Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By cloudhopper
#1322589
Pete S wrote:So the rumours are pretty close to the facts, then. :roll:


I certainly don't think that the comments made by Electric_Fuel_Pump regarding flying clubs etc. are true. The University spent an awful lot of money on the airfield a couple of years ago and I would have thought they would have wanted to generate as much income as possible, be it from biz jets, GA or flying schools.

Johnm, yes I'm aware of a couple of institutions that have considered dropping undergrads but the challenges that poses are best left for a thread in non-GA or THES :wink:
By Orac
#1322632
cloudhopper wrote:I certainly don't think that the comments made by Electric_Fuel_Pump regarding flying clubs etc. are true.


I can only report what I've seen & heard. It's a small group of flying schools/clubs at Cranfield, I'm sure they'd tell you their tales of woe directly.
Last edited by Orac on Mon Oct 27, 2014 11:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
#1323332
I am the Managing Director of FlyCB, a flying school which was taken in by all the hype about Cranfield being GA friendly. Well I invested over £100,000 in new aircraft, spent a small fortune promoting my school at Cranfield and building a customer base over the last 12 months. On 10th October I received a letter from Cranfield's solicitors telling me to clear our school offices by 31st October. This is simply because Cranfield don't want flying schools there anymore. I am not alone. Its not just FlyCB who are going. Azure Flying Club who have been at Cranfield since moving out of Luton many years ago have also been given notice to clear the school office by 25th October, 2014. How do I know this? Well that's because the Cranfield management are so dilligent that they sent me the Azure notice to quit by mistake. I had a discussion with Richard Billins on Monday this week and despite his 25 year + operations at Cranfield has been given notice to vacate his offices by 20th December. All of this is coming from one person, the Director of Estates at Cranfield Mr John Street.

I have a copy of the minutes of a development meeting for resident flying schools which took place on 18th March, 2014 at which Cranfield stated that the GA community and its resident flying schools were safe at Cranfield. There would be a need to move to alternative accommodation but this would be provided. This was untrue. Cranfield is applying big bully tactics to force small flying schools such as mine out of business.
By Orac
#1323632
flycbuk@gmail.com wrote:I am the Managing Director of FlyCB, a flying school which was taken in by all the hype about Cranfield being GA friendly. Well I invested over £100,000 in new aircraft, spent a small fortune promoting my school at Cranfield and building a customer base over the last 12 months. On 10th October I received a letter from Cranfield's solicitors telling me to clear our school offices by 31st October. This is simply because Cranfield don't want flying schools there anymore. I am not alone. Its not just FlyCB who are going. Azure Flying Club who have been at Cranfield since moving out of Luton many years ago have also been given notice to clear the school office by 25th October, 2014. How do I know this? Well that's because the Cranfield management are so dilligent that they sent me the Azure notice to quit by mistake. I had a discussion with Richard Billins on Monday this week and despite his 25 year + operations at Cranfield has been given notice to vacate his offices by 20th December. All of this is coming from one person, the Director of Estates at Cranfield Mr John Street.

I have a copy of the minutes of a development meeting for resident flying schools which took place on 18th March, 2014 at which Cranfield stated that the GA community and its resident flying schools were safe at Cranfield. There would be a need to move to alternative accommodation but this would be provided. This was untrue. Cranfield is applying big bully tactics to force small flying schools such as mine out of business.


It's a very sad state of affairs. So much space around the airfield it's crazy that an aviation-focused university such as Cranfield don't want training any more.

As I understand it, the FlyCB office is within a building that isn't going anywhere for many years.. The airport made such a song-and-dance about being FlyCB on-board... :x
By Bathman
#1323716
FlyCB I have to say how sorry I am to hear about you situation its simply shocking and i hope your problems can be resolved.

One think that I can never understand with so many airports (with the obvious exception of Staverton and Booker) is how they failure to encourage revenue from numerous sources.

Now I haven't been to Cranfield for many years but there must be plenty of space to but up a few temporary buildings/portocabins. And yes microlights and cessna don't consume tones of Jet A1 at a time. But they do bring in some revenue.

I regularly fly over 2 regional international airports which are dead while doing landaways/QXCs with students and we would love to use them but they are too expensive (78 to land) take too long to turnaround (40 mins) and are too much hassle (one of them insists on two forms of ID, one must have you picture on it and they won't except a driving licence without the paper part and thats for all crew members.

All of this of course does nothing to put to bed the idea that they have only brought them to develop the land. But cranfield are keeping the place as an airport so this is just madness and I really feel for you - I really do.
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By Genghis the Engineer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1323724
Yes, things do seem to have taken a nasty turn.

All of the schools seem to be being treated suddenly very badly, with no apparent desire on the part of the university to act at-all helpful to them.

I know a lot of the people on both the university and flying school side here, and despite quite a few conversations about university strategies, really cannot understand why its behaving in this way all of a sudden.

There is certainly space on the airfield where the schools could be relocated at minimal nuisance to the university, and carry on operating quite happily. The lack of will to facilitate that - particularly after the charm offensive of recent years, I just don't understand.

G
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By mmcp42
#1323731
That letter sounds outrageous
I'm in Cranfield tomorrow
Might ask a few people what's going on

Shame as it seems to undo all the good work Jo Bampton had been doing over recent months
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By Ben
#1323733
Can the schools take a legal action? Short notice? Broken promises/verbal contract?

Ben
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By mancpilot
#1324455
Maybe they've had to make room for their new resident Boeing 737?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-be ... s-29741443

A Boeing 737 passenger jet has landed at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire where it will used by students as a research and training tool.

The B737-400 airliner has been donated to the university by British Airways following its retirement from service.
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1324457
mancpilot wrote:Maybe they've had to make room for their new resident Boeing 737?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-be ... s-29741443

A Boeing 737 passenger jet has landed at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire where it will used by students as a research and training tool.

The B737-400 airliner has been donated to the university by British Airways following its retirement from service.



viewtopic.php?f=1&t=92106
By mglepd
#1324459
Dreadful news! Are the maintenance shops safe?
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By mmcp42
#1324483
I was there at the weekend for a fuel stop
word from the fueller (well known source of information) is that "da management" want to do away with the flying clubs and make it an all maintenance facility ?!?

also the clubs haven't been told to leave the airfield, just leave the buildings they're in
not that there's anywhere else to go ?!?

at least one flying club (based in the recently refurbished building between the tower and the gates) has NOT been given notice, but their neighbours upstairs have ?!?

interesting times, indeed
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By rats404
#1324615
What an appalling way to treat people. Lord knows you don't run a flying school to become a millionaire (C*b**r directors of old excepted).

I feel very sorry for all of those affected at Cranfield.

It seems that in the last couple of years the screw has turned more rapidly to strangle the life out of grass roots aviation in the UK. All of us civil pilots learned at a school like these, and what hope do we have of injecting fresh blood if fewer and fewer options are available for people to take that first flight and get the bug.

:(
By MarkJC
#1330718
Been training with Aeros at Cranfield. Received letter from them today saying they have, today, left Cranfield due to instruction from the university to vacate their building.