Pilot reviews of Oban Airport (operated by Argyll and Bute Council)

Just an update on previous reviews:

Flew in on Monday 21 June from Blackpool via Finningley Village and Sherburn, (passenger and fuel respectively).

Paul Keegan who used to provide fuel, friendliness and Jammy Dodgers has now sadly retired, but Oban Airport provides Avgas from a self-service pump and very efficient it is too.

Although the previous report said no refreshment on site, (true, there is nothing at the airfield other than a machine for coffee and snacks), the Lochnell Arms is a five minute walk away and the Glue Pot/Oyster Inn (pub and gastro pub in one place!) is just across the bridge, 10 minutes walk away. I have eaten at them both and they are excellent.

Possibly one of the most scenic UK airfields with views to sit and look at all day.

Flew into Oban on Sunday with a group of three aircraft. What a welcoming and efficient place. The fuelling guy was a mine of information and even gave us tea and biscuits! If heading back south, well worth taking fling up to Ben Nevis to see look right along the great glen if the visibility is good.

Unless you fancy a trip into town or a hike to local hotel, I'd take a sandwich with you as aprt from the fuel guy's Custard Creams, nourishment is hard to come by.

Went to Oban on Saturday 5th September since it looked like perfect VFR weather up the whole west coast of Scotland for a change, from the Isle of Man via Burrow Head and Arran.

The airport made me feel very welcome right from the 'Welcome to Oban' on landing from the FISO, ground staff I met had interest in aviation (the fueller had an aircraft based on the airfield too) and there is free bicycle hire - I rode into Oban itself on one of the airport bikes. While you don't need to be Mark Cavendish to ride into Oban and back (it's only 5 miles) you do want at least a basic level of fitness because there's quite a steep hill to go up on the return journey.

£12 for landing and parking for the day, and free bike hire - very good value for money.

The only minus point is the early closing time, there was a bit of an "afternoon push" with about 5 aircraft trying to get out. The FISO seemed to be pretty accustomed to this and handled the sequencing very efficiently.

We visited Oban (EGEO) from Breighton airfield on 20/04/2013 in G-LWLW, a DA40 which runs on JET-A1 and which is based at Breighton.

The flight routing was, Harrogate - Windermere - DCS VOR, TRN VOR then up the west coast to Oban. We had stunning views en route.

Oban was easy to spot and we used runway 19 which involves a relatively short final approach due to high ground. We joined downwind for runway 19. The runway is in excellent condition and the airport itself is too.

Staff were most helpful within the terminal, suggesting local food at the http://www.lochnellarms.co.uk/ which we also highly recommend.

The refuelling man was not keen on filling the aircraft with only around 50 litres of JET A-1 as it would "cost him more to drive the truck to the aircraft". We stressed we needed fuel for the return leg and he did re fuel us but to be met with the negativity at the start was poor in my opinion.

The friendliness score last lost a point or two due to the refuelling man, there did not appear to be much in the way of food at the airport apart from some vending machines, but the hotel mentioned above was only a 5 minute walk away.

Still, a great airport in a stunning location and I will definitely be returning in the future, highly recommended.

We went there today, later than planned and we were able to do the PPR via Scottish Information while en-route.

I had 'phoned earlier and got a very good briefing from the member of staff who answered the phone and I explained we wanted to land, drop one pax, collect two, do a ten minute local sortie, land, drop both and collect original pax and depart.

Problems cropped up with aircraft availability and delays at the fuel pump, so we departed an hour late.

On arriving at Oban, I asked the very helpful guy at reception if we still had time, and he said "go for it" so we did. We were wheels up at 17:00 did an orbit of pax house on Lismmore and landed at 17:10, did a quick crew change and departed, leaving the two pax to pay the £34.76 in landing fees for me.

I have read all sorts of stuff about Oban on t'Interweb, but nothing prepared me for the way the staff handled us.

Fantastic customer service, friendly and accurate FISOs, a well laid out small airport with FISO, Fire section and Reception staff to be proud of.

Apart from the stunning scenery, which the airport staff can't take credit for, and the Weather which is usually variable but today was magnificent (but again that's not down to the staff) the whole experience, for me as a pilot and my passengers, two of whom live locally but had no experience of the airfield, things could not have been any better.

The landing fee was lot more than some places, but I felt it was good value. Fiso's instructions to park were clear and unlike a lot of places where the fire section remain indoors, the Oban fire crew were actively out on the apron engaging with the visitors.

We will be back, and we'll make sure we have time to spare.

Well done, Oban Airport, a fantastic experience for all of us.

Just before I added this, I checked the last entries and see the last two were me too! I'm not on commission, honest. However, there are a few more details and here they are:

Went to Oban on 9 June with my wife for a three day stay so that we could travel on the Waverley paddle-steamer which was operating out of Oban harbour. The flight from Blackpool to Oban was somewhat “character-building” with an 800 foot cloudbase and 20G27kt winds on departure. However, these cleared up 50 miles to the north, (as forecast) and the rest of the trip was uneventful.

Due to the weather, we had a later start than originally planned and expected to arrive at Oban 10-15 minutes after official closing time, but we had arranged out of hours indemnity with Oban with this very eventuality in mind. On the day, we managed to advise Oban of our ETA via the ever-helpful Scottish Information and on arrival, made blind-calls in the circuit to our pre-arranged parking spot. The parking was adjacent to numbered water-barrels on the main apron and I had asked for tie-downs to be provided which they did – large water barrels with ties and chocks all provided free of charge.

The overall cost of landing and parking from Saturday to Monday was around £13.50 for a DR400/100, (800kg MAUW). This has to be a bargain! The runway is now back to pretty much its full length and is in excellent condition; briefing was excellent with terminals available to pilots where we could print out wx and Notams, etc; AFIS, “Oban Info”, was very good and friendly; no café, but snack & drinks machines available in the small but very smart terminal. Fuel was from Paul Keegan at TLC and Paul refueled us on Saturday and Tim refueled us on Sunday, (after a Saturday evening visit to Plockton). They were as helpful and friendly as ever and Jammy Dodgers are still in plentiful supply!! The Oyster Inn in Connel and the Lochnel Arms in North Connel both highly recommended.

We stayed at a local B&B, “Greenacres” just across Connel Bridge – 15 minutes stroll – which had a great view of the coast and the airfield from the other side of Loch Etive. I’d recommend this, but most of the B&Bs in Connel are very good and also very handy for the airfield.

One of the highlights of the West Coast of Scotland is the scenery and the very quiet airspace. We flew to Plockton for our evening meal, (reviewed also), setting off at 19.00 local and getting back at 22.30 local – all in daylight! The flight with the very helpful Scottish Information there should we need them, was wonderful. On a high humidity evening, low cloud sticks to the island hills, but visibility is excellent between (and over) the islands. We flew past the Cuillins on Skye at 1,000 ft, (about 1,000 ft below the tops). The Cuillins were draped with mist like a soft icing sugar on a cake. You had to be there to experience the absolute wonder of the sights on a windless summer evening. The flight back to Oban in the evening had us “ooh-ing and awe-ing” all the way. We were overwhelmed with the sheer beauty and stunning views all the way back.

If you have never flown to the west coast of Scotland, you are missing one of the most stunning landscapes you can imagine and which can best be seen from a small aeroplane. You MUST treat the flying with great caution and always have a “Plan B” available. But with experience and care, you will be rewarded with flying which you will remember for all your life. This is the sort of experience which makes us realise why we decided to become pilots.

Paul and team make this worthwhile, never had less than a smile even when they are working flat out.

The Lochnell Arms I suggest the mussels and the langoustines.... Awesome..

The Lochnell Arms, just re-furbished reserved us three tables outside on a warm and sunny day and the food was superb. We'll be back again next year if not before.