Normandy, Caen and Bayeux - Airfields and Flying

[clearfinalsno1]

As part of 3 to 4 day historical visit of the area, I hope to make a flying tour of the 15 or so WWII airfields along the 10 miles or so of Normandy coastline between Bayeux and Caen. The temporary airfields in the American and British sectors here were important in maintaining the allied foothold shortly after D-Day June 1944.

A quick search on PPrune shows various matches for Caen and Normandy. I note there is a very small airport at Caen with a flying club http://www.aeroclub-caen.org/.

Can anyone advise on:

Airspace restrictions in this area - I want to fly around VFR low level looking for the old airfields of Bazenville, Martraghy and Plumetot.
Is the Caen Aeroclub friendly or am I better off hiring a PA28 in Kent and flying it over?
Is Caen Airport ok?
Are there any other airfields in this small area that I can land at.

Many thanks in anticipation
CFN1

[Tall_guy_in_a_152]

Caen is not exactly "very small" unless you are comparing it to international airports.

By GA standards it is large, with two hard runways (one 1900m) and a few regional scheduled services. There was a daily service to the UK, but it may not still be running. In my experience most French airports have a "windswept" feel to them, with lots of facilities but no-one actually using them.

Airspace should not be a problem. There are low level miltary corridoors to the South, but not close to the coast. I don't have an up-to-date chart to hand, but there may be a few ZRTs to steer clear of. Caen and Deauville have had their airspace upgraded to Class D, but you should not have a problem.

I cannot help with the club or rental information. I suspect it will be difficult and expensive to arrange which ever side of the channel you choose.

[Tall_guy_in_a_152]

nav2000 (http://www.nav2000.com) is a good source of data for airfields, if you understand a bit of French.

[clearfinalsno1]

Tall guy, thanks very much for the tip. Nav2000 gives me this page for Caen including plates, photos and other details.
http://www.nav2000.com/pf/detail.asp?oaci=LFRK

The VFR plate shows the tiny piece of airspace I wish to fly over, to the north-west of Caen. I'm not familiar with French Charts notation. The semi-circular shaped CTA over Caen airport to the south west of the town is straightforward enough. What are the restrictions on the green block of airspace between Caen and Bayeux. This is the area of interest to me. Thanks.

[Tall_guy_in_a_152]

The green block is part of the Deauville TMA, Class E, 1500 ft - FL055. It should not cause you a problem.