Please can you phone Flers Aerodrome

Posted by Rosie

Living as we do, next door to the gite means we are usually on hand to help guests with any small requests.  We have phoned restaurants to make reservations, checked the opening times of attractions and acted as translator on many occasions.  So when Fred and family were here it was no problem making a reservation at the local restaurant for them.  However that was not their only request and their second was was something I had never done before.

"Could you please phone Flers Aerodrome and see if Fred's son can land his plane there!"

"Err, of course," I replied, wondering what the French was for "land a plane".

It turned out however that the aerodrome is only run by volunteers and there would be no-one there on the afternoon in question.  So instead he had to land at the slightly bigger airport of Caen Carpiquet where Fred and family, myself and the boys went up to meet him. He arrived safely (and we took photos of the right plane coming into land!) and we waited whilst he cleared customs - all of a few minutes!

"Would you like to see the plane and sit in it, boys?" is probably a slightly daft question to ask Tom and Ben who leapt at the chance.  Before we had left for the airport something had made me put in our passports - I don't know what made me do it, but I am very glad I did, because despite the fact we were only going on the runway we had to show them and there was no way the customs officials were going to let us through otherwise. 

The plane was a 4 seater ... but as for more than that I am afraid I don't know.  But I don't think names were important to the boys who were so chuffed to get to sit in the cockpit of a real aeroplane. 

Tom and Ben, two very happy boys

Pilot Tom, ready for take-off

Two new arrivals

I am now wondering what the next unusual request from guests will be.  Oh and to land a plane in French is "poser un avion" just in case you ever need to make that same phone call!