Teesside Airport Movements Trip Reports


Whisk-y Business!

By Chris Smith

With precious little opportunity to travel abroad this year I decided to jump on the "Staycation" bandwagon and turned to our own Eastern Airways to provide the answer. Once services are operating at full capacity both here and elsewhere I'm sure a nice little round-robin like Teesside-Aberdeen-Belfast-Teesside would work out quite nicely but short of that I chose an aviation-rich area of the country I haven't been to before; the South West. The title stems from the predominance of helicopters in the logs below! There would be some Military spotting involved in this one which ruled out taking the Friday flight and returning on Monday, and going on Monday and returning on Friday was just a little bit too much time to fill in. I initially looked at doing Teesside - Newquay - Leeds Bradford but Eastern don't allow multiple-point bookings like most carriers and I thought the trip was canned until Eastern added a Wednesday rotation due to exceptionally high demand. I have to say I'm not surprised at the success our Newquay route has enjoyed - it was one of two dark horses for bmibaby (the other being Cork - hint hint Eastern) and if they could fill a 148-seater jet a 29/50-seater turboprop was never going to struggle. It was panic stations the evening before...the flight plan disappeared!! No word from Eastern about a cancellation but no plan usually means no service as was the case with both Amsterdam and Heathrow on the same day so it was not looking good!! As it turned out a positioner from Leeds appeared followed shortly thereafter by our own outbound plan!

Day One Wednesday 16th September

The unavoidable COVID-19 precautions diluted what would otherwise have been a flawless airport experience. Once airside, I enjoyed the perks of the Skylife Lounge.

Teesside International Airport MME / EGNV
REG	A/C TYPE	OPERATOR	NOTES
G-CDEB	Saab 2000	Eastern Airways
G-MAJB	British Aerospace Jetstream 41	Eastern Airways	My flight
G-SNJS	Cessna 560XL Citation XLS+	Gama Aviation
LN-RRN	Boeing 737-783	Willis Asset Management
ZE701	British Aerospace 146-100 CC2	Royal Air Force	32(TR) Squadron, spares for the below
ZE708	British Aerospace 146-200QC C3	Royal Air Force	32(TR) Squadron, tech


On approach to Newquay one side of the aircraft was clear skies and unlimited visibility and the other you couldn't see your face in front of your foot...guess which side the airport was on!! We got in on the first attempt but both Dave's thought I was diverting to Exeter! Of the eight airframes under the care of STS Aviation, only the ex-Alitalia's are being parted out.

Cornwall Airport Newquay NQY / EGHQ
REG	A/C TYPE	OPERATOR	NOTES
9H-AHW	Airbus A321-112	Lease co	ex I-BIXR or BIXS Alitalia
9H-AHX	Airbus A321-112	Lease co	ex I-BIXR or BIXS Alitalia
EI-ROE	Airbus A321-112	Lease co	ex I-BIXQ Alitalia
G-CRWL	Leonardo AW169	Cornwall Air Ambulance	Specialist Aviation Services AOC
G-FLBE	Bombardier DHC-8-Q402	Lease co	Ferried to NRN after months stored as SXI2038
N839AG	Airbus A330-243	Lease co	Stored, ex G-CHTZ Thomas Cook Airlines, old c/s
VP-BQR	Boeing 737-8HX	Lease co	Stored, ex 9M-MJI Love Fly
VP-CCH	Airbus A321-211	Lease co	Stored, ex G-TCDV Thomas Cook Airlines, special c/s
VP-CCO	Airbus A330-243	Lease co	Stored, ex G-TCXB Thomas Cook Airlines
VP-CCP	Airbus A330-243	Lease co	Stored, ex G-TCXC Thomas Cook Airlines
VP-CCS	Airbus A320-251N	Lease co	Stored, Interjet - NTU
VP-CCT	Airbus A320-251N	Lease co	Stored, Interjet - NTU


I forgot Newquay had an on-site museum until Ian Ellington reminded me so it became a late addition to the itinerary! I must be starting to knock-on a bit - I've seen half of this stuff in service!! The drive in is a bit intimidating, it's not particularly well signposted and you do wonder if you've accidentally entered the airside area, which I was told has been known to happen! There are HAS sites dotted all around, one belongs to the museum, others to obscure aviation companies, some to non-aviation companies and some remain part of RAF St. Mawgan which is still a going concern despite no resident Squadron's to speak of. When purchasing my ticket I asked if one of the nearest HAS' belonged to the museum - "No - you don't want to know what's in there!", "Oh?!", "In case things get worse..." - I assume he was referring to COVID?! Inmates of the scrapping operator STS Aviation (formerly Apple Aviation) can be seen clearly from here, but get too close and they jump on you. If the museum know you're a spotter they'll advise on different nooks and crannies that may yield a frame or too more than you might have made otherwise. The Lancaster (which aft of the nose is a replica) has recently arrived from East Kirkby and is going onwards to Russia! To clarify how bad the fog was there were two departures whilst I was at the museum and neither were visible!! One was a T7- HondaJet too!! Mind you it's a huge site, in fact it was once actually two seperate, but adjoining RAF bases, before being merged into a single site. A cracking museum built around what used to be Air Atlantique/Classic Air Force at Coventry and thus most airframes are probably not a million miles off being airworthy. Thanks for the heads up Ian! I also found out whilst here that Cornwall earn their reputation when it comes to pasties and cream!!!

Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre
SERIAL/CODE	A/C TYPE	PREVIOUS OPERATOR	NOTES
G-BCOH	Avro 683 Lancaster BX	Royal Canadian Air Force	Forward fuselage only, marked KB976
G-BEDV	Vickers 668 Varsity T1	Royal Air Force	Marked WJ945
G-BJBM	Lyster Monnett Sonerai I	Private
G-BTSC	Evans VP-2 Volksplane	Private
G-BWGN	Hawker Hunter T8C	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	Marked WT722/873
G-BZPB	Hawker Hunter GA11	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	Marked WV256/D
G-CCIS	Scheibe SF-28A Tandem Falke	Air Atlantique
G-CDSX	English Electric Canberra T4	Royal Air Force	Marked VN799, really WJ874
G-CGUI	Fred 2	Private
G-ULPS	Everett Gyroplane 1	Private
J-1629	De Havilland DH112 Venom FB1	Swiss Air Force
N46EA	Hunting Percival P66 Pembroke C1	Royal Air Force	ex XK885
N8205H	Fisher Celebrity	Private
WK124	English Electric Canberra TT18	Royal Air Force	Fuselage only, very poor state
WL795/T	Avro 696 Shackleton AEW2	Royal Air Force
WT525/855	English Electric Canberra T22	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	Nose only
WV798/147	Hawker Sea Hawk FGA6	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)
XP642	Hunting Percival Jet Provost T4	Royal Air Force	Cockpit only
XV753	Hawker-Siddeley Harrier GR3	Royal Air Force
XX240/CU-840	British Aerospace Hawk T1	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)
XZ607	Westland Lynx AH7	Army Air Corps
ZA148/G	Vickers VC10 K3	Royal Air Force
ZA398/087	Panavia Tornado GR4A	Royal Air Force
ZD704	BAe 125-700 CC3	Royal Air Force
ZF580	English Electric Lightning F53	Royal Saudi Air Force	Marked XR768/A
ZH553/RT	Panavia Tornado F.3	Royal Air Force
ZH763	BAC 1-11-539GL	QinetiQ


What a great little place Bodmin is! Princess Anne had just landed, her entourage were all around, the Bodmin staff were busy with regular traffic, and still I was welcomed with open arms! A true example to other airfields! After signing in I was allowed to enter the three large hangars which face away from the main active area, where I wasn't permitted to go, but didn't really need to anyway.

Bodmin Airfield EGLA
REG	A/C TYPE	OPERATOR	NOTES
G-AIGD	Auster 5J1 Autocrat	Private
G-AXSG	Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee	Seagull Aviation
G-AYPO	Piper L18C Super Cub	Private
G-AYSX	Reims Cessna F177RG Cardinal	Private
G-BGGA	Bellanca 7GCBC Citabria	Private
G-BHXS	Jodel D120 Paris-Nice	Plymouth Jodel Group
G-BNSM	Cessna 152	Cornwall Flying Club
G-BRHX	Luscombe 8E Silvaire Deluxe	Private
G-BYNK	Robin HR200/160	Penguin Flight Group
G-CBVF	Maverick 430	Private
G-CCKL	Aerotechnik EV-97A Eurostar	G-CCKL Group
G-CDCI	Mainair Pegasus Quik	Private
G-CEYH	Cessna 152	Cornwall Flying Club
G-CJIC	Vans RV-12	Kernow RV Ltd
G-DGMT	Sky Arrow 650 T	Private
G-EGLA	Cessna 172M Skyhawk	Cornwall Flying Club
G-HAYS	Skyranger Swift 912S	Private
G-IOSL	Vans RV-9	Private
G-MATT	Robin R2160 Alpha Sport	Swift Flying Group
G-OCOK	Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon	Virtual Jet Centre Ltd
G-XXEB	Sikorsky S-76C	The Queens Helicopter Flight	Dropped off Princess Anne
ZJ242	Bell 412EP Griffin HT1	Cobham Helicopter Services	Diverted from NQY day before due fog


My phone (i.e. Sat Nav) ran out of juice so I pulled into a services before reaching Exeter Airport, turned out my hotel was here so I checked in, waited till my phone was sufficiently charged, then drove the five minutes up the road to the airport. Drive slow along the B3184 and you'll read off anything parked on the main apron, then when you turn into the airport itself follow the perimeter road to car park 4 near the ex Flybe maintenance hangars, the car park wasn't in use so I dumped mine in the adjacent bus stop and entered on foot, where good photos can be had of the bizjet ramp although by late evening you're shooting into sun. Next I headed back the way I came; out of the airport back onto the B3184, then took the last exit off the roundabout onto the B3174 which runs up the Western perimeter of the airport. There are about three right turns into industrial areas where I enjoyed very little success but those with more time (or rather patience!) than me should explore these areas further - I may have missed a nook or cranny!!

Exeter Airport EXT / EGTE
REG	A/C TYPE	OPERATOR	NOTES
D-CASH	Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300	Air Hamburg
G-AZJV	Reims Cessna F172L Skyhawk	GAZJV Flying Group
G-BNXE	Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior II	Aviation South West
G-CDTA	Cosmik EV-97 TeamEurostar	Private
G-CEKO	Robin DR400/100 Cadet	Exavia Ltd
G-DAAS	Airbus H145 D2	Devon Air Ambulance
G-DCPB	Eurocopter EC145 C2	NPAS Exeter
G-DLEE	Socata TB9 Tampico	Private
G-JEAT	British Aerospace 146-100	Exeter Airport Fire Dept	Poor state, ex Jersey European Airways
G-JEDM	Bombardier DHC-8-Q402	Lease co	ex Flybe
G-JMCK	Boeing 737-4D7SF	West Atlantic
G-RVRL	Piper PA-38-112 Tomahawk	Aviation South West
G-TACK	Grob G109B	G-TACK Group
G-TAWV	Boeing 737-8K5	TUI Airways
G-WOFM	Agusta A109E Power	Quinnasette Ltd	Elite Helicopters AOC
OO-TAQ	British Aerospace 146-200QT	ASL Airlines Belgium	Stored
XX323	British Aerospace Hawk T1A(F)	Royal Air Force	Red Arrows


Day Two Thursday 17th September

A quick drive around revealed nothing new.

Exeter Airport
REG	A/C TYPE	OPERATOR	NOTES
No changes

Always wanted to visit the Castle Air HQ, and I wasn't disappointed! An e-mail request for access went unanswered but you can see into the hangar pretty easily and from close range, only trouble is due to most of the airframes within being under maintenance many are missing the panels with the registration on, but each station has signage displaying the reg being worked on and the Internet filled in the rest. There is a second hangar behind the main one hidden away which houses 'broken' helicopters - this is where G-UKAW had emerged from but it's completely inaccessible.

Liskeard Heliport
REG	A/C TYPE	OPERATOR	NOTES
G-BEWY	Bell 206B Jet Ranger II	Polo Aviation
G-DMPI	Agusta A109E Power	DE and MC Pipe Partnership
G-DVIP	Agusta A109E Power	Castle Air
G-GOSP	AgustaWestland AW109SP Grand New	Castle Air
G-HRDB	Agusta A109S Grand	Freshair UK Ltd	Helicopter Services AOC
G-ONTV	Agusta-Bell AB206B Jet Ranger II	Adventure 001 Ltd	Northumbria Helicopters AOC
G-POTR	Agusta A109E Power	Castle Air
G-SPEY	Agusta-Bell AB206B Jet Ranger II	Castle Air
G-UKAW	Agusta A109E Power	Castle Air	Cab only
G-XBOX	Bell 206B Jet Ranger III	Castle Air	Northumbria Helicopters AOC
G-XXIV	Agusta-Bell AB206B Jet Ranger II	Adventure 001 Ltd	Northumbria Helicopters AOC
HB-XLA	Agusta-Bell AB206B Jet Ranger II	Corporate
I-LIDZ	Agusta A109E Power	Corporate
XS936	English Electric Lightning F6	Castle Motors


I had such high hopes for Culdrose, I figured with just two proper Navy airfields to cover an entire water-locked nation, there would be both volume and variety. Unfortunately what I got was a clone of Leeming! One chap in the very busy viewing area told me most of the based stuff was out on the carriers. Two Merlins and three Avengers went unidentified. In fact the highlight was the Poseidon that passed OTT! Dave A recommended I carry on a bit further to Culdrose's satellite station RNAS Predannack, which has a number of retired military aircraft possibly as part of a fire training school, Google Earth suggested they were well out of reach of the general public so I didn't bother but this now appears incorrect and on hindsight I should have taken Dave's advice.

RNAS Culdrose EGDR
SERIAL/CODE	A/C TYPE	OPERATOR	NOTES
WF225/CU	Hawker Sea Hawk F1	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	Preserved
XV673/CU-827	Westland Sea King HU5SAR	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	Preserved
XX161/161	British Aerospace Hawk T1	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	736 NAS
XX239/CU-842	British Aerospace Hawk T1W	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	736 NAS
XX280/280	British Aerospace Hawk T1A	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	736 NAS
XX281	British Aerospace Hawk T1A	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	736 NAS, special c/s
XX324/324	British Aerospace Hawk T1A	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	736 NAS
XX329/CU-844	British Aerospace Hawk T1A	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	736 NAS
ZH798/DD-98	British Aerospace Sea Harrier F/A2	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	School of Flight Deck Operations
ZH804	British Aerospace Sea Harrier F/A2	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	School of Flight Deck Operations
ZH811	British Aerospace Sea Harrier F/A2	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	School of Flight Deck Operations

OTT
F-GSQC	Boeing 777-328ER	Air France
ZP801/01	Boeing P-8A Poseidon MRA1	Royal Air Force	120 Squadron

I nearly overlooked Penzance as I could recall it being closed - turns out it was but in favour of a new facility a stones throw away from the old one, and luckily, it was on my route from Culdrose to Land's End. I was shocked at how many punters were in the terminal and the amount of cars in the car park - they must do more pax per year than we do!!! Helicopters are expensive who's paying over-the-odds for pleasure trips on them?! I was starting to tire so I didn't bother asking for access to the surprisingly large hangar, luckily, a worker emerged from a side door offering a view inside and it was empty.

Penzance Heliport PZE / EGHK
REG	A/C TYPE	OPERATOR	NOTES
G-CLPG	AgustaWestland AW139	Sloane Helicopters
G-MAOL	AgustaWestland AW109SP Grand New	Sloane Helicopters


I scored big at Land's End - I wasn't expecting much at all but thanks to the Exeter-St. Mary's flight passing overhead, I fleeted the fuc...the sods...in a single sitting! I considered booking a Twotter trip over to the Isle of Scilly but it was expensive - or at least it was for me on top of what I'd already spent on the trip.

Land's End Airport LEQ / EGHC
REG	A/C TYPE	OPERATOR	NOTES
G-BUBN	Britten-Norman BN-2B-26 Islander	Isles of Scilly Skybus
G-BUBP	Britten-Norman BN-2B-26 Islander	Isles of Scilly Skybus
G-CBML	De Havilland DHC-6-310 Twin Otter	Isles of Scilly Skybus
G-CEWM	De Havilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otter	Isles of Scilly Skybus
G-ISSG	De Havilland DHC-6-310 Twin Otter	Isles of Scilly Skybus
G-JSCA	Piper PA-28RT-201 Cherokee Arrow IV	G-JSCA Flying Group
G-SBUS	Britten-Norman BN-2A-26 Islander	Isles of Scilly Skybus
G-SSKY	Britten-Norman BN-2B-26 Islander	Isles of Scilly Skybus

OTT
G-BIHO	De Havilland DHC-6-310 Twin Otter	Isles of Scilly Skybus	EXT-ISC

Day Three Friday 18th September

The wheels fell off a bit on day three - I was on a clock so just had time for an 'in and out' at Perranporth, but there was nothing doing! Lovely set-up here, I love those airfields where the entrance road doubles up as a taxiway. Those with more time than I had should request hangar access, there is a row of three within walking distance of the tower/café but not accessible by car.

Perranporth Airfield EGTP
REG	A/C TYPE	OPERATOR	NOTES
Nil !!

Because of COVID I couldn't access the terminal until 90 minutes before my departure time. So I had a wander down to the far car park to see what I could see - which was the Coastguard hangar which revealed MCGZ, a couple of GA, and on the far side the Cobham Helicopters and STS Aviation inmates, which I'd already logged but an open hangar confirmed no further aircraft, then one of the Interjet NEOs was towed in. Much to my frustration, Eastern went and subbed a J41 for the planned Saab - gits! At least it was a different one!

Cornwall Airport Newquay
REG	A/C TYPE	OPERATOR	NOTES
G-BBDM	Grumman AA-5 Traveller	Jackaroo Aviation Group
G-BHZH	Reims Cessna F152	Plymouth Flying School	t/a FlyNQY Pilot Training
G-BOIX	Cessna 172N Skyhawk	Private
G-ETET	Piper M600	British European Aviation	Heli Air AOC
G-ETWO	Guimbal Cabri G2	HeliGroup Operations Ltd	c/o ATS Aero
G-MAJB	British Aerospace Jetstream 41	Eastern Airways
G-MAJZ	British Aerospace Jetstream 41	Eastern Airways	My flight
G-MCGY	Sikorsky S-92A	HM Coastguard	Bristow Helicopters AOC
G-MCGZ	Sikorsky S-92A	HM Coastguard	Bristow Helicopters AOC
G-MOVI	Piper PA-32R-301 Saratoga SP	Private
G-MXPI	Robinson R44 Raven II	MG Group Ltd
G-SHED	Piper PA-28-181 Cherokee Archer II	G-SHED Flying Group
G-UMBL	Guimbal Cabri G2	HeliGroup Operations Ltd	c/o ATS Aero
ZJ164	Aérospatiale AS365N2 Dauphin II	Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)	F.O.S.T.
ZJ240	Bell 412EP Griffin HT1	Cobham Helicopter Services
ZJ707	Bell 412EP Griffin HT1	Cobham Helicopter Services
ZM325/325	Beechcraft T-6C Texan T1	Royal Air Force	4 FTS (72 Squadron)
ZM332/332	Beechcraft T-6C Texan T1	Royal Air Force	4 FTS (72 Squadron)


I've heard in the past that when our runway 05 is in use, Manchester-based controllers don't always descend our inbounds early enough - this seemed to be the case when I looked out of the window and saw the Scotch Corner junction of the A1; gobsmacked at how high we still were, we seemed to briefly zig-zag down the final approach, presumably to bleed off height. Only one aircraft of note upon arrival, one of the many Cirrus visitors of late.

Teesside International Airport
REG	A/C TYPE	OPERATOR	NOTES
N120MX	Cirrus SR20	Private

By the end of it all I'd achieved mostly everything I'd set out to, the Saab (or lack of) was the big frustration given it's due off lease and one of the last commercial examples flying. I could have logged a few more at different places but it never felt like a waste, and two days was just the right amount of time although I would have liked to have gone a little further North to Dunkeswell and Yeovil Airfields as well as RNAS Yeovilton, which on balance seems to be the busier of the two Navy airfields. If nothing improves with COVID I can see me repeating the trip next year.