MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
First landing ever in St Helena airport scheduled for next week as part of calibration flights
A historic milestone is set to be reached next week when a Beechcraft King Air 200 aircraft is due to land at the new St Helena Airport to carry out a series of calibration flights. This will be the first aircraft to land on St Helena, the island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesThe British military should make great use of this new facility before someone [Cameron,
Sep 12th, 2015 - 11:47 am - Link - Report abuse 0has other ideas.
@1. How? And why? Cameron was the one who finally decided to press ahead after Blair and then Brown delayed for years. The runway on St Helena is too short for long range British transport aircraft. The only two capable of reaching that far would be the Globemaster and the Voyager. Neither could take off again. And why bother when they can land at Ascension Island?
Sep 12th, 2015 - 12:42 pm - Link - Report abuse 0WHAT A WASTE OF PUBLIC MONEY...
Sep 12th, 2015 - 06:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 07@
Sep 12th, 2015 - 06:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0If you knew something about diplomatic relations. You would not be
asking silly questions but you don´t, do you??
@3. But it's OUR money. Being spent for the benefit of OUR people. Unlike argieland that spends Chinese money for its government's benefit. How much has Kirchner stolen now?
Sep 12th, 2015 - 07:29 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@3 aus
Sep 12th, 2015 - 07:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“WHAT A WASTE OF PUBLIC MONEY”
No so. The airport means the RMS St Helena can be taken out of service as it costs a lot of UK taxpayer's money to keep running.
St Helena will be able to develop it's economy so that (as at present) it will be no longer dependent on the British taxpayer.
In my opinion the UK government should stop Argentine aid money and invest in a permanent civilian deep water port for the Falkland Islands, which will enable the Islands to make more money in the future.
@2 Conqueror.
“The only two capable of reaching that far would be the Globemaster and the Voyager. Neither could take off again.”
From Ascension the RAF's Hercules and Atlas aircraft would be capable of reaching St Helena and taking off again. Unless the Globemaster is heavily loaded, it's take off run means the runway length at St Helena is plenty even after a trip from the UK, I suspect as you say, that Ascension would continue as the main South Atlantic staging post.
There is some potential for the runway to be increased in length.
The F35 (V/STOL) Lightning will be a welcome addition to the RAF/Navy as it could defend St Helena (or the Falklands), if necessary, without a long runway.
Saint Helena Airport
Sep 12th, 2015 - 08:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Helena_Airport
Perhaps my opinion was short of expectation
I was trying to say, but untunefully that the military should make use of it and a poss. base,
The picture seem to show the runway could be extended even further,
The web page does say the USA defence was interested in flights from the island to wide awake,
So I think I probably totally misread it
But I am interested in the replies.
Thanks.
.
@6. Just to bring you up to date, the St Helena airport runway is 1,550 metres (5,085 feet). The Globemaster take-off run is 2,316 metres (7,600 feet). The C-130 just about scrapes in. But only from Wideawake.
Sep 13th, 2015 - 12:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Here's a tip. Read up on specifications. Use a calculator or try a spreadsheet. Perhaps you're hoping that an armed F-35B could be powered into the stratosphere and glide the rest of the way. I prefer RAF pilots to stay alive.
As for the F-35 Lightning II, perhaps you could explain how an F-35B with a range of 900 nautical miles could defend the Falkland Islands more than 4,000 miles away. Five tankers to get one aircraft to the Falklands? How long to get a squadron there?
That good news , the usurpers can now hang out from his ghetto .. Then Argentina would cancel the flight to the islands without the islanders renege .
Sep 13th, 2015 - 01:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0( We all know that the islanders gives terror, the thought that will cut air links with the mainland and we can do when we want , chile only obey because it will not favor squatters 3000 , to stay bad with 40 million residents )
@9: What on earth are you talking about? There are no flights from Argentina and certainly none sanctioned by Argentina. The thought of cutting flights from the mainland doesn't fill us with terror. It would severely impact on those Chileans who rely on flights to Chile, and stop those of us who want to visit S. America, but by no means would it bother us. Those families, in Argentina, wishing to visit their dead relatives, might be a bit pissed off though.
Sep 13th, 2015 - 02:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The purpose of St. Helena's airport is to encourage tourism from, mainly, South Africa and prepare for when RMS St Helena, (the last Royal Mail ship) stops plying her trade between Gt Britain, Ascension, S. Africa and St. Helena.
Perhaps great news in the South Atlantic horizon!!
Sep 13th, 2015 - 03:43 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Philippe
By it's very nature, the runway at St.Helena will be restricted to certain types of aircraft for commercial operations. Any civil aircraft using the runway must obviously be able to take off in the runway's length. However, factored into this must be the ability to abort a take-off in an emergency. So, even though an aircraft has the ability to take off well within the runways length, it must be able to stop at take off speed and safely stop before it runs out of runway.
Sep 14th, 2015 - 09:21 am - Link - Report abuse 0This is dependent on the aircraft's weight, wind speed,air pressure and temperature. So, in effect the choice of aircraft suitable for commercial flights into St.Helena is narrowed.
The C-130J and the A400M Atlas could manage as they are designed for STOL operations.
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