Connemara Airport EICA

cessna406pilot

Im not sure if this is the right place to post but its the only Irish forum I could find on aviation that seems pretty active!
Anyways, I would like to get an Irish pilots perspective on an airport situated in the County of Galway called "Aerphort Chonamara, Co. Galway
EICA" Its Licensee seems to be a private company trading as Galway Aviation Services Ltd.

In the not so distance past!!! I was operating in the lovely west of Ireland on behalf of a client (I fly for a UK operation dealing with aerial work), anyways, long story short when I made a phone call to get weather information and to check if it was okay to land at Connemara Airport I was told "NO".
I then asked why ? And I was just told "No" again (something to do with given at least 24 hours notice (YES!! 24!!!). In my utter disbelief to what seemed to me to be a simple request I quickly checked on google maps what Connemara Airport was like because I was starting to get the impression that mabey this (what I thought was a small airport) was mabey as big, busy and important as Heatrow but its not! I actually laughed when I checked your AIC online, its listed as "Intense Commercial Operations" I'm sorry but, LOL.

Never in all my flying life have I come across such a bizarre little airport with rules of its own like this. I actually landed at your military HQ airport in Baldonnel on the way back to the UK and that just took a simple phone call.

Did I just call them on a bad day or can someone please tell me how a little airport in the west of Ireland operates under the most insane management?.
Thats enough of my rant, I'm back working there at the end of the month but I will stick firmly to Knock!

Irish Steve

Ok, got it. The VFR service to the Aran Islands operates out of Connemara, otherwise known as Inverin. It's not busy like you would know, but I suspect that the services such as ATC and the like are limited, so almost a case of pre assigned slot times to ensure no issues with commercial traffic conflicts. The RT frequency is common to all of the local operations, the islands share the same frequency.

I guess you caught them on a bad day, maybe they were socked in with weather and having problems servicing the islands, if you need somewhere between Knock and Shannon, the other alternative would be to the east of Galway, Oranmore, which should be very accomodating, as there's nothing happening there schedule wise at the moment.


If you're operating a 406 Connemara might be marginal for the type, the runway there is only 600 Mtrs, and the approach from the south is tricky in gusty weather, there was a fatal accident there with a 208 a few years ago. If it's fuel you're looking for, I doubt they have Jet A1 there, as all their residents will be using Avgas. AIC only shows Avgas there. It's only open when there are scheduled operations to the islands, which will be another limiting factor, and I'm not sure there's much there in the way of creature comforts, depending on what you're looking for.

xflyer

There is a reason. Back in 2007 a Cessna Caravan crashed fatally at Inverin attempting to land in marginal VFR. Weather there as you can imagine is quite variable and the pilot's lack of experienc operating in those conditions was cited as a factor.

Before that visitors were generally welcome with no more than a phone call beforehand or even a radio call. The accident seemed to have prompted a change of attitude in the management and now there is the 24 hour rule.

Recently the same company, which is related to the Aer Arann Islands operation also took over the running of the airfield on Inishmaan on the Aran Islands. They applied the same 24 hour rule only no one knew because it hadn't been listed in the AIP. So at least one pilot found himself at the receiving end of a phone call from the IAA. Yes the airfield operator had reported the landing as an 'incident'. Bizarre is a good word there. Actually there were two phone calls, one to me. It was quite a shock let me tell you. But I had a cast iron alibi!

So that's the background to that. So both Inverin and Inishmaan are no go areas without 24 hours notice and even then they might not let you in.

So there you are, rather unusual in Ireland as you've found where even the military and owners of unlisted tarmac strips will welcome you with a bit of notice.

boeingboy

Just beat me to it xflyer.

Mor Maan Sheer! All challenging airfields but great fun. Been into them quite frequently. Is Joe still on Maan?
Connemara is tricky enough and I remember a few landings and takeoffs there in 92 when the existing runway/gravel strip was shortened even further.

What was it Paddy used say!! Ah yeah "Mournning Awwwlll"

cessna406pilot

Irish Steve wrote: »

so almost a case of pre assigned slot times to ensure no issues with commercial traffic conflicts. That is the worst excuse I have EVER heard but I do believe it !!! I know Heatrow slots are hard to get man, but Connemara slots are on a whole different level it seems!


If you're operating a 406 Connemara might be marginal for the type. I was actually flying a BN Islander hence the reason why I wanted to visit the strip to say hello and show them my plane I do fly the C406 60% of my annual flying though

xflyer wrote: »

There is a reason. Back in 2007 a Cessna Caravan crashed fatally at Inverin attempting to land in marginal VFR. Planes Crash, this kind of thing happens on a almost daily basis at airports ALL over this planet.

The accident seemed to have prompted a change of attitude in the management and now there is the 24 hour rule. Again, what the hell is with the 24 hours! How many movements do these guys get a day? I just looked them up, they have 3 planes! 3! Sounds to me like they start to get nervous if there is more than 1 aircraft in the circuit ( I'd like to add, I noticed Knock ATC seemed to be like this aswell "PANIC and SEPERATION STATIONS FULL STEAM AHEAD when there was me and a whole other 737 operating is a tiny tiny 10NM control zone").



So that's the background to that. So both Inverin and Inishmaan are no go areas without 24 hours notice and even then they might not let you in. Lame

So there you are, rather unusual in Ireland as you've found where even the military and owners of unlisted tarmac strips will welcome you with a bit of notice. I'm very disapointed. What ever happened to the land of a thousand welcomes as my nan used to always tell me

Thanks for the feedback guys. I have a very good mind in writing a letter to the UK Flyer magazine just to warn guys because alot of UK GA traffic visit Ireland.

Sounds to me like they dont want you going to the island in your own aircraft. Times are bad so they make it hard and they hope you will fly with them as a passenger on there plane. This 24 rule thing is cracking me up. Ive flown all over europe, russia, the artic in my C404, C406 and BN Islander and I'd like to point out that the west of Ireland is the worst place to fly IN THE WORLD in my opinion (so far for me anyways, a shame because the coast is nice, shame you cant land though).

Nforce

cessna406pilot wrote: »

Im not sure if this is the right place to post but its the only Irish forum I could find on aviation that seems pretty active!

There's also a forum at http://www.flyinginireland.com/forum/. As has been mentioned earlier...there are many private strips that could accommodate your BN Islander.

Lapin

Irish Steve wrote: »

I guess you caught them on a bad day, maybe they were socked in with weather and having problems servicing the islands, if you need somewhere between Knock and Shannon, the other alternative would be to the east of Galway, Oranmore, which should be very accomodating, as there's nothing happening there schedule wise at the moment.

You mean nearby Carnmore. (GWY).

Oranmore was an old RAF Base which closed in the 1970s.

Irish Steve

Lapin wrote: »

You mean nearby Carnmore. (GWY).

Oranmore was an old RAF Base which closed in the 1970s.

Brain fade, I'd been reading about Oranmore, due to the Carnmore thread

Irish Steve

cessna406pilot wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback guys. I have a very good mind in writing a letter to the UK Flyer magazine just to warn guys because alot of UK GA traffic visit Ireland.

Sounds to me like they dont want you going to the island in your own aircraft. Times are bad so they make it hard and they hope you will fly with them as a passenger on there plane. This 24 rule thing is cracking me up. Ive flown all over europe, russia, the artic in my C404, C406 and BN Islander and I'd like to point out that the west of Ireland is the worst place to fly IN THE WORLD in my opinion (so far for me anyways, a shame because the coast is nice, shame you cant land though).

As you've probably seen from the other posts, Ireland can be a strange place for GA, such as it is, and I can always recall commenting to a friend when flying out of Centennial, Denver, "There's more GA aircraft on this airport than on the entire Irish register". That was true then, and it still true now, and it cracks me up too, I was going to do a CPL flight test a few years ago, and at the time, I couldn't do it, there was only 1 aircraft in the country at the time that was available for flight tests, and while I was in the States doing my CPL/IR there, it made a gear up landing at Dublin, so when I got back, with plans to complete my Irish CPL, there wasn't an aircraft in the country I could do it on, and by the time there was, the rules had all changed, so that killed my European licence plans. Crazy, I could have legally flown Right hand seat of a Delta 777 in to Dublin (with the appropriate rating added to the licence) but couldn't do the same in a european registered one, or even fly a legal instrument approach into Dublin in an Irish C 150!

[RANT] Aviation this side of the pond is so parochial it's not funny, and from a technical point of view, there's no way that it can be justified, and the EASA/JAA hasn't improved it any, all that seems to have managed to do very successfully is introduce even more petty bureacracy into what was already a very tightly regulated environment. I spent quite some time looking at the new JAA exam proposals before they were introduced, and some of the things that were in there were pure stupidity born out of a mish mash of all the most obscure rules being merged together into one melting pot. [/RANT]

Same as has happened with the Euro, but that's a subject for another forum!

Best of luck with the flying, 404/406 and BN2, I'm jealous, and they are all types I've not got into, I did all my training and hours building on a PA39 Twin Comanche, which was huge fun, and managed to get a massive number of hours on all manner of simulators, before completing the CPL/IR on a Seneca II. Fun days, and if I could turn the clock back, I'd do it again in an instant, with very few changes, I guess the main change would be to get the FAA CPL and then spend a couple of years in the States building hours and completing the ATPL, it would have been so much easier that way.

xflyer

Oranmore was an old RAF Base which closed in the 1970s.

That could be misinterpreted as meaning the RAF pulled out in seventies. You'd almost wish it was true. They'd have left a massive runway. See the Galway airport thread:)

Cessna406pilot, yes it's all a bit daft. A complete overreaction to a single accident. I don't think it's anything to do with how busy they are. But it's a private airport and they are entitled to make up their own rules. Incidentally the other Aran Island strips are separately owned and have no such restrictions.

As for Knock, yes been there and worried their ATC. Best thing is to dodge around the airspace. The less busy the airport the more excitable they seem to be. Nearby Sligo was always friendly though.

But most other airfields around the country are far more welcoming. Even the regionals who officially need a flight plan will accept a local flight plan on r/t. Not even a phone call needed.