gallois wrote:
Due to noise restrictions most of their circuit training is done elsewhere.So it wasn’t the DGAC but the neighbours who curtailed the circuits
This sentence is pretty clear why you can’t train PPL in SEP? it can’t get more crystal clear than this 
Nothing to do with neighbors, even in the middle of nowhere it’s not allowed…
training flights not permitted (due to private airfield status)
I know someone who got in trouble for DTO FCL training using SEP on private aerodrome without AIP/VAC entry (DGAC did peel his skin and did pull his bones for that). They don’t train PPL in DA40 at the AirPark, they have to go elsewhere 
Or maybe they have some unpublished license to do training?
The Airpark and the club are separate but the runway is the same. The club was there long before the Airpark.
I won’t go into more debate on this as I wouldn’t like to draw attention of the DGAC to something which they might feel they have to do something about.
The habit in France is to find a work around if something curtails what you are trying to do or are doing so that everyone comes out with a smile.🙂
maxbc wrote:
As for hydroplanes, apparently it’s nothing new but subject to many constraintsIt’s a whole bunch of notifications to the administration, and more importantly subject to authorization from the Préfet if the water body is in the public domain (it’s simpler for private bodies of water).
Thanks for the link to this! Not much change in the end.
Compared to Norway, two major differences:
1 – in Norway you do what ever you want in salted water (as long as it’s safe and reasonable…), while in France this require authorization from the préfet maritime who consult with some expert on top of what’s needed for fresh water… so even worse than fresh water!
2 – in Norway you don’t need a specific authorization for the pilot. For fresh water, you need to figure whom to contact (mostly it’s going to be the commune where the body of water is located) to get an authorization. In France you need the ‘autorisation permanente d’utiliser les hydrosurfaces’ (weirdly enough mine was valid on one year, so not exactly ‘permanente’) and send a bunch of document in 4 copies to different authorities… The simplest is for body of water privately owned, then you only need the authorization of the owner.
Going back to the original title of the thread, if you own a lake then you can use it for your seaplane!
weirdly enough mine was valid on one year, so not exactly ‘permanente’
That’s a very nuanced word in French. “Permanence” means anything BUT permanent. For example a government office might annonce “permanence les jeudis entre 0930 et 1100”, meaning “open on thursdays between 0930 and 1100”.
johnh wrote:
That’s a very nuanced word in French. “Permanence” means anything BUT permanent. For example a government office might annonce “permanence les jeudis entre 0930 et 1100”, meaning “open on thursdays between 0930 and 1100”.
I know (French is my mother tongue) but the way it’s used in the ‘Arrêté du 13 mars 1986’ one would expect ‘permanente’ to mean that it’s without end date. Thus on the actual document I had gotten, the word ‘permanente’ is not used anywhere.
WingsWaterAndWheels wrote:
while in France this require authorization from the préfet maritime who consult with some expert on top of what’s needed for fresh water… so even worse than fresh water!
12nm in slated water you are good to go? you need flight plan with ZZZZ though
Landing on private space with owner permission is always possible, just matter of gathering the right paperwork?
Landing on public space is impressible for all practical purposes (*), it’s not worth discussing this in France, even in Paramotor !
(*)You can with lot of will, as you see in the picture you need to arrange for one gendarme at every 200m
Ibra wrote:
I mean licensed runways with AD entry in AIP/VAC (certified surface and distance by DGAC)
This is the opposite of “private use airfield” as defined in the law. There are only 3 types of airfields (for SEPs):
Not counting military-only airfields. So a “private [use] airfield” is definitely not open to public transit. If it’s open to public transit, it’s a CAP aerodrome, even if it’s owned privately (which most airports / fields are anyway).
[EDIT: replaced “private airfield” by “private use airfield” to clarify]
Ibra wrote:
12nm in slated water you are good to go? you need flight plan with ZZZZ though
Yeah, and lots of luck for the sea to be calm enough, at least at my skills level :-) (I hear some flying boats handle rough water better than a C185 on floats, so maybe I should find a Catalina or something like that but that would require winning the lottery…)
On public lakes and river, it is possible as far as I understand and a few hydrosurfaces are authorized (if the pilot has the authorization).
WingsWaterAndWheels wrote:
weirdly enough mine was valid on one year, so not exactly ‘permanente’
Yes I agree the wording is weird ^^
But it’s a lasting status as opposed to an authorization to use one particular hydrosurface at a certain date. Weird that I missed this restriction in the various links (hydroplanes are not my specialty). I believe there is the same qualification for helicopters and helisurfaces (although it opens many more simpler “hélisurfaces” and is key to the whole helicopter business).
As for the original question (as a summary) for private airstrip:
maxbc wrote:
So a “private airfield” is definitely not open to public transit. If it’s open to public transit, it’s a CAP aerodrome, even if it’s owned privately (which most airports / fields are anyway).
That does not make sense? “private airfield is definitely not open to public transit” and “open to public, even if it’s privately owned”
There are privately owned airfields that are licensed by DGAC (listed in AIP/VAC) and they are open to public transit (CAP)
I have done my Brevet-de-Base in one
