. I did it for years visiting mum in various care homes down there, before she finally went late last year.
You might contact a based company for some sort of pretend-maintenance (e.g. the 2 yearly altimeter check) and ask how much they would want to let you park in front of their hangar, or even in their hangar. I use MCA Aviation. EGHH is a massive sprawling airport (I easily get lost there every time I go there, and taxi drivers can’t find the entrance where you are waiting for them) full of old wreckage (literally wreckage) so there is a lot of parking around the place.
Very bad management, allowing some wide boy handler to position himself on the money stream like that. ATC has zero trouble mixing all the traffic. The hassle starts when the wheels touch (as usual in GA).
Thanks!
David: Having an IAP and radar doesn’t mean fees of over 100 pounds are justified, in my book. But we have to make do with what we have.
By the way, the handling people mentioned that they would give me a ride (for free!) over to the Terminal in the car. Fair enough!
Jacko: I saw these two on Skydemon. I like short fields, but these two are a tiny bit to short for the SR22. Need 600 meters of grass.
Peter: Old Sarum is further away than Compton Abbas .
Your TB20 would cost about 100 pounds for the same thing. The fees were increased, but not by much. Somehow, you paid too little.
No way to fool them with the “maintenance trick” any more. #
AFKAE: Indeed, LOS is much too far away. I value my time, so that’s why I do consider EGHH. But I still don’t like it.
Southern Dorset would desparately need a proper GA airfield. Wishful thinking, I know. When has the last new GA airfield (with a hard runway) been built and opened in the UK?
Probably when you weigh up the cost of taxi’s / hire cars from another airfield EGHH will be the best option both in terms of time and money. It might be worth giving Signature a call too especially if you plan to arrive early/late. I had to escort someone off of the airfield a couple of weeks ago who had managed to pull the ‘maintenance trick’ on a diversion but was then stuck air side because they weren’t using a handler. Bliss was closed by this time and having managed to avoid getting picked up by Signature (who are obviously monitoring the arrivals) they were stranded.
A sight to behold. Sunshine all day and 25 degrees C here in Sandbanks (Poole).
Went into EGHH, despite the high costs.
Have a great trip!
