powerlord Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Hi chaps. I'm planning on going to south of france for 4-5 weeks in April/May in the motorhome, and was wondering if folk have flown there themselves rather than part of a group? I've flown in france once before at airvault with pascal from paramania but when im down there myself will need to be a bit more self reliant and sure im not doing summit illegal, etc. Any good sources for airmaps, notams, etc. Hell ideally local pilots to point me in the right direction. Nowt booked yet, but looking at montpellier area. Blue skies, Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Jackson Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Hi Stu, I passed that way when I was taking my camper and flying gear to the bottom of Italy and back. I did fly a few areas in France, but also bumped into a bit of resistance down South. Without fail all the pushback I had was from local paramotor clubs, microlight centres and small GA airports. All of my success was with farmers I'd found (in good airspace) where I just politely asked and then went for it. Basically I found that the second any flying club got involved things just got over complicated (jobsworths)! Down south in France I only flew Aix en Provance and the Milau viaduct but I was on a tight timeline and needed to chew up miles. Both absolutely amazing flights. I always used Sky Demon for airspace and NOTAMS (updated on the day of flight). Good weather apps, Sky Demon and common sense are all you need. Local pilots can be a bit guarded especially as you are a flying tourist just passing through. There is no real gain for them, quite the opposite. In France I also flew Limoges, The Somme and then a load of locations along the North Coast. In every case I just used farmers fields, all with permission. I always had a good bash at French when asking and gave a 20+ euro bottle of red when they said yes. I had a 100% success rate (i.e. every farmer I asked said yes). In fact there was one field where I couldn't find the owners but the Gandarme just said to use it anyway!!! You get the idea. Get going... you can't fail to have a great time! Lee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Jackson Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Here's a cheesy video where I was trying to Fly San Tropez but the local flying clubs wanted me to move on (despite everything being legal and having a good farmers field). Out of respect to the flying community, I chose not to fly and I moved on to Aix en Provance anyway. No need to be a dick and to makes waves for others! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e2vdavidb Posted Monday at 09:24 AM Share Posted Monday at 09:24 AM Hi, not quite south but a few years back I had some beautiful flying in Vézelay , could be on the way for you. Generally locals seemed very cool and as said before a social bottle and smile goes a long way. On the 1st visit I was part of a group with Sky School but went back solo as enjoyed it so much. At the risk of another cheesy link some memories here France is much more Paramotor friendly than Germany (home for me) and my usual anual pilgramige is Italy, Fermo at teh Fly Products site. Also very chilled guys and stunning place to fly. Have a good trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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