[kanga]

..
So has Fairoaks ..or does it generally have better weather than Blackbushe?

presumably, those promoting a 'garden village' there will claim that it always has perfect gardening weather ..

[ie, lovely quiet motor mowers and leafblowers all weekend rather than nasty noisy aeroplanes passing occasionally ]

[ganzic]

Blackbushe doesn't send any staff home early if the weather is bad or its notamed closed. The reason is a knee-jerk reaction to a German Cirrus going around and than landing at 200ft cloud base, busting all noise abatement areas and flying directly over Yately.

[chevvron]

The Blackbushe AIP entry states:-

When the RVR is below 500 m, departures are not permitted unless AOC holders have less restrictive authorised take-off minima. Pilots are advised that there is no runway centre-line lighting and departure in RVR conditions of less than 400 m is at the pilot’s discretion. Take-off will not be permitted if the RVR is less than 250 m.

Do they have IRVR or is it 'human observer' via calibrated runway edge lighting?

[tomshep]

They don't have IRVR which is a systen that gives a good approximation of RVR.

[2Donkeys]

I was recently reminded in another forum that EU-OPS prohibits departures in less than 400m RVR other than by approved operators. The discretion implied in the Blackbushe AIP entry does not apply to us amateurs no matter what our equipment level or qualifications might be.

[Talkdownman]

A highly qualified resident pilot had to complain to the airfield and to the CAA recently when he was chastised for making a perfectly legal IFR departure

I am told that the visibility was 7000m and the cloud base 300ft. So not quite 250m RVR.

[Bert Presley]

So has Fairoaks been regularly NOTAMed closed due to weather recently or does it generally have better weather than Blackbushe

Fairoaks does have better weather (sort of). An extra 245ft of cloud base clearance compared to Blackbushe

[Julius Seizure]

A highly qualified resident pilot had to complain to the airfield and to the CAA recently when he was chastised for making a perfectly legal IFR departure

I am told that the visibility was 7000m and the cloud base 300ft. So not quite 250m RVR.

Farnborough METAR at the time was:

EGLF 100850Z 16007KT 130V200 3000 -DZ BR BKN003 08/08 Q1026

Blackbushe has a nearly 100' higher ground elevation. I watched the go-around and landing myself...in fact, I was just finishing breakfast in the cafe when I saw it scooting over the pumps just under the cloud on its go-around.

JS.

[2Donkeys]

JS

I know nothing of this incident, but I can tell that you are describing an arrival and the original post referred to a departure.

[Iceman]

JS, as 2D alludes to, two different flights. The one to which you are referring is the foreign Cirrus arrival. The one to which I am referring is a resident pilot departure.

Iceman

[chevvron]

Blackbushe doesn't send any staff home early if the weather is bad or its notamed closed. The reason is a knee-jerk reaction to a German Cirrus going around and than landing at 200ft cloud base, busting all noise abatement areas and flying directly over Yately.

Unless the airport management steps in and tells the FISOs otherwise, the FISOs are not permitted to instruct the aircraft not to land or make an approach;that's purely the decision of the pilot.

[Julius Seizure]

JS, as 2D alludes to, two different flights. The one to which you are referring is the foreign Cirrus arrival. The one to which I am referring is a resident pilot departure.

Iceman

Ah gotcha, sorry. I had just read ganzic's post on the "German Cirrus" and had not properly context switched - apologies!

JS.

[Paul_Sengupta]

Unless the aiprot management steps in and tells the FISOs otherwise, the FISOs are not permitted to instruct the aircraft not to land or make an approach;that's purely the decision of the pilot.

Who makes the decision to close the airport?

[chevvron]

Unless the aiprot management steps in and tells the FISOs otherwise, the FISOs are not permitted to instruct the aircraft not to land or make an approach;that's purely the decision of the pilot.

Who makes the decision to close the airport?

The aerodrome authority, although the FISOs may act on instructions from the aerodrome authority which might be included in the Aerodrome Manual.

[Talkdownman]

Blackbushe, that closes the airfield by NOTAM because it deems the weather or conditions below certain minima

Another closure this morning until 1100 due 'weather', a 500ft base apparently. Is the Blackbushe weather minima a closely guarded secret? Anybody spot a NOTAM?

EGLF 161020Z 22008KT 4000 BR OVC005 09/08 Q1024=
EGLF 161050Z 23008KT 4000 BR OVC007 09/09 Q1024=
OK, a 100ft difference at LK maybe, but what is wrong with that for departure for IR/IRR holders?