OK, here we go… a quick and dirty report 
Firstly the MSLP charts made it clear the wx would be good but maybe not on Monday. It would depend on how fast the high pressure would dissipate…
Tuesday would be a no-go
On the morning of the flight, radar and sferics were clean and the IR image showed nothing nasty, or above the TB20 operating ceiling
The German DWD icing chart; a subscription-only product. That said, I don’t believe any icing forecast tells you anything which isn’t blindingly obvious from the MSLP…
The flight was between layers, with the ones above being not above the operating ceiling but always possible to climb up through, which made them pointless to climb up through
I don’t have any landing pics, but it was really windy. The wind was right down the runway, but as we touched down, a gust came along and lifted the nose right up in the air. Eventually it came back down… on a narrow runway it would have been “interesting”.
Fortunately nobody got it on a movie… well, no payment demands for non-publication have been received yet 
Carcassonne is 10/10 scenic
Some people went for a walk or a bike ride along the canal
The dinner was really well attended – at ~30 the biggest group we ever had and probably 1.5x bigger than the previous really good fly-in which was Mali Losinj May 2014. Everyone had a really great time. We didn’t quite get the whole restaurant to ourselves; due to a few not turning up we ended up just below the minimum number they wanted but it was great. The two local dignitaries sais a few things and together with Nestor doing some too I managed to escape from having to make any kind of speech
The departure was moved from Monday to Sunday. But even Sunday morning was murky and raining lightly
The airport was really windy again and I got half the first oil bottle all over the plane trying to put some in. It also mucked up the windscreen and the forward visibility quite a bit. Definitely IFR departure conditions.
The sferics were clear, the radar pic also (not shown) and the IR showed some very high altitude cloud (over FL300 IMHO) which wasn’t a concern given the lack of anything down below (no radar return) and the temps aloft
Metar
EGKK 080750Z 07005KT CAVOK 19/11 Q1007
EGKA 080750Z 12004KT CAVOK 18/10 Q1007
EGHI 080750Z 08008KT 020V130 CAVOK 17/09 Q1006
EGHH 080750Z 08010KT CAVOK 17/14 Q1005
EGKB 080750Z 11008KT 080V140 CAVOK 19/09 Q1008
EGMD 080750Z 10009KT CAVOK 18/11 Q1008
LFMK 080800Z AUTO 10015KT 080V140 7000 BKN011 OVC017 14/13 Q1007 TEMPO 09025G40KT 3000 -RA BKN005
LFBD 080800Z AUTO 12016KT CAVOK 17/09 Q1001 TEMPO 12015G25KT
TAF
EGKK 080459Z 0806/0912 12008KT CAVOK
EGKA: no results found
EGHI 080803Z 0809/0818 07005KT CAVOK
EGHH 080806Z 0809/0818 06006KT 9999 FEW040 BECMG 0809/0812 12012KT PROB40 TEMPO 0812/0818 10015G25KT
EGKB 080803Z 0809/0818 12008KT CAVOK
EGMD 080803Z 0809/0818 07008KT CAVOK
LFMK 080200Z 0803/0903 09018KT 9999 BKN015 BECMG 0803/0805 09020G30KT BKN008 PROB30 TEMPO 0806/0903 09025G40KT 3000 -RA BKN005
LFBD 080500Z 0806/0912 12012KT CAVOK TEMPO 0809/0821 12015G25KT PROB40 TEMPO 0812/0818 14018G30KT PROB30 TEMPO 0815/0824 4500 -SHRA FEW050CB BKN090 PROB30 0904/0907 BKN012 TX25/0815Z TN13/0905Z
One could see the bad wx was not moving in (from the west) too fast .g. Bordeaux LFBD was OK.
We got to the plane about an hour too early (better than late!) and got an authorisation to depart well before the Eurocontrol minimum of EOBT minus 15 mins; they just had to phone the next unit to check they had the FP. Pragmatic
About 10 mins later (MASAM2E SID) we climbed through it. The temp was never colder than +5C and Plan B was flying in IMC if necessary all the way to the UK.
There was a huge updraught in these rounded-top clouds – probably +1000fpm. The IAS went through the roof while the autopilot was holding FL090, which was the cruise level all the way home
Here’s a bit of France…
We had 20-30kt of tailwind on the way back so the flight was just 3hrs in the air.
Back home at Shoreham, blue skies and really warm
Obviously I was disappointed with the airport conduct, as those who have been following this thread could not fail to notice. The flying school getting near – exclusive access to fuel was bogus. The place was dead. The grass parking requirement caused a number of cancellations but was bogus too. The AIR BP – only fuel payment was finally found to be bogus too. There was just no interest in having arriving aircraft!
The lesson learnt for me is to never again recommend a fly-in location unless they positively communicate and guarantee the facilities. Unfortunately that rules out most airports, of all sizes, in France, Spain, Italy. .. because they are run as taxpayer funded job creation schemes.
We found the sunshine! – in Almeria LEAM.
Thanks for the photos! Looks like a lovely trip
Seems like an excellent turnout too!
It was great event, thanks everybody for participating and let’s repeat it
It was indeed great to meet so many nice people, and even two pilot couples. Sorry I just barely met C210_Flyer at the airport. Sorry that Nestor got stuck in IMC due to a fuel pump that broke down just for him.
Thanks to Nestor for organising the dinner, for really getting the attention of OPS, for paying everyone’s landing fees.
BTW we were a little short financially to pay for the dinner, so Nestor and I chipped in to cover for it. If anyone suddenly realises they forgot to pay for the dinner, we’ll be happy to provide our paypal accounts
Yes – what an outstanding bunch of nice people turned up. Really great!
I also really feel that the bit of extra organisation helped a lot. We (which means somebody other than me ) need to repeat that. Nestor’s connections at the Elysee Palace are clearly desirable for anything we do in France
Some pics from the weekend, while we wait for the rain to stop in Almeria LEAM:
On the way south at FL170:
That’s a big DCT abeam Amboise – 286nm?
Passing Amboise:
The GA apron at LFMK:
In the old city:
The Hotel du Chateau, very close to the old city:
Back at the airport on Monday:
And finally, at Almeria LEAM:
Thank-you for your nice words, but I didn’t do much. My contribution for the dinner was mainly one phone call 3 days earlier to Carcassonne’s municipality (tourist office) and they organized it all for us. It was great meeting you all. I learnt a lot from you who are much more experienced pilots, and my son Marc really got along well with @IO360 and @Emir’s children who are in the same age range.
All in all I find the atmosphere in the EuroGA pilots’ community quite unique.
Stephan of our group commented that today it looks like the mother of all Low Pressures. My reply, “yes it looked like a Hurricane with Low pressure in the high 880 MB levels about 3 days ago. We have to make T shirts”………. “survived Carcassonne 2016.”
Some impressions from our way to the EuroGA fly-in at Carcassonne LFMK.
Approaching the Alps on the leg from Egelsbach EDFE to Annecy LFLP
Mont Blanc with the Lac de Geneve in the foreground.
A closer look at Mont Blanc.
Geneve with famous fountain and infamous (for GA) airport being clearly visible.
On the visual approach into Annecy LFLP for refueling.
Evening over the French Alps.
Landing in LFMK Cannes 4 minutes before official closure .
Some sightseeing along the Cote d’Azur VFR route.
Passing abeam Marseille in 1000 ft IIRC.
Major industrial installations west of Marseille.
Camargue looks fantastic from the air.
Turning final on the visual approach into LFMK Carcassonne. One cannot see the 25 to 40 knots headwind .
