Flying vacation to Tuscany

Hi Jdvo,
few tips about accomodations.
Accomodations:
http://www.mensanello.com/ , residence and airstrip , even in english, in Siena’s area.
http://www.aeroclubserristori.it/ , residence and airstrip, in Arezzo’s area.
Both should arrange a car for you.

Concerning Alpi crossing I’ll write you later.

For the trip from EBGB to Annecy, it is quite easy.
You can read my report in this post.

Voilà Jdvo, here I am for the second episode, Alpi crossing.
Don’t forget the third, often underestimated by foreigner visitors in Italy, that is “Appennini crossing”, and Tuscany is in the middle.
The advise I can give you in planning is to use SkyDemon new feature “Colour High Terrain”, that gives you a real awareness about safe altitude to fly.(see next pictures)
That said, the previous advice received, Gafor route Geneva/Lugano, is good if you have to go in Milano area or further east, but for going southbound it adds you many miles and force you to cross the full Milano Class A TMA zone. I did it many times becouse I leave in Milan area, but if you can avoid… avoid!
Anyway is a good way to cross Alps: keep it as plan B whenever needed..

Other passages: via AOSTA

In the picture two passages for Aosta Valley (the picture is SD with Colour Hig Terrain with reference 8500’):
- the first is the one shown: it passes just sides of Mont Blanc Massif, and is quite scenic! The passage on the border is 2500m high, 9000’ are enough but the more, the better.
- the second passage is the little circle with dot named “Petit St Bernard” few miles SE of the former. This is the well know Col du Petit.St. Bernard, that brings you in Aosta Valley. Here the passage is lower of the previous one, as you can see from map colors.

Other passages: via val di SUSA/Torino

For your plannig, this is the one I advise you, since you avoid the full Milan area, and going through Savona/Genova you will avoid Appenninis too.
Once in Italy you will stay south of Torino, heading Savona.

Here a rought planning of your final route to Mensanello, avoiding Appennini. Of course all passages through Torino, Genova and Pisa CTRs must be accorded with ATC and could be different. You can probably overfly Genova’s airport if you want avoid open water, but is a matter of last minute negotiation. Genova anyway is known to be a smart CTR.

Appennini crossing

Here it is Appennini’s area between Emilia Romagna region (north) and Tuscany (south).
If you come from Milan or Aosta valley (Ivrea), you have to face with them. If the weather is OK, you will keep 6000’ and go straight, but ofter, even in sunny days, CU or TCU are present on them keeping them hard to overfly, unless flying 10k.
The advised passages are the two highlighted: is not casual that two autoroutes cross in the same place (A15 left and A1 right), giving you a good visual reference when flying.
Here 4000’ are enough.

ELBA
Study well RW16 approach and landing on the many videos available on youtube, because is not trivial.
And feel free to rent a scooter, a car, a boat or whatever you want as other thousands of people do… Don’t be trapped into the idea that everything in Italy is dangerous: here live 55 millions of people with the same life expectation of the rest of Europe.

If you or someone else need further explanation, I’m here

It is usually helpful to write in Italian; google translate works well enough.

Hi judo, I called them and they told me there have been a misunderstanding with other English people and they believed to have answered to all.
Anyway he we’ll have a look and answer.
In any cas you can call at +39.0339.2503451 and they will answer even in English.

Mr Santilluminato called me again telling me to write him a new mail.