WMO03839, Exeter Airport

WMO03839, Exeter Airport

50 44 14N 03 24 21W
Altitude 31 metres

Discuss. 8% taxiway within 100 metres, limit 10% for Class 1. Farmland seems to be livestock. This is a recent station which seems badly located, in jet blast area. See supplementary.

UHI, possibly expanding regional airport, 9km centre of Exeter, distance, none.

Exeter airport is a small regional affair with dreams of growing but little prospect of much changing, in a isolated area with little industry apart from minor holiday, poor road links, poor rail links.

Most flights today use commuter aircraft, mixture of turboprop and jet. The runway is short but could be viewed as dual length, wherein lies a problem.

A short circuit is possible for short takeoff and landing but there is provision for larger aircraft (in the fee structure), which would have to use the full runway.

If the full runway is used there is either a severe bottleneck, would have to taxi to the runway end, turn and takeoff, or use a taxiway to the north, when the runway can still be used by other aircraft, normal airport stacking practice.

Much the same applies if east landing occurs, less likely because of the prevailing wind.

Unfortunately there is a stop and two taxi acceleration zones which put jet blast at or near the Stevenson screen at taxi speeds. Wind needs to be considered as part of the vector.

I don’t see this as a major issue unless this kind of usage is frequent or going to increase. (in which case as ever more concrete will appear)

The situation needs discussing and the pattern needs confirming or rejecting.