If
you would like a quote for a trip out of Worcester (ORH) on the new
Eclipse 500, a Very
Light Jet (VLJ) send me an e-mail.
Takeoff Distance Sea Level,
ISA to 50 ft (15 m) @ MGTOW
2,342 ft
714 m
Landing Distance Sea Level, ISA @
4,600-lb (2,087-kg) landing weight
2,250 ft
686 m
Rate of Climb – 2 engines 1
3,424 ft / min
1,044 m / min
Rate of Climb – 1 engine 2
989 ft / min
301 m / min
Time to Climb – 35,000 ft (10,688 m)
21 min
21 min
Takeoff at 5,000 ft (1,524 m) At ISA +
15°C
3,875 ft
1,181 m
Single Engine Takeoff Climb at 5,000 ft (1,524
m) 3 At ISA + 15°C
705 ft / min
215 m / min
Max Cruise Speed
370 kt
685 km / hr
Vso
69 kt
128 km / hr
Vmca4
Not Applicable
Vmcg4
Not Applicable
Vmo
285 kt
528 km / hr
Mmo
0.64 Mach
0.64 Mach
Maximum Altitude
41,000 ft
12,497 m
Single Engine Service Ceiling
25,000 ft
7,620 m
Range - Max NBAA IFR 100 nm alternate,
4 occupants, 200-lb (90-kg) pilot, three 170-lb (77-kg)
passengers
1,125 nm
2,084 km
Range - Max IFR 45-minute
reserve, 4 occupants, 200-lb (90-kg) pilot, three 170-lb
(77-kg) passengers
1,300 nm
2,408 km
Current State
Like many
secondary airports throughout the country, Worcester Regional
Airport (ORH) has struggled since its opening in May of
1946. Situated one hour from a major Metropolitan
City (Boston), there are many similarities drawn between ORH,
Rockford Airport, Arnold Palmer Airport, Gary Airport, Portsmouth
Airport and MidAmerica Airport. All of these
airports have also found it very difficult to attract Commercial
Aviation business with their close proximity to major airports, less
then one hour away. In those secondary airports, that
have retained some Commerical Aviation, the profits
earned on this line of business has not been enought to keep the
underlying airport profitable. As a result there has
been a heavy reliance on General Aviation, Corporation Aviation and
Cargo at these other airports to pay the
bills.
(Above picture
by Peter Ring, click
here to see his portfolio)
Recently all
of these secondary airports have worked with Second-Tier
Airlines, as opposed to Legacy or Discount Carriers, which
target secondary markets with direct flights to popular destinations
like Orlando (Sanford) and Las Vegas. Some of these
Second-Tier Airlines have been short-lived like SouthEast,
SkyValue, TransMeridian, Skybus and Hooters.
Allegiant, on the other hand, has been quite successful, has turned
public and keeps growing.
The hope at these
secondary airports is to prove to other airlines with the
Second-Tier Airlines, that the airport in question can support an
airline. Rockford have been the perfect example using their
support of Second-Tier Airlines to bring shuttle service to a major
hub. First there was NorthWest, but that failed. Second
there United, but that failed also. Now they have
Southern Skyways with service to Denver and Detroit. On the
other hand, ORH is the perfect example on the other end of the
spectrum, when Allegiant pulled out after 9 months of service, thus
making it quite difficult to convince another airline to return to
ORH. Right now we have no
commercial airline service.
Currently the
management of ORH merely hires consultants and waits around for the
studies to be completely and not much else. July 1st,
2007, however was suppose to mark a key day in the history of ORH
since that is the day the current second contract with MassPort
expires. This date maked the end of the 8th year of
an operating agreement with MassPort, whereby MassPort pays varying
percentages of the operating loss, not including debt
service. Since the current total annual loss for
the City of Worcester is approaching $2,000,000 per year even
after the MassPort subsidy, the City of Worcester alone could
never afford to keep this airport open without the
MassPort subsidy.
July 1st,
2007, came and went and the current operating agreement was extended
another 6 months so the next date to watch is January 1st,
2008. The best thing that could happen to ORH is that an
airport management company (whether it be MassPort or anyone else)
was to take outright title of ORH on July 1st, 2007 or execute a
long-term lease (at least 30 years) of the airport. If
nothing else 60 years has shown us that the City of Worcester should
not be in the airport business.
January 1st,
2008, came only to find another six month extension of the current
operating agreements. Maybe by July 1st, there will be
something positive to report. In the meantime, ORH will
continue to bleed monies, the 20 Year Master Plan will still be
being worked, the airport itself will continue to deteriorate and
consultants will be paid money with no
results.
ORH needs to re-establish itself in the leisure market with
direct flights to popular leisure destinations at a discounted
cost on second-tier airlines, before trying to attract the
business-traveler back to our airport. Alliances
with other secondary airports like Portsmouth, NH, Youngstown,OH,
Gary,IN and New Haven, Ct need to be developed, since the needs of
these secondary airports are practically identical.
Why should each of these airports paid seperately for items like
Master Plans, when their needs are practically identical.
Lastly the VLJ movement may be the next big thing in aviation, ORH
should make a large commitment to Linear Air.
This web site is owned
and operated by Bill Randell, a local businessman who sees the
untapped potential in the Worcester Regional Airport, seeking
to promote the return of commercial airline service to the
Worcester Regional
Airport. This site is not affiliated or
endorsed by the City of Worcester, owner of the airport, or the
Massachusetts Port Authority ("Massport"), the current operator of
the airport.
