Special Events Spring Briefing 2010

Notes of Special Events Spring Briefing Meeting Held at the Cirrus Suite, The Aviators Hotel, Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire on Wednesday, 10 March 2010

A list of attendees plus those who sent apologies for their absence is available.

• 1. Introductions

  Peter Norton opened the meeting and thanked Angela Goldsmith and her team for organising and setting up.

• 2. The London Heliport

  Simon Hutchins, Heliport Manager, confirmed that the move to the new terminal building would be the end of March. There will be only one extra spot available after the move to the new terminal. Information on procedures at the Heliport for all Special Events will be available on their website at www.londonheliport.co.uk.
  • Pickups restricted to a five minute turnaround, the Heliport will be unable to deal with delays so there is a need to keep them aware of any changes.
  • No fuel will be provided for pickups for Special Events.
  • Passenger lists must be provided for all flights.
  • There will be no parking available for passengers and no luggage storage facility for security reasons.
  • All unfamiliar crew should be made aware of Heliport procedures.
  • Pilots should be aware that there are low flying trials taking place in the area.

• 3. Helicopter & Aviation Services

  The Cheltenham National Hunt Meeting (16 – 19 March) brief for pilots and representatives took place immediately after this meeting.

  Derek mentioned the new terms of payment and that there would be a surcharge of £10 per landing on credit card payments to offset the charges made by the bank. Preference is for payment by debit card, bank transfer or cheque within 14 days of invoice.

  There are two categories of heliport, licensed and unlicensed. Unlicensed gives more scope to decide on manning levels, facilities available and fees payable based on the bookings received.

  It is vitally important that any operator expecting to do shuttles or a number of landings at such events contact Helicopter & Aviation Services, preferably two months before, to ensure that the appropriate services can be provided.

  The mandatory briefing for Epsom and Ascot will be held at Redhill Aerodrome on Wednesday, 26 May at 1100 (meeting room to be advised). visit the pilot info page on www.helipad.co.uk or call 01427 718800 for more information.

  • 3.1 Chester May Festival 5 – 7 May

    Chester May Festival will have handling, RFF, fuel and an Air/Ground service. Charges will be £99.60 + VAT per landing.

  • 3.2 Epsom 4 – 5 June

    The Heliport will be situated in the usual location.

  • 3.3 Royal Ascot 15 – 19 June

    Location of Heliport will be in the field as last year. Briefing details/maps will be given out at Redhill on 26 May.

  • 3.4 Henley 30 June - 4 July

    It is anticipated that Henley will be run on an adhoc basis with a representative from Helicopter & Aviation Services present on site.

  • 3.5 Cowes 31 July – 7 August

    It is expected that Cowes will be manned as in previous years, radio, fuel, transport, handling and RFF. A decision regarding licensing will be made nearer the time.

  • 3.6 Ascot (Betfair) 23 – 25 July

  • 3.7 Ebor Festival 17 – 20 August

  All landing fees and further details can be found on the website www.helipad.co.uk

• 4. Silverstone Grand Prix 9-11 July

  Heli Air Ltd has been contracted by Silverstone Circuits Ltd to operate the heliport at Silverstone Circuit. Sean Brown, the MD of Heli Air gave a brief for the Silverstone Grand Prix.
  • Due to track changes the Heliport space has been restricted.
  • The number of slots is not yet known.
  • Pricing will stay the same as 2009.
  • There will be two further briefs, the first on 5 July at Silverstone and the second to be confirmed.
  All details will be available on the website www.heliair.com To book slots, please call the Operations team on 01895 835899 or email Silverstone (at) HeliAir.com

• 5. Farnborough International Air Show 19-25 July

  Glenn Curtis, Elite Helicopters & Aviation Services, gave a short brief. Farnborough have cutback the use of the Heliport from 7 to 4 days during the show and will be available on Monday to Thursday inclusive. The procedures at the Heliport will be the same as they were during the last show in 2008. There is no further information at this stage but the website will show all details as they are confirmed www.elitehelicopters.co.uk

  Peter Norton advised that there would be a SEMTA stand at Farnborough aimed at encouraging young engineers. Peter asked all present to circulate this information.

• 6. Aintree (Grand National) 8-10 April

  Peter Norton gave a short brief on behalf of Philip Pickford of Rotary Wing, who sent apologies for his absence. Pilots joining Instructions will be available on web site soon www.rotarywing.co.uk . There are no changes to the procedures and layout of the Helipad. Fuel (Jet A-1) will be available. Pilots are requested not to call until within 5 miles of Aintree.
  • 6.1 Rotary Wing running this event. No information given. See website as above.

• 7. Goodwood Aerodrome

  Lyn Burlyn, Senior FISO at Goodwood Aerodrome, gave a brief on the Goodwood Events for 2010.

  • 7.1 Festival of Speed 1-4 July

    Passenger handling, hospitality, refuelling and transport provided to and from event site. Restrictions will apply due to air displays. Landing fees will remain the same as 2008/9. Their will be an Aero Expo area on the airfield for exhibitors, for details contact Mike Husband on 01243 755087.

  • 7.2 Glorious Goodwood 27-31 July

    The heliport will be located within the racecourse this year. Transport will be available to and from the racecourse. Landing fees will remain the same as 2008/9.

  • 7.3 Vintage at Goodwood 13-15 August

    A new cultural event to be held in the grounds of Goodwood. Open from 11.00 am till 2.00am the following morning. 35,000 people expected. Passenger handling, refuelling and transport will be available to and from the event site. Restrictions will apply due to air displays.

  • 7.4 Revival Meeting 17-19 September

    There are changes to arrivals and departures – all helicopters will be making their approach to 06 numbers, remaining west of the active runway 14/32. Passenger handling, refuelling and transport will be available to and from the event site. Air displays are expected to take place on all dates.

  A slot system will be in place at all events and pilot instructions and fees can be found on the website www.goodwod.co.uk .

• 8. British Open Golf, St Andrews 15-18 July

  Alan Mates, Helimates (UK) Ltd gave the brief. Bookings for this event are scarce at present
  • There will be a 600m FATO available, operating Wednesday through Sunday from 7.30 to 19.30.
  • Fees set at £50 per seat.
  • Flying over the event is not permitted.
  For further information contact Alan Mates on 07941 443885 or email Helimates (at) tiscali.co.uk

• 9. Wales Rally GB 11-14 November

  Jeremy James, Helicopter Club of Great Britain spoke on the above event which is based in Cardiff. Fees are likely to be the same as or less than 2009.

  Jeremy also advised of the ongoing consultation by Euro Control to rewrite the ‘Rules of the Air’. There is a proposal to change the 500ft rule and for flight plans to be filed for all night flights. Consultation closes on 11th April and Jeremy urged all interested parties to send in their comments and concerns.

• 10. Glastonbury 23-30 June

  Peter Hall, Managing Director, Polo Aviation, advised all operators that there would be limited facilities outside of the festival dates. All pilots should advise if fuel is required prior to arriving. Pilots should be aware that there is a new campsite planned near the landing space.

• 11. Motorsport Vision - All Brands Hatch Events

  Peter Norton advised, on behalf of Motorsport Vision, that all details can be obtained from Adrian Clarke on 01474 872331.

• 12. Peter Norton - BHA

  • 12.1 2012 Olympics.

    Peter advised that the size and location of the restricted airspace would be a particular issue and that no information was available yet. Peter also confirmed that the BHA supported initiatives for additional helipads in the London area. All operators are advised to contact the CAA for further information.

  • 12.2 Aviation Security.

    Peter advised that under the new European Implementing Rules for aviation security, helicopters are derogated from the basic requirements but will be subject to a risk assessment for each type of operation.

  • 12.2 Illegal Public Transport.

    The CAA has produced a poster which is available to operators. Further information is available on the BHA website www.britishhelicopterassociation.org