Sat Oct 07, 2017 12:14 pm
#1563846
After 3 years of trying to line up my Dad's week-long stay in the Scillies in October with the weather and aircraft I finally made it there on Thursday afternoon, following the cold front southwards.
FIrst stop was a fuel and toasty stop at Lands End, sharing the apron with the 3 Twin Otters. The airport has obviously had money spent on it recently, modern with a nice little cafe. Extremely friendly and helpful ATC.
Lifejacket on and headed out to St Mary's early afternoon. You could just see the Scillies from OHD Lands End. The Otters go over at 1500ft / 1000ft so anything above that is preferred. I opted for 4000ft (but confidence increased for the return so took 2000ft on the way back).
Again - Scillies ATC were fantastic and allowed me a tour of the islands (both on arrival and departure). Runway 32 was in use for arrival with a slight crosswind, but easily managed this plus the upslope on the humped runway. Again the terminal here has obviously had money spent on it with a similar cafe in a modern building.
Parking was tie down on the grass only (concrete blocks available) but Wednesday's wind had died down so this wasn't the worry it could have been.
Friday's weather was glorious with light winds and a departure from 14 with a clockwise island tour at 2000ft before heading back to the Cornish coast and up to Perranporth for lunch - another friendly field with fuel with a fun circuit out to sea to the West.
Huge thanks to all the ATC units I spoke to - all helpful, friendly and professional as ever.
Absolutely great little trip. Loads of photos and video to sort through of course but here's a taster of the Scillies to hopefully inspire:
FIrst stop was a fuel and toasty stop at Lands End, sharing the apron with the 3 Twin Otters. The airport has obviously had money spent on it recently, modern with a nice little cafe. Extremely friendly and helpful ATC.
Lifejacket on and headed out to St Mary's early afternoon. You could just see the Scillies from OHD Lands End. The Otters go over at 1500ft / 1000ft so anything above that is preferred. I opted for 4000ft (but confidence increased for the return so took 2000ft on the way back).
Again - Scillies ATC were fantastic and allowed me a tour of the islands (both on arrival and departure). Runway 32 was in use for arrival with a slight crosswind, but easily managed this plus the upslope on the humped runway. Again the terminal here has obviously had money spent on it with a similar cafe in a modern building.
Parking was tie down on the grass only (concrete blocks available) but Wednesday's wind had died down so this wasn't the worry it could have been.
Friday's weather was glorious with light winds and a departure from 14 with a clockwise island tour at 2000ft before heading back to the Cornish coast and up to Perranporth for lunch - another friendly field with fuel with a fun circuit out to sea to the West.
Huge thanks to all the ATC units I spoke to - all helpful, friendly and professional as ever.
Absolutely great little trip. Loads of photos and video to sort through of course but here's a taster of the Scillies to hopefully inspire:
Vans RV4 - Hinton-in-the-Hedges
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