skydrift aircharter starts scheduled service between den helder … · 2014-08-07 · 2 skydrift...
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R E G I O N A L A I R P O R T O F N O R T H - H O L L A N D - N O R T H
VOLUME 12 | EDITION 7 | JUNE 2008
1
- continued on page 2 -
FOREWORDForewordWhen this issue appears, it will be exactly twelve years
since we started publishing a newsletter. It was in A4
format until we switched to a tabloid in January 2006.
Since 1996, 25 issues have been published in both Dutch
and English. The newsletter has attracted wide interest,
even after the launch of the Internet.
The printed version of our newsletter is and remains in
demand and has always been an ideal way to bring our
current and new activities under a broad readership.
In this issue, Hans Reijn of Wintershall Noordzee talks
about the ultra-modern control centre that has been built
on the airport grounds. Many gas production platforms on
the North Sea are served remotely from this centre.
Further, Gijs-Jan Laan provides text and explanation about
the activities of AviCharter.
The establishment of a regular scheduled service between
Norwich and Den Helder by Skydrift AirCharter and the
role that Ivor Travel plays in this is also addressed.
Chairman Ted Kloosterman, in turn, explains why the
Kooypunt Business Association was founded and talks
about its objectives while Chairman Nico van Lacum
discusses the relationship between the De Schooten
“Samen Sterker” Resident Lobby Association and Den
Helder Airport.
Attention is also devoted to the staff changes within our
management team, which will soon consist exclusively of
women.
Margriet Nelis will be leaving us after eleven years of
dedicated service and is currently very busy transferring
her administrative tasks to her successor, Sandra Kaandorp.
In addition, Debbie Liebe has joined the team as executive
secretary. She will also be taking over the PR and
marketing activities from Conny van den Hoff, who can
now focus all her attention on her future job as Director of
Den Helder Airport.
We wish you a lot of reading pleasure!
RRooeell HHiijjmmaannss && CCoonnnnyy vvaann ddeenn HHooffff
Luchthavenweg 10A, 1786 PP Den Helder
Telefoon: (0223) 63 56 66 | Fax: (0223) 66 08 92
Internet: www.denhelderairport.nl
E-mail: [email protected]
For years there has been talked
about setting up scheduled
service between Den Helder, the
most important offshore city in
the Netherlands and other
offshore cities around the North
Sea. Skydrift AirCharter Ltd from
Norwich, which is situated close
to the most important English
offshore harbour city of Great
Yarmouth, has now taken the
initiative. As of 7 April, scheduled
service will be maintained
between the two cities. It will be
possible to fly from Den Helder
Airport to Norwich on Mondays
and Fridays at 10.00 a.m. and at
7.00 p.m. The return flights arrive
in Den Helder at 9.45 a.m. and at
6.45 p.m. The flight only takes 45
minutes. It's possible to stroll
around the city centre of
Norwich within an hour after
departure from Den Helder.
The first flight to Den Helder had
a British delegation on board,
consisting of representatives from
the municipality of Norwich, the
skydrift aircharter startsscheduled service bet ween den helder and norwich
The pristine white Beech Kingair Bridget landed at Den Helder Airport on
Monday morning, 7 April around 9.45 a.m. Six passengers who had boarded in
Norwich less than an hour earlier were on board. This marked the start of
scheduled service between Norwich in England and Den Helder. There are four
flights a week between the two cities, on Mondays and Fridays.
county of Norfolk, the local
Chamber of Commerce, the
tourist office and the business
community. The delegation was
received at Den Helder Airport by
Alderman Cor Hienkens and
then treated to a visit to Den
Helder, with a reception at the
Offshore Service & Logistics
Centre by Peterson on the
Paleiskade. On the same day, a
delegation consisting of represen-
tatives from The Bluestream
Group, Stork, VVV, Rabobank
NHN, CHC Helicopters, Ivor
Travel and NHN
Ontwikkelingsbedrijf Noord-
Holland Noord departed from
Den Helder Airport for a return
visit.
Reservations
In Den Helder, Ivor Travel serves
as the agent for Skydrift
AirCharter Ltd. and also books
the flights to Norwich. The
company, a division of the Polder
Advies Groep and located in the
hall of the terminal building, was
founded by Rory Schuttenhelm.
Ivor Travel is linked to the Galileo
and Amadeus booking systems,
which can be used to book tickets
to destinations world-wide. The
systems independently select the
cheapest flight. Spokesman Loek
Schuttenhelm: “With the new
scheduled service, Skydrift
AirCharter not only focuses on
the offshore sector, but on other
sectors and on tourists or day
trippers as well. Norwich is a very
pleasant city, and there is ample
opportunity to play golf and fish
in the area. For business people in
the region, it is the ideal
opportunity to fly via Den Helder
Airport to England, without stress
from traffic. You can park cheaply,
practically in front of the door
and the check-in takes only a few
minutes. The same is true in
Norwich, where Skydrift
AirCharter has its own terminal.
Arrival at Den Helder Airport of the first scheduled service from Norwich.
DHA Nieuwsbrief 6 26-05-2008 11:41 Pagina 7
2
skydrift aircharter starts scheduled service bet ween den helder and norwich ⁽continuation⁾
Founder Gijs-Jan Laan with the helicopter that makes sightseeing flights overAmsterdam. (Photo: PAS Publicaties)
avicharter opens new horizons
When Ontwikkelingsbedrijf
Noord-Holland Noord wanted
to fly 35 people from the
offshore and wind energy
sector to the Offshore Europe
trade show in Aberdeen,
Scotland last September,
AviCharter was consulted. The
flight company received an
order to deliver the most
suitable plane for this purpose.
Gijs-Jan Laan: “Experience
shows that you not only have
to search in the Netherlands,
but also across the border with
such requests. The supply
there is significantly greater
and the prices are much more
competitive. Ultimately, I
ended up with Danish Air
Charter (DAT), which had a
twin-engine ATR 42 available.
It was used for the outbound
flight from Den Helder
Airport on Tuesday, 4
September; the return flight
from Aberdeen was made in
the evening. The reactions
from both our customer and
the passengers were very
favourable.” This trip involved
a relatively large group of
people. However, Gijs-Jan Laan
also searches throughout
Western Europe for the right
plane that can quickly bring a
small group of business people
to their appointment. “I'm
struck at how difficult it is to
get business people out of the
car, despite the increasing
bother and all the traffic on
the road. You don't have all
this time loss and stress when
you fly. People travel very
relaxed and can often make a
number of visits in various
countries all in one day, so
they're in time for dinner at
home.”
Until now, AviCharter has
organized business flights
throughout Europe. Aside
from Den Helder Airport,
Pilot Gijs-Jan Laan from Hoorn decided to start his own business more than a
year ago. With AviCharter, he now ensures that companies and organizations
that need an aeroplane are provided with a suitable plane ready for use.
Aircraft from the Netherlands as well as aircraft from surrounding countries
are employed.
Rotterdam Airport and
Eindhoven Airport are also
used as departure and arrival
locations.
Sightseeing flights over
Amsterdam
In addition to hiring planes
under the flag of Amsterdam
Helicopters, Gijs-Jan Laan also
started organizing sightseeing
flights over the wider
Amsterdam area. American
tourists in particular often like
to 'sightsee' by helicopter.
These people usually stay in
the more expensive hotels,
where they are automatically
alerted to the activities of
Amsterdam Helicopters. For
the flights over the Venice of
the North, as Amsterdam is
also called, Gijs-Jan Laan uses a
Eurocopter EC 130B that can
transport six passengers. The
plane is owned by Heli
Holland and is stationed on
the recently constructed
Amsterdam Heliport in the
Western Harbour area. “We see
that helicopters are
increasingly used abroad for
sightseeing flights. If they´re
successful there, I believe they
should also be successful in
the Netherlands. In any case,
the five-star hotels have
already been very positive
about my initiative.” Although
AviCharter has a fairly good
list of references, it isn't easy
according to Gijs-Jan Laan to
get such a company off the
ground. “I managed to get
through the first year, but it
was fairly difficult at times. My
objective is to have the
business running well within
five years. I have every
confidence that it will succeed.
All the cooperation I received
from Den Helder Airport has
been very pleasant. They
contribute ideas and are open
to new things. I haven't
experienced this anywhere
else.”
When you add the 35- to 45-
minute flight, you see that it all
makes a considerable time
difference. Skydrift AirCharter
has already transported drilling
staff to and from Den Helder
Airport. With sufficient interest, it
is willing to fly on other days as
well.
A maximum of seven passengers
can be taken along in the Beech
Kingair for each flight. Up to 15
kilograms in baggage is
permitted per person. A one-way
trip costs EUR 270 and a return
ticket costs EUR 525. Children
under the age of 12 fly for half
price and children under the age
of two may go along for free.
FFoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn aabboouutt tthhee
nneeww sscchheedduulleedd sseerrvviiccee::
wwwwww..iivvoorrttrraavveell..nnll
SKYDRIFT AIRCHARTER MULTIPURPOSE CARRIER
As well as carrying passengers, Skydrift Air Charter are also
specialists in the transport of cargo and small livestock. Depending
on the type of cargo, various aircraft can be deployed. From Den
Helder Airport, cargoes of up to 1,450 kilograms can be carried. The
cargo door measures 180 by 140 centimetres. It is also possible to
transport special substances. Skydrift Air Charter operates according
to all the necessary licences, and particularly useful in respect of
these substances, personnel directly involved with the substances
can also be carried on the same flight. For further information:
Ivor Travel, telephone: 0223-650065 of e-mail: [email protected]
(advertisement)
Den Helder > Norwich€ 270,- One Way - € 525,- Return
Skydrift Air Charter introducing
Norwich > Den Helder
Dept. Flight No. Arrive08:00 SDL650 09:4517:00 SDL652 18:45
Dept. Flight No. Arrive10:00 SDL651 09:4519:00 SDL653 18:45
Den Helder > Norwich
All Times LocalMax Baggage Allowance = 15kg
MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT SUN
Norwich > Den Helder • •
Den Helder > Norwich • •
DHA Nieuwsbrief 6 26-05-2008 11:43 Pagina 8
3
margriet nelis iswinding d ownMargriet Nelis has been the support and anchor of
the management of Den Helder Airport for eleven
years. During that period, she has performed an
unprecedented amount of work behind the scenes.
The end is in sight, however, since she's now winding
down and will soon be leaving a job that she values
dearly.
Margriet Nelis: “At the age of 56, I started applying for jobs again.”
A successor has already been
appointed and Margriet is
currently introducing her. “My
successor, Sandra Kaandorp,
will be taking over an
increasing number of my
tasks. This demands a fair
amount of time, since the
work largely includes the
financial administration. I used
Excel to set up various systems
to maintain a good overview
and to issue invoices.” The
landing data are distributed by
the Royal Netherlands Navy
and the passenger data and the
parking management are
distributed by CSU Security.
“We first check the landings
together with the helicopter
companies and then we
provide the invoicing. The
landing expenses are passed on
to the helicopter companies
while the passenger expenses
are passed on to the oil
companies. Landing statistics
are also kept up to date. All in
all, it's a lot of work that my
successor will have to perform
during the three days a week
that she spends at the airport
office.”
New challenge
After completing a training
programme for laboratory
technician and zoological
analyst in Alkmaar, Margriet
went to work at the Zoological
Station (now NIOZ) in the port
of Den Helder. “I thoroughly
enjoyed the five years of
research I did there.” Then
Margriet got married and she
and her husband had two
children. Part-time work was
impossible in those days. Once
the children were in
elementary school, Margriet
went to help her husband in
their car company. “I did the
entire administration there for
about 25 years. It always meant
hard work and long hours and
when we became older
without a successor, we decided
to end the company.” But this
did not mean that Margriet
wanted to stop working. After
working for a short time at an
engineering company, an
interesting job vacancy
suddenly appeared at Den
Helder Airport. “At the age of
56, I started applying for jobs
again. I was hired, which
meant that I could start on a
new challenge.”
Margriet has always enjoyed
her work. “The dynamics and
the positive mentality are what
appeal to me most here. There
is great cooperation with
everyone. I'll really miss that
later.” The absolute highlights
for Margriet were the biennial
Open Day and a number of
trips she was able to take by air.
(advertisement)
• The construction of an additional warehouse next to the terminal building is now complete. This
warehouse, designed as a changing room for platform workers and storage depot, has now been put to
use by CHC Helicopters. It has a floor area of 150 square metres.
• A German company has shown interest in setting up scheduled service between the most important
offshore cities around the North Sea: Aberdeen, Norwich, Stavanger, Kristiansand and Den Helder. The
plan is to use aircraft that can transport twenty to thirty-five passengers.
• The Danish firm, DanCopter, has stationed a second Eurocopter EC 155 B1 helicopter at Den Helder
Airport. This helicopter, with a cruising speed of 145 knots, can transport ten persons to and from
offshore platforms. DanCopter decided to engage a second plane due to extra work from NAM. The
DanCopter fleet now consists of four EC 155 helicopters: two stationed in Den Helder and two stationed
in Esbjerg.
• Starting at the beginning of this year, helicopter company Heli Holland has also been active for the
offshore industry from Den Helder Airport. More than thirty flights have already been made for oil
companies such as Wintershall, Gaz de France and Chevron. A Eurocopter EC 155 B1, specially
equipped for this kind of work, is used.
• Construction of a fifth hangar at Den Helder Airport will commence this year. It will soon be able to
store helicopters that are now kept outside, often out of sheer necessity. Of course, this is not good for
the equipment. The new hangar, with a floor area of 1700 square metres, will be able to accommodate
five to six helicopters. The hangar is scheduled for use next year.
DHA Nieuwsbrief 6 26-05-2008 10:08 Pagina 9
4
The idea to set up a lobby
association at Kooypunt came
from Esther Scholten, who
works as a register accountant
at accounting firm Omnyacc
Huyg & Partners, which is also
located at Kooypunt. Ted
Chairman Ted Kloosterman: “One ofthe most important things is learningto know each other better.”(Photo: PAS Publicaties)
ko oypunt business asso ciation:
improve liveabilit yto getherNearly forty companies, including Den Helder Airport, are members of the Kooypunt Business Association. According to Chairman Ted
Kloosterman, this corresponds with approximately 80 percent of all companies that are located south of Den Helder at Kooypunt
industrial estate. And that's certainly not a bad score for an association that was founded only a year ago, according to the chairman
who is Director of Jongejans Staalbouw BV in everyday life.
Kloosterman: “We first
investigated interest and
quickly came to the conclusion
that the companies at
Kooypunt rarely visit each
other and make very little use
of each other's services. We
believed that there was a need
for this. Besides, the
development of Kooypunt 3
was approaching, which would
again lead to significant
expansion. We were also
anxious to share ideas about
this expansion plan.” The next
step was to look at whether a
balanced board could be
formed, together with a
number of other Kooypunt
entrepreneurs. When the
response was sufficiently
positive, the Kooypunt business
association was founded on 20
February 2007.
“In addition to joint lobbying”,
Ted Kloosterman continues, “we
make agreements with one
another on issues such as
improving the quality of life at
Kooypunt,
providing better
insight into the
most important
matters that play a
role, such as the
zoning plan, and
learning to know
each other better. I
believe that the
latter is particularly important.
Basically, we take turns meeting
at one of our members, which
is very informative for
everyone.”
Park management
Quite a few matters demand
attention at Kooypunt. The
members jointly prepared a list
of priorities. “It involves matters
such as safety, public lighting,
rubbish pick-up, speed limits,
parking facilities and
placement of information
signs. The 'park management'
buzz word was created to deal
with all of this effectively.
Actually, a separate company
could be set up for this, but that
would be a very simple
approach. There are quite a few
institutions that have
something to say about these
issues.” Nevertheless, it's not
entirely out of the question. As
an example, Ted Kloosterman
cites the joint venture that was
established to manage the WFO
grounds in Zwaagdijk East. “A
joint venture was founded
there by the entrepreneurs
involved, the financiers and the
municipality, which is
managed by a director. The
joint venture is not only
responsible for managing the
grounds, but also for
distributing the sites and
granting licences. It has taken a
lot of problems off the hands of
the municipality. I would argue
that this type of organization
should be set up at Kooypunt as
well.”
Moreover, consultation
between the board of the
Kooypunt Business Association
and the Municipality of Den
Helder is difficult. “With respect
to the development of
Kooypunt 3, we had certain
ideas and wanted to consult
with the Municipality about
them. It took a lot of effort to
get together, but once we met,
the plans had already been
developed further than we had
been told.” There has also been
consultation with the other
business associations from the
region, which have united in
the Federation of Den Helder
Business Associations.
About Jongejans Staalbouw
Ted Kloosterman started at
Jongejans Staalbouw in 1992
and was appointed director and
co-owner as of 1 January 1999.
“Our company has a three-
member board of
management. Ben Verhoef, who
started working here when I
did, is the technical director.
Harry Jongejans is Director of
Flevo Staalbouw in Zwaag. We
took over this company in
2001.” Fifty people work at
Jongejans Staalbouw and when
you include Flevo Staalbouw,
there are a total of 115
employees. The two companies
process some
9,000 tonnes
of steel
annually. “We
design and
construct
everything
you see in
buildings and
warehouses at
an industrial estate. We're also
responsible for most of the
buildings at Kooypunt.
Moreover, we design a lot of
agrarian halls. For example,
we're currently working in
Moerdijk, where we'll be
delivering a 60-metre-high
incineration plant.”
In addition to the two steel
construction companies, we
can call on the expertise of the
Stabeko consulting firm and
the M3 Ruimtebouwers
contracting firm. “This gives us
everything we need to prepare
the design, production,
transport and assembly
ourselves.” An unusual product
from Jongejans Staalbouw is
the castellated beam, a large
beam that is built from a small
profile. The company also
delivers steel constructions for
buildings with unusual
architecture. The tram depot in
Diemen, the Centre for Human
Drug Research in Leiden, the
head office of ABN-AMRO on
the South Axis in Amsterdam
and the terminal building at
Den Helder Airport are good
examples. Jongejans Staalbouw
even won the Dutch Steel Prize
for the project in Leiden.
“With respect to the development of
Kooypunt 3, we had certain ideas and
wanted to consult with the
Municipality about them.”
(advertisement)
DHA Nieuwsbrief 6 26-05-2008 10:13 Pagina 10
5
Sandra Kaandorp grew up in
Anna Paulowna. She attended
high school at the Bernhard
Alfrink College in Schagen and
then took a professional training
course for office work in
Haarlem. She acquired the
necessary work experience at
various employers. Sandra
explains: “I first worked for five
years at an air freight forwarding
agent at Schiphol Airport, then
another five years at a large
contractor and for a short time
at the court in Haarlem. The
court was a particularly good
learning experience.”
Sandra started at Den Helder
Airport on 1 January of this year
and has already been working
intensively for several months
girlp ower at den helder airp ortBoth Sandra Kaandorp and Debbie Liebe saw an
attractive job opening on the Internet and both
decided to apply for it. And they were successful,
since both women have been working in the
pleasant office of the management of Den Helder
Airport for the past couple of months. And now to
introduce them.Debbie Liebe (left/right) and Sandra Kaandorp recently joined themanagement team of Den Helder Airport.
with Margriet Nelis, who
handles the entire financial and
flight administration. When
Margriet resigns her position
shortly, Sandra will take over her
wide-ranging tasks. How did she
end up at Den Helder Airport? “
I was tipped off by a friend who
had seen an attractive job
opening on the Den Helder
Airport site. I could immediately
see myself in the job description,
and I decided to apply.” Sandra is
impressed with the dynamics at
the airport and about the speed
with which things are done. “I'm
surprised that we can manage a
very large company with a
relatively small group of people
here. It's really nice to be a part
of it.”
Challenging and varied
In addition to this position, there
was also a job opening for an
executive secretary when Conny
van den Hoff took an increasing
number of tasks from Airport
Director Roel Hijmans. After a
selection procedure, this vacancy
was filled by Debbie Liebe, who
comes from Wieringen. After
completing high school, she
took the combination training
for executive secretary/medical
secretary at Schoevers. After
working for some time in Hoorn,
she decided to look for a job
closer to home. “I came across
the job opening for executive
secretary at Den Helder Airport
on the Noordhollandse
Dagbladen site. The profile of
this challenging and varied job
immediately appealed to me.
After two very pleasant job
interviews, I was taken on and
before I knew it I was able to
start on 4 December 2007.”
Debbie is also impressed with
the dynamics at Den Helder
Airport. “It´s an airport that's
highly specialized in the
offshore industry, which is very
important for the region as far as
employment is concerned.” She
has this to say about her work:
“Briefly, I support Conny in all
her duties. I try to take as much
work as possible off her hands.
Good feeling
Debbie works four days a week,
except for Mondays, and Sandra
can be found at the airport on
Mondays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays. Sandra thinks it'll be
quite unusual once Roel
Hijmans leaves, and the entire
staff at Den Helder Airport will
consist of women. “I think that's
great and fits with the times. I
like the idea that I´ll be given a
lot of responsibility in my job.
That feels really good.” Debbie
also feels right at home in her
new working environment. “I'm
still learning and I really like the
fact that new developments are
introduced quickly here. We're
not only talking about
developments in the offshore
sector, but in other areas as well.”
Aside from their work at Den
Helder Airport, both women are
active in sports. Sandra: “For
example, I do fitness twice a
week. My greatest hobby,
however, is my five-year-old
daughter, Daisy. I devote a lot of
my attention to her.” Debbie can
also be found several days a week
at the sports school. “I like
spinning and body pump and I
also enjoy reading and I like to
do nice things with my family
and friends.”
According to Nico van Lacum, the
objective of the 550 member
resident lobby association is to
maintain an optimal quality of
life in the De Schooten
neighbourhood. Scores of
activities have been developed,
with the Municipality of Den
Helder as the most important
contact. “We give both solicited
and unsolicited advice and have
meetings to resolve certain issues.
These issues usually involve
problems with public space, such
as loose pavement tiles or
changes in traffic patterns during
roadwork in the neighbourhood,
particularly for routes that are
enlightening visit to the neighboursA delegation from 'Samen Sterker' [Stronger Together], the De Schooten Resident Lobby Association, recently
visited Den Helder Airport for greater clarity on the report published in the Helderse Courant on the
expansion of the number of flight movements. According to Chairman Nico van Lacum, the delegation's
questions from residents of the Den Helder neighbourhood, De Schooten, which arose from the newspaper
report, were sufficiently answered.
Chairman Nico van Lacum infront of the Heiligharn flats,where the 'Samen Sterker' officeis also located. (Photo: PAS Publicaties)
well-travelled among school-going
children. But issues can also
include problems that can
inconvenience residents. We
cooperate closely with the local
policeman on the beat and
neighbourhood caretaker who
holds office hours every Thursday
in our association's office. Our
objective is to prevent problems
or if they do occur, to solve them
quickly on the spot. That keeps
the neighbourhood liveable.”
The lobby association of renters
and home-owners, which was
founded in 1976, appears to be on
the right track, judging from the
report mark given by
neighbourhood residents on
quality of life. “A questionnaire
among residents showed that
people enjoy living in De
Schooten. Our association
received a 7.3 as final mark.”
Very little trouble
The most important objective of
'Samen Sterker' is to respond
quickly to signals from the
neighbourhood or to reports
from the media. A good example
is a report that was published in
the Helderse Courant about Den
Helder Airport´s plans to submit a
request to increase the number of
flight movements from 20,000 to
25,000. “This report led to a bit of
concern in the neighbourhood.
More flights also mean more
noise pollution. This is clearly
noticeable, particularly in the
morning hours when the
helicopters start up. Actually, we
have very little trouble from
civilian helicopter traffic. The
newspaper report was a good
reason for us to ask our
neighbours for clarification.” This
resulted in a visit by a delegation
from the lobby association to the
airport, where the situation was
explained in detail. “Once again,
due to high energy prices,
intensive exploration for oil and
- continued on page 6 -
DHA Nieuwsbrief 6 26-05-2008 10:15 Pagina 11
6
gas is being conducted in the
North Sea, which therefore
requires more flights. An
extension was requested for more
leeway in approaching the upper
limit of the number of permitted
fights. Roel Hijmans and Conny
van den Hoff from Den Helder
Airport have shown that every
effort is being made to minimize
noise pollution for the residents.
We were also shown around,
which helped us to understand
COLOPHON
The Den Helder Airport Newsletter
is distributed in a broad circulation
and is meant to inform interested
parties about the activities at and
around Den Helder Airport.
Reproducing of parts of the content
is only authorized with source
indication.
The content has been compiled at
information. No rights can be
drawn upon the content in fact.
DDeenn HHeellddeerr AAiirrppoorrtt
Luchthavenweg 10A
1786 PP Den Helder
Telephone: +31 (0)223 63 56 66
Fax: +31 (0)223 66 08 92
www.denhelderairport.nl
EEddiittoorr
PAS Publicaties
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the situation. And all our other
questions were answered.”
Information
To keep its members informed,
'Samen Sterker' publishes a
newsletter that regularly includes
articles about the situation at Den
Helder Airport. Mr P.J.M. Vogel, a
former navy man who is also highly
knowledgeable about the helicopter
company, writes in a very pleasant
style about what he refers to as 'our
airport'. In one of more recent
issues, he goes into detail about
handling complaints on aeroplane
noise. “We have the feeling that
we´re kept well-informed about the
situation at the airport”, Nico van
Lacum concludes, “And if residents
want more information, the
management of Den Helder Airport
is always willing to answer
questions and give guided tours. In
this way, we have good neighbourly
contact.”
ultramodern control centre atden helder airport
people employed offshore. These
employees frequently travel to
Den Helder Airport anyway, to
depart from there to their offshore
work location by helicopter,
subsequently making the return
helicopter trip to the airport.
Capacity not fully utilised
Since 1965, Wintershall Noordzee
has been involved in the
exploration and production of oil
and gas, offshore. In total, the
company operates 26 platforms, of
which 25 in the Dutch and one in
the German sector of the North
Sea. Together with its partners in
various offshore projects, each
year 6 billion cubic metres of gas
are produced. With a share of this
Every workday, Hans Reijn enjoys
commuting across the Afsluitdijk
between his home and Den
Helder. In his opinion,
establishing the production
coordination and control centre
in Den Helder was an excellent
decision. “Life is good at the new
centre, and it is easily accessible,
without traffic congestion. Last
year, part of our production
department moved from the head
offices in Rijswijk to Den Helder.
We are now working here with
two different groups, namely
fifteen people in the offices and
twelve operators in the control
room, running a twenty-four hour
service. In total, Wintershall
Noordzee employs some 350
people.” Opening the new branch
in Den Helder is intended to
make the work processes even
more efficient and to further
improve communication with the
From the ultramodern control room, 18 offshore platforms are controlled remotely (Photograph: Wintershall)
rare bird
Another rare bird was spotted at Den Helder Airport. This time it
was a Silvaire Luscombe 8F that landed at Den Helder Airport on
Wednesday, 7 May. The owner of the single-engine aeroplane with
registration number N9945C is Mr A. Brouwer, who works as a pilot
with Skyline Aviation. The two-seater plane, built in 1959, is a real
old-timer. It was designed back in 1937 and was considered very
modern for its day. Thirty-one aeroplanes of this type were built after
it. Normally speaking, Mr Brouwer has the plane stationed at the
Vliegend Museum Seppe, but every now and then he flies it to his job
at Den Helder Airport.
total volume of almost 2 billion
cubic metres, the subsidiary of
Germany's BASF, alongside NAM,
Gaz de France and Total, is
amongst the largest gas producers
in the Netherlands.
Wintershall recently announced
its intention to further expand its
position on the North Sea. With
this in mind, by 2010, more than
300 million euro will be invested
in exploring for and putting into
production new oil and gas fields.
The company also intends to
further increase the efficiency of
its business operations. The
commissioning of the
ultramodern production
coordination and control centre
at Den Helder Airport is the latest
element in this process.”
Hans Reijn continued, “It was
quite a job to develop and test all
the necessary technology for
making both old and new
platforms suitable for remote
control. We have now reached the
stage that 18 of the 26 platforms
can be remotely controlled from
the control room. A further three
existing platforms and one new
platform will soon be added to
this total.” Nonetheless, the total
capacity of the control room is
not yet utilised. “There remains
sufficient capacity for possibly
connecting platforms from other
operators. At this centre we have
capacity for some 40 platforms.”
Savings in energy consumption
Wintershall currently operates
two drilling rigs for the
exploration of new fields on the
North Sea. The company also
recently completed a major
seismic programme. One gas field
soon to be put into production,
according to Hans Reijn, is a
reservoir in the E18 block of the
Dutch sector. For this purpose, a
platform is to be installed in the
field, consisting of a new jacket
(support structure) and the
renovated deck module from the
existing P14 satellite platform. For
this renovation work, the deck
module, known in oil and gas
circles as the topside, will be
brought ashore. Wintershall
hopes to be able to put the E18
field into production next year.
Also new is the plan to save on
energy consumption. Hans Reijn
explained, “We aim to implement
different power supply systems on
both existing and new platforms,
including wind energy. These new
technologies will first be tested at
our new centre in Den Helder,
before we put them into
operation offshore. We have
already applied for a permit for
this pilot project.”
On 23 June 2007, Wintershall Noordzee opened an ultramodern centre for
Remote Controlled Operations (RCO) on the site of Den Helder Airport. From
this production coordination and control centre, eighteen platforms on the
North Sea can be remotely operated. Over the coming period, this number will
be further expanded, as explained by Hans Reijn, employed in Den Helder as
production support superintendent for Wintershall.
Hans Reijn in front of the brand-newWintershall production andcoordination control centre(Photograph: PAS Publicaties)
enlightening visit to the neighbours ⁽continuation⁾
DHA Nieuwsbrief 6 26-05-2008 10:16 Pagina 12