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Flying vacation to Tuscany

Thanks to everybody who helped me prepare this awesome trip, here is the report: https://www.euroga.org/forums/trips-airports/9867-flying-holiday-belgium-italy-france-report

EBMO, EBKT

I was a bit too late for the fly-in, maybe next time!

EBMO, EBKT

Small world

I am departing tomorrow for Brac so will take a look.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

@peter if you are wondering what the tiny plane next to yours is on the apron at Elba, that’s me :)
(D-PP)

Last Edited by jvdo at 09 Sep 14:43
EBMO, EBKT

boscomantico wrote:

If you fly a little further down the coast, here is Massa-Cinquale (LILQ), see here, a beautiful airfield in a beautiful location. Again, officially Avgas only, but you might be able to get some mogas too.

Massa seems like the best option in case it’s needed.

boscomantico wrote:


But then again, at Massa, you are only one hour from your destination anyway.

I know, but my range is quite limited (3h + 30min reserve).

EBMO, EBKT

case we need it, what would be the best overnight / fuel stop around along the NW coast of Italy (Genua region)?

Frankly, there is none. First off, there are very few landing spots in Liguria anyway. Only Albenga and Genoa airports. No “strips” in Liguria. Both Genoa and Albenga aren’t ideal as fuel stops. No Mogas. Avgas is rather expensive at Albenga, much cheaper in Genoa. But Genoa is of course less-oriented. See here. There is a hotel on the airport though. On the other hand, you might be able to get some mogas from Aeroclub Savona at Albenga airport.

If you fly a little further down the coast, here is Massa-Cinquale (LILQ), see here, a beautiful airfield in a beautiful location. Again, officially Avgas only, but you might be able to get some mogas too. But then again, at Massa, you are only one hour from your destination anyway.

If you stop on the other side of the Ligurian Appennines though, there are loads more options in terms of noce little airstrips with mogas, friendly people and surely some nice accomodation nearby. Aviosuperficie Boglietto for example. Or Castelnuovo Don Bosco.

Did you fly these routes yourself?

Of course. Many times during my time in Turin. Of course, for me it is not challenging, at least not in good weather. But I have to be a little careful with what I write on my website. From experience, I can say that many flatland pilots simply freak out, just because of a narrow valley or pass. This one is beautiful though, and if you are comfortable, I recommend it.

Last Edited by boscomantico at 22 Aug 07:37
Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

@boscomantico, in case we need it, what would be the best overnight / fuel stop around along the NW coast of Italy (Genua region)?

boscomantico wrote:

Getting a rental car at those airfields in the countryside is often a bit complicated. Tuscany is no exception there. First, I would ask Marco to help you organize it. He will be familiar with that requirement, so he might have contacts. As a last resort, he might lend you one of his cars.

He passed me a phone number for a local Avis agent, a 15min drive from Sant’Illuminato, Marco can drop us off. I’ll call Avis tomorrow.

boscomantico wrote:

the distance is too short for it to make sense.

Most of my flying doesn’t make sense :) haha

On your website I found the following about crossing the Alps:

10) Coming from the Western Alps (Grenoble): Montgenèvre Route and Mont Cenis Route

The starting point of these two challenging routes is Grenoble.

On the Montgenèvre route you fly from Grenoble to Les Deux-Alpes / L’Alpe d’Huez and from there to Briançon. Shortly behind is the Col de Montgenèvre (6083 feet). Continue via Oulx and Susa to Turin.

For the Mont Cenis route, from Grenoble you first follow the motorway to the northeast. Shortly before Albertville you follow the southeast branching highway to the end at Modane. From there follow the road east to the Col du Mont Cenis (6837 feet). Directly behind is the mythical Lac du Mont Cenis. From there you can easily descend towards Susa and then follow the Val di Susa to Turin.

You wrote these routes are quite challenging. Did you fly these routes yourself? Earlier in this thread the ‘Mont Cenis’ route was discussed, I also tought it was quite a good route, but I guess the most challenging part is the narrow valley near Mont Cenis?

Last Edited by jvdo at 21 Aug 18:53
EBMO, EBKT

Getting a rental car at those airfields in the countryside is often a bit complicated. Tuscany is no exception there. First, I would ask Marco to help you organize it. He will be familiar with that requirement, so he might have contacts. As a last resort, he might lend you one of his cars.

As regards destinations, yes, there are obviously quite many nice place to visit in the vicinity: Città di Castello, San Sepolcro, Arezzo, Castiglion Fiorentino, Perugia, Assisi, Gubbio are are within short distance. In fact, San Selpolcro, Arezzo, Perugia, Assisi and Gubbio would lend themselves for a visit by plane, but probably, the distance is too short for it to make sense.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

@boscomantico thanks for the feedback.
Have you ever rented a car when visiting Sant’Illuminato? I guess it’s worth it to visit cities nearby like Arezzo?

boscomantico wrote:

Just do yourself a favour and /unless you are in an ULM type or other STOL type), plan to land (and take-off) from there with the minimal amount of fuel (and weight in general) that is feasible for you. Whilst the strip is always well taken care of, it is still always a little bit challenging, especially due to the row of trees to the south of the field. I was there on the 1st of May this year, when it was obviously cooler than now, in the Arrow IV, with 3 POB and 2 hours of fuel. And whilst the take-off wasn’t “close”, we still didn’t clear the trees by a huge margin.

Thanks for the advice, I’ll visit it in an Aerospool Dynamic WT9, so normally I’ll have no problems taking off at MTOW.
But probably I’ll be quite low on fuel when I arrive, I think there is no fuel available at Sant’Illuminato, so I’ll probably fuel up at Aviosuperficie Serristori.

Last Edited by jvdo at 21 Aug 10:52
EBMO, EBKT

Hi @jvdo,

please excuse me; I forgot to come back to you…

Anywy, with Sant’Illuminato, you made a really good choice. The place is beautiful. And Marco is a very nice person and really cares for his guests. Say a nice hello to him from Philipp.

Just do yourself a favour and /unless you are in an ULM type or other STOL type), plan to land (and take-off) from there with the minimal amount of fuel (and weight in general) that is feasible for you. Whilst the strip is always well taken care of, it is still always a little bit challenging, especially due to the row of trees to the south of the field. I was there on the 1st of May this year, when it was obviously cooler than now, in the Arrow IV, with 3 POB and 2 hours of fuel. And whilst the take-off wasn’t “close”, we still didn’t clear the trees by a huge margin.

If you any other advice for the Italian part of your trip, let me know.

Last Edited by boscomantico at 21 Aug 09:45
Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany
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