Jan,
I am not totally familiar with the exact restrictions for ultralights in France, but to answer your question: the famous “sea-route” does cross through Nice CTR and Cannes CTR.
If you need to stay OCAS, you can merely fly the stretch from DR up to just southwest of Cap d’Antibes (below 500 feet). See here:
Otherwise, you can fly EW – NIZ – E (max 1000 feet AGL).
Re alternates to LFMD, this is actually not too easy…there are very few aerodromes on the Cote d’Azur. Your best bet might be Fayence (LFMF) but even that is pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
Maybe there are unpublished ultralight sites that I don’t know of, though. EDIT: just had a look and found that there is an ultralight strip at Fréjus, about 2 miles west of the old (closed) aerodrome. That might be a good one for you. See here.
Re Italy: as you probably know, the situation for foreign ultralights has become quite “complicated” in Italy. I assume you have already read this summary.
Phillip,
is Albenga still an official port of entry? I’d love to fly there once but one of our customers who flies there regularly said they were fighting to keep their AOE status.
Lovely trip report, thanks for sharing!
Very cool … and I stayed home, damn … :-)
Next time …
Boscomantico, thanks for your extensive reply, unfortunately I cannot look into it in depth right now.
The one thing I don’t care about is the situation in Italy: I have worked there (a tiny bit), and have done business there (another tiny bit) and feel quietly sure that few things are well organised there, but very many things can be arranged.
As for the situation in France I will have to carefully study the maps, and find appropriate aerodromes from sites like navigeo, should not be impossible. The tourist region near the border is too crowded and too high-budget crowded indeed, but 3 hours with reserves gives me 240 NM range (with zero wind, admittedly) so IF I can start from Albenga I can steer well beyond tabloids’ sphere of interest, into decent lands…
Albenga was an AOE earlier this year. Not heard if any problem. Police are there all the time so it seems not a big deal to be an entry airport.
Taken straight from the AIP:
Il traffico da/per paesi non appartenenti all’Unione Europea e al Trattato di Schengen, è permesso tutti i giorni previa richiesta con 3 ore di anticipo sul FPL
Traffic from/to extra European Union countries and out of Schengen Treaty is allowed every day previous request 3 HR before FPL
What is interesting is that in this case, you can sort your PPR for customs directly by means of the FPL.
(The english translation is a little unfortunate, but if you read the italian version, it becomes clear that the FPL is sufficient.)
This (i.e. fulfilling a PPR requirement merely by filing an FPL) normally does not work in the GA world (unless specifically written, such as here).
This also means that the OPS people at Albenga have direct access to FPLs (again: rare) and advise customs when there is an inbound from Non-EU/Non-Schengen. Neat.
This also means that the OPS people at Albenga have direct access to FPLs (again: rare) and advise customs when there is an inbound from Non-EU/Non-Schengen. Neat.
It probably means that the man who picks the FP off the AFTN message printer is willing to walk the vast distance of about 5m to the OPS office and give them the FP.
At most airports all over the world this disgraceful practice is banned because it breaks the trade union job demarcation agreements, which are alive and well in aviation. As I have said before, Arthur Scargill would have felt completely at home in airport management.
There is absolutely no reason why the FP cannot be given to other areas at an airport. It would be so obviously useful. The reason it doesn’t normally happen is because the people running the place specifically do not want it to happen. They have their job and somebody else has a different job and the two jobs must not overlap.
Same with on-site Customs – in such cases contacting Customs separately is self evidently stupid. Yet it is usually necessary. The exception is when you go via a handling agent; he will sort everything out for you (for his fee).
@Boscomantico: I found the time to look into matters. Actually I remembered that I have the IGN VFR map for the region, though it is from 2009.
Passing the CTR’s on the North side, as you suggested, seemed the sensible idea, though I distrusted the rapidly raising terrain, and also I like to NOT fly near VOR’s as too many pilots use them as waypoints – even when navigating low.
To top all that, my IGN map shows “TMA Nice 11” there, up from 1000 AGL. I don’t feel brave/experienced enough to fly an unknown hilly area below 1000 AGL. Think I’ll stay clear for a couple of years. Or inquire locally about chances for a TMA clearance.
great trip report and photos, thanks. i was parked two planes over from you in Cannes, i believe, on the other side of the DA40 with the orange and yellow paint job. Had just flown down from Fairoaks (EGTF) and spent a month enjoying the flying in the South of France, much nicer than England in the winter…
Comanche?
