Once you are aware of the peculiarities of mountain flying you will discover a whole new facet to aviation - mountain airfields everywhere. Some so challenging that you may want to fly there with an instructor, some easy enough, and with great restaurants, to fly there at a moment's notice. For ultralights France offers unlimited possibilities - an estimated 2000 airfields and the possibility to land everywhere with the property owner's permission.

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The French “Pilote de Montagne” license is not required since Château de Montmeilleur it is a private airfield and not an “altisurface or altiport”. However, it is a mountain runway with a 10% slope, so beware, you may want a check-out before flying in. ​

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                                                               PRIOR TO FLYING INTO MONTMEILLEUR

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If you want to fly to Montmeilleur with an aircraft you will have to fill in a PPR form required by the local French authorities and send it to us, we will pass it on to the Préfecture. There is no such requirement for ultralights.

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Don’t expect an answer from the Préfecture.

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Once you’ve sent in the form, you are good for as many landings as you want and there is no expiration to the authorisation. 

Before flying in to Montmeilleur, please consult the ICAO charts, as there are a regional park and a national park in the vicinity with overfly restrictions. Please also consult the approach chart and the airfield chart for Montmeilleur.

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Should the weather be iffy or if it has rained recently, please contact Mr. Cosson under +33 6 85 96 93 46. Some French will come in handy when talking to him.

 

                                                              ​ FLYING INTO MONTMEILLEUR

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When flying in, you might consider contacting Marseille Info on 124.5 MHz when outside of controlled airspace, though you will lose them below 8000 ft. Once you have left cruise altitude it is a good idea to switch to the mountain frequency of 130.0 MHz and to broadcast your position and intentions every 10 minutes or so. When you are 5 NM from Montmeilleur airfield, radio AA (auto-information) is mandatory.

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Montmeilleur is easy to find, the castle and the runway are pretty visible. However, there is a lot of greenery around, so coming from the North you might want to aim for the sugarloaf-shaped mountain (Le Ménil) about 3 NM west of the highest peak around, the Obiou.

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Traffic pattern at Montmeilleur Aim for the Ménil mountain.

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The downwind is on a 270 degree heading just north of the Ménil. If you are coming from the west, aim slightly to the right of the castle, you should see the airfield. It is marked with red-white-red riders and has a striped windsock.

Montmeilleur has the ICAO code LFKK. You will find it on French IGN aviation maps and on the excellent Carte Bossy. Unfortunately, the ICAO code has not made it into DGAC or various GPS databases, so you will have to enter the coordinates manually:

 

LFKK: N 44 47‘ 37‘‘

E 005 45‘ 42‘‘

Elevation at the platform is 2992 ft or 912 m NN

Elevation at the runway threshold is 2830 ft or 863 m NN

Enter the traffic pattern midfield at 4000 ft and proceed to a right hand downwind to the south of the airfield. Please avoid all villages and reduce power.

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The airfield is 560 m by 15 m, with the 10% to 7% slope it is the equivalent of abt. 1000 m, so it is pretty long, no need to set down right on the threshold. You might want to aim for a landing point in the first third of the airfield. To smooth your rotation you might consider leaving some power with 1500 RPM on the prop. Be alert for some healthy downdrafts on short final.

Once you have landed, please put your plane out of harm’s way. You can tie it down in the grassy area near the hangar or park it on the tarmac, with park brakes on and with chocks on the wheels – you will find some in the hangar.

Now French administrative rigmarole: please register on the list provided in the mailbox in the hangar.

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AVGAS and JET fuels are available at Grenoble le Versoud airport LFLG and at Gap airport LFNA AVGAS occasionally at Aspres airfield LFNJ. MOGAS is available in our village, Mens, located 3km away.

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Want to stay? Montmeilleur currently offers 3 spacious cottages rent.  Contact us for special aviator rates.

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Before leaving, please enter your departure time in the list. When taking off you must keep the runway heading for 2 km, that is the first low rise, and please reduce take-off power as soon as feasible. Again, AA is mandatory.

For flight plan cancellation or to file and open a flight plan you can call the Lyon AIS under 04 72 22 56 76 or 04 72 22 56 78.

 

Disclaimer

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Aviation parking is reserved for château staying guests.

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Please note that utilisation of the airfield is always and entirely at the pilot’s risk and that the property company declines any and all responsibility for its use. The property company, Montmeilleur s.a.r.l., makes no representation as to the practicability of the airfield which may be encumbered by soft ground, high grass, holes, objects on its surface, etc., which can all potentially cause damage to an aircraft and/or harm to its occupants.

 

                                                                                     

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