[JAFO]

Hi,

Can anyone definitively recall whether Barrow Walney Island was Walney Radio, Walney Information or even Walney Tower in 1986?

It might sound like an odd question but I flew there and I can't remember; too much water has flowed under the bridge and too much beer has flowed over my tonsils in the years since for me to be sure.

Thanks.

[Paul_Sengupta]

Warning to anyone answering...anything you say may be taken down and used in evidence!

[Rob L]

Warning to anyone answering...anything you say may be taken down and used in evidence!

JAFO was a civilian, you dozy so-and-so. He couldn't arrest his own receding hairline.

[JAFO]

He couldn't arrest his own receding hairline.

This is, I am afraid, very true.

There are those, more sensitive than I, who might find your comment harsh or even rude but I cannot deny it's veracity.

[Paul_Sengupta]

Warning to anyone answering...anything you say may be taken down and used in evidence!

JAFO was a civilian, you dozy so-and-so. He couldn't arrest his own receding hairline.

It was more a comment about it being used in a forthcoming book...

[JAFO]

Warning to anyone answering...anything you say may be taken down and used in evidence!

JAFO was a civilian, you dozy so-and-so. He couldn't arrest his own receding hairline.

It was more a comment about it being used in a forthcoming book...

You might well be onto something there, Paul. The first leg of my solo QXC was to Barrow Walney Island and I can't for the life of me remember the level of ATC at the time.

[Bathman]

I never knew you could even fly in but then thinking about it you must have been able as Air Furness used to operate islanders out of there.

[Mike Tango]

I flew into it with a chum in the 80s en-route from Prestwick to Ipswich (bloody) Airport, but don’t recall specifically.

But it was used for commercial services on and off in the 80s and early 90s, which would probably only have been feasible with instrument approaches which I assume back then would have predicated full ATC?

[kanga]

A bit later, but my 1996 Pooley's has 'Walney TWR 123.20'

[Paultheparaglider]

Not much further back than kanga, but my 1994 Flyer version also gives Tower.

[JAFO]

You guys are brilliant, I had a vague memory of it being Tower but couldn't be that sure. Your confirmation that it was tower in the early 90s is good enough for me.

[chevvron]

Back in the '80s, I met a fellow controller at Walney when we were shooting at Bisley (actually we were helpimg to run the Inter Service Cadet Rifle Meeting).
She told me it was originally Walney Tower (ATC) but then one of the bigwigs at Vickers decided to unlicence the airfield and make it A/G. My friend Stella stayed there as A/G then they decided to instal the ILS in order to run an air ferry service to/from Farnborough and after remonstrating with the CAA, agreement was arranged for the ILS to be overseen by FISOs with vectoring and 'executive' controlling operated by Warton ATC so she then became a FISO. This would have been mid or late '90s.
Last I heard was about 2010 ish when one of my FISO colleagues at Fairoaks was offered a job at Walney (having just got his ATPL) and it was conditional on combining FISOing with flying the air ferrys (not both at the same time though!)
Dunno what happened to Stella, lovely girl she was, and there was another girl who was a FISO too at that time.

[Paul_Sengupta]

So the answer is (d) All of the above ?

[Mike Tango]

I assume it couldn’t have been unlicensed when the odd commercial services were running in the 80s/early 90s?

[johnm]

then they decided to instal the ILS in order to run an air ferry service to/from Farnborough and after remonstrating with the CAA, agreement was arranged for the ILS to be overseen by FISOs with vectoring and 'executive' controlling operated by Warton ATC so she then became a FISO.

Precisely the model suggested for Brize, Fairford, Oxford and nearby airfields
Also the model at Deauville Cherbourg last time I was there....