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Aviation History
1967
1967 - 1704.PDF
294 ISLANDER INTO SERVICE FLIGHT International, 24 August 1967 Left, taking off from Stronsay's l,4O0ft 03 runway, the Islander clears the boundary wall by a good margin Right, Mr Jo Grimond, MP for Orkney and Shetland, and Mr Desmond Norman at the handing-over ceremony of the first Loganair Islander for the Orkney service. Mr Grimond flew in the aircraft to several of the islands At present, OISC is subsidised to the tune of around £50,000 a year for intra-island services, and though it is hoped that air services will be self-supporting, the new cargo boats (with 12 places for passengers who cannot travel by air) will most likely still need a subsidy. Loganair's operating base for the service is a re-skinned war- time hangar on the north side of Kirkwall Grimsetter Airport, where two Islanders can be sheltered from the elements and maintenance work carried out. Passenger handling and com- munications with the island stations are from a wooden hut next to the nissen-hut passenger buildings of the airport. Each island strip has a similar hut and all are lashed to the ground by steel-wire guys for security against the commonly gale-force winds. Each hut has a telephone and a notice bearing hand- written instructions in the event of various kinds of emergency (the airfields are not staffed). Five of the islands have airfields and the routes are as shown on the map on page 293. Most of the sites were used by Capt Fresson's Rapides, but modern requirements have turned each into a mini airport with white and yellow boundary markers at the ends of the runways, which are also clearly defined by white-painted concrete setts. A smart new Shell and BP windsock completes the equipment although there are no refuelling facilities at the outlying fields. Flying to the islands will be strictly VFR, though with a VOR on the airfield at Kirkwall, a published let down to 450ft on one runway, and a circling minimum cloud base of 1,000ft, the return flights could be made IFR. The main weather hold-ups are likely to be sea fogs in late spring and early summer, frontal rain storms, and high winds, but in any case most of these affect the steamer service—which is also subject to a rigid timetable imposed by the complicated tides of the channels and harbours. The boat service to each island is only twice a week on average and takes several hours to most of them. A day-return trip to Kirkwall is not often practicable. During the summer it is planned that the Islanders will be able to make two trips a day, a.m. and p.m., to Westray, Stronsay and Sanday every day of the week except Sundays, and to Papa Westray on Wednesday and Saturday, and to North Ronaldsay on Tuesday and Thursday. One Islander at a time will be employed on the service at first, and on flying the basic timetable, the utilisation will be 624hr per year (involving 4,212 landings). It is not expected that many pas- sengers will cancel their journey or go by boat when services are delayed only a few hours or so. To get the feel of the service, I took a ride out to North Ronaldsay with Colin Newnes, B-N test pilot flying G-ATWU. We gave a free lift to a couple of GPO engineers going out for the day to survey the site for a new telephone exchange. The 39-mile flight as the crow flies took I7min at 1,000ft over the flat islands of Stronsay and Sanday. The Kirkwall VOR gave a strong checking signal all the way. The North Ronaldsay strip is one of the biggest—there are three marked runways (28/10 of 1,600ft, 21/03 of 1,150ft, and 33/15 of 1,150ft). The 10 run has a 1 in 50 slope and was almost into the light breeze of the early morning. Colin approached at 70 m.p.h. and touched down about 50ft past the threshold, which was displaced some 150ft from the dry stone boundary wall because of a rough patch of ground. We stopped by the top of the rise after a run of about 800ft. The 2+-mile-long island is inhabited by about 160 people— mostly farming cereals. Cattle were grazing on some of the fallow land and a hardy breed of sheep roamed the cliff-top pastures. Needless to say, the arrival of the aircraft was a great event and soon the narrow stony track to the co-operative farm store next to the field entrance was jammed with cars- most people apparently own a car, yet few in their lives have been farther afield than Kirkwall, and many have not crossed the water at all. Mechanisation means a lot to the islanders—this one tiny island boasted more tractors and other farm machinery than probably many a province in the Far East. Although it is a quiet and lonely life on the islands, things have obviously improved greatly in recent years. One inhabi- tant thought that the drift away might have been checked, for certainly a good living is to be had from the land, which is now quite valuable. All produce is shipped out for sale, and, of course, virtually everything has to be imported. There is a general store, two churches, and a school for children up to the age of 12. As with most of the islands there is a resident doctor, but the ability to fly out patients requiring hospital treatment is a facility which will be gratefully received. The aircraft will also bring newspapers, specialist teachers and many more visitors to the islands (including ministry inspectors, it was ruefully noted by one humorist). " Each of the island airfields has a similar wooden hut with a telephone and shelter for waiting passengers. This is the one on Westray
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