Remember this place?
I flew a plane to EDKB Bonn Hangelar today for its 50hrs service and as the bistro at the airfield was closed still, I ended up at the Italian restaurant where we had lunch when I first met @Peter, @Pilot_DAR, @Jan_Olieslagers, @Ultranomad almost 5 years ago. Time “flies”.
I remember that day very fondly!
Oh yes 
I flew into Cologne and went to Hangelar by land. That restaurant shut as soon as we left and there was absolutely nothing open in the area after that
Peter wrote:
That restaurant shut as soon as we left and there was absolutely nothing open in the area after that
When I walked in today, I was the only guest but soon after, all tables were taken! They seem to have a good business with their weekday lunch. 
Strangely enough I’ve always avoided Bonn Hangelar like the plague after I read reports that they had people on the ground with equipment measuring the deviation from the circuit and legal proceedings were taken accordingly, even though aviation groups proved that there was no way a pilot could adhere to the circuit all the time accurately and still be safe. I also recall one pilot challenging the fine issued for not following the circuit and claiming he had diverted from the published circuit to avoid some large birds and the case was thrown out. However I just thought – why risk the hassle – and head off to Koblenz instead
Steve6443 wrote:
they had people on the ground with equipment measuring the deviation from the circuit and legal proceedings were taken accordingly, even though aviation groups proved that there was no way a pilot could adhere to the circuit all the time accurately and still be safe.
As I recall, that used to be the case a few years back but this isn’t currently an issue anymore.
It’s a fair and busy airfield, and more value-for-money to access the cities of Cologne and Bonn than overpriced EDDK.
I read about the stringent circuit requirements and was prepared to fly it exactly as published, but when I was approaching from a direction that would force me into a Z-shaped maneuvre, the FISO spotted me from the tower and said not to bother and just go straight to final. I’ve been there several times, and every time the FISOs were very friendly and willing to go out of the way to help (stay for a few minutes after closing time, give me a lift to the station when I had a big backpack, etc.). Definitely recommended.
The absurd circuit limitations in EDKB have long since been lifted by court order, or so I read. The airfield can be flown into with the same precautions as almost any other German airfield. Don’t fly directly over densely built up areas where possible and you’ll be fine.
MedEwok wrote:
The absurd circuit limitations in EDKB have long since been lifted by court order, or so I read. The airfield can be flown into with the same precautions as almost any other German airfield. Don’t fly directly over densely built up areas where possible and you’ll be fine.
I flew with an instructor from EDKB. Just before joining the circuit he overlaid the circuit diagram on the moving map and told me to follow the line. I did (almost perfectly, I got lucky…) to which he said “you don’t have to be exact”. This was back in June. Glad to hear common sense prevails in this case.
EDKB is likely to be my new base come the end of March. If anybody knows of any syndicates or clubs on top of those listed on the EDKB website I’d be happy to hear about them!
Indeed I remember the occasion well, though not that particular restaurant. It is a fine memory, except that indeed both the aerodrome and the nearby village seemed like totally deserted.
Regarding the local circuit procedures: I seem to remember that they brought in some “Hai-Tech” observation equipment, perhaps from Zürich, that was supposed to track pilots very narrowly for circuit adherence – but failed miserably, so that the local nimby’s now keep quiet, and flying has returned to “normal” practice.
