"Blue Sky Thinking" about Heathrow

UndercoverElephant · Post by **UndercoverElephant** » 08 Aug 2013, 18:19

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23612511

Hey, I know, why don't we just turn the whole of London into one great big f*****g airport?

Or is the BBC having a laugh? Is this journalism, or some sort of black comedy?

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 08 Aug 2013, 18:34

How about less flights? They didn't think of that one!

woodburner · Post by **woodburner** » 08 Aug 2013, 19:31

How would fewer flights help the growth economy?

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 08 Aug 2013, 20:22

woodburner wrote:How would fewer flights help the growth economy?

It would help it to grow at a sustainable level, that might be negative!

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 08 Aug 2013, 20:55

I can see a couple of flaws in the plan. Planes on R2 might bump into planes on R6 and planes on RS might get their wheels wet because there are some big ponds.

Otherwise it's fine.

Edit: Oh, I see, R6 goes in a sort of cutting or underpass underneath R2. Good.

extractorfan · Post by **extractorfan** » 08 Aug 2013, 21:41

Imagine the desolate legacy if that ever got done!

UndercoverElephant · Post by **UndercoverElephant** » 08 Aug 2013, 22:00

Might lower property prices in that part of greater London...

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 09 Aug 2013, 02:56

There's nothing blue sky about that thinking. It's all rather white sky with all the contrails that will be produced by all those extra flights.

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 09 Aug 2013, 07:45

In Orwell's "1984", the UK had been renamed "Airstrip 1".

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 09 Aug 2013, 09:53

So do they propose to take some of these runways underground?

Or on stilts? Either I'm misinterpreting the map or there are people living in the proposed locations.

Maybe they'll forcibly relocate these people so they have to get a flight to their jobs.

UndercoverElephant · Post by **UndercoverElephant** » 09 Aug 2013, 09:57

I think the idea is to so scare people in the local area about the possibility of seven runways that they meekly agree when it turns out only to be three or four.

The problem isn't just the people and the reservoirs. The M25 would also have to be re-routed, which would take out yet more homes.

ETA: or, I suppose, we could have the "Gibraltar solution", where a main road crosses the runway and has to be closed every time a plane needs to use it.

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 09 Aug 2013, 12:47

That happens in Shetland too!

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 09 Aug 2013, 12:50

I still think an island in the Thames is the best solution. They could combine it with an updated flood barrier to cope with the sea level rises.

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 09 Aug 2013, 15:37

Tarrel wrote:I still think an island in the Thames is the best solution. They could combine it with an updated flood barrier to cope with the sea level rises.

As we don't have Australia any more, I suppose that's the best option we have! It would have to be a big one to take all the politicians, bankers, fossil fuel company executives and airport designers though

.

Pepperman · Post by **Pepperman** » 09 Aug 2013, 21:22

UndercoverElephant wrote:I think the idea is to so scare people in the local area about the possibility of seven runways that they meekly agree when it turns out only to be three or four.

The problem isn't just the people and the reservoirs. The M25 would also have to be re-routed, which would take out yet more homes.

ETA: or, I suppose, we could have the "Gibraltar solution", where a main road crosses the runway and has to be closed every time a plane needs to use it.

The bonkers 7 runway suggestion comes from a member of the public (as do the rest of those in the link).

Runway 3 looks like it's nearly 7km long - not sure what he has in mind in terms of future aircraft technology!

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