Lease, garbage tax, access… The association which works for young people via initiation certificates hopes for support from the community of Alès agglomeration.
A 780 meter airstrip in the heart of a natural site called Hell.
The symbol is there and sums up, very aptly, the self-sacrifice of these Cévennes miners, passionate about aviation, having torn this singular landing strip from the mountain. Located on the heights of La Grand-Combe, the Champclauson aerodrome, officially inaugurated on June 6, 1954 by the Secretary of State for the Interior Édouard Thibault, today sees the horizon darkening for its heirs as much as for its users. Due to two letters sent to the attention of the president of the community, Christophe Rivenq, which remained unanswered, the members of the Gard Gliding Center association (CVVG) are wondering.
In this aviation environment, where nothing is hidden and everything is said, Alain Poncet, president of the structure, and Christian Boureaud feel like a political gap in the support given to this association with demands that are both legitimate and financially accessible. The access road to the site is broken, the association pays the tax on household waste even though no trash containers are available and the renewal of the long lease concerning their premises has been pending since 2021.
What motivates us is the kids, doing baptisms, making young people fly!
Finally, a property tax of nearly €3,500 puts a heavy strain on the association’s budget. “Here, it’s 40 years of work and we are waiting to know what is in store for us, knowing that a lease renewal over one year does not allow us to plan ahead.” underlines Alain Poncet. “But what motivates us is the kids, doing baptisms, making young people fly!”Owner of its premises, housing a real “treasure” made up of two-seater and single-seater gliders, a tugboat and a flight simulator, this heritage, today of inestimable value, allows the association, benefiting from Youth and Sports approval, to offer each year for around twenty students to obtain their aeronautical initiation certificate (BIA).
A valuable tool for regional development
Lighting the fire of a passion in the hearts of adolescents constitutes a bet on the future, specifies Alain Poncet: “Whereas, within five years, 15,000 pilots will need to be recruited into airlines… “As an example, he cites the journey of this kid from Salles-du-Gardon, Roman Bellin, today a co-pilot at Transavia and passing through the runway at the Champclauson airfield, nicknamed the “aircraft carrier” because of its dimensions. This runway, shared with the Cévennes Montagne Aeroclub, usable by microlights and classic planes, remains a valuable tool for the development of the territory. A hell which still brings happiness to these enthusiasts.
