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Resorts with mini-airstrips

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Poster: A snowHead
The only one I know of are Courchevel where the Parisians fly into.

Here's a photo from March 2005. It was taken at Mannlichen, above Wengen.


http://www.snowmediazone.com/the_zone/showphoto.php/photo/561/limit/views
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Alp d'Huez
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Meribel has one. VT has an area marked out with a windsock, but it's not manned.
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I've flown on an excursion round Mt Blanc from Megève.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I think there's something at Tignes as well, but just a small airstrip for light planes equipped with skis.
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rob@rar, yes - I flew from there to Courchevel and back a few years ago. There's even a hangar for the aircraft.
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Alastair, what was the take-off in Tignes like? It looks pretty hair-raising to me!
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
rob@rar, great fun - you get an interesting Shocked view of the resort. Worse was landing back there again, when a shadow from an adjacent mountain meant I couldn't see where the runway was. Good thing I had an instructor with me to point me in the right direction!
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Alastair, you were flying? Shocked Very impressive! Is Tignes the highest airstrip in France? It must be about 2500m?
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Meribel has an Altiport as well as Val Thorens.

Did you know Courchevel runway can clearly be seen from La Plagne? Very Happy
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boredsurfin wrote:
Meribel has an Altiport as well as Val Thorens.

Did you know Courchevel runway can clearly be seen from La Plagne? Very Happy

And from the same spot you can also see ski lifts in Meribel, Prolognan, and Tignes.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
and I forgot to mention that Murren, according to Chris Brooks, also has a mini-strip.
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I don't know which of the Tignes or VT one is higher or whether there's a higher one elsewhere. Certainly they're all high enough to affect the aircraft's performance significantly.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
rob@rar, is that where PG took some pics with his long lens and posted as where am I now?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
boredsurfin, yes, that's the spot.
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Poster: A snowHead
and NEVER forget there's one in La Ros too, next to the golf course.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Masque, you beat me to it. Very Happy
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I've uploaded a few pictures of my trip from Tignes to Courchevel here

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Alastair, that'a a nice plane - you've got a pilots licence - two expensive hobbies I see Madeye-Smiley
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Shocked nice flying Alastair, I see what you mean about the shadows!!
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I'd love to be able to fly a simple plane - nothing too complicated. The nearest I got to fly was a Cessna for 1/2 hour on my 21st birthday - sure beats accountancy any day of the week. I might try again!.
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hibernia, yes - flying couldn't really be considered a cheap hobby Shocked . Great fun though.
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I like the captions - "Alastair" "Aeroplane" - no messing around there Laughing
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They do pleasure flights from a small snow airstrip from the Mannlichen at 2230m above Wengen when the weather is good during the ski season
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riverman, that was the subject matter ( see photo ) of my thread!. During lunch they took off every 15 minutes or so in that orange plane. ( sorry - didn't make it clear enough ).
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Blimey! Landing at Tignes looks like you just crash into the side of the mountain. That's very impressive.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Where is the end of the runwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa......
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
hibernia, Sorry must read all the thread
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
riverman wrote:
hibernia, Sorry must read all the thread


Otherwise we'll have to send you here Pay attention you at the back wink Laughing
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I think you have to differentiate between bits of snow where plane landing is allowed as at Tignes and proper airports.

Courchevel's altiport was really pioneered by Michel Ziegler the former mayor of Courchevel and a well known pilot. Ditto for the Henri Giraud altiport at l'alpe d'Huez. Remains of Henri Giraud's crashed plane are currently being disgorged by one of the glaciers in the Ecrins. Giraud is best known for landing a Piper cub on the Aiguille du Midi in 1957 (I guess the LP was too expensive) and on top of Mont Blanc in 1960 and is amongst the greats in mountain flying.

Other areas - Val Cenis has a real airport at Solieres (sp?) and Peyragudes has a hard strip that was once "an international arms bizarre somewhere on the border with Russia".
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davidof, Yes, I think thats the right spelling. Our ski guide Zeb, who I keep mentioning, keeps a light plane there.
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Aspen.. Laughing
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Alastair, Interesting pictures snowHead . A question that springs to my mind... when you bring the plane to a halt, do you put the skis under the front wheels into a snowplough, or is it more of the "hockey stop" approach?
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Ray Zorro, when the skis are down (they retract for landing on a non snowy surface) you use gravity to stop and then park sideways on to any slope. You turn the aircraft using rudder and a bit of power.
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Alastair wrote:
... you use gravity to stop and then park sideways on to any slope.


A bit like a snowboarder?
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Alastair, Lovely photos. I have always wanted to land on such a strip. I am not a pilot but have been a passenger in a DH Beaver landing on frozen bays on skis in Canada, which is rather rougher than landing on floats due to the expansion of the sea water as it freezes causing humps. We did once set the emergency locator transmitter off with one rather hard landing.

A few things I am interested in, what are the options for going around at Courchevel if you get your approach wrong? Do they close the strip if the wind is downhill?
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Is the criteria full ice runway, ski to the check-in etc. lots of North American resorts have their own airports though not really skiable to e.g. Jackson Hole, South Lake Tahoe, Mammoth, Eagle (for Vail & Beaver Creek) etc. I'm sure there are a few Swiss as well.
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
fatbob, and Austria - Zell Am See has a small airport for private and pleasure flights.

D
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My friend who has rating for Courcheval reckons there is not much room for errror. IIRC you have the one shot after the point of no return which is lines up around the road....and you can end up flying into the hill

I may be wrong and I'll ask him.

I've always wanted to fly into Courcheval
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JT wrote:,
Quote:

and you can end up flying into the hill

Quote:

I've always wanted to fly into Courcheval

Laughing
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