A lot of the smaller four-seaters are four-seaters in name only. Putting four fair-sized bodies in a PA28-140 with any sensible quantity of fuel and you will be dragging your sorry behind out of a bush near the end of the runway!

The Flyer forums are rather good at organising fly-ins in which qualified pilots fly student pilots and aspiring pilots into the venue in exchange for sausage and chips. That fills seats and transfers the thrill of flight to students for whom the learning process can sometimes seem like an insurmountable barrier.

Aircraft will not be certificated if their cockpit ergonomics are such that the incapacitation of a single crew member will render the flight inoperable. The general certification requirements for light-end aircraft, as applied by the FAA can be found online under FAR 23.1523, if it is a subject that interests you.

The difference between those aircraft which cannot obtain single-crew certification is more a question of what a single pilot can comfortably achieve, rather than with the absolute inability to reach a particular switch or control.

In reality, the question of fundamental control ergonomics is diminishing as cockpits make greater use of EICAS, and EFIS technology to make systems accessible from any crew position. This is gradually making much more complex aircraft accessible to single-crew operations. It is now increasingly a regulatory and safety matter rather than a piloting question whether such a single-crew operation is appropriate.

Attached two shots showing the start and run-out on a brief display at Old Warden. Arrival from Kemble (facing west) starting with a minimum-radius turn over the South of the field, followed (in the second photo) by the departure away to the North and around Biggleswade.

The Blue structures are ATZs and the similar-looking red structures are prohibited or danger areas.

Janie may have a recollection or two of this flight 🙂

John

I would exercise a degree of care before making accusations of defamation.

The proof of the pudding with Verchocq is in its successful execution. The fact that this has been on the “cusp” of getting going for several years now speaks volumes.

Points 1 and 2 are a matter of personal opinion. I’ve expressed mine. They are clearly not without foundation. The weather in the Pas de Calais is substantially that of the Southern UK. I suspect that the sort of development that Jean-Louis has planned will appear downscale and less appealing than such as Vendée or Murcia. I am not alone in that view, as previous outings you have made on other forums demonstrate.

Item 3, which you claim requires no response is clearly an issue at Verchocq, as evidenced by the number of different attempts J-L has made to get it right. Prospective buyers have echoed this view to J-L in my presence. The reluctance of J-L to offer freeholds, or decent period leases on the pretext of wishing to be able to oust awkward or anti-social residents is not tenable. To attempt to wrap this in a veil of French planning law doesn’t actually bear inspection either. Perhaps you would like to refer us to the appropriate part of the Code so that we can see the point more clearly.

You haven’t dealt with 4. The point is valid.

Item 5 [“The runway is quite adequate except of course for the faint hearted”] is a frankly rather dangerous comment. Perhaps you would care to remind us what the take off run required for a Navajo is on upsloping grass at moderate weight. Or, more modestly, a PA28-161 with three adult occupants and a couple of hours of fuel?

Item 6 is clearly not “without foundation”. It is fact. Verchocq hasn’t got a customs concession. Not unusual, but a detracting factor.

I have nothing against J-L or Verchocq, but to fail to acknowledge the challenges faced by the development is a mistake.

It’s a shame you make this personal chaps.

Sadly, the points I make above are all correct. Disagree with them if you will, but try to keep the personal attacks under control…

I’ve done a fair amount of flying in Poland, but always in my own aircraft. If your licence is a JAR PPL (or better), it is acceptable at face value for flight in Polish aircraft within Poland.

Most of the smaller fields have schools available, and prices are reasonable, but rising all the time.

VFR flying in Poland is fairly straightforward with the only barrier being a language one. Smaller fields often provide limited FIS in Polish, or occasionally fractured English.

Trinny: How do you fancy Cumbernauld on 1st April, before midday?

Sounds good to me. What’s the occasion?