Laon

Places to Go: Laon

This page is a transcription of an article published in Today's Pilote magazin issue December 2010.

The first time Laon caught my eye was about 12 years ago. I was flying from Lydd to Mulhouse-Habsheim (see Today's Pilot March 2008) in a hired, pre-GPS Piper Warrior when I spotted this walled town on top of a hill in Picardy, crowned by what looked like a magnificent cathedral. "I must make a not~ of that place," I told myself - then promptly forgot all about it and never even learnt the town's name.

But Laon itself would keep reminding me - because, if you fly VFR from the south coast of England to anywhere in south eastern France, the walled enclave on top of a hill is almost unavoidable due to the presence of the Paris TMA and what I call 'st Quentin's Corner'. If you are going to skirt Paris to the east, then the earliest you can turn south is around the St Quentin area. And the first salient landmark you will see on that route is the hill in question with the cathedral on top.

You cannot miss the walled city on the hill.

After passing abeam Laon a few times - year in, year out - I went down to take a closer look and realised that the 'little grass strip' I'd dismissed with a casual glance was actually quite substantial. The distorted perception was attributable to it being 100m wide. The actual length of the main runway is almost 1,000m and the secondary cross-wind runway a more than adequate 700m. A bit more research when I got home established that Laon-Chambry (LFAF) is the home of the Aeroclub de Laon - and a telephone chat with their secretary resulted in a club fly-out in July 2010. It would turn out to be great flying, great fun and good value for money all round. And, as seen from the air, the medieval fortified city, its imposing buildings and open squares around the Notre Dame cathedral, were most alluring. So, perhaps for these reasons, ten aircraft and 29 club members set out on the Laon fly-out on Saturday July 24.

Laon's Notre Dame Cathedral stands proud over the Old Town.

GETTING THERE

One obstacle to overcome if you plan to visit Laon will be the absence of customs at the airfield (not even available on request), so a 'Schengen' stop will be needed along the way. The best-known airport on the Cote d'Opale, Le Touquet, is pretty much under the flight path from Lydd to St Quentin, but on a summer Saturday it can get very busy there, sometimes resulting on having to hold a good 20 minutes above Boulogne. In addition, Le Touquet's €25 landing fee may well be worth it if you plan to spend some time there, but for a quick 'customs-landing' it seems a bit too steep. Abbeville, slightly right of track, would be a cheaper and quieter option but they require two hours' notice for customs purposes. So we opted for Calais, and for good reasons: in the first place, we at Lydd Aero Club have been supporting this airfield for some time as its local community fought against threatened closure and - I'm glad to say - appear to have won the day. The airport cafe, closed three years ago, has reopened in style and a full restaurant is scheduled to open its doors later this year. Our club now keeps a car at Calais airport for any of its members to use, opening up a world of shopping, wine runs, beaches in France and Belgium or a day out in Bruges.

On this fly-out we abandoned our traditional pre-departure coffee and buns at Lydd and replaced them with coffee and croissants at Calais, which were awaiting us on landing, stylishly and efficiently served for €6 per head. The landing fee at €10 did not break the bank.

The flight from Lydd to Calais, at 38nm is very straightforward. If water makes you nervous you can gently zigzag your way via Folkestone and Cap Gris Nez; otherwise an easterly track will be almost spot-on. Lydd will stay with you until mid-Channel and Calais will take over from there. Calais now has a radar feed from Lille, which means they can identify you and give you a squawk on first contact without you having to call Lille Information. This radar feed (a similar arrangement is in place at Le Touquet) is a great idea as it gives the 'satellite' airfields radar capability without having to install the hugely expensive equipment which already exists at the source. It would be nice to look at the French set-up for the UK - as an affordable way to enhance safety in congested lower airspace.

Calais has an ILS and an NDB, full ATC, customs and a 1,535m hard runway. It's a great place to practice ILS approaches, by the way, and cheaper than anywhere I know this side of the Channel. After coffee, croissants and complimentary cherries we were all on our way to Laon.

Walking along the upper ramparts.

Notre Dame's main entrance at night.

No shortage of bars and brasseries in Laon.

For this next leg, Lille Information can provide all the ATC you are likely to need. At 104nm it is a comfortable hour's flight in the average club plane . You will overfly St Omer and Arras (watch out for local traffic) - both very pleasant little fields and worth a visit in their own right, but call first as English language radio is unlikely to be available. Also keep a good lookout for gliders around this area as many are launched from Lens (LFOL). On Saturdays, the Cambrai (LFQI) Air Force base and its associated MATZ are closed, but on weekdays you will need to speak to them to transit. Be aware, however, that the civilian aerodrome at Cambrai-Niergnies (LFYG) will be active.

Breakfast at Calais Airport's welcoming cafe.

By the time you reach St Quentin you are clear of Lille's sectors; ordinarily you would contact Paris North, but you are only 20nm from Laon so you may decide that listening in on your destination frequency may be more useful. A word of caution here : Laon's frequency, 123.35, is the same as Lens's which may well be within range.

Laon as seen from the airfield.

Laon only offers an air-ground service, and even that is in French and not always staffed. But the Aeroclub there are very helpful and a phone call before setting off will get you the basics (runway, wind, Notams); the rest is plain good airmanship. Study the chart and plate, keep your eyes and ears open and make blind transmissions even if only in English - most people will understand "downwind" or "final". There is a very useful publication, L'Anglais pour Voler, written by Dominique Defossez, a French air traffic controller, which gives not just an overview of radio-French but serves as a complete aviation dictionary. Handy when you need someone to check your sparkplugs or pump up an oleo.

Lydd Aero Club line up during Calais customs-stop.

Our ten aircraft arrived in Laon like a swarm. At the time there was no one at the Aeroclub, so we sorted ourselves out and parked on the grass by the hangars. Before landing I flew round the city once to take some of the photos that accompany this article, then joined left base for Runway 35 having first agreed the sequence with another aircraft downwind.

Laon radio was silent so we transmitted blind and landed.

The fist hiccup of the day was the absence of taxis. I should have thought of that - it's happened before at other French airfields - as it seems that many Gallic cabbies prefer not to work at weekends. In the end we found one enthusiastic cab owner who racked up a very nice trade shuttling 29 people between the airfield and the Ibis Hotel. Located on the Laon plateau - not the citadel on the hill - t his hotel still had its attractions, such as £48 for a double room and no cancellation charges. Its website described it as being one mile from the city centre, which was true. But the hotel was at 250ft above sea level and the city centre at 600ft so you work out the rate of climb a thirsty pedestrian must achieve in order to land at a decent bar. And we did - all 29 of us, in different states of fitness and with ages ranging from the high twenties to the low eighties!

The city itself is firmly embedded in history. Originally fortified by the Romans, Laon fought off Franks, Burgundians, Vandals, Alans and Huns in turn. The bishopric dates from the 5th Century, though the original cathedral was burnt down during internecine fighting in 1112. During the Hundred Years War, Laon was briefly owned by England; but by the end of the 12th Century it was firmly in French hands, and the early phases of Notre Dame de Laon's construction date from that period.

Today this is a vibrant modern city which preserves much of its heritage, making it an extremely attractive short-break destination. A ride in the fully-automated Poma 2000 cable tram, which links the railway station on the plateau with the top of the walled citadel, blends the ancient with the modern and affords spectacular views. Shops selling local produce abound as do old palaces and museums well worth the visit.

Shopping street in the Old Town.

The old town has a good selection of bars and restaurants as well as number of small hotels. Our first port of call after staggering up the hill was the pretty terrace at Les Arcades by the town hall, where we indulged in a round of Mojito cocktails served by enthusiastic waiters. For our Saturday night dinner we chose the Brasserie Le Parvis, with menus from €15 to €29.50, and ate al fresco across the courtyard from the cathedral. Both the food and the service were excellent and the downhill mile back to the hotel proved a lot easier, even in the dark, than the afternoon climb.

For our return on Sunday, we fared better taxi-wise - we found two - but the Aeroclub was deserted (was everyone flying?) and we had the field pretty much to ourselves. Most of our planes went back the way we'd come, via Calais, though a couple of them stopped for a great lunch at Abbeville.

I opted for a direct flight back to Lydd. I simply phoned my club there and asked them to file a flight plan for me. Once airborne I activated it with a radio call to Paris Information. No one questioned me, but is a flight from a non-customs French airport to UK destination lawful? Visitors from France and Germany often come to Lydd non-stop having departed from non-customs fields at home, yet we in the UK are regularly led to believe that, as long as we remain non-Schengen, customs at both ends are mandatory. The week before this fly-out, I broached this subject with the UK Border Agency people at Lydd, and asked them what their view would be about an aircraft returning from a non-customs airport in France. They told me they had no problem with that, so I took their word for it - though I still think this is a grey area that requires clarification to avoid upsetting our neighbours.

The main runway's width makes it look shorter than its 985m.

The flight back took one hour and 20 minutes, chocks to chocks. As I was talking to Paris anyway, I asked if I could cut the corner to Albert - which was okayed. Then I think they forgot to put me on to Lille, or at least get rid of me - but they had me on radar so I only said goodbye to Paris as I approached Boulogne. A bit of weather forced us down to 1,800ft just short of the French coast, but the sun shone brightly over the Channel. On arrival at Lydd we were met by Border Agency officers who inspected our passports in the GA arrivals terminal and seemed perfectly satisfied.

Boulogne peers through the low cloud as we approach the Channel.

Laon's Elegant City Hall.

The club fleet neatly parked at Laon.

It was a very good weekend and I highly recommend Laon as an interesting and charming destination. At around three hours' total time per plane - with three or four on board - the flying costs averaged £60-90 per head. Landing fees were minimal (with none that we know of at Laon), the hotel modestly priced and the food and drink ... well, maybe about £50-plus per head. But that is definitely optional!