Flight To Cherbourg
 

Hey Guys and Gals,

I'm planning a trip to Cherbourg on a Sunday and was just wondering if ATC pop to lunch and leave the tower unmanned like some places in France........ 'Me french aint all that good' Any info would be great!!

Cheers in advance,
L
:cool:

Funny place Cherbourge, Perhaps France is in general.

It's been a while since I was last there and I always get it confused with LaRochelle. But I always found on Sunday afternoons and after hours, they spoke French on the radio.
I recall paying the landing fee to the guy behind the bar ?
Filing flight plans is a self service affair with that blasted minitel at the base of the control tower.

Other than that, nice long runway and a friendly club to the East of the control tower, with someone always wanting to go and show you the Jodel they are rebuilding !

Just check the danger arears and don't overlfly the port, like a good boy.

VFR Approach Plate
 

According to the VAC, Here Cherbourg ATC is open only Mon-Sat, and otherwise it is unicom style in French, so Im affraid you appear to be out of luck....Same with Fuel/Customs. However it does say all three are available On Request PPR the day before....However I have never attempted OR - good luck!!

Regards, SD..

Cherbourg
 

Cherbourg on a Sunday is no problem.

You may have difficulty purchasing fuel but the aeroclub are usually open and will dispense fuel for you. Just make sure you have sufficient euros to pay them in cash.

To save yourself any embarrassment ensure that you inform French customs of your intended arrival. That will almost certainly mean that nobody will be there to greet you but that's 'pas de probleme' as the French would say!

ATC may well be operating for the local aeroclub on a Sunday and at Cherbourg almost always speak impeccable English.

The French circuit calls are no more difficult to learn than English ones and follow exactly the same pattern ie. who you are, where you are & what you want.

I have a handy print-out of the french phrases on my knee board around a drawn circuit and that serves just fine. Usually, after the first call in my version of French ATC reply in English.

Flying really is a lot more relaxed in France you know.

I called there one Sunday afternoon last Summer. ATC were operational and spoke English. A fireman came out to us to collect the landing fee. The terminal was closed and deserted. Luckily we found the aeroclub, where they sold us some cans of pop (we were parched). The guys at the club were very friendly, but no-one there spoke English.

The 'guy behind the bar' is Luc and his wife Edith - they are possibly the UK pilots' best friends in France - the amount of help they give UK and ChIs pilots is amazing - extremely good English from both of them too. I diverted in one French bank holiday - all closed up except for Luc, and he told me to order lunch and despite the holiday weekend he'd have the hire car place 'opened up' before dessert! Sure enough, Ms Avis rolled up from home just in time to drive us into town, open the Avis office and issue a car for the weekend!
Luc and Edith do excellent 'fly-in BBQs' in summer and curries in winter - well worth supporting. I'm about to ask for their next few dates.

Irv - when you get the details please post them here so we can all take advantage. Thanks in advance
WH

The Grumpy's www.users.telenet.be/grumpygang/ from EGHH go over nearly every other weekend. I have sent a message to one regular asking when Luc'c next dine in is likely to be. They are usually on Sat's.

Sorry guys knock off the www from that last post.

Luc is considering Sat. April 30th for his first BBQ of the Spring - they really are very good and he's worth supporting. As usual though it's provisional and the final decision will be in the week leading up to it

Thanks everyone for the info.! Irv do they have ATC all day on sat, if luc does a bbq may well fly in!

L
:cool:

ATC: yes - expect to speak to Deauville West on the way in, until you start your descent, and then be ready with Cherbourg tower.

They've confirmed it now for Sat April 30th and even sent a PDF Poster

Sounds great! We are flying to Guernsey via Alderney that day... we had planned to fly via "East of ORTAC", but we might instead head along via the BBQ!

Who else is going, Irv?

Andy :ok:

Contrary to my first post above and in line with what Lomcovaks said, Cherbourg now has a Notam to the effect that ATC is active 7 days a week daylight hours - Therefore English no problem.

For Andy,

For your trip to the Channel Islands, be aware that Granville is now restricted access, to based aircraft only, it was very popular for Channel island visitors to pop over to France. Link to the local aeroclubHERE suggests that all is not well locally there - reading the Forums there suggests an internal aerodrome dispute aswell as DGAC involvement and NIMBYism.... Yes, the NIMBYs have spread here to France now....:* :hmm:

Regards, SD..

Skydriller, thanks for the tip but we'll not have time to get down to Granville. The weekend trip planned was to be Benson - Alderney - Guernsey (night stop); Guernsey - Jersey - Cherbourg - Benson.

Howver, as there is a BBQ at Cherbourg, we might now stop there on the way over on the Saturday instead. We want to be back in Blighty on the Monday (but toying with the idea if it is a nice day of returning home the "long way" via, say, Deauville - Abbeville - LYD on Sunday evening).

Andy

CONFIRMED!!! we will be there in G-BEFA, arriving around 12:30 local time... hope he caters for vegetarians? (I know it's doubtful in France :rolleyes:!)

:ok:

Well it's coming up this weekend, all are welcome as far as I here.
Looks like a good turn out from Bournemouth with 5 aircarft due to go.
See you there.

See you there - Adrian and myself (Andy) will be coming in G-BEFA (Warrior) from RAF Benson. Weather looks promising (there, I've gone and put the clappers on it..!)

Andy :ok:

:( Well, it was low ceiling and poor vis at Benson until about 1PM. We called Bembridge and they were still reporting only a few hundred feet ceiling. Had reprots of patchy fog in the Channel.

Called met in Jersey (as we were trying to get to Guernsey after Cherbourg) to see what it would be like if we waited and arrived later than planned, but he indicated that we could likely encounter sea fog / mist from 1500Z there.

So we decided to cancel the hotel, and have another go tomorrow (we flew up to Cranfield and back instead... I practicved climbing through and descending back down through the layer, for something to do!).

Did anyone else make it?

Andy :ok:

Cherbourg BBQ - Scrumptious
 

Cherbourg was lovely, once the fog had cleared at Bournemouth(well it didn't 'clear' as such it just 'looked' as if we could see the top of the trees!) We finally left at 12:00 (BST) with an IFR clearance and broke through the cloud tops at 1500ft into a beautiful cloudscape. I saw Cherbourg at about 40nm and Jersey at about 60nm (I kid thee not).
The meal laid on by the Mighty Cheffette Edith and her team was wonderful - A great big spread of salads of nearly every description, steak thingies, kebabs, puddings, cheese - You name it, we ate it! Luc (bless his little walrus moustache) reckoned there were about 60 people there. An ideal venue to embarass anyone who had a birthday today (Pilot Paul f Cesspit G-BOIX fame ) with a beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday" by the joint choirs of Cherbourg, Bournemouth, Guernsey and Scunthorpe. It brought tears to the eyes.
The ladies were presented with petit bouquets of Lily of the Valley (there's that Frenchyspeak oozing out yet again!!) at the end of the luncheon.
Who made it?
'G-BFOJ' (avec Moi et Mrs. Dave)
'N31RB' with Pilot Tim & Mr.Gout himself Pilot Paul
'OO-GAZ' with Pilot Andre
'OO-MAR' Mr. Azalia man Pilot Johannes & Pal & his missus
'N1KH" Mr Brussels ATC Pilot Danny + his bro & a friend.
'G-BRHO' with Mr. Boeing himself Pilot Dave & Mrs.Joan.
'G-BBNH' with a plane load of odd looking people beginning with Pilot Tony, Pilot Dave and a bevy of blonde beauties form Bournemouth.
It was a gorgeous day and remained so all the way back across the Channel again (Bournemouth was 20km with scattered at 1500ft - wonderful).
Luc et Edith et Fanny ..... Merci bien. Les cordon bleu cooking was tres, tres magnifique and les chips were supreme (but don't let The Hulk know I had some!) Je suis aplogetique pour not remaining pour les aquawashing dans les sink avec soapsuds le accoutrements de manges - naturellement moi excusemente est mucho importante - Vous espy, mons bladder was bursting et je had to visites les bogs! Moi tres regretez pour going missing!)
:ok:

I had to miss it for family stuff, but it sounds as good as the previous one. There's another BBQ there 2nd weekend in June