Quote:
and found the atmosphere so unenjoyable
Can you elaborate?
Only vaguely, it has been several years, and memory was never my strong point. Still I do recall how weird it felt to have to pay for parking at a G/A aerodrome. 't Was on a nice sunday afternoon somewhere this time of year, and there were a fair number of people, mostly seniors, enjoying the fresh air and the sights of plane traffic. Even then I had a feeling spectators were only tolerated, probably grudgingly, and sure enough after sundown I was chased off the premises, none too gently either.
The contrast with any G/A field in France or Italy or even Germany couldn't have been greater. Possible exception for bizjet oriented fields close to main cities like Frankfurt or Paris, I never visited any of these.
The closest I remember is Sabadell, but that is quite in a different class of airfield. And even if I was chased off there too, after sundown, it was by a uniformed gentleman who was polite and helpful and much educated, he actually could and did speak two foreign languages. None of these could be said for the brutish chap pushing me out of Shoreham.