11-12-2016, 07:48 AM
In my opinion (that has never counted for much anyway 
) the airport has been an almost complete was of over £250m! 
Even in the late 1970s, a number of experts were assuring us that sea travel was on its way out as far as St. Helena was concerned, and that an airport would soon be built and we would all be out of jobs. Even then, a few of us were aware of the turbulance of wind around the steep cliffs giving rise to the name "reef topsail vallley," where large sailing ships passing close by the island on their way to anchor for supplies at Jamestown (St Helena) would take in their upper sails to avoid damage, even on calm days. The first landing did no actually look too bad to me, but I really do know nothing (and care even less) about aircraft, but experienced pilots were emphatic that it was bad. If they must have air travel, it would have been cheaper to build an old-style flying boat to run between St. Helena and Ascension, 700 miles away. As you say, it is not cheap to carry 1,000 or more tons of cement (or anything else) by air. Whilst we on St. Helena (I) were away in the Falklands, 1982/83, they first put a tiny 12-passenger ship on the run as a "stop gap," and then chartered in the big RMS Centaur with 250 passenger capability, until we got back. Extending the St. Helena is only a short-term solution, as the ship is approaching 27-year-old, and 30 years is usually the limit. It will be interesting to see what happens. The image shows the old ship leaving Cape Town for St. Helena in the late 1970s, packed full of cargo, even on deck. (Carry that lot by air - youn must be joking ) We carried everything the island needed. I have no axe to grind on the impending end to the shipping service, as I left voluntarily years ago, but I feel that the development of air travel is the worst thing that ever happenned to the human race!
Bob
) the airport has been an almost complete was of over £250m! Even in the late 1970s, a number of experts were assuring us that sea travel was on its way out as far as St. Helena was concerned, and that an airport would soon be built and we would all be out of jobs. Even then, a few of us were aware of the turbulance of wind around the steep cliffs giving rise to the name "reef topsail vallley," where large sailing ships passing close by the island on their way to anchor for supplies at Jamestown (St Helena) would take in their upper sails to avoid damage, even on calm days. The first landing did no actually look too bad to me, but I really do know nothing (and care even less) about aircraft, but experienced pilots were emphatic that it was bad. If they must have air travel, it would have been cheaper to build an old-style flying boat to run between St. Helena and Ascension, 700 miles away. As you say, it is not cheap to carry 1,000 or more tons of cement (or anything else) by air. Whilst we on St. Helena (I) were away in the Falklands, 1982/83, they first put a tiny 12-passenger ship on the run as a "stop gap," and then chartered in the big RMS Centaur with 250 passenger capability, until we got back. Extending the St. Helena is only a short-term solution, as the ship is approaching 27-year-old, and 30 years is usually the limit. It will be interesting to see what happens. The image shows the old ship leaving Cape Town for St. Helena in the late 1970s, packed full of cargo, even on deck. (Carry that lot by air - youn must be joking ) We carried everything the island needed. I have no axe to grind on the impending end to the shipping service, as I left voluntarily years ago, but I feel that the development of air travel is the worst thing that ever happenned to the human race!Bob
