Hi Antonio, I will answer to the best of my knowledge.
LFRC : yes the restaurant will still be open. AFIS, self serve pumps and PNR customs. A simple and cheap field that requires a little bit of preparation for the customs.
LFAC : very similar to LFRC
LFRG : ATC, IFR field with customs on site from approx 9 am to 6 pm (depending on the traffic). Hard parking is limited, so better send and email with your reg and times of arrival/departure. Quite busy on weekends. A basic restaurant is in the terminal, usually open in summer but it depends on the CAT flights.
LFAT : ATC and customs on site (the termnal closes at 7pm, and customs leave at that time, but you can leave through a gate), and a much larger apron. Basically a no brainer. Because of that, it is one of the busiest GA airports in France. Excellent restaurant on site too, or you can rent bikes to visit the town (chic French sea resort). The fees are slightly higher (excpect 30 € for landing a big SEP), but it is a good cause, the field is completely self-funded 
Happy flights and holidays in Scotland ! Your holiday plans seem very nice
Thx for the advice and…
Jujupilote wrote:
the field is completely self-funded
this in itself (quite a feat!) makes it worth a visit if we end up flying outside the weekend…merci
Jujupilote wrote:
Your holiday plans seem very nice
It sure does! First time in a decade we “run away” for a week “without” the kids…as my wife sais, we either re-discover the fun of one another or we get divorced…hopefully the former!
I stopped twice in LFAT this weekend and I am a fan since. It is a GA hotspot for a reason. Regular traffic all day everyday, everything should be smooth on a weekday.
Very efficient and polite ATC. Fun fact : I even heard LFAT TWR saying to a UK pilot “Free call Lille Information ….”
As Bosco said, fuel is much cheaper at the TOTAL pump than at the truck, also because the airport owns the truck and it is one of their incomes…
About your holidays : I was impressed about finding both a summer camp for the kids and a lover’s nest so far from home, arranging all this via GA
I will pray for you and your wife, my brother.
Merci!
LFAC is a dump.
LFAC has a decent bar/restaurant, clean WCs, helpful staff and friendly police/customs (when they’re there). True, it’s not usually heaving with other GA, which means that on a typical trip from Scotland to Haute Savoie I can land there and depart within 15 minutes, duly Schengenised.
The runway is endless, so you can land at and take off from middle holding point Bravo, right by the apron, with practically no taxiing required.
As a pit stop, I really like it.
The same impression for LFAC, when I just want a “stop airport” with lovely airport staff, friendly custom guys, nice food and convenient hours
You just turn up on a short PNR notice, call everybody by their names, have quick lunch and off you go for your next destination (unless you want to do char a voile surfing classes or charity work in Calais) and while you are stuck at it have some free circuit/instrument practice…
Also, it is my default option when water is too cold for a swim than Deauville when L2K is busy
So if I read you fine:
Pick west (LFRG, LFRC…) for a potentially shorter but usually longer and trickier routing
Pict East (LFAT, LFAC) for a more straightforward routing but then expect to climb before LTMA or else reroutings and stop-climbs.
LFAT for one of the best (if potentially very busy, more so at weekend afternoons) GA airfields around, perhaps worth a visit for the sake of it.
LFAC for a quick stop, but pre-confirming restaurant is open.
Thx!
Looks interesting…we’ll research EBOS too, thx!
