Sadly, I’m out as well. Would have loved to join the fly-in, but it seems I won’t get home on Sunday (I can’t extend the stay and am VFR-only). Hopefully next time!
How about LIPZ as an alternate? This eliminates the issue of the lack of instrument approach and the wet grass runway.
Taxi from airport to Lido is fairly reasonable cost for groups.
No AVGAS though and no idea about costs.
OTOH I have read that LIPV’s grass is usable on a rainy day…any confirmation?
In my experience, the Lido runway doesn’t suffer too much just from a day of late spring/summer rain. It will be wet, but not a quagmire.
But yes, the overall weather looks very poor (lots of rain on Saturday and still rain on Sunday).
Anyway, had the event benn organized around LIPZ (or LIPU) from the outset wouldn’t have changed the outcome because most of the crews that wanted to come seem to be VFR-only anyway. Also, the problem is not so much the approach, but the enroute part of the flight, where the Alps are a factor for most people. So, in other words, the event would have ended the same way even if it had been in any other location in northern Italy. Nothing to do with LIPV. So chill, it’s just the way it is with events, VFR flying and big mountains, May is, in general, a rather unstable season in Italy.
Fees at LIPZ seem to be very random. I have reports ranging from 100 to 800 Euros for an SEP.
I agree with Emir above. That policy always worked in the past.
Venice (a grass runway) was chosen to be “inclusive”. EuroGA got a lot of criticism, totally unfairly but it still gets posted on various sites out there, by former posters here, for being “elitist” etc in the places we go to. It is an unfair criticism because it is simply the case that those who fly the most, fly to other countries the most, and contribute the most on EuroGA, tend to be IFR pilots. That’s just the way it is… However, we do have many VFR pilots on EuroGA, and this was to be an opportunity for these to meet up.
I am sure we will have a really good group anyway.
I need to be back at work Tuesday and while getting down there is fine today, getting back looks problematic, so I did what Justine did and got an airline flight. It also ensures delivery of t-shirts and leaflets 
But I dislike breathing 150 peoples’ germs as much as everyone else here, and I was looking forward to doing a movie over the Alps, with them still covered in good snow.
Good alternates are Padova (not IFR anymore but quite a flat area) or Trieste (IFR). Both are easily accessible by train. Trieste is about 1hr and the train costs €11. Padova is nearer. Both have avgas, customs, etc. I went to Treviso once, only to get shafted on avgas, which they initially said they had but then would not sell to me unless, apparently, I was “in” with the right people (apparently the aeroclub had it). But that was a long time ago… If there was concern over the runway I would go to Trieste for an IFR arrival/departure, or Padova if the wx is good.
The forecast changes every day, so one can’t tell if it will rain there. Over the Alps, yes.
We ought to do a meet-up in June; a short-notice one to make sure the wx is good.
A sudden work commitment on Saturday morning plus weather means I will not be attending.
So far nobody bailed because of the grass runway. Bad WX can be anytime and anyplace, nothing to do with Lido. It’s blue skies today and we’ll see how bad the wx will really be the next few days.
boscomantico wrote:
In my experience, the Lido runway doesn’t suffer too much just from a day of late spring/summer rain. It will be wet, but not a quagmire.
Affirm. Landed there during rain a few weeks ago, no issue at all.
Peter wrote:
being “elitist” etc
Lido is Venice, it doesn’t get more elite than this, and it’s fine. Haters gonna hate I say.
Snoopy wrote:
Landed there during rain a few weeks ago, no issue at all.
Great! What aircraft type? (hoping you will not say a Wilga on tundra tyres)
Reports from the telegram group are of a good runway.
I have to bail, not because of the runway, but because I can’t leave for Rome until Saturday am (planned today Friday departure) & I have to be back Sunday evening. I’m just not going to have fun dashing in and out, especially with en route weather perhaps causing delays.
Antonio wrote:
Great! What aircraft type? (hoping you will not say a Wilga on tundra tyres)
