IgnatiusJReilly wrote:I'm sure I read on the VTTS page somewhere that they can only plan their engine run events with limited notice due to what I think they said was 'airport operational reasons'. Which I found strange at the time because surely the trust would be easily able to work around long standing scheduled operations. Clearly VTTS will always have to defer to a commercial operators needs, if it was a last minute urgent requirement, and that isn't going to care if an engine run has been booked for months or just the previous week.
It's not a big thing but for me, it's just another little reminder of the difficulties of co-existing on a busy commercial airport.
Its a load of old tosh. VTTS want you to think its down to the airport they're unable to do the runs and so forth when its clearly not. The airport will allow the use of the engine test bay (stand 503) subject (the only subject clause) that it doesn't have another aircraft in it, or adjacent on stands 501/502. In the past 3 months there has been one 747 on stand 503 which stayed for two days, namely a Wednesday and Thursday.
Maybe they should open up a little more to the public and get them to sponsor per litre of fuel, then thats a little more on point and truthful.
Doncaster have worked hard with VTTS, to accommodate it and make it work but there's only so much rope they will dangle, Peel lost out financially over the hangar 3 debacle, and then hangar 1, and when they couldn't afford that the airport offered them their current position (outside by the fuel farm) again being helpful. They are yet to reach an agreement on a fast taxi structure but after silicagate you can understand why they're a little hesitant as it is a commercial airport, and rightly so. Peel are a business and want to make money.. and when VTTS couldn't pay it, that's why shes now dumped outside.
Another cost cutting effort last week as they have now closed their last office in hangar 3 which is now empty.