highflyer wrote:
Savings are 350 Euro. One must deduct 23 Euro landing fee.
I’d calculate that an extra stop for fuel adds about 45 min to an hour to my flight time. So depending what type of plane you are traveling with the 325 savings on fuel price is just about break even. Then it is more a question if the 1,5 hrs. of saved trip time or the 1 hr of more flight time in your logbook is more valuable for you …
Also remember the cost saving is only on the fuel you actually bought, not on the whole tank. And that cost saving has to be funded by the extra cost of doing the fuel stop.
aart wrote:
San Luis now has a procedure to announce your arrival and pay your landing fees on-line.
Landing fees are not mentioned, it seems they are included in the 12 Euros for the first day. All in all it`s the same price as in 2019.
We were not checked, neither on arrival nor on departure.
highflyer wrote:
And yes, they have fuel in their hangar for members of the aeroclub only.
Sooo, in theory, can you get some? And if you ask nicely, would the rental car companies at LEMH be willing to pick you up?
Even though it should be feasible mostly to do without if coming from the Spanish mainland. Practically thinking either from Perpignan (150 NM) or Ampuriabrava (about 120 NM) should be more than adequate to get back out again, otherwise Son Bonet is not too far.
Neat destination in any case, needs to go on the backlist.
The original question seems to me to be a bit too unspecified to push the debate into a specific direction.
I think that checking fuel prices for landing, rather than destination, is useful whenever flying long trips where you have to refuel at any time of the trip. Just to give an example, having 6 hours of endurance (or more) and planning trips of 8 hours and more, any intermediate stop can be planned quite freely. So looking at fuel prices seems interesting. Any short flight will go rather for a specific destination, where fuel prices are totally secondary.
For example flying across Europe to Spain or to Greece you can safe a lot when looking where to refuel. And some destination even doesn’t provide any AVGAS, wherefore refueling on the way is mandatory.
Cheers, Udo
I keep hearing about aeroplanes with 4, 6 or 8 hrs endurance – but how many people actually want to fly for that long in a small GA SEP? Our aeroclub has a DR400 with an aux tank, so total of 150ltrs = 5hrs endurance. However flying anywhere for a holiday I wouldnt want to fly more than 2-3 hrs in one go, neither would my GF/partner, and thats the length of the legs I plan, with no more than 2x per day. So thats an average of around 5hrs flying a day and enough for me even with the break in the middle. I get the impression IFR is less work/stressfull than VFR (me) but is it so much easier that 4hrs+ in one go is not tiring? So unless you absolutely need the range for a trip across the atlantic or something, how long do you really want to be airbourne in one go?
FTAOD, Longest flight time in a day is 7-8hrs (three legs), Longest single flight so far is 3hrs40mins.
It was after the 1st (to get the aeroclub Robin back for a club event after Id been delayed by weather 4 days) I decided that I would only ever do 2 legs a day. It was after the second (to not have to stop for fuel) I decided to aim for 2-2,5hr legs if at all possible and take the delay of a stop.
Regards, SD..
Well, the DR400 is one particular uncomfortable plane for longer trips. Try a Cirrus or a Bonanza and fly it ar FL090 or so, above any turbulent air and it gets really nice to do these long trips without refuelling stops in between.
Also, bunkering fuel (either because a particular airport used doesn‘t provide it or because it allows you to save money) are valid reasons already discussed a million times.
VFR I would say that what you outline is very sensible. Why push it if you don’t have to and after all isn’t flying supposed to be fun, not knackering.
IFR especially with autopilot is so much less workload en route that one might fly a little more. You also need to keep in mind the regs on fuel for diversions and reserves. For me I keep it down to about 4hrs because at that it’s still fun.
In less than 4 hours I can be in Corsica, 2hrs to Spain from home base. And if wasn’t for the need to clear immigration I could be in the centre of the UK in 2.5hrs and the Channel Islands in less than 2hrs, even in the club DA40 or DR420.
Munich is 5hrs away so why not split it and have a nice lunch sans wine of course.
how many people actually want to fly for that long in a small GA SEP?
It depends on whether one flies for “a bit of fun” or uses GA to travel to a destination. And of course where one is based.
If say you are based in Ireland then you are looking at a multi hour (or multi hour / 2 if in a TBM 
) flight to get almost anywhere abroad.
In France, you have plenty of places to visit without leaving France.
In Germany you are quite central to start with; Mali Losinj is doable for lunch from S. Germany.
Then when you look at where Europe becomes “scenic” it is obvious that out of the UK one has to fly for a few hours. Watching e.g. this video you get the idea pretty well But if you live in N Italy then all that is just up the road.
I’ve just noticed yet another airport fuel price app started. It’s unbelievable how many people think this is a route to making money. The market is squeezed between
The early models of the Cessna 180/182/185 and Bonanzas had only 55 USG useable and 44 USG useable, respectively. It is as if the designers of these types assumed that they should do what it says on the tin: four seater baggage and full fuel. This gave the aircraft around four hours endurance with VFR reserves, which the designers in their wisdom, correct I think, is the most passengers might tolerate in a small aircraft.
Over time tanks got bigger, 1970’s Chevy Impala styling arrived, and these types got lardier and lardier. The useable fuel increased to over five hours or more and payload decreased. A straight tail 182 weighed 1600 lbs empty, its modern descendant waddles in at close to 2,100 lbs. An early modern Bonanza might weigh 1900 lbs empty, on a later V tail it is not unusual to find some of them on the scales at 2400 lbs plus. The $1MM G36, putatively a spacious six seater, has around 1,000 lbs useful load, not much more than a Warrior.
The backcountry Super Cub and 180 crowd are rediscovering the cult of lower lbs/HP and an early 182 might command $115k, up nearly 200% from a few years ago.
On the question, I would go to the most convenient airport within reason. €150 handling might make me reconsider, but the taxi ride from the cheaper grass strip may cost as much, plus the inconvenience etc This is in the context of practical travelling not a Sunday day trip.
