Shetland's airports (and parking)

[penfold]

Scatsta's closed due to low cloud, Sumburghs the diversionary destination - hows that something failing to work? Surely it's the same as any of the Sumburgh planes diverting to Scatsta? This is how it's supposed to work.

 

Think that you'll find on this occasion it was a lack of wind and a wet runway that sent that plane to Sumburgh, but your right its good that both airports compliment each other.

[moorit]

How interesting. Planes flying over Lerwick. Never seen that before.

[Ghostrider]

^^^ You get what you pay for. Oil Companies have spent the last 25 years honing their skills of how to pare their running costs to the bone. The have it now just about as tight as they can get it, and one duck just a hint out of line, and what can mostly work fails to.

 

Scatsta's closed due to low cloud, Sumburghs the diversionary destination - hows that something failing to work? Surely it's the same as any of the Sumburgh planes diverting to Scatsta? This is how it's supposed to work.

 

Back in the primitive "bad old days" when the stuffed shirt oily number crunchers weren't so picky over the bottom line, and the fixed wing contingent were an oversized fleet of obsolete inefficent relics for the 50's, for who even at full load Sumburgh was oversized, there was virtually no need for a diversionary airport, they almost always were the first in and last out, someone else pulled the plug on operations.

 

Now they choose to operate a tiny, in comparison, fleet of a handful of monsters, which needs everything "just so" or they have to abort and run elsewhere, all to put more profits in oil companies share holder's pockets.

 

Of course, it doesn't matter, it's all business to Shetland at the end of the day, however it will matter the day someone makes an error or misjudgement, as they will, it's happened before, but few know because nothing happened, there was room to rectify and all was well. But operating at the tolerances they are now, they have no leeway to do nothing, and say hello to a big hole in the ground....

[Infiltrator]

Now they choose to operate a tiny, in comparison, fleet of a handful of monsters, which needs everything "just so" or they have to abort and run elsewhere, all to put more profits in oil companies share holder's pockets.

 

The Viscounts must've been some sort of magic plane, everything else that's flown to Shetland in the last 20 years has been diverted at one time or another. I remember a viscount bouncing across the road trying to land in marginal conditions - that was very close to being a serious accident.

 

I believe the oil co's pay a pretty penny for the 146's, they're very expensive to run as well as having a spare aircraft based at Aberdeen but the leather seats and 40mins journey keep the bears happy and that's worth paying for.

At the end of the day, the 146's are there to support the Helicopters - this is the expensive part of the service, the planes are cheaper than flying the bears the extra 200 miles from Aberdeen in helicopters.

[Ghostrider]

^^^ I said that there was "virtually no need for a diversionary airport", not that Viscounts never needed to divert, not quite the same thing. Of course, even with the best will in the world circumstances necessitating a diversion will always arise whatever planes or airports you use, it just seems to me, if the number of them thundering over my head at a few hundred feet are any indication, that the 146's have to divert a great deal, usually for what appears the flimsiest of excuses. A Viscount circling Sumburgh and having to abandon was, to my recollection, quite rare, it was some other component of the equation that usually brought operations to a standstill first.

 

Yes, I too remember a bouncing Viscount, different incident though, entirely pilot error as it was a perfect, clear near calm and sunny spring morning. They got away with it because there was room and time to gather their senses and perform damage limitation before the ran out of runway. Would a 146 be as capable of being recovered were an identical error be made? I'm far from convinced they would.

[Toots]

Does anybody know what the little yellow helicopter was doing flying in and out of Sumburgh last week? is it on some kind of lighthouse board work?

[sludgegulper]

Doing flights for the oil rig Byford Dolphin which is east of Sumburgh.

[gulbergirl]

I saw two big pretty white planes at Sumburgh today. could have been jet's

 

its not that Faroe flight started again is it??

 

anybody know?

[sheepshagger]

that would of been the Scatsta flights

[Medziotojas]

Certainly looks like the Scatsta flights from the airport webcam, although admittedly the picture's a bit wobbly.

 

It's nae winder I nivver git ony wark done.

[cuckoo]

The two white planes that you saw were Scatsta flights. they couldn't land there due to the wind, like we didn't have any wind here !! Loganair flights at the moment are all grounded due to the wind at Sumburgh. Don't know if there will be any flights later on tonight or not.

[gulbergirl]

Thanks dears,

 

i see they are still there today. or have the gone and come again?

 

wind seems to have gone

[breeksy]

The two white planes that you saw were Scatsta flights. they couldn't land there due to the wind, like we didn't have any wind here !!

 

There is a difference between wind and cross-winds - Scatsta was suffering the latter yesterday..

[sludgegulper]

North vs South debate again eh. I thought that some people I work with would have better things to do rather than making idiotic remarks..... like doing some work.......................

[Sudden Stop]

Question for the south end airport folk - Has the new Oscar Charlie arrived yet?

 

I thought the old one was in Holland now and didn't think the 92 had made it yet but the shetland times refers to 'coastguard oscar charlie' being called out with the lifeboat on Thursday.