Departure
90%
vs 95% ▼ 6
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Valence-Chabeuil Airport lies in the Drome department of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, about 8 km east of Valence, and combines a long hard-surfaced runway with two parallel grass strips. Once a French Air Force base with a dramatic wartime history under Luftwaffe and later American control, it now serves general aviation, aerial work, army aviation testing and several flying clubs under an AFIS-controlled tower.
Valence-Chabeuil Airport (ICAO: LFLU, IATA: VAF) is a public and military aerodrome near the town of Chabeuil in the Drome department, close to Valence in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of southern France. It is operated by a mixed management syndicate (Syndicat Mixte de Gestion) and today hosts general aviation, business and private flying, aerial work, first flights and leisure flying, alongside a French army aviation test unit. For the simulator pilot it offers an interesting mix of a substantial hard runway alongside genuine grass strips, plus a layered wartime history that makes it a rewarding stop on a regional French VFR tour.
The airfield sits roughly 8 km (5 miles) east of Valence in the Drome department, within the Rhone-Alpes area of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, and about 483 km south-southeast of Paris. It is a mixed civil/military aerodrome, with the French army aviation test unit GAMSTAT/STAT maintaining an enclave on the site alongside civilian aeroclub operations.
Valence-Chabeuil has three physical runways. The main runway, orientated 01/19, is hard-surfaced and lit, with recorded lengths of 6,055 ft on the 01 threshold and 6,474 ft on the 19 threshold. Alongside it are two parallel grass runways, both lit: 01L/19R at 3,905 ft, and the shorter 01R/19L at 1,314 ft. There is no ILS at the field. Field elevation is 525 ft.
The airfield is served by Valence Tower on 120.1 MHz, callsign VALENCE TWR, providing an Aerodrome Flight Information Service (AFIS) from the control tower. The airport publicises lighting and navigational aids to support operations, and is stated to be open 24 hours.
The airfield lies close to Valence itself, on the eastern side of the town near Chabeuil, providing a useful landmark for pilots approaching from the Valence conurbation or transiting between the Rhone valley and the foothills of the Alps.
The airfield's origins go back to the 1930s, when the French Air Force established Valence-Chabeuil Air Base, which served as headquarters for the Zone d'Operations Aeriennes des Alpes (Alps Air Operations Area). Units flying the Potez 637 and Potez 63.11 were based here, and after the outbreak of war in 1940 the base's aircraft operated against Italian forces following Italy's invasion of France, though it saw no action in the Battle of France itself. Following the Second Armistice at Compiegne, French units were withdrawn to North Africa and the airfield was closed under the Vichy government. After the occupation of Vichy France in November 1942, Wehrmacht forces took control of the Valence area and the airfield passed to the Luftwaffe, though it was not used operationally until July 1943, when XI. Fliegerkorps based Luftlandegeschwader 1 there with Henschel Hs 126 reconnaissance aircraft and DFS 230 gliders. In early August 1944, Kampfgeschwader 26 briefly moved Junkers Ju 88s to the field to attack advancing American forces before being driven out. Twelfth Air Force combat engineers occupied the site in late August 1944, clearing mines and wrecked aircraft, and it was declared operational on 2 September 1944 as Advanced Landing Ground Y-23 Valence. The 79th Fighter Group flew P-47 Thunderbolts from the airfield until the end of September 1944, after which it became a transport hub supporting C-47 resupply and casualty evacuation flights until being handed back to French control on 20 November 1944. The Armee de l'Air returned in 1945 and re-established the site as an active air base, later laying a 2,100 m all-weather asphalt runway suited to jet operations.
Valence-Chabeuil now functions as a general aviation airport with AFIS service from the control tower, lit runways and navigational aids, and is described as open 24 hours a day. Three leisure aeroclubs are based on the airfield, covering powered aircraft, gliders and microlights, with around 300 members between them. Several small aviation and aeronautics businesses operate from the site, and the French army aviation test unit GAMSTAT/STAT maintains a presence there. Access and parking at the airport are described as free, and traffic includes business and private flights, aerial work, army operations, first flights and leisure flying.