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Scotland
Scotland is one of the most scenic countries in the world with
its beautiful mountain scenery, urban cities and remote islands.
It is this combination of old and new that attracts vast groups
of people, of all ages to this country. Scotland has a
population of nearly 6,000,000 with the majority of people
living in the central belt with other concentrations of people
up the east coast. Most of the land in the south and central
belt is flat hence the these being more densely populated
areas. To the north there are the Cairngorms, Lochnagar and
Grampian Mountains , Glen Affric, and other notable
mountains/valleys and walking routes such as the West Highland
Way.
The Scottish way of life is simple in the remote islands to the
North East. The Shetland and Orkney Islands have very small
populations and rely on lots of small supply flights for such
necessities as mail and small amounts of food for local shops.
Small airfields such as Lerwick and Kirkwall ensure that these
people get the things that they need by offering a gate way for
small/light aircraft to access the islands.
Edinburgh(EGPH) is one of Scotlands busiest airports with
passenger numbers expected to continue growing and double
by 2030. This is true for Glasgow(EGPF) as well, which has
already outlined its plans for the next 10 years. Both
airports provide a gateway into Scotland allowing large
aircraft to land, inviting people from most major European
cities. Glasgow Prestwick (EGPK) provides a 2987 metre runway
allowing very large heavy and wide-bodied aircraft to land. In
recent times Prestwick airport has seen lots of political and
military activity such as the huge security lock down whilst
the airport was used by the American President at the G8 Summit.
Flying in Scotland relatively expensive compared to the rest of
the world. This is due to high fuel tax and landing fees at
airports. On average for a 1 Hour rental of an aircraft it
costs about £100 for C152 for example. For instruction the
cost is usually about £20 more this obviously varying slightly
from place to place. There are numerous schools dotted around
the country. One of the biggest is Tayside Aviation in the
Fife region of Scotland next to the East coast. The company
operates out of Fife and Dundee with contracts to the RAF to
train up and coming fighter jet pilots. Both airports offer easy
access to the north for scenic flights and provide a nice local
environment in which to fly.
Weather is often percieved to be worst in Scotland. However this
is often far from the truth. On a cooler morning visibility is
very good which makes flying over the mountain ranges very
interesting. It is true that there are some persistent weather
issues, one being the wind. Winds in Scotland change constantly.
One day it can be calm then the nect day may be unflyable. As
much as people think that Rain is 24/7, it only rains once or
twice a week in Scotland. Even so conditions are usually good
enough to fly VFR even when it does rain.
Flying For Us
We only have a few rules that we hope that you will obide
by when flying for us.
* To respect fellow pilots and act in a mature manner.
* Make sure that details are acurate and not false.
* Do not fly in a manner to cause disruption.
* Stick to your route and acknowledge atc instructions.
* Have fun!
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