I have not posted before as I have only recently joined but having organised fly-ins for the EU branch of the Cessna Cardinal Club you are never going to please everyone. What I have established is that the most attendees always seem to come from the furthest distances, so I am not going to go to Shoreham because it offers no challenges and no real point, but the guy from Mallorca will find it a blast
Central Europe with a theme and a good restaurant and drinking venue always seems to work but it needs an IAP and them people will go because ultimately the weather will prevent the low time pilot going anyway
So what about Paris, not too far and complicated airspace to make it interesting
David
That sounds good to me.
Yeah, we (the generic we, as in we the people of Earth) already had a sample of things going downhill, and that’s why every person growing up should visit Auschwitz (or a similar place, of which I’m afraid there are too many). Not good for a fly-in though.
I went to EPKK (EPKP was flooded) with a C172 as part of a group and we drove to Auschwitz by bus. Very much worth a visit. Poland is great for aviation, for a fly-in I would suggest Gdansk EPGD. Warsaw is also great.
I always wanted to fly to Poznaz (Posen). I heard it’s a great airport. And the City must be very nice too.
@N8225Y David: welcome to this forum! You make a strong entry by reminding us of the obvious truth < “you are never going to please everyone” > . That is why we are now considering several meetups every year, and myself think they might each have their own primary audience.
As for “the guy from Mallorca”: AFAIK there is one participant here from that place, would you be referring to him? Only knowing him from his postings, I rather doubt he’ll find a flight to Shoreham a blast! Or was “Mallorca” just a generic remote place, to you?
And < > it needs an IAP and them people will go because ultimately the weather will prevent the low time pilot going anyway < / > raises several question marks over here:
-) what do you mean by IAP? I reckon it was not the IAP but perhaps you meant an “Intermediate Approach Point”?
-) the rest of the phrase is a bit confusing, too, I’m afraid; I can only say poor weather will be more daunting to pilots with limited qualifications and/or minimally equipped planes. For one example, approaching an ILS equipped airfield in IMC comfortably above minima will be quite feasible for a low hours IFR-rated pilot in a suitably equipped plane, but legally (and otherwise) excluded for VFR-only rated PPL’er, or a pilot of glider/microlight/… however much more experienced. So what exactly did you mean to state?
-) who are the them_people you are referring to?
Poznań (Posen) is indeed a nice city, I lived there for a few months, but I like Wrocław (Breslau), which I only visited, better. From what I hear, both have decent airports, both full blown commercial with all the goodies (EPWR, EPPO) and aeroclub ones (EPWS, EPPK), but I have never flown to any of them (well, I did EPPO but as a airline passenger, years ago, doesn’t count). Till 1945 they were essentially German cities and it shows (I mean it as a good thing!).
Of course I like EPKK/EPKP better (local partiotism and all) and the carbon footprint for flights from ED, LK, LS, LH and the like should be manageable ;) For aviation buffs there is a nice aviation museum which organizes an annual fly-in/airshow (I have no idea why they don’t have an English version of at least the “for pilots” page, will try to find out) and there are loads of things to do “on the town” (which once was the capital of Poland) – if I was to recommend one thing it would probably be the Wieliczka Salt Mine
Gdańsk also has the main CAT airport, EPGD and an aeroclub one, EP. Never landed at either. The town is great, although I have only taken day trips passing through. Also heavily influenced by our western neighbors. While at Gdańsk a trip to Kołobrzeg (EPKG) might be worth considering, while it still exists – the airport is right on the beach and, of course, hotels make more money than a GA field.
All that said, if anyone is considering any Polish destination, let me know. If it is Kraków, I’ll be happy to meet up and / or help getting things organized. For other places, I’ll see about flying over.
OK, I’ll stop with the off topic.
Not really as a proposal, more as a general comment, since EPKP is not an instrument airport, just a grass strip, and EPKK is not likely to let people park more than 4h (major construction, plus they have a non-GA-friendly reputation anyway).
Perhaps the fly-in at the museum would work, but that is VFR only and the runway surface might remember 1912, when EPKC was established.
If you’re considering Poland, I would suggest EPZP, Zielona Gora Przylep, 1100m grass.
It’s in the west of Poland, so closer for most.
It has a restaurant and hotel (very basic, but acceptable) right at the airfield.
It’s an active airport with lots of gliding and aerobatics.
It’s not far from town, which itself is also nice.
I wouldn’t expect fees. At least I never paid :)
website www.azl.pl
Gdansk is also considered GA friendly, but it’s a bigger airport. There’s a few hundred meters to walk from GA parking to terminal. Handling is not mandatory. Bring your jackets or security will be unhappy, but in the end they may give you a lift.
Poznan EPPO/EPPK is my home, so I could help, but I think you’d be happier with EPZP.
@loco : your description of EPZP looks very attractive to me : not overly far away, no nasty mountains in between, and affordable. Unfortunately some round here require 3000m hard runways, with at least an ILS let-down from an adjacent field…
I more and more think we ought to have differentiated meetups, to meet the various interests. Places like you mention might well be attractive for those with little or no family to please, perhaps best in high summer (July-August); while the “high-profile” meetups can be in less reliable (enroute) weather, and farther away for most.
A secondary point would be the availability of MoGas but I feel confident there would always be someone to drive us to the nearest filling station with a couple of jerrycans; or at last need even the Rotaxen can make do with AvGas.
