Everything starts from the ground

It all starts from the ground

Season 202016 April 20203 min read

Plan to acquire federation airfields.

This quite special period lets us look differently at the essential things. In aviation, being deprived of flying is a chance to remember that everything starts from the ground. France, a pioneer of aeronautics, has always benefited from very high-quality aerodrome infrastructure. A few years ago, the DGAC heritage committee published a remarkable Atlas of aviation airfields, available online. After the very dynamic phases of the pioneers, the Popular Front and the post-war reconstruction, State policy took a completely different turn over the last 20 years.

The transfer of airfields from the State to local authorities from 2007 onwards has caused a great many difficulties, closures, challenges and taxes. The battles over the postponed plan to privatise ADP are a recent example. Defending existing airfields seems to be the only "development" policy. It takes up the Federation's energy on cases that are always very specific, based on two principles:

As far as possible, carrying out coordinated action with other disciplines and all users (within the CNFAS) on the one hand.
And on the other, tackling the problem early, before the situation gets stuck.

To this end, the Federation has set up a legal ticket system with the Federation's lawyer (Maître Serge Conti). Get in touch with us.

But alongside airfields open to public air traffic, the microlight movement has the possibility of creating microlight strips, which are listed on our BASULM site.

The success of our movement owes a great deal to the richness and friendliness of these strips, which have very varied legal statuses: owned by a manager, run by an association renting farmland, and so on. However, the complexity of the regulations, issues of liability and insurance, and uncertainty over the long-term future of the land are obstacles to creating or keeping certain strips, particularly in regions structured around large cities.

On this basis, certain federations with similar problems have launched a land acquisition programme for their sport; this is the case of the French Free Flight Federation, the French Model Aircraft Federation and the French Motorcycling Federation. The Board of Directors has decided to do the same, and we will present acquisition options at the next General Assembly for certain ongoing projects, the aim, to be clear, not being to become "capitalist" but to be a player in the development and preservation of our flying fields in the general interest.

Taking into account the experience of other federations and adapting it to our particular features, the main principles of the federation airfield acquisition project are as follows:

Acquisition of land by the federation in the most suitable way (outright purchase, long-term lease, AOT temporary occupation authorisation of public land for a maximum of 70 years...).

Acquisition in regions where access to flying is difficult, with the aim of bringing areas back to life so that plots can be maintained and put to good use, contributing to safety with airfields useful for medical evacuations and fire protection.

Management entrusted to an affiliated association, which will pay no rent but will take care of maintaining the airfield in line with precise specifications; the delegation will be renewable every three years.

In particular, we will need to promote training, ensure diversity between disciplines, meet environmental requirements and preserve biodiversity by promoting clean technology: electric paramotors, unleaded petrol, photovoltaic hangar infrastructure... An affiliated company may be set up there in liaison with the managing association and the Federation.

The territorial network of our movement is a real asset and we certainly have opportunities to turn into something concrete by becoming part of local areas; airfields are also assets for municipalities in terms of outdoor sports and agritourism, complementing accommodation providers and the promotion of local products. If you have ideas or projects, we will study them together with the Regional Committees.

In the meantime, don't forget the microlight strip safety kit. It's now or never to think about the future.

Let's stay at home and stay responsible.

Take care of yourselves!