Karlshöfen airfield

Karlshöfen airfield
Characteristics
ICAO code	EDWK
Coordinates	53 ° 20 '0 "  N , 9 ° 1' 7"  E Coordinates: 53 ° 20 '0 "  N , 9 ° 1' 7"  E
Height above MSL	6 m (20  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	1.8 km south of Karlshöfen
Basic data
opening	1968
operator	Aeroclub Elbe-Weser Karlshöfen eV
Start-and runway
11/29	700 m × 15 m asphalt

The Karlshöfen special landing site is located near Gnarrenburg in Lower Saxony . It is privately owned by the Bremen businessman Frank Mehrwald and is used by the Aeroclub Elbe-Weser Karlshöfen eV .

history

In 1967/68 the Bremen businessman Lüder Frank Mehrwald acquired the area of ​​today's Karlshöfen airfield from the farmer Johannes Meyer from Karlshöfen and built an airfield. Lüder Mehrwald ran an import and export business and moved his office there when the airport went into operation. In the meantime, he had taken on the agency for Piper small aircraft (Piper Aircraft) for Northern Germany as well as for Bulgaria and Romania and concentrated increasingly on the aircraft and aircraft spare parts trade. Since the trade in aircraft and spare parts for this did not meet the expectations of Mehrwald, he gradually shifted his business activities back to the import and export of goods of all kinds, now especially leather clothing. He transferred the operation of the airfield to the air sports club founded in 1971. However, his son Frank Mehrwald is the owner of the site and all properties. According to the owner Mehrwald, flight activity has decreased by around 60 percent since 2004.

The airfield has been operated since 1971 by the "Sportfliegerverein Karlshöfen eV". On September 13, 1975 it was renamed to the current name "Aeroclub Elbe-Weser Karlshöfen eV".

Flight operations

The airfield is approved for helicopters up to 5700 kg, airplanes up to 2000 kg, self- launching motor gliders and ultralight aircraft.

In addition to motorsport, parachute jumps are regularly performed by the Bundeswehr .

Conflict over expansion

In Karlshöfen, the "Citizens' Initiative for Quality of Living and Quality of Life in the Country" was founded, which speaks out against the expansion of the airfield. After plans became known that the airfield should be expanded by the owner, resistance formed. Officially, it is about the renovation of ailing buildings and the optimization of operational processes. Residents feared that the new development plan operated by the community would result in a significant expansion of air traffic. The owner Mehrwald wants to move the location of the club restaurant and the tower , possibly build a workshop and a training building, as well as build two more hangars.

Owner Frank Mehrwald pointed out in the Bremervörderner Zeitung that at Karlshöfen airfield, in comparison with other places, “only comparatively little development” had to be overflown. His airfield is part of the public infrastructure and therefore also worthy of funding according to state policy. This is how it is, said Mehrwald, even if the airfield is operated privately.

In 2015, a compromise proposal for the Karlshöfen airfield by the Bremen planning office Instara was submitted to the Gnarrenburg land-use planning and environmental committee. After that, a new 1250 square meter hangar for ten aircraft, a workshop in which two machines can be serviced at the same time, and a club building with a flight school and tower will be built. A modified traffic pattern that excludes parts of the village of Karlshöfen is also under discussion. The owner Mehrwald hopes that flight operations will increase again. In 2013 there were 3063 flight movements, while in 2002 there were still 6451 flights.

The BI complained, among other things, of the information policy of the aero club, as the precise plans were not made public.

Web link

• Operator's website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Citizens' frustration about the airport ( Memento from January 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ [1]  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ http://www.weser-kurier.de/region/wuemme-zeitung_artikel,-Kompromiss-fuer-Flugplatz-Erweiterung-_arid,814661.html