hazek wrote:
If you don’t get parking you know enough in advance to come up with an alternate plan for yourself?
Sure, but that surely is your own problem. If this was all that they were getting at then a notam saying “Parking spaces are limited. Pilots are advised to request PPR as far in advance as possible.”
Here is my first report on the EGKA-LDLO part of the trip.
The first problem was Eurocontrol CTOTs (delays) caused by a “staff shortage” (also standard name for ATC industrial action) in France, which happens on at least 50% of my flights within or over France. These are artefacts of the Brussels computer software and do not relate to reality. My TCAS1 system, radius 15nm, vertically +/- 3000ft, saw not one return on the entire ~800nm flight. The CTOT was not short – 1hr – and would have made the flight considerably more hazardous due to buildups over the Alps which always get worse as the day progresses.
The green portion is VFR and this solved the CTOT problem because Eurocontrol does not check VFR sections 
Same route, same altitude, and French ATC gave me an IFR clearance afortly after crossing the coast. It’s a joke…
The shaded bits on the map are various “ATC delays”.
Overcast and low bases wx at Shoreham but the cloud layer was fairly thin
On top at about 2500ft
At FL100 in cruise, fuel totaliser system forecasting 25 USG at destination
Reasonable wx enroute
The famous Vatri ex-mil airfield, now used by bizjets
150kt TAS
Approaching the Alps. Not much snow in August
It gets better later
In Italy and the many big lakes
The bay of Venice
The unmistakable Adriatic scenery near Pula
Pula and the airport
10 mins to run
The small grass strip at Unije
Mali Losinj LDLO
Everything here works. Getting fuel
Some curious types – I think this is a Morava 200
The famous cafe with excellent food. Closed by the time I arrived
The interior of the pleasantly decrepit “terminal” has been refurbished
Down town
One for the ladies as always 
Peak season and not so much accommodation going cheap. On booking.com there was a number at €200/night and on airb&b there was a bizzarre selection consisting of a couple of yachts at about €2000/night plus a big 3-bedroom apartment at €120/night so I went for that, and it was great
Tunnels to explore; servicing for torpedoes (Yugoslav torpedo boats) inside
Rented an e-bike to get around the place faster
Lots of great food, and the best fish anywhere
I was there for 3 nights but it became obvious that a return to UK would not be possible due to widespread TS over the Alps and north of the Alps, along France, and moving east. So I decided to depart to southern France, to Montpellier LFMT which is a nice easy place with permanent customs/immigration (very rare in France where most airports are 24/48hr PN now). I missed a Notam demanding 3 days PN for parking (effectively closing the airport to visitors – unbelievable!) but they didn’t seem to care and I just got a stroppy email which anyway I didn’t see until after landing there…
So we are off to France instead and it looked like just a 24hr delay.
The airport manager – about 5cm long
This is the filed route EGKA-LDLO and the Eurocontrol tracking which predictably starts only after the filed VFR section. I was actually IFR long before that point but this is how the system works…
Flightaware tracking. FR24 is poor in comparison nowadays
Filed route to LFMT
Next part in a day or two
Peter wrote:
The interior of the pleasantly decrepit “terminal” has been refurbished
Lets hope that is a sign they want to keep the current airport and no longer dream about Ryanair and ruining the entire airport + island in the process…
Fabulous report, enjoyed it very much!
https://www.euroga.org/system/1/user_files/files/000/066/766/66766/325619dcf/large/file-048.jpg
Look, someone left a (insert preferred ga plane type here) seat cushion in the submarine bunker :)
Lets hope that is a sign they want to keep the current airport and no longer dream about Ryanair and ruining the entire airport + island in the process…
Why do all airports seemingly bend over backwards for this LCC mass transit crap? Once that “circus” arrives it must chase away many high revenue guests that don’t care for it.
Looks great.
I’ve great memories from our first flyin there.
It seems it was a great meet up! Perhaps a group pic can be shared?
Peter wrote:
widespread TS over the Alps
Yes, this seems to be the case over the Alps when there is significant instability in summer. When we flew parallel to and NW of them on Saturday 12th it was a seamless squall line going on for hundreds of miles well ahead of the cold front that subsequently blocked you. From FL220 it looked ugly and we went around it, but if you had to cross : not a chance!
Perhaps a group pic can be shared?
I don’t have any but others asked waiters to take few, so if all agree (I do) someone will post it here.
We’re fine with that too.
I agree as well.
The Boss has the pics ;-) as they are in the telegram chat.
This is the second and final part of the trip to Croatia.
It was not possible to fly back home direct due to “big weather” over the Alps and all through France, so I flew to southern France for 1 night: Montpellier LFMT. It is a basically easy airport except that somebody there is running a “little hitler” operation and they want 3 days’ PPR for parking! This was in their notams and I didn’t spot it, so I just flew there, knowing that customs & immigration (needed for the final leg back home) was “hrs AD” i.e. no PN. I got a stroppy email from them afterwards, and then realised I did the same (and got the same email) late last year…
The route LDLO-LFMT. IFR, up to FL130 to get shortcuts
Some buildups over the terrain in Italy
Lots of shortcut potential and I got most of them; the deal was FL130
Nice airport
Montpellier airport is ahead but not visible, and the approach (R12) is through the cloud
Route actually flown – Flightaware
Final RNP 12
Parked up. Most were F-reg except mine and this Bonanza. Fuel arrived after about 15 mins and you pay the fuel man directly. There is nowhere to pay landing/parking fees; the “GA terminal” has been deserted every time I’ve been there, so they email you an invoice, which is harder for UK visitors because they get hit with a big bank fee for foreign payments, and you can’t phone the airport with a card because they don’t take them over the phone!
I got a bus into town for €2 which compares well with a €35 taxi. Sometimes this works well, but I got a 30 min walk at the other end, with a big packpack (I always carry a laptop etc for any complicated replanning) which could have been solved with trams but that gets way more complicated Lots of great old architecture:
Nice place for dinner Unusual food and really great!
That was some sort of vanilla yoghurt
In the evening the TS was still going but dissipating and moving east so I re-did the flight plan to run more to the west
Amazingly the EuroGA leaflets I sent them late in 2022 were still there. That’s really nice of them.
Got a CTOT as usual in France but only 10 mins
They don’t really have a parking problem
The TS to the east of the route
38 USG forecast at Shoreham.
Had to climb FL150 to get over some of the stuff. The air on this whole trip was really warm – ISA+15 – which really impacts the climb performance
This is the end of it
Got some nice DCTs and after LGL got a DCT to Shoreham
N coast of France near Le Havre
At the UK end I got a “formation flight request” from my son and I set about flying along the coast but it became apparent the timing wasn’t going to work out so I went home
The route actually flown
Flight times:
EGKA-LDLO 5:15
LDLO-LFMT 3:40
LFMT-EGKA 3:50
Great trip, and thank you to our great fly-in group for making it so enjoyable
