Some airports nowadays have courtesy cars or rentals right at the airfield. At Toussus-le-Noble, you can rent a car and pick up the key and car at the pilotshop. At Midden Zeeland (EHMZ) there is a car at the airfield you can take for 35 euro. The keys are in the tower. At Aeroe you can take along an old VW beetle. Then there are lots of rental companies on the larger airfields and taxis are very convinient as well. I would not go for another car somewhere else.
I have thought about this too. A car seems to much hassle indeed, but motorcycle or moped could be an alternative. You'd have to travel light tho...
I have a motorcycle parked far from home, on a different continent. It stays with a guy who has worked on the same model professionally for 30 years. Storing and maintaining foreigner's motorcycles is part of his side business and he is very fair to me, so much so that I invited him to my wedding party and he came. The model was selected on the basis that it can be kept running easily and indefinitely. I work various angles to ensure that no periodic government inspection is legally required, and buy insurance on a per trip basis (by email).
You need to have somebody looking after thing so you can be sure its ready for use when you arrive. That is the biggest issue with an 'airport car' or 'airport motorcycle' but it is not insurmountable if you find the right guy to help, and pay him for his help. Email has transformed the ease of doing this, assuming the guy is trustworthy.
I also have a car stored at my own hangar and it takes a conscious effort to ensure it is maintained, even though I see it all the time. It would not be practical for me to do it myself at a remote location.
I have a motorcycle parked far from home, on a different continent.
Be aware that one of the political parties in Germany (CSU) are currently running a campaign to introduce an Autobahn toll for foreigners only! The fact that this would be impossible due to EU law is not relevant in times of election.
The Austrian model :-) It seems to me the Austrian Government survives mostly on the German commute to the Gardasee :-))))
I buy a Swiss annual sticker (40 CHF or something for about 300 km/year on Swiss Autobahnen), plus weekly Austrian stickers plus Austrian pass tolls, Italian Autostrada tolls, and French Autoroute tolls :-) On Italian Autostrade, 90% of the direct cost of riding a motorcycle from Rome to the Dolomites is tax. I actually do as little distance on motorways as is practical because its more fun on small roads.
Be aware that one of the political parties in Germany (CSU) are currently running a campaign to introduce an Autobahn toll for foreigners only!
They always try funny things, but haven't succeeded with most of them since Franz Josef Strauss' times. Anyway, driving a motorcycle on a (German) motorway is no fun at all. I have done around 120.000km on my motorbike in the 18 years that I have it, and maybe 100 of them on a motorway. Horrible. And I don't think a motorcycle is really practical in connection with flying. Sometimes I use it to drive to the airport when I fly with students, but that means putting on and off your protective gear two times, have to carry all that stuff through security (they always make fun of my helmet: "Are your little aeroplanes really so dangerous?") and so on. And when it rains, the last remaining bit of fun vanishes quickly.
Wouldn't a moped or motor bike get nicked if it was left for weeks on end in an overgrown corner of an airport car park?
It seems to me the Austrian Government survives mostly on the German commute to the Gardasee :-))))
Hey, if you look at the economic data we do quite well by it.
But rest assured that the Slovenes are even worse in this context :-) ...
Motorcycles, mopeds, cars: they all can be stolen. You can always call a cab. The thought of landing on a Greek island somewhere, swinging your significant other - or backpack - on the back of your motorcycle and drive off is a nice one.
Thought of tucking a BMW K75 motorcycle away somewhere at my favourite destination, their cheap as chips and they start first time.
Thought of tucking a BMW K75 motorcycle away somewhere at my favourite destination, their cheap as chips and they start first time.
Good choice - probably the most ignorable (is that a word?) large motorcycle ever built.
