Advice & Tips please - Touring N E Spain
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 88
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From: Alresford, Hampshire, UK
Advice & Tips please - Touring N E Spain
Well summer is on the way and have started to plan this year's epic. I have 5 or 6 clear days and 3 of us (all PPLS) are think of taking the Arrow 4 down to NE Spain from Blackbushe for somewhere different to the usual slog around France. We are planning to leave in June a few days after the Popham meet. Just looking at the area map I can see fields at Girona, Reus, Sabadell and Ampuria Brava. Has anyone out there done such a trip? Looking for advice on a) Where to head for - we want 2 /3 days on the beach b) Is it sensible to try to get there in 1 day from the UK c) Do you still need to file a flight plan for VFR in Spain - my up to date Bottlang guide seems to say it is not now necessary d) General tips on VFR in Spain and anything else that might be of use.
Thanks all,
A2
Thanks all,
A2
Joined: Jan 1999
Posts: 6,209
Likes: 2
From: north of barlu
Spain is no problem at all you do need to file a flight plan for all flights but remember that some of the places are quite remote so it is a good move if only for SAR should you be unfortunate enough to need it.
For those of us from the flat lands the MSA ,s that you will find will come as a bit of a shock i spent most of the time above 9000ft ALT but the hieght over the ground was considerably less!.
Apart from madrid (LEMD) and barcelona (LEBL) i would feel that all the airfields apart from perhaps salamanca would be OK for a PPL holder as long as you are happy with the visual APP routes that are the common way of VFR entry to big airports in europe.
If you have trouble with ATC and they seem like they dont want to speek to you keep trying as the chances are that the guy on duty speaks only spanish and the the assistant is running down to the coffee shop to get the english speaking controler !.
Fuel was a bit of a problem when it came to paying as they dont take credit cards and it all had to be cash so if you want to avoid pockets of folding money get a fuel card from both BP and Shell and do it now because they both take some time to issue the cards !.
In all all the spanish airport staff I met went out of there way to be helpfull and the prices charged by the airports were low by the standards of northern europe.
I think that you will have a great time but do a lot of pre flight planning and watch out for that high ground.
[ 14 February 2002: Message edited by: A and C ]</p>
For those of us from the flat lands the MSA ,s that you will find will come as a bit of a shock i spent most of the time above 9000ft ALT but the hieght over the ground was considerably less!.
Apart from madrid (LEMD) and barcelona (LEBL) i would feel that all the airfields apart from perhaps salamanca would be OK for a PPL holder as long as you are happy with the visual APP routes that are the common way of VFR entry to big airports in europe.
If you have trouble with ATC and they seem like they dont want to speek to you keep trying as the chances are that the guy on duty speaks only spanish and the the assistant is running down to the coffee shop to get the english speaking controler !.
Fuel was a bit of a problem when it came to paying as they dont take credit cards and it all had to be cash so if you want to avoid pockets of folding money get a fuel card from both BP and Shell and do it now because they both take some time to issue the cards !.
In all all the spanish airport staff I met went out of there way to be helpfull and the prices charged by the airports were low by the standards of northern europe.
I think that you will have a great time but do a lot of pre flight planning and watch out for that high ground.
[ 14 February 2002: Message edited by: A and C ]</p>
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 1,650
Likes: 0
From: southern england
Ampuriabrava is pretty busy with skydiving and parachute training. Lots of hotels nearby. Found one interesting flight story here, several years old, but never mind:
<a href="http://www.btflyingclub.flyer.co.uk/1471/issue1/4in6.htm" target="_blank">http://www.btflyingclub.flyer.co.uk/14 71/issue1/4in6.htm</a>
If you are brave, you might like to try Cerdanya(LECD) or Seo de Urgell(LESU) which are both at the base of the Pyrenees!
As well as Sabadell(LELL) there are a couple of other small airfields to the north of Barcelona - Igualada(LEIG) and Manresa(LEMS), I think used mainly for gliding.
If you go as far south as Reus, this will put you close to Port Aventura, a sort of Costa Alton Towers.
<a href="http://www.raintrek.co.uk/pa/" target="_blank">http://www.raintrek.co.uk/pa/</a>
Have fun!
[ 15 February 2002: Message edited by: newswatcher ]</p>
<a href="http://www.btflyingclub.flyer.co.uk/1471/issue1/4in6.htm" target="_blank">http://www.btflyingclub.flyer.co.uk/14 71/issue1/4in6.htm</a>
If you are brave, you might like to try Cerdanya(LECD) or Seo de Urgell(LESU) which are both at the base of the Pyrenees!
As well as Sabadell(LELL) there are a couple of other small airfields to the north of Barcelona - Igualada(LEIG) and Manresa(LEMS), I think used mainly for gliding.
If you go as far south as Reus, this will put you close to Port Aventura, a sort of Costa Alton Towers.
<a href="http://www.raintrek.co.uk/pa/" target="_blank">http://www.raintrek.co.uk/pa/</a>
Have fun!
[ 15 February 2002: Message edited by: newswatcher ]</p>
