Police Aviation News April 2011

Police Aviation News April 2011 6
Details of the restrictions, which will run from 13 July to 12 September 2012, are available
on the ASI website www.airspacesafety.com/olympics. Charts illustrating the precise extent
of the restrictions are featured on the site, along with details of how pilots can still gain access
to some of the restricted airspace.
As well as the main restrictions covering the south-east of England other venues throughout
the UK will be subject to temporary restrictions notified by NOTAM.
NATS has also proposed separate airspace changes to enable it to provide the extra capacity
required during the Olympic period. These are being processed through the CAA’s National
Air Traffic Management Advisory Committee and can be viewed at www.caa.co.uk/
natmac.
Ed: This follows on from last months item on the super security at the big game in Dallas,
TX that was itself a major Big Brother tale. The initial reaction to the published Olympic
plans has been understandably hostile.
A similarly awful 'plan' has been circulating in the towns around the venues hosting the
games for 3 months now. In short the plan is that far from getting business from the proximity
of an event [the White Water events are being staged locally to the PAN offices] the
entrances have been moved [from the built up areas] and all attendees are being directed
away from direct contact with the public in the locality. They are being bussed in from massive
car parks on remote airfields [North Weald locally].
In recent weeks both Airborne
Technologies and
Tecnam have been promoting
the Tecnam light twin to
the UK market.
Initial reports were that ‘a
Tecnam MMA demonstrator
[G-ZOOG] was operating
trials at Hawarden (Chester)
to the Greater Manchester
Police.’ As is often the case
the truth was a little different.
The Tecnam aircraft reported
as in action was not the MMA
demonstrator regularly illustrated
in PAN,
G-ZOOG [right] is the UK
Tecnam P2006T demonstrator
owned and operated by
Tecnam’s exclusive distributor
for the UK, Ireland and
Iceland, Airways Aero Associations Ltd based at Wycombe Air Park. www.tecnamuk.com
This aircraft is ‘constantly’ on tour seeking to interest prospective customers to get hands on
experience of this super twin. The owners agree the aircraft was up at Chester and elsewhere
for a number of potential customer demonstration flights, but the specific police link is
emphatically denied.
The police market Airborne Technologies Tecnam MMA
demonstrator ‘OE-FAT’ was regularly seen, including at
last years PAvCon in the Czech Republic [right] and at
Farnborough Air Show last summer and at Wycombe Air
Park earlier this year for extensive demo flights with
many potential UK based customers including readers of
PAN but no contract signature is imminent despite the
claimed attributes of lower first cost and operating figures.
[AP/PAN]