[Article] Funds towards Clifden airstrip announced

Victor

Inishbofin has a population of 198 and is about 8km to the mainland. There is also Connemara Regional Airport at Inveran that serves the Aran Islands.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0422/inishbofin.html

Funds towards Clifden airstrip announced
Sunday, 22 April 2007 09:16

The Minister for Community and Rural Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív has announced the allocation of about €475,000 to buy land which will be used for the construction of an airstrip near Clifden in Co Galway.

The airstrip is expected to cost €4.9m and will service the island community of Inishbofin off the coast of Galway.

Construction of an airstrip on the island is currently under way at a cost of €2.2m.

AdvertisementThe community of Inishbofin currently travel by boat to avail of services such as doctors and social welfare.

Bogger77

Victor wrote:

Inishbofin has a population of 198 and is about 8km to the mainland. There is also Connemara Regional Airport at Inveran that serves the Aran Islands.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0422/inishbofin.html

it might be 5 or 10 minutes in the air from Clifden to Inveran, but it's a hell of a lot longer on the road between the two places, either via Maam Cross or the very cross country roads.

Clifden is the administrive center for the island, so it makes sense to have the air strip close to it.

BendiBus

Bogger77 wrote:

Clifden is the administrive center for the island, so it makes sense to have the air strip close to it.

It might be cheaper to move the admin to Inveran? In fact, feck it, fly them to Galway. More shops there too

Zaph

It's a long time since I was on Inishbofin, but I don't recall it being terribly flat anywhere, so I'm wondering where they'd even put the airstrip at the other end. The boat over from Cleggan takes about 45 minutes, which isn't too bad, but they do get cut off during bad weather so there is a need for an air link.

Victor

Bogger77 wrote:

Clifden is the administrive center for the island, so it makes sense to have the air strip close to it.

All well and good, but they are spending €7.1m to build two airstrips for 198 people, thats €35,000 per head (not including aircraft costs), for occassional travel. It might be much better to operate a helicopter (no runways needed) like they do for Tory Island in Donegal.

Schuhart

tbh it does raise that question of at what stage do we just say 'bollocks, you're on your own'. Particularly if a helicopter link would cover contingencies at much lower cost.

The Hill Billy

Bogger77 wrote:

Clifden is the administrive center for the island, so it makes sense to have the air strip close to it.

That will come as news to the Bofiners. Inishbofin has its own development committee & is not administered by any authority in Clifden.

zaph wrote:

It's a long time since I was on Inishbofin, but I don't recall it being terribly flat anywhere, so I'm wondering where they'd even put the airstrip at the other end. The boat over from Cleggan takes about 45 minutes, which isn't too bad, but they do get cut off during bad weather so there is a need for an air link.

The airstrip is being constructed in the Middle Quarter between the High Road & the hills to the north.

The boat service has improved significantly in recent years & the new ferries only take 35 minutes from Cleggan.

As for the "bad weather" - the storms before Christmas hit Bofin hard. There was a 3 week period without any ferries or supply boats making it in or out of Bofin.

Chris_533976

Wouldnt the plane be less likely to travel than the boat though, if conditions arent great?

The Hill Billy

Chris_533976 wrote:

Wouldnt the plane be less likely to travel than the boat though, if conditions arent great?

I doubt it. You should see what the waves/swells are like when a storm brews up out there. :eek:

alcockandbrown

I will be one of the pilots operating the new service between Clifden & West Connemara Airport and Inishbofin Airstrip.
Flight duration from take off to Landing will be 4 minutes on average. Flights with Headwinds will take 5-6 minutes, flights with tail winds 3 minutes. So it will be a fast service when compared to the sea transport service currently provided.

Both Airports will create many Jobs. Ie, Terminal staff, ground handling staff, flight crew, Fire cover staff etc.
Also, Connemara is beautiful place. And one way to really appreciate its true beauty is to look at from a birds eye angle!

Hopefully general aviation will also take place here so other local people can learn to fly aircraft and visiting aircraft will be very welcome.

Flying would be the cheapest form of transport if almost everybody used it on daily basis. Just think how much it costs to build roads! The air is a medium in which we can travel for free with no tax to fill in pot holes etc and much more room to move about it meaning less traffic collisions!!

Its been proven, the most popular helicopter in the world, The Robinson R44 is actually less complicated to build than a Nissan Micra. That is fact and these helicopters would be the same price as a nissan micra if built in the right numbers. The Helicopter today is where the car was around the year 1910 so in about 50-60 years time everyone will be flying around in some sort of a flying machine, flying car if you want to call it that
As a flight instructor, any person who can take 84 away from 100 and read their star sign in the back of the papers is smart enough to get a licence. Its really not that hard and much more fun and safer than a car.

dowlingm

For 7m plus the inevitable subsidy, you could put a good downpayment on reverting Inishbofin to a nature reserve and moving those on the island to either the Aran Islands or empty NAMA houses.

Cookie_Monster

so apart from the initial capital costs who will be paying for all these jobs that have been created? is it a case of just throw taxpayer money at it forever, even though it will never pay for its own operating costs with such a small market.

and why if the chopper (r44) is so cheap and simple are they simply not using 2-3 of these which would only require a 5m by 5m block of concrete rather than a large runway to be built?

Judgement Day

alcockandbrown wrote: »

I will be one of the pilots operating the new service between Clifden & West Connemara Airport and Inishbofin Airstrip.
Flight duration from take off to Landing will be 4 minutes on average. Flights with Headwinds will take 5-6 minutes, flights with tail winds 3 minutes. So it will be a fast service when compared to the sea transport service currently provided.

Both Airports will create many Jobs. Ie, Terminal staff, ground handling staff, flight crew, Fire cover staff etc.
Also, Connemara is beautiful place. And one way to really appreciate its true beauty is to look at from a birds eye angle!

Hopefully general aviation will also take place here so other local people can learn to fly aircraft and visiting aircraft will be very welcome.

Flying would be the cheapest form of transport if almost everybody used it on daily basis. Just think how much it costs to build roads! The air is a medium in which we can travel for free with no tax to fill in pot holes etc and much more room to move about it meaning less traffic collisions!!

Its been proven, the most popular helicopter in the world, The Robinson R44 is actually less complicated to build than a Nissan Micra. That is fact and these helicopters would be the same price as a nissan micra if built in the right numbers. The Helicopter today is where the car was around the year 1910 so in about 50-60 years time everyone will be flying around in some sort of a flying machine, flying car if you want to call it that
As a flight instructor, any person who can take 84 away from 100 and read their star sign in the back of the papers is smart enough to get a licence. Its really not that hard and much more fun and safer than a car.

Whatever about being a pilot you're certainly away with the birds.

JHMEG

alcockandbrown wrote: »

Both Airports will create many Jobs. Ie, Terminal staff, ground handling staff, flight crew, Fire cover staff etc.

Since we're talking tiny passenger volumes, those jobs will be loss-making and will require ongoing subsidy from people who will never use the service?

Poster King

Businesses in Clifden area have been lobbying for an airstrip for many years now. Tim Robinson's map of Connemara, which was drafted about 15 years ago actually shows the origianl proposed location for it.

I know the owner of the Abbey Glen Castle Hotel is one of the people spearheading it and I think he may have been on of the people on that fatal plane crash a few years back on approach to Inveran airport. I believe they were on a related fact finding trip back from Aran at the time.

I think that main purpose of the airstrips is to increase tourism to the area and I think a big chunk of the money has been raised privately, though I could be wrong about this. I would be very surprised if the taxpayer was stumping up €7m for these two airstrips.

Poster King

alcockandbrown wrote: »

As a flight instructor, any person who can take 84 away from 100 and read their star sign in the back of the papers is smart enough to get a licence. Its really not that hard and much more fun and safer than a car.

I think any pilot that is stupid enough to pay any attention to Astrology should have their pilots licence revoked

Cookie_Monster

Poster King wrote: »

I know the owner of the Abbey Glen Castle Hotel is one of the people spearheading it and I think he may have been one of the people on that fatal plane crash a few years back on approach to Inveran airport.

:eek: Zombie Hotelier :eek:

L1011

dowlingm wrote: »

For 7m plus the inevitable subsidy, you could put a good downpayment on reverting Inishbofin to a nature reserve and moving those on the island to either the Aran Islands or empty NAMA houses.

I'd be tempted to throw the 7M and the subsidies towards building a sodding bridge more than anything, it the scandinavians can do it, why can't we...

Being from an island thats only 3 miles out and has a longest distance without other islands to hop of about a mile, we'd kill for a bridge rather than ferries. Flying would never take off for it, ferry is too fast.