I flew into Filton earlier this afternoon and about half a dozen GA aircraft were there.
The weather was brilliant and not an ounce of breeze. Well not until the A380 took off and was swiftly followed by a replica/refurbished Spitfire who flew a tight circuit and then buzzed the runway before departing.
No landing fees were levied but PPR required.
Think quite a lot of people may be flying in on Friday. TAF's don't look too good though.
I think it's free landing fee's this week?
I flew in a few weeks ago as I wanted to get it into my logbook and get some pics of the Concorde. I tried asking various security people to see they would take me over there, but I didnt have much luck. It's a shame, Filton played an important part in the history of aviation, and it's a shame it will no longer be active. I dont know what will happen to the runway, whether it will just become disused, or if it will be built upon.
The only saving grace is that there will be a new Aerospace center built on the Northern side some the WW1 hangars will be refurbished. The Concorde will finally be exhibited and open to the public as well. It's just a shame that to go there one will have to drive, or find some kind of farmstrip nearby. The main Britsol airport (it seems) have priced GA out of their operation.
I might look to head over there tomorrow. Wx looks a bit better.
So are people going to access Bristol via Bristol Airport afterwards or will private flights cease to exist due to their £200+ fees?
I'm not. Elsewhere someone posted a message from some kind of operational managers at Bristol, and from what I recall, he was far from apologetic about the costs, so I probably won't add that one to my logbook. I don't know if there's any farm strips near Bristol, but that's what I would look for.
Farewell Filton. Photo taken today on climbout after departing, shortly before it closed for good.
There was good weather, good turnout (estimate 20+ aircraft flew in) today. ATC and Flight Ops continued their professional service throughout.
