Aérodrome Belvès LFIB

I found the following very interesting and it might be of interest to any reader in France or planning to visit France in their aircraft.

I was already aware that up until quite recently, the airfield at Belvès was restricted to ‘avions’ (UK, Group A aircraft) and then only to those equipped with radio. However, ULMs are now allowed in and there’s actually a school based there, but when I checked the airfield plate on the French Air Pilot, I found that the airfield is ‘usage restreint’ ie restricted usage, as the following shot shows.

This not only means that only radio equipped aircraft are allowed in, a condition becoming ever more common here in France, but also that the airfield can only be used by aircraft based there or at specified airfields in the surrounding area. These are listed on the second sheet of the airfield plate and can be seen in the second pic below (Agen, Arcachon, Bergerac etc).

Interestingly, the list doesn’t include Castillonnès where I was signed off for my French ULM ‘brevet’ which I found surprising as I knew that Victor had flown off heading for Belvès with Francis, his instructor, on several occasions while getting his own licence. However, he told me that although they flew there for cross-country practise, they never actually landed there, so that explained it.

In preparation for my proposed tour of local airfields in 77ASY, I recently emailed the aeroclub at Belvès requesting permission to land there but not having received a reply was thinking about giving them a ring. However, quite by chance, I was looking at the airfield plate for Avranches up in Normandie, saw that it was similarly classed as ‘usage restreint’ and noticed that permission to land there had to be obtained from the regional office of the DSAC at Nantes and not the local aero club.

This encouraged me to look into the Belvès situation a bit more deeply and sure enough, I uncovered that in order to use the airfield, authority had to be obtained from the DSAC regional office at Merignac. Getting it was actually pretty painless. I popped them off an email last night, got a reply requesting more info on qualifications and experience and a ‘formulaire’ to fill in this morning (together with a compliment on my French) and an official letter of authority lasting 6 months (the maximum term) with a copy to the aeroclub at Belvès, within half an hour of returning it this afternoon.

So anyone reading a French airfield plate with the words ‘usage restreint’ on it need not give up hope of using it eg as a convenient en-route transit point, because so long as you meet the necessary requirements (licence, hours), which you almost certainly do if you are flying internationally or on long cross-countries, you’ll be able to get permission to land there.

Happy Landings!