Airport Dieppe Saint Aubin (LFAB) IFR

Gérard Stephan, who did so much to make this field attractive for visiting pilots, has retired. Likewise, Customs has also gone which used to make direct flights from the UK very convenient. One now therefore has to clear Customs somewhere else e.g. Le Touquet. But despite these two loses, Dieppe remains a convenient airfield to a very picturesque part of Normandy and a vibrant pretty port. Sadly, ATC closed permanently in 2019.

Route: Whatever route you take, do ensure that you fly well inland past Le Tréport and track very accurately, or well south, of the Dieppe VOR: there is a ‘Prohibited area’ LFP 33 (up to 3700’) around the Nuclear Power station just NE of the field. (The French are very keen on collecting fines of €2,500 for any infringement – which makes that lunch rather expensive!)

Runways: There is a good 820 metre hard runway 13/31; but both the RNP LPV and NDB to Rwy 13 were withdrawn in Jan 2023. There is plenty of parking both on the apron and on the grass. Usually, one can leave/enter the field via the café or the open security gate; but both are often closed during mid-week or winter. Then one must use the code on the security gate. It is displayed in the notice board at the base of the ATC tower.

This notice board also gives taxi numbers etc. and nearby is a public telephone (if you don’t have a mobile).

Wi-fi: The ULM club next to the aero club is often more active and has Wi-fi in its club room which it has let me use. It has a strong signal and so if used once, you can use it again outside its windows even when it is closed! Login: Bbox-311696. Password: Gallot2016

Avgas: As the tower is now permanently closed it is only available on 2 hour PPR. As it is not Total or any longer BP it must be either cash or credit card.

Fees: Without ATC there are NO FEES for landing or parking.

Taxi: Radio Taxi Dieppe: 02 35 84 20 05. Get the taxi to drop you off at the Tourist Office, which is in the centre of the port, where there are plenty of “freebies”. This is also the place where there are nearly always taxis waiting to bring you back.

Restaurants: You are now almost on Quai Henri IV – a wonderful area with views over the harbour, full of restaurants specialising in fish courses etc. Among them, I would recommend Le New Haven at #53. http://www.restaurantdieppe.fr/ If, though, fresh fish is your thing then it doesn’t get any fresher or more wonderfully cooked than at Le Turbot https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g207347-d2702916-Reviews-Le_Turbot-Dieppe_Seine_Maritime_Haute_Normandie_Normandy.html just up from the Tourist Office at 14 Quai de la Cale. If you have never tried it, do experience ‘La Marmite Dieppois’ - a wonderful fish stew in its own special pot made with cream etc. The best in Dieppe is at the eponymous La Marmite Dieppois, http://marmitedieppoise.fr/restaurant-dieppe-fishes-uk/ 8 rue Saint Jean, 76200 Dieppe: +33 2 35 84 24 26. Not cheap, but very good.

The town: Stroll down The Grande Rue (now pedestrianised), where on Saturday morning there is a wonderful Farmers’ Market (three times voted ‘France’s finest’): an abundance of stalls offering farm fresh butter, pâte, sausages, cheeses etc – none of which have seen a ‘freezer’ in their life! At the end of The Grande Rue is the Le Café des Tribunauux, still packed and chaotic as it was when Monet, Renoir, Gauguin, Pissarro and Whistler used to sit there and discuss art and, a little later, Oscar Wilde composing The Ballad of Reading Gaol. A wonderful place to enjoy the late afternoon sunshine and watch the world go by.

Hotels: On the eastern edge of town, there is the delightful Auberge du Vieux Puits https://www.puys.fr/en/ which has its own good restaurant. In the past, I have stayed on the sea front at Hotel Windsor *** https://www.hotelwindsor.fr/ which I have found very good. It has an attractive panoramic restaurant on the first floor overlooking the sea. If you want to save the €uros, and/or stay up near the airfield, there is a Hotel Kyriad https://www.kyriad.com/en-us/our-hotels/france/normandy/hotels-dieppe/ within reasonable walking distance. Dieppe airfield is also one of the few where you can camp free on the field with the use of the club house shower and wash room (provided it is that time of the year when it is open!) .