Le Touquet's follow-me bike

[distaff_beancounter]

Usually, it is self parking at Le Touquet, but when I went there recently, I saw the new system of marshalling.

The tower told me to follow the marshaller, so I looked out for a follow-me truck, or at least someone in a yellow jacket, with the usual table-tennis bats.

A fellow in dark tee shirt & jeans, appeared on an unmarked push-bike. He pedalled across our bows, stopped, looked back over his shoulder, & beckoned me to follow him.

He the pedalled like mad to the far side of the apron, with me following at a slow taxi. He finally stopped, then, whilst still sitting astride the bike, he pointed in the general direction of the left armpit of South Coast Airline's DC3, G-DAKK. So I parked next to the Dakota, while the "marshaller" pedalled off back to the tower.

It is good to see that ICAO and/or JAA have now standardised everything at international airports in Europe :D

[Fly Stimulator]

I was so taken with him that I took a picture last month.

Et voila!

http://www.theflyingschool.co.uk/gallery/marshal.jpg

[A and C]

Dont knock it , if it was a UK airport it would be a new range rover and the landing fees would make you think that you had made this years payments on the thing !.

[poetpilot]

...and if it was the UK, he'd have a bright yellow jacket and would no doubt be mandated to "sell" you one just like his at £50 + VAT +agents handling charge...

I remember this from years ago ..... must have been a different chappie but it seems to be atradition at Le Touqs.

Thought for the day.... what will we wear when we eventually get to the point when the entire population are wearing high viz jackets and we miss seeing people because we've got used to them? Can't be far off now........

...me, I use an orange one, just to be different.

[distaff_beancounter]

I am not knocking Le Touquet. Far from it, I love the place & go there fairly frequently. And yes, the landing fees are half those of comparable UK airports. The French actually encourage GA, instead of trying to close it down.

I admire the anarchic French approach to all JAA, ICAO, EU, regulations, which seems to be to select the bits that they like, & just ignore the rest :D