Peter, what was visibility and what is the best approach in to Shoreham from a minima standpoint? The NDB?
The best approach is the RNAV 02 but obviously it works only for a northerly wind, or calm conditions.
RNAV 02 is 430ft MDA.
NDB/DME 02 is 480ft MDA.
The vis varied all the time. Plus, one could see all around the airport area. Very weird. Never seen anything like it. It would not surprise me if somebody flying along the coast at say 200ft could have simply landed straight in. But by the time I got the taxi back there to collect my car, it was CAT3.
Biggin was bad enough, full of VFR traffic, some Mode A only, and very hazy and getting worse. Loads of bizjets diverted there.
Loads diverted into Oxford tonight as well.,
This is an unretouched pic of the area, looking towards Shoreham airport, from 2200ft, from a few miles to the east. Locals will know where the airport is – very very close…
At 2200ft
Best to quit while you are still losing 
Parked up at Biggin:
Shoreham a couple of hours later
I will post some pics when I get a chance to sort them out…
OK here are a few pics:
Outbound wx:
Metar
EGKA 300750Z 15013KT 8000 -RADZ FEW009 SCT018 BKN045 14/12 Q1017
EGHI 300750Z 17007KT 130V230 6000 RA FEW018 SCT023 BKN028 14/12 Q1015
EGKK 300750Z 16010KT 120V190 7000 -RA FEW012 BKN018 13/12 Q1017
LFRK 300800Z AUTO 14011KT 9999 -RA NSC 13/10 Q1018
LFBD 300800Z AUTO 13009KT CAVOK 13/09 Q1017
LFBZ 300800Z AUTO VRB03KT CAVOK 20/13 Q1016
LEXJ 300800Z 21013KT 170V250 CAVOK 22/12 Q1013
LEPP 300800Z 26001KT 9999 4000S FEW022 09/09 Q1020
LEZG 300800Z 08004KT CAVOK 13/10 Q1020
TAF
EGKA: no results found
EGHI 300638Z 3006/3015 16010KT 9999 BKN030 TEMPO 3006/3012 16015G25KT 6000 RA PROB30 TEMPO 3006/3011 BKN006
EGKK 300507Z 3006/3112 17010KT 9999 FEW008 BKN015 TEMPO 3006/3012 15015G25KT 4000 RADZ BKN008 BECMG 3014/3017 11008KT BECMG 3019/3022 7000 TEMPO 3021/3111 4000 BR BKN004 PROB30 TEMPO 3102/3110 0300 FG BKN001
LFRK 300500Z 3006/3015 16012KT CAVOK BECMG 3013/3015 13010KT
LFBD 300500Z 3006/3112 12006KT CAVOK
LFBZ 300500Z 3006/3106 16008KT CAVOK
LEXJ 300200Z 3003/3103 19009KT CAVOK TX24/3013Z TN17/3103Z PROB40 TEMPO 3003/3012 21015G25KT PROB30 TEMPO 3012/3016 07010KT
LEPP 300510Z 3005/3103 14006KT CAVOK TX22/3013Z TN09/3006Z PROB40 TEMPO 3005/3007 1500 BCFG PROB40 TEMPO 3010/3016 16015G25KT
LEZG 300500Z 3006/3106 VRB04KT 9999 FEW040 TX23/3015Z TN10/3006Z BECMG 3007/3010 10010KT TEMPO 3020/3104 10005KT
so I got quite wet at Shoreham. It was IMC for about the first hour and gradually opened up
The “longest ever known” shortcut in the lower airways… SOSTO is almost all the way down France
The amazing beach along the west coast of France
Others from the outbound flight I posted earlier.
I just had to get one of these in
This was interesting, not because I am an artist or anything like that but because it is made from 5cm thick steel, so I wonder how they fabricated it?
Architecture is closer to N Europe than to “old” Spain
On day of departure, the airport was deserted
Because almost nobody speaks even one word of English (something I cannot understand of the management of an airport) it took maybe 30 minutes to explain I wanted to pay for landing and parking. They do have an office upstairs for flight plan filing and payments and once you get there, it’s all very smooth. The bill came to €97 (1400kg, 2 nights’ parking). I did tell them by email that I don’t need handling and none was offered, which was fine.
Then they realised that since I was flying back to the UK, they needed the special policeman to look at my passport. He turned up after some 30 mins (I delayed the flight plan by 30 mins; also to allow for the UK wx to improve). They had known my departure EOBT but somehow this wasn’t connected up.
The wind was calm so I could choose the runway. I went for 33. The SID requires a ~ 5% climb gradient, due to terrain ahead
They have some pretty big housing estates
A lot of haze, but nice smooth wx
Over the hills there were some contacts on TCAS, very close to me, but Mode A only. Probably gliders but who would bother carrying a Mode A transponder?
Bordeax – de-hazed rather badly using Auto Levels in photoshop
The Les Blayais nuclear plant which I managed to bust in 2003…
Interesting patterns on the ground… no idea what makes them
Isle de Re again
The Thuraya XT satellite phone, doing 50kbits/sec for $6/MB. I just left it running the whole flight. The Lenovo tablet is now firewalled to let apps access only two private wx sites, plus Telegram (that one does use a LOT of data), so it’s now working well. I should make a proper holder for it; the tape just stops it falling off
Unfortunately it does need the antenna to be visible to the satellite which is to the south-east… which precludes any fixed holder unless you have an external antenna, which I do have, but I don’t have the special spring loaded connectors to make contact with the phone.
Some wx from earlier in the flight. The forecast for EGKA was very wrong, but they nearly always are regarding when fog will clear
I tried to get wx using the Telegram service over 3G/4G but it didn’t work at all on this flight. I think I got one reply back, an hour after requesting it. France doesn’t have much 4G (LTE) coverage at reasonable levels.
You just know when you are approaching the UK
I did the RNAV 02 IAP three times but never saw the runway. The first time, amazingly, I got a total loss of GPS at about 1500ft, so didn’t get very far. I turned off absolutely everything “portable”, and it never happened again.
This is the picture on the way to Biggin Hill, 2300ft
The wx there was very hazy and the viz was probably 1000m on final for R21. I would have done the ILS had it been any worse, but they were busy as hell with VFR traffic all over the place. Some of it was Mode A only… (why?) so I flew the circuit slightly above the 1600ft…
A great trip and it was great to meet Aart again. A pity Emir didn’t make it.
The Biggin diversion is always a big hassle for me especially as I am stuck in the office next 2 weeks (staff holidays) so can’t retrieve it easily. They do however open 7:30 (one can take off at 7:30) so I might do that and still be at the office for 9:00. However I need to do an oil change so maybe I can organise something up there. I can’t do it at Shoreham.
This weather is a classic example why LPV approaches should be put in place in the UK. Three approaches followed by a divert in very busy airspace could have been avoided. That extra couple of hundred feet make all the difference in poor vis and are an enormous safety benefit.
That’s very true, although proper fog will always have you stuffed.
Shoreham will never get proper LPV minima. On 20 it is limited by the hill, so they will have to go for the max possible GS angle. On 02 it is limited by the go-around slope versus the hill.
Interestingly even Southend EGMC – the traditional Plan B for fog – was completely stuffed yesterday too: BKN001 200M.
Peter wrote:
It would not surprise me if somebody flying along the coast at say 200ft could have simply landed straight in.
Would there have been a legal way for you to try that?
Possibly at some stage but I preferred the proper IAP especially as there was clear VMC all around and after the MAP.
Also by the time I went to Biggin it went back down to proper fog.
And I don’t like that sort of scud running because you don’t get good lateral guidance. You just end up basically flying the unpublished end of the IAP, at say 200ft.
What Shoreham really needs is one of these, in the centre of the airport
Just spotted this little item on the invoice, which I will query:
