Feeding the weeds in the yard this evening to the sound of something sizeable taxiing around up at the airfield, it occured to me that there might have been some advance in the aero industry since I left the RAF twenty odd year ago.

In those days aircraft cost a fortune to operate, no doubt the same is true today, but still small operators seem to be able to make a living at it. Airlines of course are a different matter, they have shareholders to support.

We reckoned that the old Wessex choppers cost around £!K an hour to run back in the 80's, so it was fairly evident that a thing of that size would'nt make much of a profit flying say 10 commuters up to Battersea or Stanstead, sitting on the ground all day and bringing them back at night. But I wonder if technology has advanced enough yet to make it worthwhile for a connection service today.

I know that one operator runs a schedule from Newquay to Stanstead and has done for years so it must pay, although how and why escapes me.

Admittedly I can't see too much need for a commuter service from here at the present, but as a stop-off between a cheap end european airport and a similar London satellite perhaps there is scope........?

Bet old ER would welcome a quick link to the riviera!