The Kintyre Forum

Hi,

I have a commercial pilot’s licence and I often fly a small private plane between Campbeltown and Cumbernauld. However, it is quite costly, so I am always keen to take people along with me to share the cost.


Campbeltown

I normally fly at around 1000-3000ft so you get a great view, rather than been stuck thousands of feet up above the clouds. Cumbernauld Airport is only about 30 minutes drive from Glasgow or about 45 minutes from Edinburgh and both can also be reached by train. As well as getting to enjoy the beautiful landscape of the west coast, it is normally possible for Glasgow air traffic control to allow us to fly overhead Glasgow airport for a unique view of the departing and arriving aircraft and of the city itself. Furthermore, we can always tailor the route to go wherever you want to go...whether that be to take a photograph of your house, go for a spectacular tour of the Highlands or just to give your Granny a wave from the sky. I am also happy to consider requests for any other route elsewhere in Scotland.


Davaar Island

The aircraft I normally fly is a Piper Archer, which has four seats including the pilot’s seat, but sometimes weight restrictions can limit it to three people in total including myself. As an example of the cost of a shared flight, a flight to or from Campbeltown normally takes around an hour, which would be about £50 each if split between three people. To give you an idea of how good value this is, I used to work for a company that did sightseeing flights and they charge £139 - £179 per person for a 45 minute tour. Therefore flying with me is around quarter of the price they charge and even cheaper if your friends/family are light enough that we can manage four people onboard. Also, my flights are much more personal since the route can be individually tailored and everyone onboard can have headsets. This means we can all easily communicate with each other during the flight and everyone can hear what air traffic control are saying.


Gigha

For more photographs, taken on previous flights, including Campbeltown, Glasgow, Loch Lomond, Tiree, Edinburgh, Fife & Stirling, please follow the links below:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 4d315f8e7b
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... a71b69c141


If you have any questions, feel free to post them here or if you are interested please contact me by private message or on 0131 208 7473.


Hope to fly with you soon!

Malcolm McFadyen

Immediate question is are you covered by insurance for passengers ??

Yes, the aircraft are covered by the flying club insurance for private flights with passengers, as long as it is not for profit. This is why I need to pay an equal share of the cost, otherwise it would become a commercial flight, which would not be covered by the insurance.

Would you do a flight from Machrahanish around the surrounding coastline? I have a caravan nearby and would love to take some aerial photos of the area.

Immediate point - Malcolm, great post and all the best with this!

Is there an in flight meal?

Ruth, yes I could do a local tour from Machrihanish. How many people would it be for and for how long?

Eileen, people will be too busy feasting their eyes on the view, that they won't want to bother with eating!

It would be for just me. I think two or at most three laps of the South Kintyre coast would do it. Not sure how long that would take. My caravan is at Machorioch, near Southend, so a wee bit of circling over there would be good if possible.

Ruth, I will send you a PM.

I could also fancy this, it seems a great idea. We will be visiting Machrihanish in August with my 2 young grandsons and I'm sure a flight round the area would be brilliant for them if it would be possible to arrange.

Pete.

Last week I flew to Campbeltown in glorious weather on Wednesday morning and returned to Cumbernauld in almost as good weather on Thursday afternoon. During my time in Kintyre, I did two local sightseeing flights with Campbeltonians.

The first flight covered the town, Davaar Island, Southend, the Mull of Kintyre and Machrihanish and the second flight took in the town, Davaar Island, Tangy Windfarm, Gigha, Deucheran Windfarm, Carradale, Peninver and Machrihanish. A great time was had by all and some fantastic photos/videos were taken. I will try to post some photos soon.

If anybody is interested in joining me next time that I'm down, please PM me or contact me on 07835 016058 with your availability and details of what you'd like to do.

I'd also especially like to hear from anybody who would like to join me from/to Cumbernauld. I live in Edinburgh so I could give you a lift from/to Edinburgh or to Cumbernauld train station for the short trip to Glasgow.

I had the pleasure of joining Malcolm on one of his sightseeing flights last Thursday morning, and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is thinking about doing it. I was joined by my father-in-law and both of us have some super photos of the town, Gigha, Carradale and especially our own homes.

The trip was very informative and Malcolm made us feel completely at ease.

Thanks again Malcolm and hope to join you again sometime.

Is there a weight restriction? I aint no featherweight, but love the idea of these flights.

Yes, there is a weight restriction, but it varies depending on how much fuel I have on board. As long as I know in advance, I should be able to do the fuel planning in a way that would keep the weight and balance within safe legal limits.

I am planning to fly to Campbeltown on Thursday so if you would be interested in a sightseeing flight on Friday please let me know. I also have spare seats for the flight to Campbeltown and back to Cumbernauld on Friday evening. If you're planning on going 'up the road' for the weekend it's only a short train trip to Glasgow or Edinburgh from Cumbernauld.