Going to France

[Wigan Warrior]

In two or three weeks time a couple of chums and I are off to France. The plan is to get airborne around 1100 out of Blackpool and land somewhere in France. We intend to camp over, and on Saturday morning do a couple of hours shopping before setting off back to Blighty. Could anyone recommend a landing site / airfield (other than Le Touque). Our chariot of choice is the PA-28.

[Fly Stimulator]

Wigan Warrior,

You can't go too far wrong in France, but here are some thoughts.

If you don't mind a slightly longer sea crossing then you can go straight from the Isle of Wight to Cherbourg and clear customs there. That will be a reasonably direct route for you. I went that way last Friday on my way to a very pleasant day in/on Belle Ile, just south of the Brest peninsula. Other nice spots in that area are La Baule and, a little further down the coast, La Rochelle.

On Saturday I flew back up to Bernay which is a very charming grass field with an excellent small hotel and restaurant on site.

From there it was a short hop up to Deauville which is somewhere else you could consider, though I don't think I'd want (or be allowed to) camp on the airfield. It is a customs field though. A taxi into Trouville is about 17 euro, whereas one to Honfleur (a similar distance) is about 35. Pourqoui? Je ne sais pas, or 'search me guv' as they say in the taxi trade.

Both are nice spots, though the whole coast was booked out last weekend and I ended up in an Ibis near the oil refineries of Le Havre :ugh: I think there was something on in the area though, so that isn't usual.

On the western side of the Cherbourg peninsula is Dinard, which will do customs for you and is handy to St Malo. I flew into the airfield in March, but didn't go into the town. I'm sure St Malo offers plenty of good dining and shopping opportunities though.

Moving further up the coast, but avoiding Le Touquet, you have Abbeville. You can camp there, though there's a motel on site. There is also a good restaurant on the field, and the town is quite close too.

Skipping L2K, you get to Calais. I've been there several times this summer but it must be said the facilities at the field are a little limited. You need prior notice for customs, but again, it's not exactly an idyllic camping spot. I suppose the shopping is good if you want to stock up on booze, though you'd need a taxi or rental car.

Personally I'd probably cross from the IoW to Cherbourg and keep going to either Dinard or Deauville. If you have more time, or a particularly swift PA28 (relatively speaking of course) then try for La Baule or La Rochelle.

[Aerobatic Flyer]

A 2nd vote for Dinard. Cross to Cherbourg, then head South West (keeping south of the nuclear power station prohibited zone), and you arrive over the Cottentin oyster beds.

You can safely fly along the coast very low indeed - just watch out for seagulls below 500ft. If the engine fails, slow down, flaps out and land anywhere (if the tide is out!).

Pass Granville, and climb to 3000ft to circle the Mont St Michel, from where it's just a short flight to Dinard. The tower closes for lunch. There's a nice bar / restaurant with a very friendly lady who helped me find a campsite when I was there (that was after she'd spent 20 mins calling all the hotels, which were full).

The town of Dinard is nice, with some excellent restaurants.

[BRL]

Hi there. Everything you need to know about going to France are on the two pages HERE. (http://www.pprune.org/forums/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=522055&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending)
Enjoy and Bon Voyage...... :)

[Fly Stimulator]

L ,

Are you quite sure about that? :confused:

The link does bring up fascinating threads about such things as grocery shopping and London power cuts though. :)

[BRL]

eey up, it works ok from here... :confused:
Here it is again though French Link (http://www.pprune.org/forums/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=522055&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending) :confused:

[Flyin'Dutch']

Nope, it brings up this search:

http://www.pprune.org/forums/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=522671&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

Pretty sure that is not what we meant to see.

FD

[BRL]

That's pretty weird. I still get taken to the french search results when I click on my links. I click on FD's link and it takes me to the search results for all forums. :confused:

[down&out]

Well I'd support Dinard. Get a cab & go to St. Malo (15 minute ride). It has a beautiful old walled town. If you can afford it, I'd forget the camping, stay in or near the old town and enjoy a lovely meal there that night!

Have fun!;)

[Wigan Warrior]

Thanks to one and all for some really useful information :ok:

[DFC]

If flying from Blackpool to France (not Le Touquet) then I would recomend that you route via one of the Channel Islands. The reason being that the fuel is very cheap and you can re-top the tanks outbound before setting off into France and again on return before heading for the UK.

Landing in the CIs also give you a chance to have a nature break and review both the weather and proposed route closer to the time you actually plan to use it.

Regards,

DFC

[skydriller]

Aerobatic Flyer,

In your post above you say:

You can safely fly along the coast very low indeed - just watch out for seagulls below 500ft. If the engine fails, slow down, flaps out and land anywhere (if the tide is out!).

This implies that it is OK to fly below 500ft in France…..

The reason I mention this is due to a recent (last weekend!) conversation with one of the FIs at my French club. For the last couple of years I have been here I have thought that the low flying rules in France were similar to those in the UK, ie in France… it is forbidden to fly over any person, vehicle or object at less than 500ft or 150m from it whether over land or sea….

However the FI stated this was not the case and that the rule was no lower than 500ft over land, water or sea at all times….the exception being that Flight Instructors have the right to descend as low as 150ft for PFL training whilst remaining 150m from persons, vehicles or objects etc.

So which is it? If the latter, then flying down the coast below 500ft would be illegal, and we should not recommend it to a visitor, even if I might have done it myself on occasion!:ooh: If the former can you point me to the relevant regulation so I can inform my FI that I was right all along.:}

Regards, SD
:confused: :suspect:

[Flyin'Dutch']

BRL,

Any chance you could put the URL for the results here rather than the search.

I am keen to read the info!

FD

[BRL]

Ok, here we go again..!!!!
France info. (http://www.pprune.org/forums/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=523354&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending)
How I got there was to go to the search then entered France, selected our forum, search titles only, show results as topics and hit search. When the page loaded I copied and pasted the info from the address bar in to the hyperlink option when you post. There are 39 threads over two pages.
Hope it works ok.....

[Fly Stimulator]

Non. Il ne marche pas. It brings up a very wide selection of irrelevant topics, though there are some about France mixed in. :ugh:

Try this (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=99952) and this (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=96769) and this (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=98436) and this (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=95451) and this (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=88319) and this (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=85737).

There are many others too of course.

[Aerobatic Flyer]

Skydriller

Your FI was certainly right about flying over land. I don't know the situation about flying over the sea, or whether a beach at low tide is classed as sea or land.

I wouldn't encourage anyone to break the rules. If they did find them inadvertently flying too low by accident, I'd suggest that lunchtime on a Sunday is the best time to do it. ;)

Seriously, there is a very much higher risk of hitting a seagull below 500ft than above (can any ornithologists explain why seagulls nearly all fly low?), and that more than the low flying regulations should be enough reason not to go too low.

AF.

[skydriller]

Aerobatic Flyer,

Thanks for the reply, Obviously I do tend to believe our FI over such a fundamental issue. My previous assumption was backed up by PFL practice down to a hundred feet or so with instructors on check-outs, which are, I have now learnt, exempted.
Plus before I came to France (2000/2001) I bought a copy of VFR Flight rules France by Daniel Casanova so as to gen up on any differences etc., its in the Transair Catalogue. Under Rules of the Air, Minimum VFR Level, it says the following, :


No VFR flight may be undertaken (except for take-off and landing procedure):

- over concentrations of population, towns or other built up areas, or over gatherings of people and animals in open areas, at less than 1000ft above the highest obstacle located within a radius of 600m of the aircraft;
- over an artificial obstacle (person, vehicle, ship, house..), at a height of less than 500 ft above ground or water and at a distance of less than 150m from it.


I read the above to be the same as the UK 500ft rule (I guess wrongly!), though looking at it again I can see how it should be understood....and it makes me wonder if anything else in the book is slightly grey!!

It does seem to point to flight over the sea being a no-no below 500ft, as the sea is water too!!;)

Regards, SD..

PS. I wonder how many of us actually think certain rules are not as they actually are and continue in ignorant bliss for years until a chance conversation or look at a thread on pprune......but then thats a whole different thread waiting to happen:)

[DFC]

The minimum of 500ft above the surface (where no other higher requirements exist) is a standard ICAO international requirement.

The UK has a difference from ICAO by allowing flight below 500ft above the surface.

Regards,

DFC

[Davidt]

Once you have cleared customs give Averannches (south of Cherbourg) a try.

Very Brit friendly grass strip flying club.
Have fun