Mooney_Driver wrote:
Zurich has just about lost it’s IFR and AOE option for GA. While it’s still possible, it’s expensive, cumbersome and has prohibitive parking fees, slots and bad attitude towards light GA.Did I miss something on their website? When calculating current fees here , prices for small GA aircraft up to 2t MTOW are still very reasonable. Parking even being very cheap. The only downside is mandatory handling, which comes with 99 CHF on top of the bill from MFGZ (Source).
Basle is great for based planes but not for visitors.Basel is also doable if you want to park at the Swiss GA apron, but expensive, see GAC website.
IFR options are de facto Bern, Altenrhein (LSZR), Grenchen, La Chaux de Fons, Sion and Lugano. So the majority of Swiss cities has NO night or IFR GA capable airfield.Still quite some possibilities, I have to say. Especially if you take the good public transportation into account.
Frans wrote:
Looking at Switzerland, each city has pretty decent GA options, especially VFR, but also often an IFR option.
Zurich has just about lost it’s IFR and AOE option for GA. While it’s still possible, it’s expensive, cumbersome and has prohibitive parking fees, slots and bad attitude towards light GA.
Geneva still accepts light GA but also on a rigid slot system and at a price.
Basle is great for based planes but not for visitors.
IFR options are de facto Bern, Altenrhein (LSZR), Grenchen, La Chaux de Fons, Sion and Lugano. So the majority of Swiss cities has NO night or IFR GA capable airfield.
Indeed. The input has been most helpful and is much appreciated. Thank you. Will update the thread with any news.
@arj1 – I am based at EGTR hence the wry comment about tall trees and power lines each end of the runway!
The options I am looking at are Cranfield (I have learned from another forum their ILS is being withdrawn) and Lt Staughton which is unlicensed. To add context to other posts in this thread I live just north of St. Albans so 45 mins to EGTR each way outside of rush hour. I am reducing my working week which will permit the ability to fly weekdays when the M1 southbound is a car park and returning home northbound later in the day similar. Travelling north up the M1 AM and south PM is easy because the main jam is the opposite direction. Maintenance at each option is good and 40 to 45 minutes to Cranfield and subject to a test drive I expect 55-60 minutes to Lt Staughton. The compromise will be the ability to get airborne quicker at LS, open until 30 mins after sunset in summer (Cranfield close at 1800) and 30% less in hangar fees.
As has been stated elsewhere, perfection very hard to find!
arj1 wrote:
I was having training at Biggin Hill EGKB, while I lived a few miles north of Elstree EGTR. The challenge is while on Sunday morning commute to Biggin will take around 1 hr, on a normal day a one way trip could take anywhere between 1.5 and 2.5 hrs, so 4hrs driving, 2hrs flying. :(Sounds terrible, indeed. I guess training at Elstree was not an option for you?
his problem is the same almost everywhere in Europe, for GA.Each major city is often expensive, yes, but not each major city has issues with GA. Looking at Switzerland, each city has pretty decent GA options, especially VFR, but also often an IFR option. A huge part of the country has an airfield within 30 min travel time (by car). You’ve only a problem when living in the eastern Swiss Alps, where Samedan or Bad Ragaz are more or less your only two options.
Yes; that is the tradeoff with living in London.
You get paid 2x the money for any job whatsoever, a lot of jobs don’t exist outside London, there is a lot of expertise around in certain fields, there is a lot of social life (a nice “cafe culture” which alone costs about £20k to keep up in) but everything else in life is a huge expensive hassle, and people tend to get out of there as soon as they have a bit of money behind them.
Replace “London” with any other major sity 
This problem is the same almost everywhere in Europe, for GA.
Frans wrote:
When that base is 1 hour drive by car, per direction, you lose an enormous amount of valuable time.
@Frans – if that! I was having training at Biggin Hill EGKB, while I lived a few miles north of Elstree EGTR. The challenge is while on Sunday morning commute to Biggin will take around 1 hr, on a normal day a one way trip could take anywhere between 1.5 and 2.5 hrs, so 4hrs driving, 2hrs flying. :(
So you see, around London it is even worse…
Well, since I live within walking distance of an airfield, I think “distance from home” is a critical thing when choosing a base. You’re not only traveling to the airport for big trips, you do it also for a simple $100 burger run, or just for maintenance, or just to chat / hang-out with fellow pilot friends. And maybe you planned to go, but the weather on-site does not match the forecast, so no flying at all… When that base is 1 hour drive by car, per direction, you lose an enormous amount of valuable time. Especially when having a family, demanding job, and/or other time-consuming commitments or hobbies, saving time is essential. Not talking about the costs for each car drive between home and the airport, which is more than most people think.
Sure, having an airfield that is only 5-10 minutes away from home, is pure luxury. But I know also what it is to drive 45 minutes each way, and that is not fun. Therefore, I would accept some downsides, when the airfield is close to home in return.
arj1 wrote:
Which place is the closest?
Hmm, I abandoned the idea of “close” as a criteria for a base a while ago. Nothing worse than stuck at a f*ck place for that reason. Don’t ask for the experience why …
