Back to this topic with another data point (this time it was me 
)
Recently, I was diverting while low on fuel to my alternate (which I called before departure), then I declared mayday halfway and landed ASAP in nearest airstrip when the engine appeared to let go
What puzzled me I got the whole lot from the airstrip owner: lack of strict ppr on his private strip (he got one from nearest ATC two minutes before my landing), noise abatement lectures (for windmilling props?), push to depart his private airstrip asap, having to pay landing fee (*3 for mayday flight, engineer 1st flight and 2nd ferry flight) and he offered zero help on logistics (you know little things like toilette, cup of tea, lifting fuel, drive to nearest train station )
The surprising fact is that the owner is a GA pilot/instructor but I understand he has an aggressive attitude to all GA aircraft visiting his private airstrip (for my case there was not much choice for him unfortunately as the gravity force was pulling), but now I am wondering if landing in potato field is far more welcoming (tough not safe for a GA aeroplane, I did few on gliders and overall I had nice experiences dealing with cool/angry farmers or just random road users ), still if I had to do it again I will land there anyway
I got better welcome from a non-flying neighbor residents who saw the events, asked how they can help and offered car lift to nearest train station 
PS: This was mayday with ATC and emergency landing after total/partial loss of engine power, so it was not the usual “it feels hot, I am landing there”…
Some people are unfortunately not very nice. A GA/pilot instructor should know better.
I think the more interesting part is: how could you end up in a mayday due to low fuel? In the UK that is, where there is an airfield with fuel every five minutes or so?
boscomantico wrote:
I think the more interesting part is: how could you end up in a mayday due to low fuel?
I did chance it by doing accurate fuel calculations on tech/journey log but I did a mistake: I had wrong flight time entries, the engine tacho was way off an enough to give a serious wake up call while in the air, also I had 30kts headwind so no point flying at economy cruise at 90kts and I don’t think any of the “conservative +10% calculations or 45min reserves” would have mattered to keep going to initial destination, so went to my alternate in the flight plan
I switched to lowest tank in anticipation until it went empty, then I switched to highest tank but engine was not happy about it, so I decided to land in nearest place (contrary to common belief and online data that place did not have any fuel )
After the facts, I think there was enough fuel in second tank to get to the alternate and landing with just 30min reserves or even takeoff again but I felt that I already consumed my luck twice and I was way behind the aircraft that day…
Of course it would have been much easier with accurate fuel gauges or LFOB from a fuel totaliser
The surprising fact is that the owner is a GA pilot/instructor but I understand he has an aggressive attitude to all GA aircraft visiting his private airstrip
The UK has had many incidents of pilots rocking up on private strips without any notice. It’s similar to homeowners watching others dump their cars onto other people’s front drives.
These strips are private property and may be used partly for farming livestock and crops – so it’s important and courtesy to ask for permission and to see that they don’t get damaged. There may also be strict requirements on movements and noise levels.
Most would be very understanding of engine-out circumstances, but perhaps this owner had a bad morning and thought this was one too many of the excuses he’s been hearing all week …. :-(
On the other hand I completely disagree with the principle of PPR at aerodromes that are normally open for the public to use.
James_Chan wrote:
I support telephone PPR but only for private-use / gated-community strips.
Completely agree on that for a planned arrival
But I disagree for an emergency? or any unplanned arrival where neither pilot/owner are happy for the aircraft to be there?
But maybe a step for those airfields is to take it off VFR maps and GPS databases, it will be a good idea for everybody?
(probably not a good idea to hedge from a future real estate planning but again you can’t have it all for yourself while relying on the goodwill of the system )
But I disagree for an emergency? or any unplanned arrival where neither pilot/owner are happy for the aircraft to be there?
Oh yeah, it’s impossible to phone around to get permission in case you had to divert / have an emergency.
One just has to find a suitable field to land and sort out the paperwork afterwards.
James_Chan wrote:
One just has to find a suitable field to land and sort out the paperwork afterwards.
Yes, on paperwork afterwards
- To farmers a simple argument like “I was planning to go back home” or “I was landing in neighbor field but unfortunately end up in yours” will get you off the hook
- To insurance/police/customs/aaib/atc (I have dealt with all in previous occasions), you give phone call follow their clear procedures and you are sorted out
Dealing with some interesting guys in GA (luckily we are talking few here), is where I felt things gets very complicated as “the paperwork thing” gets improvised
GA attracts “strong personalities” preferentially. Look at what happens on pilot forums… this is why EuroGA is moderated
But this happens in every occupation. “Enforcement” and “regulatory” professions attract types that like to screw boss people around. Actually the whole world of “humanity” runs according to some pretty basic rules of psychology…
I may subscribe to that theory one day
Yes, I have seen few “interesting personalities” with strong opinions especially those in “unregulated GA” places (e.g. “ATC operator” in an A/G gliding airfield, land owner of a farm strip OCAS, non qualified “engineer” doing unregulated maintenance…)
