Martin Underwood wrote:
Clive wrote in
:
In message , Paul Terry
writes
But its not, is it? I can't really see what your point is, other
than the obvious one that different airports are closer to
different groups of people in the London area.
LCY will never be a major player because it's planes need a 6%
approach as opposed to the 3% of all other major airports.
When you say "6% approach" are you referring to the rate of descent
- normally 300 feet/mile? I can imagine Canary Wharf and all the
other tower blocks of central London having a pretty serious effect
for approach from the west or departure to the west, but I presume
approach/departure in the other direction is much less restricted.
It's actually 5.5% glide slope compared to 3% at most airports, and it
applies in both directions. It's largely for noise abatement reasons.
Would a steep descent/take-off be enough to restrict the usage of
an airport or would it just make life more "interesting" for pilots?
The main factors restricting the use of the airport are the noise
limits, which severely restrict the aircraft types that may be used,
also runway length (only 1319 metres compared to, say, Luton at 2160 m),
and limits on operating hours and numbers of movements imposed by the
local planning authority (L.B. of Newham).
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)