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Flugplatz Ahrenlohe (EDHO) is a small Sonderlandeplatz near Tornesch in Schleswig-Holstein, some 2 km east of the town centre. Built in the 1960s as a private sports flying field, it survives today with only sporadic light-aircraft movements, its role largely superseded by the better-equipped field at Uetersen/Heist a few kilometres away.
Ahrenlohe is a small special-use airfield (Sonderlandeplatz) lying just east of Tornesch in Schleswig-Holstein, licensed for aircraft up to 5700 kg. It began life as a private sports flying strip in the early 1960s and today sees only occasional light traffic, making it a quiet, low-key destination for the sim pilot exploring general aviation fields in the Hamburg hinterland.
The airfield lies about 2 km east of Tornesch, with the BAB 23 Hamburg-Heide motorway passing close by to the east and the Hamburg-Kiel railway line to the west. It sits within the wider Hamburg area of northern Germany; the larger Uetersen/Heist airfield, with more developed facilities, is only about 6 km away.
Ahrenlohe has a single physical runway, 05/23, hard-surfaced and lit. The 05 threshold offers a landing distance of 1508 ft, while the 23 threshold offers 1827 ft. Field elevation is 33 ft.
An information frequency of 122.6 MHz is published for the airfield; there is no published callsign or ATC service, and no instrument approach or navaid facilities are noted. Pilots should expect to operate on this frequency for traffic information rather than a controlled service.
Local guidance for pilots flying VFR charts to Ahrenlohe notes that overflight of the built-up area adjoining the airfield should be avoided where possible. No further published circuit heights or joining procedures are given.
Useful visual references include the BAB 23 motorway running north-south just to the east of the field and the Hamburg-Kiel railway line passing to the west; the airfield itself lies about 2 km east of the town of Tornesch.
The airfield was laid out in the 1960s by Rolf Hatlapa, a manufacturer from nearby Uetersen, and received official approval to operate as a sports flying field in 1964. By 1968 it was handling around 2850 take-offs and landings a year. In mid-1973 the grass strip was paved with asphalt, and an agreement was reached limiting movements to 2000 per year after nearby residents complained about aircraft noise. The airfield made headlines in 1972 when an aircraft carrying five people crashed into the adjoining woodland shortly after take-off, killing all on board. The field was later auctioned, and movements fell to around six take-offs and landings a day; since 2004 only sporadic flying activity has taken place, in part because the nearby Uetersen/Heist airfield offers substantially better infrastructure.
Flying activity at Ahrenlohe today is limited and sporadic, and there is no flying school based at the field. The airfield is recorded as being operated by Frank Brockmann. Pilots planning a visit in simulation should expect a quiet, lightly used strip rather than an active training or club base.
