Peter wrote:
We had this “ranking score” debate on the EuroGA airports database and decided to not implement it, because it would be of minimal value, due to a high % of low value data.
The this one is even worse. It just ranks airports based on their unique number of visitors.
On that basis Atlanta USA is the worlds best place to visit! It has the most number of unique landings there.
The no1 in Ibra’s screenshot isn’t even the airport with the highest rating in the screenshot!
I believe that the SkyDemon ranking is no more, no less what it says: “country ranking of unique visitors”. Yes, there is a bias of # of UK users, but SD is getting very popular in Belgium, Germany and even France too so that bias might mitigate over time.
I like that ranking to see what other GA airfields I am missing out for a visit in a country that I don’t know that well: Colmar is a good example for France, Midden-Zeeland in Holland is good, Spa in Belgium, …
Abbeville, Calais, Deauville probably “suffer” from the UK bias.
Ibra wrote:
I have been to all of them except Colmar…
The airport is nice (and has RNP approaches). The town is very well worth a visit.
And the adjacent Ribeauville and Riquewihr are also worth visiting with both having some excellent restaurants – La Table du Gourmet and then there is also l’auberge de l’ill
Several months ago, Skydemon introduced a ranking system for airports with the most unique visitors. According to SD, their ranking score is based on the following principle:
“Anybody who has taken off or landed at the airfield counts for one point, whether they’ve used it 100 times or just once. (…) Therefore this isn’t an indication of the amount of traffic at the airfield, just how many unique visitors they’ve had which we think is synonymous with popularity and the amount of things to see/do there.”
Now the big question: How does the situation looks like in your country? Which are the most popular airfields? As SD can’t display an overall list, I searched it up for you guys and girls, and created an top-list for both Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Stand Feb 2022):
Germany:
1. Koblenz-Winningen (EDRK)
2. Speyer (EDRY)
3. Leer-Papenburg (EDWF)
4. Leutkirch-Unterzeil (EDNL)
5. Vilshofen (EDMV)
6. Straubing (EDMS)
7. Stadtlohn-Vreden (EDLS)
8. Bonn-Hangelar (EDKB)
9. Mannheim (EDFM)
10. Worms (EDFV)
11. Augsburg (EDMA)
12. Mainz-Finthen (EDFZ)
13. Freiburg im Breisgau (EDTF)
14. Schönhagen (EDAZ)
15. Juist (EDWJ)
16. Egelsbach (EDFE)
17. Aalen (EDPA)
18. Kempten (EDMK)
19. Friederichshafen (EDNY)
20. Trier (EDRT)
more entries available in SD
Austria:
1. Zell am See (LOWZ)
2. Salzburg (LOWS)
3. St. Johann in Tirol (LOIJ)
4. Innsbruck (LOWI)
5. Krems-Langenlois (LOAG)
6. Hohenems (LOIH)
7. Graz (LOWG)
8. Wels (LOLW)
9. Scharding-Suben (LOLS)
10. Voslau (LOAV)
no more entries
Switzerland:
1. Locarno (LSZL)
2. Sion (LSGS)
3. St. Gallen – Altenrhein (LSZR)
4. Lausanne (LSGL)
5. Birrfeld (LSZF)
6. Grenchen (LSZG)
7. Wangen-Lachen (LSPV)
8. Samedan (LSZS)
9. Bern-Belp (LSZB)
10. Zürich (LSZH)
no more entries
Some ranking results are bit of unexpected. Never thought that Stadtlohn or Worms are so attractive to visit in Germany. Sure, Stadtlohn is extremely close to the Netherlands and Worms is located in the Rhine-Main-Area, but still… there are both nothing special. Also never thought that Sion and Zurich are actually so popular in Switzerland. And Samedan taking rank 7 for unique visitors is quite remarkable, due the fact that it requires an online test and familiarization flight.
SD traffic in CH is mainly Dan – do you agree? 
eurogaguest1980 wrote:
SD traffic in CH is mainly Dan
Can’t be @eurogaguest1980… I don’t do #3 (expensive + ridiculous opening times), not #9 (done my share of security check prior to boarding…), nor #10 (no need for more, no handling for me, thanks). Gotta be others flying around here 
Leer has the advantage of being 5 minutes from the Dutch border and has very attractive fuel prices – we cloggies love a bargain.
Anybody who has taken off or landed at the airfield counts for one point, whether they’ve used it 100 times or just once. (…) Therefore this isn’t an indication of the amount of traffic at the airfield, just how many unique visitors they’ve had which we think is synonymous with popularity and the amount of things to see/do there.”
Or an indication of “that was once, but never again”
Yes exactly.
I think this list is of limited value except for starting a debate It probably tells us that most people who fly are not active on social media – because some of them are “big” airports which most “social media pilots” studiously avoid (e.g. the UK has a sizeable brigade which boycotts everything over £10). It also shows that SD has only a very limited penetration in Europe outside the UK; there are way more than 20 GA-popular airports in Germany, for example.
Does every flight you plan with SD get uploaded to SD’s server? They will have a copy of all flight plans, of course.
Is there a list for France, Spain and Italy? It would be most interesting because we more or less know where the GA in those countries mostly goes, and doesn’t go.
Interestingly I’ve been to 8 of the 10 Swiss ones.
