Schonhagen is great. Yes it is a ways to the city centre, but the airport will book you a taxi which will cost about E50 if I remember correctly. It is an interesting drive in; one is reminded of the degree to which Berlin was surrounded by quiet farmland on three sides. Also, on the approach to Schonhagen one flies over several huge cold war military airports, now crumbling and being overtaken by forest.
Where do all the locals go gliding?
For glider pilots the situation is even worth. Many of them choose Kyritz, Lüsse or Pritzwalk, which is about 100 kilometers to drive.
As bosco already said, Strausberg and Schönhagen are best airfields for a flight to Berlin. From Schönhagen you can also get a short shuttle ride to the next train station which saves you about 30 Euros. The cheapest way is from Strausberg by S-Bahn, the station is 700 meters away. They offer a short shuttle service for free.
highflyer wrote:
The cheapest way is from Strausberg by S-Bahn, the station is 700 meters away. They offer a short shuttle service for free.
That’s what I did and when coming back we just walked from S-Bahn station to the airport.
Well, it happened to Tempelhoff and there is no way back.
We should not let it happen to Tegel. It may well be the viable GA access to Berlin in the future, and if noise is an issue, then traffic can be limited to GA and regionals as Tempelhoff used to be, after all the new BER can and will handle all or most of the commercial traffic.
Closing TXL would be closing GA access to one of Europe’s main cities, with questionable advantage to the locals.
So big question: what can be done to stop TXL from closing? Have we learnt something from Tempelhoff?
Antonio wrote:
Antonio18-May-20 07:0814
Well, it happened to Tempelhoff and there is no way back.
Am I being totally naive, and are more thoughts below just a pipe-dream?
Templehoff was such a lovely, convenient field into the heart of Berlin, right on the U-Bahn, for the benefit of everyone – not just GA – that I literally cried when it closed.
It was a classic example of local politicians proclaiming that they would “save the city money by stopping its subsidy”; only to find that because the wonderful Speer Buildings there gained a ‘preservation listing’, the current subsidy by the city is greater than it was before!
The only salvation that was achieved was that attempts to build on the land have (so far) being foiled and it is currently used as a sports/recreation area.
This means theoretically, if there was a will, there are ways that it could revert to its previous use.
My hope and wish is that with the examples of airports like London City Airport, and the development of new socially amenable STOL aircraft, the time might come when it could be seen that for the benefit of Berliners themselves – and with a changed political climate – it might be possible to restore it to aviation use.
ALL would benefit – not just GA. But am I building castles in the sky?
Peter_G wrote:
ALL would benefit – not just GA. But am I building castles in the sky?
My view is full agreement on both accounts. As to the former, well you’ve explained it nicely.
As to the latter…well i dont know enough about German politics, but knowing the way world politics work nowadays, I would say you are.
Funnily enough I am doing the same thing trying to save GA at local level in whichever way I can. I have joined a group of aviation associations where two weekely aviation seminars are imparted to youngsters. I myself am lecturing? on aerodynamics tomorrow. I wonder why on earth youngsters would want to learn on that but who am I to argue!
I also set up this charity initiative to transport sanitary staff in Spain
All of that in a naive hope that GA awareness in our society would help avoid Tempelhof’s
But all of my stuff is very general and long-term investment…I was thinking something more specific for Tegel/Tempelhof…I just don’t know what
Antonio wrote:
We should not let it happen to Tegel.
What has Tegel to do with GA? Nothing. Ok, nothing is not quite correct. Tegel consumes a lot of airspace, not usable for GA. I hope they shut Tegel down immediately if BER is opened. Tempelhof is a complete different story.
highflyer wrote:
Where do all the locals go gliding?
There are few more airfields around Berlin, like Reinsdorf, Eggersdorf, Brandenburg. But to use them or some of the already mentioned ones, and that reveals another big problem for GA in Germany, you need a f…. “Flugleiter” (i.e. a designated person has to be on the airfield to control any flying activity, otherwise the airfield is closed)
Peter_G wrote:
Am I being totally naive, and are more thoughts below just a pipe-dream?
Yes.
Am I being totally naive, and are more thoughts below just a pipe-dream?
Not naive; it’s an admirable objective. It would take a lot of political clout to achieve, which would cost a lot of €€€ to purchase. Way more €€€ than GA can dig up.
GA in Europe (well, Swizerland excepted 
) won’t stick their hands in their pockets deep enough for 100 airfield residents to tarmac a runway, let alone do something bigger.
Peter_G wrote:
This means theoretically, if there was a will, there are ways that it could revert to its previous use.
Both runways at Tempelhof Airport are still in good condition. The tower could easily be refitted and reopened. The air traffic control systems would have to be reinstalled.
Yes, everything is possible, but the political will is missing. This also applies to Tegel Airport. Two small parties in the Berlin parliament voted for keeping Tegel open and for a referendum. There was also a signature collection for Tegel with great success. However the government rejected a referendum because they fear the result and do not want to accept it.
