You can do that if there is
I think there are very few candidate locations in Europe.
Exactly.
I think you mixed with @Gallois. I have a feeling this club is at LFRB Brest.
@Jujupilote wrote:
The third club I belong to is attached to an ATO and the members have 2x da42 5x DA40 a Tecnam, a TBM 700 and more recently a Phenom…
Wow, where is this club located – do they have a webpage?
gallois wrote:
The third club I belong to is attached to an ATO and the members have 2x da42 5x DA40 a Tecnam, a TBM 700 and more recently a Phenom (can’t remember designation its a twin jet).
That’s quite a rental / club fleet ! Pretty amazing flightline.
It depends what other people do now or did in the past with “club aircrafts”? I flew in one aeroclub east Paris where oldies did VFR trips to Norway & Egypt in DR180, I don’t think they had issue with two rookie pilots taking it for few weeks to Netherlands or Morocco, as long as one had money & qualifications, sadly not much money back then nor qualifications neither 
Same thing in my Mooney group, one member flew it to Oshkosh and other member twice to South-Africa, so I did not have to debate how many angels can dance on the head of a pin (or “sex des anges”) when taking it to Barra Beach, different experience to renting from hour building schools
I flew in one club where policy was not to take vintage aircrafts outside UK, turns out none of the oldies (the kind who walk in jet fighters suits flying wood & fabric) had never flew past the English channel, same thing flying TMG in gliding club: going over London City airport, +FL120 or down to Pyrenees did not look healtly to powerful but non-experienced members…
You will find it’s about other people past experiences, flying profile & budget than aircraft capabilities or club rules, in my grass strip, the microlight/ULM guys fly all over Europe every summer, last year it was Norway
@Jujupilote I agree with you as to what an aeroclub in France is about. But as for touring in club aircraft for longer obviously that depends on the club. I am a member of 3 clubs. One is an owners club, mostly ULMs, but there’s also a Jodel which the owners are quite happy to let me borrow for a week away if I want and a Mooney M20K which the owner is also happy if I wanted to rent it.
The 2nd club only has one aircraft but with a bit of forward planning members often take it axay on longer trips to places like Senegal, Spain, Berlin, UK just to mention a few pre covid trips
This club also has good relations with several other clubs in the region and when extra aircraft are needed its not really a problem to get a DR400/180 or a DA40.
The third club I belong to is attached to an ATO and the members have 2x da42 5x DA40 a Tecnam, a TBM 700 and more recently a Phenom (can’t remember designation its a twin jet). As long as you have the qualifications, you book the plane and go. The only major criteria is if you take the plane away they would expect a certain number of hours per day (I think its 2).
But the directors of the ATO are very flexible and often waive this requirement, as long as people don’t take the p1ss.
Ahh please don’t get France confused with the UK. Flying, sailing, golf and tennis are not “rich man’s” sports here. They are open to everyone and people without much money can usually find a way to take part.They are often supported by the local community and in return support the local community where possible. The BIA is one prime example.
Actually this Poitiers mayor debate made me understand one thing.
For years, I thought french aeroclubs made purposely hard for pilots to travel etc (the discussion we had a zillion times here).
Now I think they just do what they are intended to do ! I mean no more, no less.
This story opened my eyes to what aeroclubs were made for : allowing people, especially the youth, to learn how to fly and then fly a little, for the less money possible. That’s what they are designed for, that’s what they do. They are not a renting company. If you want to expand your wings, you must look elsewhere.
The next problem is, elsewhere is scarce, and it costs $$$ more than club flying. Syndicates are rare here, owners don’t seem to fly a lot, maybe it is related to the income spread curve, I don’t know.
The only affordable (I mean not-so-different-than-a-car) plane here seem the amateur-built jodels, and I am about 10cm too tall to own one.
Discussion of GA being “commercial” or “recreational” has been moved to the usual place
As a matter of fact I sold my Mooney. I was afraid that trying to use it for what it was designed for i.e from point A to point B would be considered as “silver-plated entitlement”.
Could you elaborate (in a new thread) what the various problems were?
