Hi. I’m planning a trip from Shoreham (EGKA) to Padova (LIPU). I was going to try Lyon and Genova enroute for a change of scenery.
Has anybody been into any of these places recently?
Any info on AVGAS, tips, tricks or better alternatives greatly appreciated. I’ve never been let down by EuroGA before!
I’m flying with a friend in a PA28 Archer cruise is 110kts. Maximum leg times ideally 2hrs. We are stopping at Troyes for our entry and lunch and then working our way to Cannes (which I’m familiar with) via Lyon.
Bron is a nice GA-friendly airfield, nearer to the city centre than St Ex but still a reasonably expensive taxi ride. They have everything you’d expect of a sizeable airfield including quite a posh GA terminal. I think there are some hotels near the airfield too, if you don’t want to sample the city’s renowned gastronomy. I think we purchased AVGAS at the GA terminal by credit card, and the pumps were self-service. Or we might have used our Total card, memory is a bit fuzzy. No handling fees that I recall.
Strong wind / turbulence can be a problem on certain days – on my approach last year I was practically going from stop to stop on the throttle to hold an airspeed on a coupled approach. Eventually we hit a pothole and the a/p handed control back to me :)
If you are IFR, they also have a tendency to hold you very high until quite late, presumably because of the hills to the north and west of the airfield. You can expect to have to actively manage your descent with ATC. You’ll be working St Ex until the FAF or thereabouts.
Not recently into Padova, but I have been there a few times in total. It was a fairly slick airfield with “a bit of money around” – some Cirruses etc. No issues on the ground.
However I once got totally shafted by them, going there from Croatia before Croatia joined the EU and refused a landing clearance when on final because, they alleged, they had not received PNR, which I had sent… the report is here and it shows what can happen if some dickhead official decides to make a show of authority. I went around and was shafted again nicely by Treviso… Had enough juice to cross the Alps and get to Friedrichshafen. A very unpleasant day and got back home with minutes to spare before the airport closed and the wx closed in for ages. Check that LIPU has immigration, otherwise the same could happen to you from the UK. I got a lot of stick from some Italian pilots for reporting this, one of whom remarked recently that only an Italian should talk about it 
He was tongue in cheek but I wasn’t really amused. Another, not a real Italian but who spent time there, slagged me off on other forums…
Italy is a bit like Greece in that you do have to do everything 100% right and double-check they got any PPR/PNR before flying, except that in Greece they speak English
We flew to Lyon Bron 2 months ago with a PA-28 161. Arriving VFR from the south. Nothing strange really, just make sure to plan for the entry points on the VAC chart. AVGAS was available, we paid by regular credit cart, the local staff took care of it. Taxi to downtown was about 30-35€. My copilot paid the landing fee, so I don’t remember it right now, but I can look it up. It was nothing extraordinary nor extortionate. Departure was equally uneventful. The instructions from the tower were very clear. We had to hold for a landing bizjet, they warned us of possible wingtip turbulence.
Overall very positive experience. Very professional GA field.
Always a treat to read those 15-year old anecdotes again and again. 
Genova: an interesting airport to get into the logbook. If you want to park, you strictly need PPR. If it’s just a stop, PPR is not really required, but dropping them a short note before the flight will not hurt. It’s not cheap for just a short stop though. About 70-100 Euros depending on number of pax.
Padova: very uncomplicated nowadays. But no IFR any longer. No PPR required. Check working hours (AIP+NOTAMs). The firefighting people do it all, refuelling, taking your landing fee, etc. Expect 20-30 Euros. Very close to the (beautiful) city.
As usual, I will add that I wouldn’t do a trip to Italy between mid July and late August.
Many thanks @Rich @Peter and @boscomantico ideally we would have gone in June before It gets busy! I have purchased a 12v fan so I don’t melt while on the ground!! Thanks for the insight.
If you just need an inbetween stop go to Albenga LIMG. They have Avgas, very quick turn around, have customs and an NPA. I have been to Genova a few times and you could be waiting in thr GA office for quite a while. If you happen to arrive when there is commercial traffic your waiting time for anything could become quite long.
I would prefer Albenga a million times more and its about 10 to 15 min away.
We flew to Bron last June (France Aero Expo) . We took UBER taxi to downtown for less than 25€.
