blog and website

As of 2018, this blog is no longer updated as I have taken up other assignments. However, we agreed with the webmaster of Aéro-Sport that he'll publish upcoming activities directly on the Aéro-Sport website. Stay tuned !

Invitation to mountain flying weekend Sep 1-3 , 2017

UPL-AOPA cordially invites you to the 2017 edition of their mountain flying weekend from September 1st till September 3rd.

great landings in the Alps

FLIGHT SCHEDULE 2017 edition

Friday 1/9

o  10.30>>15.00    o 15.00>>17.00   o17.00>>19.00        Instructeurs Aeroclub Annecy

o  10.30>>15.00    o 15.00>>17.00   o17.00>>19.00        Instructeur Avia-Alpes 

Annecy/Megève :  Méribel / Courchevel/including lunch in Megève

o  10.00>>15.00    o 15.00>>18.00                        Instructeur  Courchevel   départ Albertville

Albertville/ Courchevel ;  Alpe d’Huez

o  11.00>>15.00   Grenoble –Versoud with Mousquetaire  Instructeur Aeroclub-Versoud

Alpe d’Huez and the other altiports: St. Roch Mayeres;  Corlier ; etc. 

o  15.00>>18.00   Grenoble –Versoud with Mousquetaire  Instructeur Aeroclub-Versoud

Alpe d’Huez and the other altiports: St. Roch Mayeres;  Corlier ; etc. 

Saturday 2/9

o  10.30>>15.00    o 15.00>>17.00   o17.00>>19.00        Instr. Aeroclub Annecy

o  10.30>>15.00    o 15.00>>17.00   o17.00>>19.00        instructeur Avia-Alpes Annecy/Megève : Méribel/ Courchevel/ including lunch in Megève

o  10.00>>15.00    o 15.00>>18.00                        Instructeur  Courchevel   départ 

Albertville  Courchevel ;  Alpe d’Huez

o  11.00>>15.00   Grenoble –Versoud with Mousquetaire  Instructeur Aeroclub-Versoud

Alpe d’Huez and the other altiports: St. Roch Mayeres;  Corlier ; etc. 

o  15.00>>18.00   Grenoble –Versoud with Mousquetaire  Instructeur Aeroclub-Versoud

Alpe d’Huez and the other altiports: St. Roch Mayeres;  Corlier ; etc. 

Sunday 3/9

o  10.00>>12.00    o 12.00>>15.00                                    Instructeurs Aeroclub Annecy

o  10.00>>12.00    o 12.00>>15.00                                     Instructeur Avia-Alpes Annecy 

o  11.00>>15.00                                                                   Instructeur  Courchevel   départ 

Albertville 

The hotel we are staying is the IBIS hotel in Annecy. As it is high season in Annecy, you are invited to ensure your room reservation asap. A single room is 98€ , breakfast incluided. A double room is charged at 46€ per person, breakfast included. In order to secure your hotel at this rate, please send an email to H0538@accor.com, refering to this UPL-AOPA mountain flying weekend. In case you have an issue, please call the IBIS hotel at  +33 334 505 543 21

Please confirm your participation to the organizers on behalf of UPL-AOPA:

• Kuy Ly ANG  kuylyang@luxoffice.com 
• Jean Birgen jean.birgen@instalfit.lu   

They need the following information from the participants on the seven questions below

1. Call sign of your private or club plane ?
2. Are you coming by car ?
3. Would you like to attend as co-pilot or as passenger ?
4. Would you like to have a security pilot in your plane ?
5. If you like to fly to Megeve, Courchevel, Méribel, Alpe d'Huez, Corlier, La Motte, you likely need a mountain flying instructore. Please inform Jean Birgenb and Kuy Ly ANG as they need to book an instructor in advance.
6. Will you attend on Friday evening September 1st the dinner "tartiflette" at Sylvie's restaurant ?
7. Will you attend the "fondue/raclette" dinner at Freti's restaurant on Saturday September 2nd ?

There is a pilot briefing on Tuesday 29th of August at 7pm at the Aéro-Sport clubhouse, please mark the date in your agenda.

Report on "Going Dutch" fly-out edition 2017

5 pilot crews confirmed their participation at this new fly out we organized for UPL-AOPA. In order to coordinate activities, a whatsapp group was set up. The weather outlook was reasonably good for most of the traject bringing us from Luxembourg and Trier to Texel on Friday 7th.

what is on a pilot's mind ?

485 nautical miles route

Only the last part north of Amsterdam proved to be marginal VFR with low hanging clouds. Quite tricky, which caused one pilot to cancel his participation.

low ceiling at Texel

descending to 1000 feet

islands in sight

Three crews landed safely in Texel. The fourth teaml, Stefan Stefansson, skipped Texel and decided to fly directly to the AOPA fly in in Twente. No worries.

We were lucky with the hotel reservation at the airport hotel of Texel. Sleeping with views of your plane is a great feeling :) But prior to go to bed, the hotel owner, Walter arranged us a seafood dinner at the harbor of Texel. The food proved to be E X T R A O R D I N A R Y . The pictures below say it all

Saturday morning, a weakened rain front was passing. No worries, we had our bikes and have been discovering the island of texel. B I G  fun !! We had mixed feelings as we deemed that our stay on Texel was not long enough. Guido and Dani Peterzelka and their daughter Livia decided to extend their stay on the island. Smart decision, next year we'll plan a longer stay on the island.

Rajiv Aurora and Alfons Hesels arrioving with their Cessna 172

Great scenery

Peterzelka's Beach Bonanza with V-Tail - 150 knots

Livia and Dani Peterzelka

Krista Touquet enjoyed biking on texel so much

The Peterzelka family

nights in texel are a bit shorter than in Luxembourg

Together with Alfons Hesels and Rajiv Aurora in the Cessna 172, we continued as well in our Cessna to the AOPA fly in in Twente where we were expected by our colleagues of AOPA NL. We landed at the right moment, plenty of planes and live music.

Of course we enjoyed watching planes and discussing the dutch management of AOPA, who did a marvellous job of getting their airfield nearby Enschede ready for general aviation.

We missed Stefan Stefansson, who just left when we arrived. No worries, our fly-out are entirely free, we create a program, but every pilot is absolutely free to adjust it to whatever suits him best.

Luxembourg and Dutch AOPA board members, committed for general aviation

In the evening hours, we discovered the town of Enschede, a very vivid town with plenty of terraces. We met our friend Maarten Top and his lovely wife Silvia. On Sunday, we all returned to Luxembourg, whilst making a fuel stop in Genk Zwartberg, where my son assisted me. Maybe a future pilot as well.

We were all back home by Sunday afternoon, exept Guido Peterzelka and his family, who was still swimming in the sea of Texel. Guido enjoys the good life. His Beach Bonanza flies up to 150 knots, way faster than our Cessna 172, who cruises the skies at some 100 knots.

They finally stayed until the evening hours in Texel and only flex on Sunday evening back to Luxembourg. With Flight radar 24, the other participants as well as Reinhard Krommes were following his flight as weather was getting a bit stormy in Luxembourg. Via whatsapp, we were sending him live weather updates as the thunderstorm got very nearby. But end good, all good

Some thoughts for the 2018 edition: Texel was definitively a great place, in July 2018 we'll go to discover Ameland. We'll ensure to have a more relaxed program, so we can enjoy biking around the island for some more time. Biking and flying , a great combination !

FLY OUT – GOING DUTCH WEEKEND!

Aéro-Sport cordially invites you and your family to our:

FLY OUT – GOING DUTCH WEEKEND!

Friday July 7^th – Sunday 9^th 2017

Luxembourg – Texel (EHTX) – Enschede/Twente (EHTW) – Genk (EBZW) – Luxembourg: 485 NM

Good atmosphere- good friends !

Weekend highlights:

·         (Electrical) Biking at Dutch North Sea island of Texel

·         Joining international AOPA international pilot’s fly in at Enschede/Twente with entertainment program for young and old

·         International pilot’s BBQ at Enschede /Twente airfield

·         White night at party town Enschede

Organiser: Peter Sodermans, board member UPL-AOPA

FLY OUT – GOING DUTCH - JULY 7TH-9TH 2015 - DETAILS & SCHEDULE

This upcoming fly-out of Aéro-Sport brings us to the Netherlands. On Friday morning July 10^th, you’ll fly 216 NM to the island of Texel at the Dutch coast, where you’ll check in at your hotel

Sweeping white-sand beaches, wildlife-rich nature reserves, sun-dappled forests and quaint villages are among the highlights of Texel, the largest and most visited of the Wadden Islands. About 3km north of the coast of Noord-Holland, Texel (pronounced “tes-sel”l) is 25km long and 9km wide. You can either enjoy a relaxing day at the beach or discover the island per (electrical) bike

On Saturday morning July 11^th after breakfast, you are flying 90 NM to the newly re-opened airfield nearby Enschede airport (Twente), where the Dutch AOPA organizes an international Fly-In.

Because the event is also promoted by AOPA in Belgium, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, it promises to be an international pilots gathering actively supported with host Enschede Airport Twente, will provide a full-fledged program for young and old.

There is a wide variety of delicious food and drinks from local suppliers; there are very interesting and entertaining seminars to attend; there will be various stands of interesting aviation companies, such as aircraft brands, maintenance and training.(seminars about Mobile flite deck, short field landing, etc….)

You’ll end the day with a luxurious barbecue where the Dutch AOPA and the Enschede/Twente airport promised to take special care of you and your family!

UPL- AOPA Members have free access and do not have to pay a landing fee (you have to bring your UPL-AOPA membership card with you however)

The more courageous can jump into the nightlife of Enschede with plenty of bars in the city

On Sunday morning July 12th, you’ll take it very easy and will be flying out to Genk-Zwartberg in Limburg, Belgium (91NM) where we’ll enjoy a relaxing lunch on this vivid airfield where there’s always something going on. From there, we’ll have a short flight to Luxembourg (78NM)

SCHEDULE

Tuesday July 4^th at 7pm 

6pm                        Pre tour briefing at the Aéro-Sport clubhouse

Friday July 7th^th  

10am                      Flight from Luxembourg to Texel

Check-in at hotel

2pm                        Guided tour of the island per (electrical) bike, covering the island highlights

                                Or simply enjoy the beach

7pm                        Group dinner

Saturday July 8^th 

9.00 am                 Take off for Enschede airport (Twente), where we are welcome by AOPA Netherlands

10:45 am               Joining the international pilots fly-in with a full program for pilots and passengers, setup by AOPA Netherlands.

5.30 pm Pilots BBQ at the Enschede/Twente airfield

9 pm                       Discover the bars and exciting nightlife of Enschede

Sunday July 9^th 

10.30 am               Take off for Genk Zwartberg , where we’ll enjoy a small lunch prior to fly back home

REGISTRATION FORM

Please fill out and return by email: info@aerosport.lu – prior to June 25th 2017

First and last name:                                                                                                                       

Address/ZIP/City:                                                                                           

Phone:                          Mobile:                       email: _________________________

Reservation demand Aéro-Sport

1^st choice: r LX-___                          2^nd choice: r LX-___           3^th choice: r LX-___

I’ll joint with my own or another private aircraft r     private aircraft     LX-                          or 

Passenger’s                     First name:                      Last name:                             

First name:                          Last name:                             

First name:              Last name:                                            

Do you have available seats in your plane: If yes, how many ? __________________

Arrival times:

r Friday July 7th, 2017   Arrival at Texel (EHTX)     approx                   hr

r Saturday July 8th, 2017   Arrival at Enschede/Twente (EHTW)  approx                   hr

Hotel reservations: night 7/8th^th :

Texel: it is high season in Texel with little hotels availability left, pilots are advised to make room reservation by themselves asap via booking.com (there’s a free cancellation option, please book right away).

We suggest the following 5 hotels for our pilots and their passengers:

 - Airport hotel (very limited availability)       reservation link   @   https://goo.gl/I7VD8d more than 190€

  In the village of “DE KOOG” there are several hotels nearby each other with availabilities

 -Hotel Tesselhof ***                                         reservation link @  https://goo.gl/ZfII6l (rooms 90€ and more)

- Hotel De Pelikaan ***                                     reservation link @ https://goo.gl/tAmgkS (rooms 100€)

 - Hotel Greenside Texel ****                         reservation link @ https://goo.gl/TJgiWi (rooms 150€ and more)

- Fletcher Hotel - Restaurant de Cooghen **** reservation link @   https://goo.gl/f8Vcdl (rooms 130€ and more)

Please insert which hotel you have booked for your team in Texel: ______________________

Hotel reservations: night 8th/9th^th :

Enschede: it is high season in Enschede, pilots are advised to make room reservation by themselves asap via the website of the Vandervalk hotel ****, with the option to cancel for free.

Reservation link @  https://goo.gl/0mzQuf  (rooms at 100€)

Please insert which hotel you have booked for your team in Enschede: ____________________________

 

TO DO LIST FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE

•  Fill out the registration form (preferably enter your details directly in word) indicating your details as well as the names of your passengers, so we can notify the AOPA organisation in the Netherlands(practical arrangements BBQ)
•  Aéro-Sport blocked their planes for this group fly out. Please indicate in the registration form here above which plane you prefer to reserve to attend this event. You can indicate your first choice, your second and third choice. Please note it will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis whereby the date of arrival of your filled out registration form at Aéro-Sport info@aerosport.lu is decisive.
• Please indicate whether you have a seat available in your plane for other pilots or participants
• For convenience reasons, please indicate your estimated arrival time in Texel as well as Enschede/Twente
• We’ve noticed that the available rooms in Texel are very scarce, reason to proceed right away with your hotel reservation. We have provided you here above a number of suggestions. It is not possible to book the whole group in the same hotel. We’ve selected hotels in the village of “DE KOOG” at the Texel Island, which are at walking distance from each other. The selected hotels can be canceled free of charge, reason to make reservations today
• We have provided you in the registration form with hyperlinks to make the hotel reservations. You are solely responsible for making the reservations and for cancelling them when the weather is bad and you cannot make it to Texel or Enschede. UPL-AOPA or Aéro-Sport is not involved in this process and we have no spare rooms available
• Please insert in the form which hotel you booked in Texel and Enschede, so that the organisation has an overview
• Once the registration form is completely filled out, please return it to info@aerosport.lu
• Pre tour briefing is scheduled at the Aéro-Sport clubhouse on Tuesday July 4^th  at 7 pm, where we’ll discuss practical items regarding to this event
•  A travel blog has been initiated on which more details (pictures and videos) about this fly out can be retrieved: please check http://travelaerosport.blogspot.com/
•  Reservations are accepted until June 25^th . Aéro-Sport blocks the planes in their reservation system until that date. If you haven’t submitted your demand by June 25^th, we cannot guarantee you a plane anymore, which would be a pity.
• There is no registration fee, this fly-out is free of charge.

An Aéro-Sport classic: discovery of the champaign region 2017 edition

Aéro-sport cordially invites you and your family to the WEEKEND DISCOVERY TOUR OF FRENCH CHAMPAGNE REGION

Luxembourg - Troyes (LFQB) - La Ferté Alais (LFFQ) - Luxembourg (352NM)

SCHEDULE

Tuesday May 30th 2017

7pm                      Pre tour briefing at the Aéro-Sport clubhouse. 
                            This is also the deadline to confirm your participation
                           

Friday June 2nd 2017

6pm                      Departure Team A: ELLX to Troyes (LFQB)                            
                           
                             Check-in at your hotel at your choice (Golden Tulip next to the airfield
                             at 73€ (preferred choice) or Hôtel Première Classe at 55,00€ or F1
                             Hôtel at 32,00€) . 
                             
                             With an  UPL-AOPA membership card, one gets a 10%
                             discount on room rates at the Golden Tulip hotel.

                       
 8pm                     Group dinner at Grand Tulip Hotel adjacent to the Troyes airfield

Saturday June 3rd 2017

8am                      Departure Team B: ELLX to Troyes (LFQB)

10.30am               Visit historical sites of Troyes or shopping at outlet store McArthurGlen

2pm                      Departure Team C: ELLX to Troyes (LFQB)

6pm                      You will be picked up at your hotel and will be transported
                             per bus to the PENOT winery for Champaign tasting.
                             A dinner is graciously offered by Martine and Claude PENOT

12pm                    Return by bus to hotel

Sunday June 4th 2017

7am                      Weather update @ swimming pool of Golden Tulip hotel

9am                      Breakfast

10 am                   Departure for the airfield of Etampes-Mondésir (LFOX), bus transfer 
                            to la Ferté Alais

11am                     Visit of the flying museum of La Ferté Alais (150 planes in the
                             collection ofwhich roughly half of them still can fly) 
                             Live demonstration of classic flying airplanes

1pm                      Lunch together with the pilots of the classic airplanes association

3pm                      Visit of the flying museum of the Jean Salis association

6pm                      Departure for ELLX

If you like to join, please send an email to info@aerosport.lu indicating

• Title: discovery of the champaign region 2017 edition
• Your name
• Address details
• Mobile phone
• email
• Persons on board
• own plane ==> call sign
• club plane ==> call sign
• Pilot in command
• Names of your passengers
• Please indicate whether you'll arrive with group A at LFQB Troyes on June 2nd at which time
• Please indicate whether you'll arrive with group B at LFQB Troyes on June 3rd at which time
• Please indicate whether you'll arrive with group C at LFOX Etamps on June 4th at which time

Landing at Troyes airport ( in a Robin) looks like this

The swimming pool of the Grand Tulip hotel, Troyes

On Saturday morning, you either either visit the historical town of Troyes with its abundant cultural heritage such as the following highlights:

·        The St-Madeleine church with its stained glass windows

·        Maison de l'Outil et de la Pensee Ouvriere : Superb display of tools….artistic, aesthetic…a must to see! Allows the visitor to experience and understand the work and lives of carpenters, masons, etc

·        Modern Art Museum: The museum has a wide-ranging and very worthwhile collection of many schools and artists, all housed in a historic building 

·        Apothicairerie de l'hotel Dieu le Conte : lovely 18th century apothecary

Alternatively, you can also opt to find your favourite designer brands at reduced prices, all year round at outlet store McArthurGlen Troyes (110 stores offering a selection of 300 brands). 

Saturday evening at 6pm, we’ll pick you up at either the Golden Tulip Hotel or the Fast Hotel and you will be driven by bus to the village of Ville-sur-Arce where the PENOT family invites us for an evening of fellowship at the Champaign winery of Martine and Claude PENOT with Champaign tasting “à go-go”. There are long lasting friendship ties with the PENOT family and Luxembourg. Claude PENOT is besides being a wine maker, also the Mayor of Ville-s-Arc, pilot and honorary president of the FNA.

Claude PENOT - blanc de blanc

On Sunday morning, you’ll have the chance to discover the private Ferté Alais (LFFQ) aerodrome, which has a restricted use policy. We will be welcomed in person by Jean SALIS, the lunch will be served at the restaurant of the flying museum of the Jean Salis association at la Ferté-Alais where you’ll meet the pilots of this association for a social talk and lunch

 the flying museum of the Jean Salis association

Ferté Alais