Teesside Airport Movements Trip Reports


G-CBMO

Flight to Leeds East

By Chris Smith \| Wednesday 15 January

I needed to get back in the saddle with light aircraft flying and regain my confidence after I never really got over a stall incident during my short-lived PPL training back in 2010, coupled with seeing in great detail the aftermath of the G-BBSA crash a couple of years ago. Billy, a friend and colleague owns a share of resident G-CBMO and has been pressuring me to go flying for some time now but he's just 21 years old and highly confident, so I wanted to hold off until he had more wisdom and hours under his belt. Feedback from others he's taken up suggested his head is screwed on and he knows when to stop being cocksure and start being fully focused and alert to the task at hand, so I accepted, despite being between two nightshifts! I was the point-of-contact for the registered owner of the aircraft - Michael Crane (who was also with us today) - when he approached the airport to base his aircraft, and given the well-publicised decline of GA at Teesside, I put in every effort to ensure he was accommodated and felt a sense of reassurance when his arrival was met with no resistance. Billy had asked me where I fancied going when I eventually caved and joined him in the skies, after considering where was the most fruitful destination for a spotter that accepts light aircraft, I suggested Cotswold via St Athan - this wasn't that trip which is still on the cards, but Michael and Billy were themselves planning Gloucestershire and Cotswold and graciously invited me along for the ride. On the day, the weather was not as advertised, with everything to the south IFR only and neither Michael nor Billy have their Instrument Ratings (although Billy thinks he has!!), so plan B was to just head north and we might decide to drop in somewhere whilst enroute. In the end, Michael took us up to Durham, across to Sunderland and then back down to Redcar, the flight lasting about an hour. The Emirates into Newcastle was an impressive sight in the hold above us at 9000ft, we weren't sure why as other traffic was getting into NCL ok. On return, we got fuel and I was going to join Billy in the circuit for an hour or so, when the weather improved so we decided to go to Leeds East. On takeoff, we heard Gunfighter 22 call up, and by the time we were handed to Radar learned it was one of two actually landing which never happens - typical!! That would be nothing on the next days visitors and associated controversy mind!!! Billy was recording the flight for YouTube, but I kept forgetting and let's just say by the time we landed some of the audio rendered the footage not fit for release!! Sorry Billy! Click Here for a landing video.


Leeds East Airport EGCM

It was on arrival into Leeds East that I realised Billy was in fact the hotshot pilot I feared!!! We had traffic at our 12 o'clock, same height, opposite direction - i.e. right at us! Despite Michael's advice to orbit, he continued on in the most unpleasant game of chicken I've ever experienced!!! In the end he did orbit. Perhaps he is just highly confident as he was able to provide evidence of situational awareness afterwards. We went up to the VCR to pay the landing fee, with the tower controller taking payment. That's a distraction he could probably do without, surely a more appropriate staff member is available to handle such matters?! We then went to the Fenton Feeder for lunch, and a pretty darn good one at that! If arriving by road, they now let you through the barrier to access the café, the first time I visited they didn't. The airfield has done well to build up to the level it is at in an area that already had an excess of options for GA. We then had a look in one of the hangars no longer used for aircraft (although shared with the FBO) that houses a luxury car dealership - DMB Collection, which housed some fantastic supercars, mainly McLaren's. Amongst them were gorgeous pearl grey and matt grey colours, and most had scissor doors. The prices were reasonable for such vehicles too, one was £88k, another £93k, most I think were around the £140k mark and the most expensive I recall was £250k I think. Sadly, beyond my range, as were most of the planes on site but at least I could log them so we went for a mooch around the Hangars. There are four Hangars only two of which are used for aviation and one of those was closed up (luckily most inmates readable through windows), the other two are fenced off, one of which I think is now a TV/movie studio. I hate it when infrastructure in aviation is not used for its designed purpose - one of the two aviation hangars is new-build so why not just use one of the WWII-era hangars and build something new for the non-aviation tenant?! If I was in a position to purchase an ex-Royal Air Force base, I would only do so if I knew I could comfortably maintain the infrastructure! On the plus side, there was talk of the old cross runway being brought back into service. The aircraft hangars especially the new-build had "authorised personnel only" and "keep out" signage - we had sought permission from ATC first, but Hangar 3 West at Teesside when it still housed the private owners had similar negative signage, why be concerned about unauthorised access to a building that's already inside of a secure area?!

Parked Out
CS-TTJ	Airbus A319-111	DMB Aviation	Fuselage section, ex TAP Air Portugal
G-BFTC	Piper PA-28R-201T Turbo Cherokee Arrow III	Top Cat Flying Group
G-BHWA	Reims Cessna F152	Dukeries Aviation	op by Yorkshire Aviation Academy
G-BIZG	Reims Cessna F152	Joe Bill Aviation	op by Yorkshire Aviation Academy
G-BNME	Cessna 152	Dukeries Aviation	op by Yorkshire Aviation Academy
G-BOCU	Piper PA-34-220T Seneca III	Advanced Flight Training	Derelict, south-side
G-BOVK	Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior II	Henshaw Aviation	op by Yorkshire Aviation Academy
G-BOYI	Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior II	Henshaw Aviation	op by Yorkshire Aviation Academy
G-CLUH	Piper PA-28-180 Archer	Joe Bill Aviation	op by Yorkshire Aviation Academy
G-DJET	Diamond DA 42 Twin Star	Plane Rentals Ltd	op by Aeros Flight Training
G-OCCX	Diamond DA 42 Twin Star	Aeros Flight Training
G-OUTY	Diamond DA 50C	Private
G-SFTZ	Slingsby T67M Firefly	Slingsby T67M Group
G-SUEO	Diamond DA 40 NG Star	Sue Air
N95TA	Piper PA-31-310 Navajo B	Private
N781CD	Cirrus SR20 G2	Private
N34935	Cessna 177B Cardinal	DMB Aviation
	Piper PA-28 Cherokee
New Hangar
G-BAVL	Piper PA-23-250 Aztec E	Private
G-EOJB	Robinson R44 Raven II	Difuria Contractors Ltd
G-JBIB	Diamond DA 62	WQ Property Development and Investment Ltd
G-RDDM	Cessna 182T Skylane	Private
M-OLOT	Bombardier CL-600-2B16 Challenger 604	Corporate
ZH798	British Aerospace Sea Harrier F/A2	Jet Art Aviation	ex Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)
	Grumman GA-7 Cougar?
	Diamond DA 42/50/62?
	Cessna 172 Skyhawk
WWII Hangar
G-BTII	Gulfstream AA-5B Tiger	G-BTII Group
G-BXWB	Robin HR100/200B Royale	Private
G-CFXT	Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3	Private	Wears 4445/228 U.S. Navy
G-EFSM	Slingsby T67M-260 Firefly	Anglo Europe Aviation
G-GDEF	Robin DR400/120 Petit Prince	Private
G-HOWI	Reims Cessna F182Q Skylane	Private
G-JOHA	Cirrus SR20 G3 GTS	Private
G-KTWO	Cessna 182T Skylane	Private
G-OPVM	Vans RV-9A	Private
G-OSJC	Piper PA-32R-301 Saratoga SP	Private	ex MME resident G-GOBD
G-RICO	American General AG-5B Tiger	Delta Lima Flying Group
G-SEKR	ISA 180 Seeker	Northern Aircraft Company
G-VONY	Cessna T182T Turbo Skylane	Fairbank Investments Ltd
HA-LFH	Aérospatiale SA.342J Gazelle	Gazelle Flying Group
N250DM	Bell UH-1V Iroquois	Private	Reportedly r/r N750DM
N338CB	Bell UH-1H Iroquois	Private	Reportedly r/r N538CB
N363KC	Cirrus SR22T G6 GTS Carbon	Private
N5073C	Raytheon B36TC Turbine Bonanza	Private


The flight back to Teesside was uneventful, and very comfortable thanks to CBMOs recent interior refit with sports-car style seats! On leaving Leeds East I was surprised that aircraft dictate their intentions on the radio rather than requesting permission. Happily on landing back at Teesside the Typhoons were still parked on stand 1. I left to go get a couple of hours shut-eye, taking me up to three hours total between two 12-hour nightshifts! To say the shift that night was painful would be an understatement! But well worth it! A huge thanks to Billy and Michael for letting me tag along!