Dear forumites,
On Saturday we are a couple of pilots who will set off on our annual summer trip. This year we have three aircraft, DA40 – PA28-180 and a PA32R (first time for me to tour in the PA32! :) ) and we are 9 pilots in total.
Our idea is to fly from Sweden to Annecy (LFLP) on day 1 via Paderborn (EDLP) for fuel/lunch. Annecy seems to be a nice place to visit and GA friendly as well. If the WX is bad in western Europe our backup is to fly to Bratislava instead on day 1, with a suitable fuel/lunch stop in Poland. On day 2 we head for Elba, we will make a fuel and lunch stop in Cannes LFMD (primary route), or Portoroz LJPZ if we fly via Bratislava.
Once in Elba we plan to make a day trip, we haven’t decided on the destination yet, but Calvi is one option (Pisa was our primary idea, more on that later).
Our route home will be via Bolzano, the Brenner pass to Innsbruck, then straight north from there. It’s a very scenic route which we have flown before, let’s just hope the WX is cooperative this year also. Last year it was marginal visibility in the valley.
Before we commit to this route I’d like to make one final check that there aren’t any issues that we haven’t identified that can cause trouble. All airports seems to be GA friendly and not too pricey, with fuel, except for Elba. We are aware of the disinfection problem, we are trying to see if we can minimize the risk in some way before we depart, otherwise we will have to take our chances. I’ve tried to contact AOPA Italy via their web form, but it’s broken (gives back an SQL statement lol.. ). This is also why we most likely won’t go to Pisa for our day trip, if we are lucky on Elba we don’t want to push it :)
Any feedback/suggestions on the route as most welcome. Thanks in advance all!
On Saturday we are a couple of pilots who will set off on our annual summer trip. This year we have three aircraft, DA40 – PA28-180 and a PA32R (first time for me to tour in the PA32! :) ) and we are 9 pilots in total.
Our idea is to fly from Sweden to Annecy (LFLP) on day 1 via Paderborn (EDLP) for fuel/lunch. Annecy seems to be a nice place to visit and GA friendly as well. If the WX is bad in western Europe our backup is to fly to Bratislava instead on day 1, with a suitable fuel/lunch stop in Poland. On day 2 we head for Elba, we will make a fuel and lunch stop in Cannes LFMD (primary route), or Portoroz LJPZ if we fly via Bratislava.
I would chose something a bit more scenic and interesting for the lunch stop in Germany than EDLP.
Also, according to your plan, you will be in Cannes on Sunday, and the restaurant will be closed. Gotta pay attention to the these things, particularly in France.
Re fuel: Elba does have both Avgas and Jet, but it’s expensive. Won’t need any though if you refuelled at Calvi.
Re Zika: for the time being, I would tend to avoid the “big” airports for now. That’s why I wouldn’t do Pisa. In addition, Pisa is very poor for GA (expensive, burocratic) and the city isn’t very beautiful. The tower is just that, with thousands of Chinese surrounding it.
If you want a nice Tuscan city, consider Lucca.
Otherwise, why not spend an afternoon and a night at one of the numerous Agriturismi in Tuscany? Pratello (near Pisa) immediately springs to mind. They have a well cared-for, 1000 metre grass runway.
Sounds like a great trip 
I would never again fly to Calvi however until they fix their sand-covered apron. After the 2014 fly-in there my plane was covered in the crap, in and out (we left a door open while somebody taxied past).
Lucca is nice too and the airport was fine.
Look at refuelling in LIKO.
Almost on your route and cheaper.
And no ZIKA issue…
Great trip as planned!
Instead of Portoroz you might do Venezia Lido. The fuel might be more expensive but nothing beats an approach into Venezia.
As Bosco said I wouldn’t do Pisa, it’s an ugly city. Lucca is beautiful and the airport is GA only and straight forward. If you want a bit of beach highlife you can do Massa Cinquale, Forte dei Marmi.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Especially Lucca sounds like a promising destination for a day trip, I actually landed there 4-5 years ago to refuel on my way from Balaton (Hungary) to Cannes. Managed to have a turn-around in 20 minutes there, which was required to make it to Cannes in time before they closed the airport (tower closed minutes after we landed).
Regarding Lido, thanks Placido for the suggestion! I absolutely agree, it’s an astonishing approach, but as we’ve been there before we prefer the lower price at Portoroz.
boscomantico wrote:
I would chose something a bit more scenic and interesting for the lunch stop in Germany than EDLP.
Such as… EDRK Koblenz perhaps? EDRT Trier? Both have the fine scenery of the river Mosel, AvGas, and a well-reputed restaurant. Only a bit from the Mosel is Idar-Oberstein but that’s a grass runway.
EDGS Siegerland might be a bit more expensive, and the scenery might be less impressive; I have not been there but some people seem to like the place.
The stop on our way south is only 1:30h fuel and food, we never leave the airport actually, so for those stops we prioritize the airport’s capabilities. We’ve had good experience in the past with Paderborn in that regard, but I will check the other options as well. In terms of endurance of the aircraft, it must be quite near Paderborn to fit the purpose unfortunately.
Jan_Olieslagers wrote:
and a well-reputed restaurant
not the one at Koblenz
LFKF also has sand apron with stones. But they have rule not to enter this apron at own power.
Regarding Zika, recently visited Catania, Lucca and Salerno. No checks.
For lunch stop EDFR offers amazing pizza.
Pisa is surely overrated. If you want to see tower (the only attraction there) better to consider day trip by train from Lucca or anywhere else.
