building your own aerodrome

[spRom]

Hello,

how doable regarding regulations is to have your own airport in a field you own, and for just my personal use ?

I've been trying to find this answer in the forum and elsewhere hoping it was a common question but couldn't find anything under EASA

thanks!

[Genghis the Engineer]

Certainly in Britain people have been doing this forever - and there is a wealth of material available on how to do it. I see farmstrips all the time as I fly around Britain - some are in the charts and guides, many aren't.

Generally speaking, EASA has nothing to do with it. It really is all about local planning laws - and largely the European Commission hasn't got its teeth into those yet.

G

[chevvron]

As I understand it (and I may be wrong), you can land or take off anywhere you like provided you:
Have the permission of the landowner.
Inform the local police that you intend using a particular piece of land for takeoff and landing
provided:-
It is not in controlled airspace and hence needs permission from the controlling authority in the form of a Letter of Agreement.
You do not intend to use it on more than 28 occasions per year.(To use it more often requires permission from the local planning authority.)

[NorthSouth]

I can't see why the police would need to know, or care

[muffin]

Based on the experience of others, just do it and tell nobody. Keep it very low key and make sure you keep the neighbours happy. Asking officialdom is asking for trouble!

[scifi]

Quote.... I can't see why the police would need to know, or care
Maybe to avoid the scenario.... '999 Police?.. I've just seen an aircraft crash in a field..'


One question I have, (being surrounded by some very large farms.)... Can you land 28 times in field 1, and 28 times in field 2..etc Our Landowning Neighbour owns a Learjet, and could be interested in the answer.
.

[spRom]

really helpful, thanks everyone

Originally Posted by chevvron

....
You do not intend to use it on more than 28 occasions per year.(To use it more often requires permission from the local planning authority.)...

I heard you can do that and after 10 years with no accidents and no complains it is possible to legalize it very easily.

Originally Posted by muffin

Based on the experience of others, just do it and tell nobody. Keep it very low key and make sure you keep the neighbours happy. Asking officialdom is asking for trouble!

Yes, that's been my experience with other things in life. I will do that then. Also I don't think any of the neighbors will keep a record on how many days I land per year or even know about the 28 days rule.

[Genghis the Engineer]

spRom states that they are in "Europe" - which last I looked is a continent of 50 countries, about 2/3rds of whom are EASA members, and about half of which are EU members. All have their own laws, planning procedures, and police behaviours. Not all have the sort of friendly fluffy police we Brits are used to.

Goodness knowns why he or she doesn't want to admit to what country he's in - but that is their business. However, giving UK centric answers may not help much.

G

[Jan Olieslagers]

I too was patiently waiting for the country to be named - that determines all, indeed; or at least it is the first parameter, and it may be the last in certain countries.

[NorthSouth]

Originally Posted by scifi

Quote.... I can't see why the police would need to know, or care
Maybe to avoid the scenario.... '999 Police?.. I've just seen an aircraft crash in a field..'

Yeah that would work. '999 Police?.. I've just seen an aircraft crash in a field..' 'Ah no sir I've just checked our all-knowing online database of farm strips and that won't be a crash you saw it'll be Mr spRom doing a normal landing at his officially logged strip'

[spRom]

Originally Posted by Genghis the Engineer

spRom states that they are in "Europe" - which last I looked is a continent of 50 countries, about 2/3rds of whom are EASA members, and about half of which are EU members. All have their own laws, planning procedures, and police behaviours. Not all have the sort of friendly fluffy police we Brits are used to.

Goodness knowns why he or she doesn't want to admit to what country he's in - but that is their business. However, giving UK centric answers may not help much.

G

Genghis, I might have accumulated a few differences with interpol over the last few decades... But now I realize that with the current technology they can trace back my location anyways, what a time to be alive. Just kidding, I have read your replies in other threads of this forum and thank you for being here and sharing your knowledge.

I am Swiss but live in Spain, hence Europe. The aerodrome is to be located in Spain.

At first I didn't think there were many spaniards here, I now realize there is a spanish section, but more importantly I just thought this question had to do with EASA so countries didn't matter so to say, almost anything that has to do with aviation in Europe is under EASA I believed but I was clearly wrong.

I live in a somehow remote place of the canary islands, there is only one airport in this island, and the landing and parking fees are prohibitive.

Another option I was contemplating was getting my seaplane rating and either convert to floats or buy something with floats , is the safer choice as it gives plenty of room for a possible engine failure, there are hills everywhere in this island. Weather is usually very nice all year round but salty water might be a problem.

But the aerodrome option seems cheaper and faster to do after reading what you all have told me

[Jan Olieslagers]

@NS: Talking of UK-centric ...

[piperboy84]

I've had multiple cop cars tool into the strip several times because some old dude next door keeps calling them and saying a planes crashed into the woods. Ive asked the cops to remind the silly old bastard that it's me, at the airfield he walks his dog at and he knows fine well I haven't "crashed into the trees again" but they say he gets tanked up in the afternoons and forgets stuff.

It's going to be a right bastard when I do actually duff it in and he ignores me.

[patowalker]

http://www.pasionporvolar.com/solici...omos-privados/

[Genghis the Engineer]

My very limited experience of flying in Spain is that they can be a bit precious about airport security and planning issues - but that once airborne, things should be quite straightforward. But definitely - it is tbe local planning experience that you need to tap into there.

As it happens, a few years ago my brother restored an old farmhouse in Asturias - he found hiring local planning expertise absolutely essential to success in that also.

G

[Sam Rutherford]

Seems to me you'd be better off asking someone in Spain who already has a private strip.

Hm, and if they're difficult to find, it may be because it's difficult to do...

[Above The Clouds]

Scifi
One question I have, (being surrounded by some very large farms.)... Can you land 28 times in field 1, and 28 times in field 2..etc

Just a point of order; in the UK it is possible with the permission of the land owner, or if you are the land owner to use it for 28 days per year without having to obtain planning permission, there is nothing saying how many times a day you use it but if your doing 100 circuits a day then you are going to p1ss some neighbours off.

[spRom]

I've been asking around and it seems that there is a guy who tried to do something similar years ago. I've contacted him and now I'm waiting for his reply. I was told he even manage to convince the local government to subsidy the idea . GA apparently is welcome here. Also the local community with money to spend in this kind of stuff seems to gravitate toward boats, or horses there is no much else to spend the money on...so perhaps introducing aviation to a larger scale could give them a good excuse to spend the money on something else . I am thinking on microlights or ultralights. I even saw a field good for this purpose, it hosted a big airport decades ago. I visited it and there is nothing built on it. The old control tower still there and so on, with a few adjustments could host general aviation planes.

thanks for all your advice

[Deltasierra010]

Don't involve officialdom but be sensible, under the 28 day rule you have wide options but don't overfly neighbours on TO or landing so be careful how your strip is aligned. You still need planning for your hangar and that might be a problem unless it is close to other buildings. Be sure that your aircraft is suitable for farm strip operation they are not always dry and smooth in wet weather
A local landowner tried to get an airstrip registered, there was a major campaign against it, an "international airport" that sort of rubbish, it was all handled very badly. After a lot of cost he ended up with a 28 day strip.

[ChickenHouse]

Start with a "28 day" strip and see how the neighbors react. If there are no addicted-noise-is-bad-and-pilots-are-to-be-shot-in-the-back ones, you can extend after some time.