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A student pilot says "Hello EuroGA"

224 Posts

01-Jul-17 08:06

Thanks for your input, Jason. I fully agree but I also heard opinions to the contrary on here.

Another question that will soon come up for me is this: I will be moving to Hannover in August. Where to put up my new base?
The two major options are

Hannover-Langenhagen Airport EDDV: Three hard runways of 3200, 2340 and 550m, international airport with lots of traffic (though nowhere near capacity), known as very GA-friendly throughout Germany, landing fees very reasonable
There are a couple of schools and clubs based there, most interestingly the Aviators Club Hannover which seems to consist of lots of owners who rent their aircraft to fellow club members (see “Flugzeuge” for their fleet, which is impressive!) But also the commercial “Flight Center Hannover” which has the advantage of having the type I learned on (Aquila A210/211) for even cheaper fees than my current club but without the hassles of club membership, one of them even with glass cockpit. They also have IFR-equipped C172 and SR20.
Opening times of the airport are not limited for light GA as far as I understood.
Flugplatz Hildesheim EDVM: One hard runway of 1220m, one grass runway of the same length, home to one of Germany’s largest aero clubs, generally lots of GA traffic including ultralights, effective landing fees easily one third of those in Hannover (7€ for a/c below 1000kg with average noise certificate). As a smaller, GA only field it might have the advantage of saving you time with security, taxiing etc. compared to Hannover. Opening times are 9am to 8pm in the summer and 10am to SS in the winter, which might be a disadvantage if one planes to go on a trip early in the morning.
The Aero Club has lots of suitable aircraft such as DA20, PA28, SR20 or C152 and C172 at comparably low prices for members but costs 480€/year in membership fees and an additional 550€ for the first year.

Of course since I don’t have an aircraft of my own, I am in principle free to rent aircraft at either airport. For renters I think the professionals at EDDV are more attractive, while in Hildesheim I have a better chance of learning more from the older pilots in the club. I’m also fascinated by the guys at the Aviators Club but they seem to be all very experienced, some of them having done trips to South America or even around the world in their own a/c already, and I think I would probably not fit in there very well as a novice pilot to whom 200 nm already seems reasonably far away.

Low-hours pilot

EDVM Hildesheim, Germany

01-Jul-17 08:16

MedEwok wrote:

ffective landing fees easily one third of those in Hannover (7€ for a/c below 1000kg with average noise certificate).

Just out of curiosity. Can’t based aircraft pay a yearly flat rate for landings making this issue moot? For club and flight school aircraft that would be certain to pay off.

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

01-Jul-17 08:43

I am based at an international airport and can only recommend it. You get a lot of routine in RT coms and also the scare of big airports go away in a hurry when you are based on one. Also one day once you want to have your own and base it, you are much better off at an airport like Hannover, which is open much longer, has customs e.t.c. and night flight without planning 2 weeks ahead.

Also the fleet of Flight Center Hannover looks good for you at this stage. You can continue flying the Aquila and eventually move on to larger planes, even the SR20. The Aviators Club has some interesting planes too, so you can maybe get in touch with some members there and test fly some of them. That Mooney 231 is interesting for starters.

Seeing all this and the fees in Hildesheim, I’d go to Hannover hands down. That is also one reason I never had an issue with the higher landing fees at ZRH when all airfields around have club fees which already finance most of the expensive landings at ZRH…

Last Edited by Mooney_Driver at 01 Jul 08:47

LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland

02-Jul-17 06:28

I can confirm, what M_D wrote. I started flying Motorgliders at a glider airfield but became really confident in RT and going places when I became a member of a club which was based at EDDL Düsseldorf. It was then, when I was no longer afraid of pushing the radio button, because I simply had to, even to start up the engine. Apart of that I always liked the flair at an international airport and to play with the “big boys” Although I’m based at a smaller airfield now, I still enjoy regular low approaches at EDDL just for the sake of the “good old times feeling”.

EDLE

02-Jul-17 06:45

Learning to fly at EHAM Schiphol meant I was never worried about flying to bigger airfields. 24 hour access was worth the (then) slightly higher landing fees.

EHLE / Lelystad, Netherlands, Netherlands

03-Jul-17 10:10

All things considered I also prefer EDDV as base. I can also train for an IR there, which would be great to make use of the airport’s H24 opening hours – fairly rare in Germany!