What are you planning? Where shall we go?
#1893997
.. until end of April, according to latest word from airport to museum Trustees. Contractors will start using the JAM landside gate and car park to access the runway works from Mon 24 Jan, with a scarily large number of truck movements/weekday likely. Work will subsume not only the resurfacing but also a CAA CAT-compliant, ie high, airside fence; but, we've been assured, with a pedestrian gate under JAM control for fly-in visitors, with grass taxiway and apron restored airside. Presumably this will also affect the view over the airfield from the picnic tables, which will disappoint visitors.

Museum (including car park) will still be open at weekends as normal, but with landside access only. Fly-in visitors will presumably have to park on the Terminal apron and take a taxi or scrounge a lift round - it's a long walk!

Hope to see some Forumites arriving the 'proper' way again from May .. :wink:
T6Harvard, Iceman liked this
#1899519
Resurfacing contractors have asked for use of the JAM car park for truck access on weekends of 5/6 and 26/27 March, so Museum will be closed even for landside access on those weekends.

[But they are paying something to Museum funds as compensation :) ]
Milty liked this
#1907886
There was a meeting between the JAM Trustees, the airport and the contractors this week. This confirmed that at the end of the resurfacing and fencing project:

a. Taxiway R and an airside museum apron will be restored to grass (it's currently partly under a temporary truck track for the contractors); and

b. there will be a pedestrian gate (under Museum control) in the new (high, secure, CAA PT standard) fence, to allow fly-in visitors to reach the museum

.. but there's still no word on the exact date when this will be possible. There are a number of JAM events already planned (including in May); but I won't post details until nearer the time.

Meanwhile, museum is open for landside access Sat/Sun 1000-1600 as usual. Admission and parking are, of course, still free.
Paul_Sengupta liked this
#1908923
Latest feedback from contractors to museum trustees is that the resurfacing work should be completed by the end of April. However, the new airside fence project will continue during the summer. I gather we don't yet have a firm date for the reopening of our grass taxiway and apron, but there's a pile of turves just beyond the current low fence, which looks promising.

Scalpings from the resurfacing have started to be laid on the museum overflow vehicle parking area, which (once levelled and compacted) should leave us with an area usable even after heavy rain. We've also been promised the restoration of our landside picnic table area, but the view from it over the airfield (much enjoyed by visitors on busy flying days) will eventually be somewhat inhibited by the new fence.

Museum footfall has definitely been picking up, but the Easter holidays and associated tourism and visits by relatives have probably helped.
Iceman, Milty liked this
#1932655
In a recent exchange between the JAM Trustees and the current Operations gaffer, the latter said that Taxiway R to JAM should be regarded as permanently available, as the AIP entry suggests. I had read in social media of a fly-in visitor who was told it was not, but whom (parked Terminal, South, side) the Terminal Operations Reception folk drove across to visit JAM. Latter facility was always available in MP3's day, eg for larger/heavier aircraft visiting if R was deemed too soggy or shaggy; nice to hear that the courtesy persists :thumright:

I have not yet heard when the new airside fence construction is to start, but the message seems to imply that this will not prevent JAM apron parking.

Museum open 1000-1600, Sat/Sun, as usual; with free admission as ever.