Spa - EBSP

Date of Visit = February, 2000

Pilot: = Simon Miles

e-mail = simon@st.bbl.be

Field Report

Field Report = This delightful airfield is located on a hill-top at about 1500ft elevation above the town of Spa and very close to the famous grand prix circuit. It has a 800m hard runway and offers an excellent radio information service in English.

We flew there from Antwerp (our home field) a flight which involves crossing the Liege CTR. I have never had a problem getting a clearance through their zone (nor through the Charleroi zone, which you are likely to pass through if you arrive from the west) and very soon we were in contact with Spa information. We joined the circuit, landed and parked on the steeply sloping apron - chocks are provided and required!

There is a restaurant directly outside the small terminal building but we didn't stop as we wanted to go walking - the Ardennes are great walking territory. There is a path which starts directly opposite the airport entrance and, after asking for directions from the helpful airport staff, started off in (we hoped!) the direction of the town of Spa.

The walk took us through the forest on well marked trails, crossing and re-crossing streams on small wooden bridges underneath the trees which were just starting to come into leaf. It was downhill all the way but a bit muddy in parts - bring your walking boots!

After about 90 minutes we arrived in Spa. It's a very peaceful and pleasant place with a feel of faded grandeur caused by the slightly run-down look of some of the grand, turn of the century hotels and the casino. There are plenty of good places to eat though, and we stayed for an excellent lunch before taking a short taxi ride back up the hill to the airfield.

When departing be aware of the altitude of the airfield - it's not exceptionally high by any means but nevertheless you'll probably notice the increase in take off run.

Spa is in a corner of Belgium well known for it's rain and low cloud so it's not always possible to get there by aeroplane (but don't let that put you off, there are plenty of lower elevation fields to divert to) and it's well worth a visit!