I also plan to be there and I am quite excited to meet you guys. I hope we would have nice meetup. I will most probably fly with airline.
The departure last year was simply a Desaster!
You had to get in contact with ground to get taxi clearance.
Some tried 45 minutes and longer with a turning prop to get an answer at the frequency and a Clearance.
In 30 years of flying i Never experienced a more
worst handling like last year in Friedrichshafen, it was a Chaos!
I don’t share Peter’s bad experiences. I haven’t had any problems with slots or flight plans (arriving IFR, departing VFR/IFR) and I’ve been going there for 7-8 years. Just be ready to book the slots as soon as booking site opens.
If going from SE England (Rochester/Lydd/Shoreham), is there a reasonable halfway stop with restaurant and customs?
I was suggested CHAMBLEY LFJY.
Has anyone any experience of it?
Many thanks. Peter
A good stop is Colmar but there is only a vending machine there. 24hr PNR for non schengen but much of France is now. Strasbourg?
My point about having to hit the ETA to be within the purchased slot is a fact; certainly was for a number of years. The tower does suspend any that don’t do that. What time you actually arrive, they don’t care 
There is a plus for doing an intra-schengen arrival/departure at EDNY: you can get the but from your plane straight to the show. If you come direct from non schengen then they (as of 2019) make everybody go via the passenger terminal, and from there there is a shuttle bus to the show. Basically they no longer have police at the show entrance. This will apply to Croatia also, and I think to Norway and Switzerland too.
A good stop is Colmar but there is only a vending machine there. 24hr PNR for non schengen but much of France is now. Strasbourg?
Just leave the airfield, turn left and there is a steak restaurant (100 meters, but closes after lunch at 2 pm). Same direction, but only 50 meters is the IBIS hotel with bar, if you prefer to have something to drink only, and a restaurant.
Chambley’s restaurant is said to be good according to reviews, but I have never been there myself. Maybe Lionel did.
The VAC is unclear about customs there. I would ask the airport their procedure for customs asap.
There is a plus for doing an intra-schengen arrival/departure at EDNY: you can get the but from your plane straight to the show. If you come direct from non schengen then they (as of 2019) make everybody go via the passenger terminal, and from there there is a shuttle bus to the show. Basically they no longer have police at the show entrance. This will apply to Croatia also, and I think to Norway and Switzerland too.
Again, it’s only you who experienced this. I’ve been arriving from Croatia (extra-Schengen) for years (and even before Croatia joined EU) and I have never been transferred to the main terminal. It seems that you simply don’t have luck with EDNY
Last year they changed it.
I was there last year and I was shuttled directly to the exhibition entrance.
