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Leeds Heliport (EGNP)

Coney Park

16 September 19 - David Thompson

My annual stock-taking visit to Coney Park resulted in a superb Brucie Bonus with the Huey sunbathing outside on the grass in near perfect autumnal sunshine and the first time too that I had seen the beast outside of its hangar . My bonus was slightly tempered when I was told that I had missed it ground running in an attempt to find and fix an oil leak but I suspect that given her running and fuel costs , she only flies on rare occasions ? Landing back at base was Longranger ‘YR which was returning from some film work on a new Bollywood movie near Reading in Berkshire , the crew in full corporate uniform for the occasion . And very smart they looked too !

Situated within the Leeds Bradford Airport controlled airspace zone Heli-Jet Aviation the Leeds Heliport owners operate a full programme of charter , pleasure and training flights from their site next to the A658 Harrogate Road and opposite the former wartime aircraft factory of AV Roe which is now an industrial estate . The local historic aviation connection continues next door to the heliport were the former ‘nuclear bunker’ and headquarters of No18 Group Royal Observer Corps still stands though long abandoned and last used by the Royal Naval Reserve in 1995 . The bunker was built on what was originally the bus-park for the aircraft factory which brought in munitions workers from the greater Leeds area and the original wartimes gates can still be seen together with the concrete access roads , the whole area associated forever with the name Yeadon .

The heliport comprises an office cum control block with facilities for full rotary training , a shop and a viewing area whilst airside there are two hangars , the original and larger of the two houses the Yorkshire Helicopters fleet while the newer west one is a purpose built maintenance facility for Swift Helicopter Services who specialise in Robinson R22 and R44 overhauls .

The landing area is 155 x 250 metres which is just short of 4 hectares in area , or nearly 10 acres in old money , and with trees around most of the boundary the advised approach is from the north or east to the white triangle in the middle of the field via Leeds Radar through a controlled area . There is also both Jet-A1 and Avgas fuel available on site .

Hangared

DU-103           B206B                         ex-Dubai Air Wing , dismantled , stored

G-BRVI          R22 Beta                     ARC Exp 5 January 2019 , minus rotors

G-CHPA         R22 Raven                  NFD 7 August 2019 , dismantled , stored

G-HMPT         Jet Ranger II               NFD 19 March 2019 , stored

G-IBED          R22 Alpha

G-LOLZ         R22 Beta                     NFD 28 April 2017 , dismantled , stored and still

                                                            carries previous identity of OH-HAF

G-OHJV         R44 Raven                  mtce , dismantled

G-OTRT          R44 Raven II

G-RAMI         Jet Ranger III              NFD 6 February 2018 , stored

G-ROKS         R44 Raven II              NFD 26 July 2018 , dismantled , stored

G-WIRL         R22                             NFD 7 August 2019 , dismantled , stored

N153H            B222B                         minus rotors , stored

N800HL          B222A                        minus rotors , stored

Both R22’s G-CHPA and G-WIRL and Jet Ranger G-GEZZ have recently arrived from Gloucester-Staverton with the Jet Ranger for a new heli-charter company , Lakeside Helicopters Ltd of Guiseley , Leeds . Interestingly Lakeside is owned by sixteen times Isle Of Man TT motorcyclist Ian Hutchinson who just happens to also live in Guiseley !

Parked out

G-CDYR        Longranger III            c/s TOPCAT31

G-GEZZ         Jet Ranger II              

N911DN         UH-1H Iroquois

With thanks as ever to both Trevor and TOPCAT31 for the access .

LBA

A quick call at the Multiflight café on the south side of LBA , 1 hour parking for £2 , found that Hields Aviation Training have taken over the flying school offices vacated by PTT Aviation in August of last year . With the main Hields base remaining at Sherburn-in-Elmet this new training facility operate two C172’s both of which were flying during my visit and a single Jet Ranger X which wasn’t but shares time with Sherburn !

(G-CLCP        Jet Ranger X)

G-FLKY         C172S Skyhawk         change of ownership in progress to Hields

G-JKPF           C172S Skyhawk

I didn’t note any of the airliner movements but another Jet Ranger X , G-JRXV , departed to the north as I arrived .

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