19th August 2001:
The following job advert appearedin the Heathrow neswpaper 'Skyport' of 17th August:
.(select ad for larger version)
.
The ad appears to be for 'Northolt Handling',
the company set up by the owners of Biggin and Southend as reported below,
thus the Biggin address. It seems to indicate an upgrade in civil
handling which could affect other areas in a positive way.
14th August 2001:
The following advert putting based Ba125-800 G-WBPR up for immediate sale appeared in 'Flight International' dated 13th August 2001 (click add for larger version)
G-WBPR
was Northolt's first based executive jet.
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16th July 2001:
The following advert appeared in 'Flight International' dated 10th July 2001 and also 24th July 2001.
.
This
advert is very similar to the one which appeared in 'Flight' dated 27th
October 1999 (see previous news section). The main difference is
the phrase 'Hangar 311..would suit...Fixed Base Operators', which seems
to infer that an FBO such as Metro Aviation etc would be considered.
The main problem to such an operator would, as always, be the restrictive
opening hours and lack of readily available civil slots. With UPC
apparently running down their operations at Northolt the ad is probably
aimed at filling their place.
3rd July 2001:
The following report appeared on the ABTN internet news mailing list:
LONDON
NORTHOLT AIRPORT, the Royal Air Force communications airport,
much
favoured by the Royal family and three miles north of Heathrow on
the
A40 arterial road, is to have a new civil contractor. Regional
Airports
Ltd, the operator of both Biggin Hill Airport and Southend
airports
has been awarded a contract to provide passenger handling which
started
yesterday. A new company, Northolt Handling Ltd, has been
created
in partnership with Serco Aerospace who currently operate a
JAR145
line maintenance facility at the airport. RAF Northolt is
currently
permitted to accept 7,000 civilian aircraft movements per
annum
and is already running close to that limit and has severe curfews.
Regional
Airports says its ability to offer Biggin and Southend as
alternatives
will be of great value to executive aircraft operators.
Although
technically slot-free, prior operational permission must first
be
granted by the RAF Advance Tasking Team.
Interestinginformation that was kept very quiet until after the change had taken effect. One must wonder if it the first move in a series of 'civilianisations' on the base. Hopefully it will also enhance the possibility of an increase in the civil allowance. I just hope that the new company do not attempt to transfer business to their other airports.
8th May 2001:
Newspapers are full of articles on the arrival at Northolt on 7th May of great train robber Ronnie Biggs, who has been in exile in Brazil since the early 1960's. The 'Sun' newspaper hired Falcon 900 F-GSCN from Occitania Jet Fleet of Paris to fly to Rio de Janeiro to collect him. The aircraft departed the UK on Friday 4th May from Farnborough using callsign 'OJF383', with journalists on board. It refuelled at the Cape Verde Islands before continuing its journey to Rio-Galeao International Airport. Photo's of its departure from Farnborough were published in the paper, but these had been doctored to hide the registration and add 'Sun' titles on the tail.
The
departure from Rio was highly publicised, with crazed scenes at the airport,
an event that the UK obviously wanted to avoid. Word had reached
the press by early Monday morning that they were bound for Northolt after
once again refuelling in the Cape Verde Islands. Arrival estimates
were given as 11.00am. The aircraft actually arrived on runway 07
at 0846, allegedly due to good winds. Journalists had gathered at
the southern gate to the airfield and landing shots were shown on TV.
However, the aircraft then backtracked the runway and parked out of sight
on the north side, where only the 'Sun' journalists on board were able
to film the event, pictures that were released the next day.
Biggs was arrested on the aircraft and carried off in a van with blacked out windows. It departed the base as part of a convoy of police vehicles via the main gate to Chiswick police station where formalities were conducted before he was taken to jail. At the main gate there was a small incident as two of the police vehicles collided!
The
aircraft taxied to the south side to refuel and subsequently depart at
1012 to Paris-Le Bourget, once again using callsign 'OJF383'.
As part of the story, the Daily Mail carried the following article on Northolt itself, calling the airfield an 'airstrip'!
AIRSTRIP WITH ROYAL CONNECTIONS
The
private jet carrying Ronnie Biggs landed at a military airstrip used by
royalty
and senior ministers, apparently to avoid the kind of chaotic scenes
that
accompanied his departure from Rio.
The
decision to let the 14 seater Dassault Falcon 900 touch down at RAF
Northolt
in West London was taken in consultation with Scotland Yard, the
Ministry
of Defence said.
Northolt
has long standing royal connections. It was where, in 1927, the
Duke
of Windsor - later to abdicate as King Edward VIII - became the first
royal
to learn to fly. Until an embarrassing crash landing in 1994, Prince
Charles
regularly flew the BAe146s of the former Queens Flight that are based there.
The
airfield has a distinguished military history, having launched attacks
against
Zeppelin raids in the First World War and as a key fighter base
during
the Second World War.
But
its quietness and convenience for Central London have also made it
attractive
to celebrities and businessmen. Northolt handles 4000 flights by
civilian
corporate jets each year.
It
was briefly London's first airport after the war, and its proximity to
Heathrow
six miles away has led to regular mistaken landings of big jets
(!).
As
the age of mass air travel dawned, celebrities looked to the privacy of
Northolt.
In the sixties, MP's complained after Frank Sinatra was allowed
to
use the RAF station to avoid attention when he flew in his new bride, Mia
Farrow.
For
50 years there have been arguments over the airstrips future - whether
it
should be closed, turned into London's third airport or developed for
more
private flights.
In
the meantime, it can count a new entry for the less glorious side of its
record.....
Some errors in there! The suggestion of 'regular mistaken landings of big jets' is a vast exaggeration of the one Pan Am B707 incident in 1960! But nice to see the airfield getting some non controversial coverage...
Credit
to the Daily Mail dated 8th May 2001 for the information and photo in this
section.
6th April 2001:
Confusion surrounds the status of the based UPC Falcons. Information received indicated that they were no longer based as of 30th March and information from Luton suggested that they were now to be assumed based there. However, during early April both aircraft have visited Northolt and used the hanger facilities.
.
29th March 2001:
A US Air Force C32A arrived at Northolt today, becoming one of the few 'large' aircraft to grace the ramp. It departed on Sunday 1st April and a feature section will soon be on this site commemorating the event.
.
20th August 2000:
A VHF operations frequency appears to have come into use. References to 132.65 have been made by controllers since 21st August. A visiting civil aircraft was heard talking to ops on this frequency on 24th August. This frequency was previously used by 32 Squadron operations.
The Ealing Gazette dated 28th July 2000 carried the following article:
Government attempts to put an end to rumours about RAF Northolt
Air Base won't close: MoD
The MINISTRY of Defence has categorically ruled out the closure of RAF Northolt following a claim by Ealing Tories that the Government had failed to answer their questions about the airbase.
Ealing North Conservatives wrote to defence minister Geoffrey Hoon MP in May after the Gazette reported that plans were afoot to close the airbase. The Tories say that they have heard nothing since, though the Ministry of Defence (MoD) claims a reply denying the closure was sent out on June 9, The economy of Greenford and Northolt stands to lose about £10 million a year and hundreds of jobs if the airbase does shut down.
The Gazette story followed a tip off that at a February meeting of developers hoping to build a sports stadium near Northolt, an MoD official said the airfield would be closed in the next two years. The MoD has reiterated this week that no such plans exist, although a London wide defence review, due this year, is still to be published. A Tory spokesman said 'The residents of Northolt and Greenford have a right to know the future of the airbase and the government has a duty to tell them'.
The Northolt Airport, however, which provides VIP flights to the Royal Family and foreign dignitaries as well as being an RAF base, appears to be thriving.
On Monday, a private airline offering charter flights for VIP's and executives is holding an open day at the base. The company. called Platinum Air 2000, has six private jets for hire and says it can fly from Northolt to any airport between the Orkney Islands to North Africa. Platinum claims the costs per head for a charter flight of ten passengers is about the same as a business class ticket. Captain John Mason, a commercial pilot running the firm, said, 'We are offering the business flyer a chance to park his or her car, walk through the departure lounge and take off all within two minutes. RAF Northolt allows us to tailor air travel specifically to our customers needs'.
Interesting now to see how important the base is to the local community, until the next story about an increase in movements or opening hours comes along of course....!
An item in 'Air & Business Travel News' dated 25 July states:
LONDON
NORTHOLT: From August air taxi company, Platinum Air 2000, is to
become
the first air taxi company to base an aircraft at RAF Northolt.
Situated
north of Heathrow, on the A40 arterial close by Ruislip Gardens
tube
station on the Central Line. Platinum Air operates three BAE
Jetstreams,
three
Beechcraft Turboprops and a Cessna Citation. Platinum
Air
points out that Northolt has great flexibility regarding take off
and
landing slots although the airport is restricted regarding
availability.
A similarly
worded item but with less information appears in Flight international dated
25-31 July. They do seem to disagree on the number of Beech 200's
in the fleet!:
.
The articles read more like a press release/advert. Rumours regarding Platinum have abounded for some time, in fact they have had an office at Northolt for a while, but this is the first concrete information. The actual based aircraft waits to be seen. As stated, Platinum have bases at Southampton, Biggin and Southend and their fleet consists of:
.
|
|
|
|
| G-JETJ | Citation 550 | 0154 |
| G-PLAH | Jetstream 31 | 640 |
| G-PLAJ | Jetstream 31 | . |
| G-PLAT | Beech 200 | BB487 |
| G-REBK | Beech 200 | BB1202 |
| G-SHAM | Beech 90 | . |
Apparently a report in a local paper during early May inferred that Northolt could close within two years. I did not see the article myself and would be very interested in recieving any information on it. Apparently, a letter was sent to some base workers in late May denying the 'leaked and misunderstood' report and assuring them of the future.
.
The Prime Minister answered a question regarding Northolt during PM's questions on 5th April. The text, taken from Hansard, was as follows:
Q4. [116417] Mr. Gareth R. Thomas (Harrow, West): Will my right hon. Friend acknowledge the genuine concerns about the possibility of a significant increase in air traffic, notably from London airports? In particular, will he note the on-going fears of many of my constituents and those in surrounding areas about the idea that RAF Northolt in west London could be expanded to become a feeder airport for Heathrow, with all the resulting pollution, noise and environmental damage for those under the flight path?
The Prime Minister: I can indeed give my hon. Friend the assurance that he seeks. I know that he has been campaigning on the issue for some time. He will be aware that the Government do not believe that the circumstances have changed to warrant reopening the issue of RAF Northolt and we do not intend to consider any proposals to develop it as a major civil airport, because it is clear that the environmental consequences would be unacceptable.
Really a re-hash of old news that was made known some time ago. Maybe the Harrow West MP should read this page! The exchange was reported in a local paper's web site thus:
Airbase expansion not ruled out
The Government will not consider the expansion of RAF Northolt as a major
civil airport, Tony Blair
announced on Wednesday last week.
'We do not intend to consider any proposals to develop it as a major civil
airport because the
environmental consequences would be unacceptable,' he told the House of
Commons in response to a
question from Harrow West MP, Gareth Thomas.
John Wilkinson, MP for Ruislip and Northwood, and John Randall, MP for
Uxbridge, who have
opposed the idea of developing the airbase in West End Road, which already
handles about 7,000
civilian flights (mainly dignitaries) a year, into a major civil airport,
welcomed his assurance.
Privately-owned Stagecoach Aviation re-introduced the idea in June 1998.
It was first recommended by a House of Commons transportation select committee
in 1996 to alleviate
Heathrow overcrowding but rejected by the previous Government.
A Department of Transport spokesman said further development could not
be ruled out until a two-year
study into expansion of South East airports, launched in March last year,
was finished.
Jenny Hunt, vice chairman of South Ruislip Residents' Association, said:
'Northolt is for the Queen's
flights, dignitaries and special events, and that's how we would like it
to stay.'
(thanks to http:\\www.thisishillingdon.co.uk)
So it seems that the review of air traffic in the South East will take another year. No mention is made of the Strategic Defence Review of London estates!
An article in a local paper this week on possible sites for an Olympic class athletics stadium states that RAF Northolt has been ruled out of the running, as has RAF Uxbridge. No Olympic village for us, then!
Falcon 900 N814M, a regular Northolt visitor has suffered an overrun accident at Hyannis on 17th March. More details and a photo can be seen at http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/jet18.htm
Falcon 900 N814M after it's accident. Photo thanks to Ryan Hales
Ba125-700 G-BLSM and G-BLTP of Dravidian Aviation have arrived to be based. This follows the closure of the Metro Aviation hanger at Heathrow where the aircraft have been based since May 1985. G-BLSM (7208) arrived on 21st January as 'DRA202', whilst G-BLTP (7210) followed the next day as 'DRA212'. Radio callsign is 'Firestone' and the numbers are derived from the day of the month plus a trip number.
The fleet of Ba125-CC3 are being re-painted at Oxford into the standard red colour scheme. This will see the end of the grey scheme. ZE395 returned on 14th March whilst ZD620 departed the same day.
Tri-jet Falcons N100UP and N200UP are now based at Northolt, although they share their time with Luton when Northolt is out of hours. Falcon 50 N200UP (055) was previously a visitor as N96UH and Falcon 900 N100UP (044) later joined it. It is difficult to give an actual date of arrival due to the regularity of their visit's beforehand, but early January 2000 would be a best guess. They are operated by 'UPH'.
