Casarrubios (Casarrubios del Monte)   LEMT

Date of Visit = July 1998

Pilot: = Chris Belton

e-mail = chris@yarboo.freeserve.co.uk

Field Report = Radio frequency:130.32 (July 1998).

As we sat in the north of Spain on a rainy day looking through magazines in the flying club, we found a little sand strip, next to the evocatively named town of El Alamo, only twenty miles from the centre of Madrid. It was also marked on the minor airfields page of the AIP. It is not in the Bottlang Airfield Manual, but is marked on the Madrid Area chart in the latter.

I was trying to visit a friend in Talavera. There was another airfield nearer, El Tietar, but we had no details. Casarrubios had fuel and welcomed visitors, and was not even PPR.

We flew 180 NM, from Granada, over some of the most desolate terrain in Spain, and as we crossed the last of the mountain ranges we picked up Madrid Control, and Toledo VOR, and routed outwards from on what looked like about the right radial.

We couldn't afford to overshoot it since we'd have fetched up in Madrid-Getafe's CTR. Suddenly we saw an airfield underneath us with a big tarmac runway.

I couldn't find it on the map. We must be way off course. Then Madrid Control asked us if we had the field in sight: this was it! The magazine was about two years out of date, and the place was transformed. The runway had reached 1,000 m and was still growing! There's still also an 800 m or so dirt strip, and plenty of sand if you like the 'desert experience', but half a dozen good sized hangars, with more going up, but still a friendly flying club and cafe.

It is the home of the Rans agent, and since my navigator John has built an S10 "Socota", there was plenty to keep him occupied, including a example of the Rans "Skyrail", which is not seen in England.

We spent a comfortable night camping there, with the rare luxury of tables and chairs improvised from discarded planks and cable drums, and a shower using water from a bore-hole.

Most important, we were able to get fuel and ask about our next destination, El Tietar. We also topped up with fuel there on our way back from the latter, and prior to departing across the mountains to Castellon.

Marcelín, who ran the airfield, talked me through the next stage of the journey, to his home town of Castellón de la Plana "the most beautiful place on earth" - an accolade we were also to hear applied to Mallorca!