European Airparks

[jude098]

Hello

I hope you can help.

I am a postgraduate MSc student at the University of Gloucestershire in the UK studying European Rural Development and also currently doing my PPL at Gloucestershire Airport at the Staverton Flying School.

I am doing my dissertation on European Airparks namely "the benefits/or otherwise to the immediate local community and neighbouring rural communities of a residential AirPark development."

If you are a member of an Airpark who should I contact to find out if evaluation impacts were done prior to its contruction and if any have been done since it has been up and running ?

Would you be also be happy to talk to me either by email or in person or both. I am planning on visiting at least 3 European airparks and spending a week or so in each doing on the ground local research sometime early Spring/summer 2011.

If I have got my PPL I hope to fly-in or persuade a freind, if not I will make my way by other modes of transport.

Many thanks and all information/contacts gratefully received
Jude

[coaxingtin]

Hello Jude
The lack of response to your question is not unhelpfulness, more that nobody on the forum is likely to have had any experience of the subject. I suggest, if you haven't already, posting on the GA and/or Private Flying sections on PPRUNE (Professional Pilots' Rumour Network). The other useful one is Pilot mag forum. There are several others like this but I can't remember their names. You should be able to find them by Googling.

Good luck
Dave

[viscount]

Welcome Jude,

Another forum to consider a request on is that attached to www.ukga.com website - for an organisation representing ga aircraft owners.

To put some detail onto Coaxingtin's suggestions. 'Pilot' magazine forum www.pilotweb.aero/cs/forums/ In addition to an open question on a forum, it is very likely that 'Airparks' have been the subject of article(s) in GA magazines, so approaching the editors might yield interesting material - even, maybe, the offer of publishing a money making article from you on conclusion of your research!!

'Today's Pilot' magazine forum forum.keypublishing.com

'Loop Magazine' appears to have a website only, without attached forum. There are others too.

As is widely known pprune is www.pprune.com

It's aircraft owner forums you need to be targeting, rather than enthusiast sites, like ours.

Although the website/forum of the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association is US orientated www.aopa.org is another possible avenue for your question.

Interestingly, Coaxingtin informs me on PM that a projected 'Airpark' development in the UK, on the site of a former WWII RLG airfield at Bratton in Shropshire (a little North of Telford) fell foul of strong local opposition. On wikipedia, keyword 'airpark' leads to a great list of US airparks, but I could not quickly spot any European ones mentioned. In the UK, Wycombe Air Park (an alternative name for Booker) is not an example of the integrated housing and private runway development Jude is researching the economic impact of, though.

Jude, check your PMs (messages accessed via top right of this thread page) before you log off, although much of what I sent you is now also here.

[Deleted]

Jude,

As per what the lads above suggested also the LAA may furnish you with details you require

www.lightaircraftassociation.co.uk/

I recently visited Rossall Field in Lancashire and the guy who gave me a guided tour told me of one field in Northern France he visited in his Skyranger where it had a number of villas/Gites on the same location and you just landed and taxied your aircraft up to the Villa etc you were renting/owned. (Sorry mind has gone blank as to the location)

Hope this helps and as the lads above have said

Good Luck

Bob

[Biggles]

I thought we had forum members living in France, who used an airpark ?

[viscount]

Yes we do - but it is entirely upto them wether or not to enter into correspondence with Jude. I would presume that they/he, always providing they do wish to help, would initially PM Jude then enter e-mail correspondence on the subject, rather than hold a public discourse over the forum.

[jude098]

Thank you all for your help.

I came across this site when searching the internet for Airparks. There are a few in Europe about 4 or 5 in France, 1 in Spain, 1 in Germany, 2 in Sweden, 1 in Czechoslovakia.

One of the directors of the proposed Telford Airpark is my PPL instructors.

Kemble in Sth Gloucestershire also tried to set up residential units but failed to get the planning permission...interestingly one of the main objectors was a pro civil aviation pilot...."not in my backyard".

Jude

p.s. all help will be gratefully received re the PPL Nav paper LOL