Colmar Houssen (LFGA)

[Rich T]

A picturesque setting in the shadow of the Vosges mountains (requiring a steepish descent to the airfield if you approach from the west), with parallel grass and hard runways. Very friendly tower, fireman, and club. As indicated in the airfield charts, avoid overflying the noise sensitive areas of the town - if using R19 keep your downwind leg short or the tower will ask you to turn base immediately

After hours you can enter the main building from airside, but the main door out is locked. We exited through the club, which was just closing; but there is a keycode exit gate behind the pumps (code is the first 4 digits of the TWR frequency). The aerodrome is about 10 mins (€15 by taxi) from the town centre - a taxi number is displayed in the concourse, we discovered, although the club were only too happy to ring one for us.

The town itself is very beautiful too, with many old buildings and a "Little Venice" area with mini canals. The sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, Frederic-Auguste Bertholdi, is a scion of Colmar, so there is a miniature reproduction of Liberty just outside the aerodrome entrance. The regional cuisine of Alsace is also very interesting - as you'd expect from the location, it has a German theme, but is informed by French sensibilities - expect plenty of sauerkraut (French: choucroute) and pork on the menus, and hearty dishes such as pork cheeks in beer sauce.

When returning by taxi, ask for the aerodrome not the airport, since the 'airport' is Strasbourg which is 49 miles away!

[Dave W]

There is free wifi in the terminal.

If asked to park on the grass, be careful to approach via the taxiway, not directly from the pumps, as the apparent grass route has hidden potholes and manhole covers - le pompier was most eager to warn us of this!

Landing fee and overnight parking for sub-1T aircraft on 01-Oct-11 was €13.65 (Landing €9.95, parking €3.70)

Cash and normal credit cards accepted for fuel [LF1]

[Rich T]

The airport now has a web site with tariffs and customs PNR forms.