@EuroFlyer
It is the beauty of GA that when one wants to go kiting, just open Windy and look for most favorable conditions within plane’s range. This time Wooge was best with tropical air mass and steady eastern wind. Maybe be St. Peter Ording next time.
@ch.ess
Yes, thats it. We were at fault. Probably busted a swimmer zone. Not intentionally though and not getting close to any people. However, the way we were handled was not exactly friendly and thats why I warn about it. In other places, for example Bornholm, no one really cares about zones.
Reason for the kite school owner chasing you is quite possibly his fear against more restrictions
https://www.windsurfing-wangerooge.de/kitezone/
It is a Nature Reserve there with a defined zone for kite surfing. If many surfers go elsewhere, then he might face additional restrictions…
if you want ti do kiting, you might also have a look at St. Peter Ording ;)
I visited Wangerooge in summer 2017 with non existent German RT skills. I called ahead and was told it was no problem. In fact every time I speak english on the RT and then visit the tower to pay the fee in Germany, I apologise (in German) that I didn’t speak German on the radio. Every FISO in Germany that I’ve spoken to has said that they would rather I speak english on the radio than German if I have no German language proficiency on my licence. Although I can now speak German (without the endorsement on my licence), I am very reluctant to try on the radio because I find they either reply in casual borderline slang or it’s difficult to understand anyway.
Only once have I made an initial call to an airfield and had a reply of “sprechen Sie Deutsch?”, but it was unplanned and I was only flying near their “zone”, not landing.
Anyway, in my experience, calling ahead and asking if english is okay is almost never a problem in Germany. Everywhere I’ve been seems to be very relaxed about it. Like the others, I can recommend the Frisian islands!
Last month I went to Wangerooge too. This was not really a flying focused trip, but rather flying was the means to do some kiteboarding. Had to take out two rear seats to fit 3 persons with luggage plus two kite quivers. Flights were uneventful due to high pressure weather and took about 1h20m from EPPO. AFIS spoke English.
If you go kiting, visit the kite school first. Owner doesn’t like people kiting without asking him what/where. We only asked the lifeguards and then were chased by surf school owner.
There’s a free running dog beach. Nice for pet owners. There are no cars on the island, which is fantastic.
Overall a nice mission for a SET. Lots of baggage, short runway, trip distance short enough to go both ways without fueling.
Some pictures…
Actually, I am having some doubts now… possibly Norderney, Wangerooge and Borkum MIGHT BE border crossing points. At least, that’s what’s written in an old (2014) list I have from the Bundespolizei (which they don’t publish any longer, unfortunately).
If that were the case, especially Borkum might be a candidate.
Whilst I am not very fond of Borkum as an island, they do have
-Avgas, Jet
-good opening times
-long asphalt plus a crosswind runway
-radio in English (officially)
-comparatively good quantities of accomodation
Maybe Peter would like to enquire about the Schengen entry and give it a try on Friday? 
Nice report and reminds me I should do more reports for those short, local trips. Indeed, for many pilots in my extended home area, these islands are the de facto standard day trip destination and the airfields get quite busy on sunny weekend days.
Do visit Norderney one day – it is my GF’s favorite, for its nice vibe and lively atmosphere. If I’m alone, my favorite is the smallest of those islands, Baltrum.
Has there been a Euroga fly out to Germany in the last few years?
This one has come up before a few times. We normally have a big meet-up at Aero Friefrichshafen EDNY in April, which is in Germany. If someone wants to suggest a place (which meets the usual fly-in criteria) we can see if it “flies”
Nice report. It reminds me I wanted to go island-hopping some day. I should plan it.
I managed to land at Bremerhaven EDWB on my first group flight one month after getting my license (and roughly 5 months before it closed), it really is a pity because it was very well located near the town. We stayed at the big sail-shaped hotel. The lock system to keep water in the inner harbor was interesting. Half the group went to the zoo, the other to the u-boat. The departure to the north along the town and commercial harbor was gorgeous. It’s good you mention the ferry to cross the river from Blexen into town, we discussed about returning but had not noticed it.
The year after we flew from Leer to Borkum. Landing and evening were very nice, but the departure was in very marginal weather. At destination in Sylt it was again super sunny and hot.
RobertL18C wrote:
Has there been a Euroga fly out to Germany in the last few yearsDresden 2 years ago.
Bosco great advertising for GA in Germany – I regret I only have EDDF EDDM and EDMA in the logbook.
Has there been a Euroga fly out to Germany in the last few years?
