Lot’s of input, some easier to relate to the original question than others’.
France is a large country, with a very extensive airfield base. To a visiting outsider, there are various interest groups: certified, gliding, ULM, VLA, antique, model-based (eg. Fournier), and so on. These seem to operate very independently, without any real interest in building a common “aviation” community. Even within a given community such as certified aircraft normally conceived for travel, I haven’t seen or heard of any attempt of these operators (clubs, individuals, charter operators) to come together to promote exchange visits or group travel similar to what is seen on this forum. I suspect that those in France interested in this end up here because there is nothing similar within France. One exception I have heard about is a group of 22 French aircraft that visited Bulgaria earlier this year. It would be interesting to hear more about this group. Perhaps they have some insight that could help others in France, either things to do or to avoid.
I have visited a fair number of smaller French airfields, either because of them being favourites for one reason or another (LFEF Amboise, LFGA Colmar, LFCH Arcachon …) or due to temporary weather diversion. In all cases, I was warmly and very hospitably received. While of course there is not much activity during bad weather, in many cases there was limited activity in the air or on the ground despite a fundamentally excellent infrastructure… sometimes simple, but always adequate to support what could be a thriving operation. So the potential is there just waiting to be developed.
Despite all the comments about other countries, each country has its own culture and specificities. All valid input and good ideas, but at the end of the day French pilots need to find or at least adapt ideas to the French culture and personality.
In my experience, a smaller GA airfield needs the following, or at least most, to be really thriving (in no particular order). More may be needed in France.
- at least Avgas, evtl Jet-A & Mogas, the more options the better. This is generally already addressed in most of France via the widespread TOTAL automats.
- a good restaurant with some character that even non-aviation locals will patronize due to the ambiance and quality. Most facilities at smaller French airfields that I’ve seen are very minimalistic and pilot-specific … i.e. not necessarily a place just to “hang-out” other than for the very few regulars that one finds there.
- some sort of organization to involve pilots in airfield operations. This could be a club responsible for airfield maintenance that involves members through various means in maintaining the facility. This attracts younger people, either pilot wannabe’s or budding PPL students & pilots. It creates a social environment that gets people old and young together sharing ideas and plans. The restaurant is a prerequisite for this to be effective. The airfield needs to be a place people go even when not going flying … just because it’s a fun place to be, socialize, and watch the aviation activity.
AdamFrisch wrote:
I think you might be saying the same thing, but it comes off as you saying that its due to national leadership that GA is somehow reasonably free. It’s ridiculous to say that Scandinavian politicians (maybe with the exception of Norway as you point out) are somehow friends of GA and see the bigger infrastructure picture or because of them it’s reasonably free. Nothing could be further from the truth. They don’t understand it and they just haven’t gotten around to regulating it yet, that’s all.
Norway has never had any tradition for “GA Airfields” as such. It’s all been mixed. at the “normal” airports It still is. Even at Gardermoen, you can come in a microlight, but you have to follow the rules with slots and whatnot, so it becomes rather impractical, to the point of useless – unless you are a scheduled flight. Sweden on the other hand, has a much more pronounced tradition for GA, with fuel everywhere, restaurants and so on, even airparks. Overall it is a more evolved GA culture. There are lots of smaller private strips in Norway, open for everyone, and a handful of air sports centers, that works just as well as GA airports.
Also, all the public airports in Norway did become much less practical when security started after 9/11. But things are evolving to the better. we have these cards now (PFLY), that we can use at all these airports, even after opening hours. You are basically wrong when saying “They don’t understand it and they just haven’t gotten around to regulating it yet”. We make them understand, and that’s the whole point. How can you expect anyone to understand anything when no one has explained it to them, and they may not even know it is existing?
This PFLY card is one example. Other examples are Hamar. The local government decided to close the airport down some 1/2 to 1 year ago. People got involved, and now it is saved for the foreseeable future – for GA. Skien (ENSN) is another example, saved by the people.
Oslo has a problem. ENKJ will be closed soon. It has worked as a GA airfield in the area. However, it has never been a GA airfield, it’s a military facility. The Air Force has decided to pack it up, and the airport will be gone. Since Gardermoen is too crowded with airlines, at least for flight schools and such, a new airport has to be build. The funny thing is, it will be built just SE of ENKJ (at least that is the last thing I have heard). Exactly when, who knows. The Oslo GA community seem to be more fond of bickering than people on this board 
and this slows things down.
The UK GA-active politicians are going to the USA to see how they do it there 
Peter wrote:
The UK GA-active politicians are going to the USA to see how they do it there
… And vice-versa ! (think user-fees)
WilliamF wrote:
“I’ve done a survey William and the average age of the pilots here is 61 so in 15 years time will I have any customers left flying?”
Says a lot to me.
+1 , BUT, there is some hope:
With the big up-tick in new ATPL student starts, hopefully there will be some GA “fall-out” to replace all the old geezers’ dropping out of GA … hopefully.
Do you mean FTO students who can’t get an airline job dropping out to fly in GA?
I don’t think I have seen that myself. Too few FTO students have any interest in GA and even fewer have the income needed to do any flying. What I certainly have seen, years ago, is “hour-builder” FIs being unable to get an airline job (basically because they were, shall we say, a bit too weird to get through the interview ) and after about 10-20 years they are still instructing. And probably still slightly weird too…
One thing I remember from Oshkosh a couple of years ago was the fear that GA was withering away. The number of people involved was decreasing, and the average age is increasing. This is real, not some statistical “thing”. And this is happening in the USA, the “heaven” of GA.
IMO the only thing that will survive in private GA is “the spirit of aviation”. That is EEA and similar elsewhere, as well as UL/microlight/LSA.
Things that makes the USA General Aviation friendly in my opinion include:
Class E airspace.
24/7 ATC operation as a function of the federal government.
24/7 access to most GA airports, day or night
IFR Approaches to non towered airports.
Basic Med.
Lack of user fees other than fuel and passenger taxes paid into a trust fund.
Adoption of RNAV and GPS for navigation.
Simple filing for both IFR and VFR.
Sharing of infrastructure expenses from the aviation trust fund and local communities, usually on a 90%/10% basis
Recognition by local government of the value to business of general aviation.
Night VFR does not require an instrument rating
Government supplied charts and maps, VFR and IFR
Owner/pilot able to perform preventive maintenance on own aircraft
Training available from free-lance operation or from flight schools. Flight schools may be non certified or certified.
Essentially no landing fees at the majority of airports and over night fees typically waived with fuel purchase.
Simple knowledge exams
Part 91 operations is not highly regulated, Insurance is the main regulator in fact
Virtually no type specific transition training
No requirement for PBN training for non certified operators
GPS since 1992 and WAAS since 2003, most airports now have WAAS approaches to runway ends (LPV or LP)
ADS-B with GA benefits, weather and TISB
Maintenance and parts readily available
AOPA and EAA and type clubs
Direct IFR routing in so much of the airspace, simple point to point in other areas, airways and RNAV routes in congested airspace.
Auto routing not necessary.
FSS and SAR services
VFR Flight Following
Most class E/G airspace does not require radio, 8.33 not mandated, ELT either 121.5 or 406 MHz,
Transponder and ADS-B not required except above 10000 MSL and in A, B, and C airspace. Mode S not required.
And yet the number of GA pilots is plummeting and the average age is increasing.
I see two possibilities here:
The result is the same though. It’s the “core” players that remains and also is recruited. Those who need an “if” are leaving. ie. I will continue with GA “if” the utility value remains competitive and so on.
The US has had a huge GA scene since the beginning of GA.
All of GA, worldwide, benefited from the airframe stock overhang from the 60s and 70s which dumped a load of cheap airframes into the market, while near-bankrupting the manufacturers, who pretended to stop manufacturing due to “excessive certification costs”
I agree about the various factors for the reduction in young participants. However, there is participation and there is participation. In the 18 years I have been hanging around this scene, I have seen very few “young” people actually doing a lot of flying (I mean say flying 100nm somewhere, and actually paying for it). One might see good numbers of them doing PPLs but they don’t fly afterwards. In “my” group in year 2000 most were young, say 20s and 30s, but about 18 out of the 20 were never seen again after a year or two. EuroGA is an exception (various threads on ages and occupations) in that we have quite a lot of young people here who do fly, but most of them are enterpreneurs and either own something or they can afford to rent an SR22 at whatever € per hour (usually lots). So I think my comment on post 13 is still true, for significant flying post-PPL, taking the GA scene as a whole. It’s just the way life is… Anybody can accumulate lots of money, by working hard and keeping their trousers zipped up, preferably by living with their parents, but not many end up actually doing that.
