I have this from a bizjet pilot:
Hi Colm,
thank you for your advices. I have been once at EIWT but did’t know about the bus. Great. As you are based in EIWT we might meet each other when we arrive.
EIIM, Galway and Killarney are sounding good too, as well as the fields recommended in Scottland. On the Isle of Skye have we been once. You are right, absolutly beautiful. I will check your routings now, and then tomorrow we will jump over the channel, and will have a look for our first destination.
CU
Peter
Thanks Peter,
There are much better people here to advise you on UK stops, but one that I quite enjoyed myself is Old Sarum. If you can get a car hire (virtually impossible at the weekend, but should be possible during the week) then it’s easily driveable to Stonehenge, and also close by to, what I thought was much more atmospheric, Avesbury. You’re also close to Salisbury with its famous cathedral with free guided tours.
And the airfield is just next door to the historical monument sharing the same name (Old Sarum).
If you can get your own transport, it’s a great place to visit for a day or two.
Let me know when you’re passing through Weston. If I can get the time off, I’ll stop by.
Colm
Careful with Calais – it has withdrawn customs as a Schengen exit point so you may need to make a quick and easy stop at Le Touquet on your way into the UK to be strictly legal.
If you like islands, the Isle of Wight is picturesque on your way to Cornwall – flying along the coast over Portsmouth (Spinnaker tower and docks) and round the Island over the needles is lovely. You can land for £10/15 at either Sandown (grass with GA cafe) or Bembridge (hard with nice characterful Pub with food called the Propeller Inn). If you stay a night, overlooking the sea at Bembridge there’s a lovely Country House Hotel called Priory Bay.
If you route along the South coast to overfly Brighton that’s picturesque too – you can stop for lunch/fuel at busy GA airport Shoreham for around £25 -great restaurant by the runway.
Also on your way West is the lovely Yeovilton Fleet Air Arm museum (with a Concord you can go into) – weekdays only -it’s Military but you are welcome -you need to call and speak to “Mr B, Civilian Movements” the day before. If you don’t fancy the admin, or want the museum, nearby Compton Abbas is a nice picturesque grass airfield.
Or East from Biggin Hill, Duxford is a great Air Museum and includes admission with your (low) landing fee.
Also, +1 for Old Sarum.
The Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden is lovely too.
Thank you Neal,
customs as a Schengen exit point so you may need to make a quick and easy stop at Le Touquet on your way into
But you can get costums over their website, by fill out a form two hours in advance.
Thank you for your ideas to go to. We will make our decision today for the next stop. Bembridge sounds good. But first have to find a new driver for the tunnel. The last canceld this night. :-(
I will let you and the other guys here let you know about our routing.
Peter
eddsPeter wrote:
But you can get costums over their website, by fill out a form two hours in advance.
It’s not customs you need, it’s immigration.
It should be in the AIP but my “quick reference”, Navbox Pro, has this
24hr PNR for a flight between Calais and the UK.
I wonder when exactly this 24hrs bit came in. Obviously it makes Calais near-useless for UK pilots. I went there for a fly-in late in 2014, but the big clear-out of Customs/Immigration airports which France did (stupidly, IMHO, since their policemen almost never turned up anyway, but some of the 50 airports in question lost a reported 1/3 of their movements immediately) was sometime in early 2012.
Many airports in France, even some “Ryanair-class” ones, are 24hrs PNR for UK pilots. IMHO this is a part of the bigger picture of nobody there giving a damn about wasting money when the government is paying – same with French airports which take a year (literally) to send out the invoice. It means that the airport will be closed the moment somebody who can add-up 2+2 gets into power. We (nearly) got this exact situation at Shoreham where I am based. Decades of blatently wasting public money and then BANG!
Instead of consulting dubious third party information sources, and then go on a rant, why not check the French VFR Atlas
Vols internationaux / International flights: PN 2 HR avant / before ETA par / on:
- Internet : http://aeroport.capcalaisis.fr/en/formulaire-douane
- FAX : 03 21 35 64 77
2h prior notice does sound quite reasonable to me, and look, they even have a fax number!
I don’t know if they do, but if it says “customs” and I need “immigration”, I would want to make very sure!
