At the beginning of july I will be visiting Corsica.
Not planning a spotting trip, but as Solenzara is on the island, and every now and the they do get extremely interesting visitors there. (Tunesian F-5's ) I was wondering if anybody has any information about this airport.
I can't find any information in the scramble database.
I there anything stationed there? And do these stationed squadrons have an e-mail or anything where they can be contacted?
well....according to the French OrBat on this very same site there should be an AdlA unit (EH06.067) with Puma's. And according to this link: http://www.defense.gouv.fr/air/au_servi ... _solenzara" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ,
they should still be there. With only two choppers though....
I was in 2002 and 2004 for holidays in Corsica (the most beautifull island of Europe!)
Solenzara has EH67 choppers and gliders and 2? Jodels to tow them. They also fly in weekends! I had some French Mirages for tdy and some transport a/c seen there. You can photofraph at the southern approach but you might be in sight of the (manned?) guardtowers. You can spot landing a/c from the beach.
Ajaccio has a Gendarmerie chopper based on the airfield and here you can see often the firefighting waterbombers (CL.415/Tracker). Nice photoopportuneties from the beach on the taxitrack!
Also at Bastia in the north is a Securite Civile detachement.
As far as I can remember, the north side of Solenzara is not accessible due to a bog ('moeras') situated there. We saw some (at least 4) Mirages F1 active during our visit to Corsica a couple of years ago (in May). One was seen flying low over the beach carrying a target dart. I think security at Solenzara is quite strict (many high fences, watch towers, walls). We made a short visit to the south approach, but they were not flying that morning. The threshold is not visible from the fence at the south end, but I guess it's quite far away.
If you are in the neighbourhood of Calvi, don't forget to check if the FAF is exercising with C-160 Transalls (paradrops). The backdrop of the landing is very nice, although the light is only good in the afternoon. The Transalls used the grass strip instead of the concrete runway, making nice clouds of dust at touchdown. After asking local army personnel near the fence, we were allowed to take pictures from a opened gate.
Enjoy your trip to Corsica, I totally agree with Erik: it is the most beautiful island of Europe!
At Zara shooting campaigns are held. Every French escadrille trains at least once a year at the nearby ACMI range. Occasionally foreign forces deploy to Zara to train with French forces. The gliders have gone and at the moment only two Puma’s are based here for SAR duty, however shall be replaced by two Super Pumas currently based at Istres. The island is also popular for navigation trips. Mostly French (and these day also Belgium) Alphajets could be seen during lunch or a navigation trip. But don’t expect too much when no ACMI detachment is taking place.
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) I was wondering if anybody has any information about this airport./cathay.gif)
