beach holiday & flying

[vectis lady]

thinking of going on hol in either late may or june and id like to combine a bit of flying with my lazing about on the beach time, problem is im not sure where to go im only going to have a week so i dont fancy a long haul to america, somewhere in europe would be good, decent weather with plenty of things to do and a nice airport and club for a/c hire - oh yeah and not too expensive

dont want much do i ?

anybody got any bright ideas?

thanks

[nanocas]

Hi! then I would suggest PORTIMAO (LPPM) in Portugal. I did just that a few weeks ago! stayed in Portimao for a week, beautifull town, beautifull beaches, delicious food! cheap!The aerodrome is great also! you have quite a selection of airplanes for hire at a company called "aero vip" (maintenance company). Very very friendly people at aerodrome, especially on the radio! The flying in the area is really great! very relaxed and beautifull scenary!
You can get there by flying in through FARO which is nearby!

[JOE-FBS]

Lands End?

I had my first lesson there in October and it seems a nice place to fly. There there must be beaches nearby somewhere!

St Ives is not too far away and definitely has beaches and amusements as well as great art and restaurants.

[TheGorrilla]

Lands end in the summer

[Leezyjet]

Cyprus. Can hire a/c out and fly over the Med to Egypt or Israel or island hop a bit too.

Try Aviator Flight Centre in Larnaca, or Griffon Aviation in Paphos.

Flew with Aviator a couple of years ago, a very attractive young lady instructor they had back then

[C-dog]

Try Perpignan (LFMP) in the south of France. I've hired club aircraft there the past two years. A large regional airport with a huge runway yet only half a dozen commercial flights a day. Watched an A380 doing circuits there last year, turned downwind overhead my house.

Direct flights from the UK include BMI Baby from Manchester, Ryanair from Stanstead and (probably of interest to you) Flybe from Southampton. Some days there are more UK flights than internal French ones!

Fairly staightforward process at the Aéro-Club du Roussillon Tel. [phone] although the p/t receptionist there has as much English as I have French! An hour's check ride and then signed off to solo the club aircraft, usually a Robin DR400 or Cessna 152.

The instructor with the best English is Jean Pierre Jacquet. He's an ex carrier jock who was once based at Lossiemouth. If the weather's suitable you could ask him to give you some altiport experience in the Cerdagne/Capcir area but you'll need the Robin for that. The 152 can get in but apparently doesn't have the puff to get out!

There are loads of beaches nearby and plenty of holiday accommodation. Handiest for the airport is Canet Plage, about 10 miles by road, and there should be plenty of apartments available at the time of the year you're looking at.

Hope that helps.