It was ok. I was warned by Peter earlier in this thread so came in a bit high and with +10kts extra speed. Warned the GF for possible turbulence.
All went well.
Today Justine and I flew from Athens LGAV to Milos LGML.
Our apartment in Athens turned out to be a tour de force in how not to go downmarket with AirB&B. It’s obvious that every Tom Dick and Harry with a spare broom cupboard puts it on AirB&B (especially since most of them are not declaring it for tax) and this was reinforced with this mistake
If the aircon was on, no other electric appliance could be used because the main CB would trip. The bathroom stunk of sewage… you get the idea. AirB&B needs to be used with caution! Let me add that it wasn’t me who booked it – I tend to go a lot higher up price-wise where you can get a whole smart apartment for the price of a hotel room 
But, it did have good views
The museum was very good
This suggests that even Greece is not immune from the spread of students of University of Upper Warlingham MBA in HBM (holistics bullshit management) 
There is a super restaurant at the top of a hill from which you get amazing views
I allowed 1hr from arrival at the airport to getting airborne and that was just right. Swissport were really good.
A lot of planes, though notably no “cheap to run” ones
It’s worth noting that the “zero handling” deal during the “flying week” is, according to Swissport, worth just €25, against the unavoidable airport charge of €180 (which includes €25 for a very short car ride which AFAICT can’t be avoided either). Together with the first half of the flying week show getting cancelled, it would have been better to fly to Corfu LGKR instead of Athens… but it was great to see Petakas
While getting into LGAV was easy enough (vectors, ILS, lots of radio and a follow-me car) I found getting out extremely hard. The ATC accent was barely legible, with the ICAO mnemonics almost impossible to make out. They also joined up all the names into one continuous sentence. Clearly this is a place for pilots who know their way around. Anticipating this, I gave Justine the task of writing down everything she heard, and studied the airport chart before moving, but it didn’t work well enough. At one stage ATC asked for “Charlie 9” but I could not find it. Then immediately they asked us to follow a 737 called Volotia which I did. Now, sitting at Milos, I can see C9 here
but it is not in a place anyone would look for it. And how do you get from C9 to depart on runway 21L? One of the ground frequencies I was asked to contact while moving was not responding. The instruction to follow the 737 was ambiguous because previously I was also asked to stop at an earlier point, but with a queue of airliners behind me I was happier to just follow the one ahead. I have been to other airports of this size and with airliners end to end (e.g. Zurich) but never had any trouble like this. Valencia was something else – incredibly disorganised, with one frustrated 737 crew calling out “welcome to the 3rd World of Europe” on the radio – but at least I could see where to taxi.
Another interesting thing is that I was cleared to line up immediately after a departing 737/Airbus and “cleared to take off when ready”. Clearly this was time to dust off the IR ground school minimum wake separation time but was the one before Medium or Heavy? Normally, ATC run the wake separation stopwatch for you. And the 3 minute time I recall as being “always safe” after a departure of anything whatsoever was a very long time to sit on the runway. I have never seen this procedure before. The wind was 180/06 which was from the left so I gave it a minute or so and then made sure I stayed to the left of the runway centreline, because any vortices would have got blown off to the right. Regardless, whatever it was I did, there wasn’t the slightest bump although I was expecting a big one.
Anyway, from the next stop (Skiathos LGSK) I am not going back to LGAV. Justine can get a ~€80 flight from LGSK to LGAV for her flight home, and I will go back via Corfu LGKR which is much easier and cheaper. I will do Skiathos-Bastia in one day.
The departure clearance was just the KEA1F SID
although ATC had to read that out several times before I could decipher it, due to the accent. Plus the transponder code. Nothing else. After takeoff, all went fine. I got just headings (the SID was cancelled with a “continue heading” just as I was halfway through the turn specified at 4000ft) and then an “own nav” to Milos.
Soon after departure
The last of the mainland
Eventually Milos appeared in the thick haze. I was going to fly the VOR approach (some terrain down there so better to do this right) but it all became visible OK
At this point I was talking to Athena Radar who have a descent from the original 8000ft cruise (later renamed as “flight level 80” – not sure if LGAV operates a different transition level to Athena Radar, but the difference was only about 60ft) to 4000ft and when visual with the airport down to 1500ft. They asked me to report at MIL and whether I wanted some [unintelligible] approach. I asked for a visual approach and got it. It was not possible to get down fast enough before missing the option to turn right base and land, so I asked for a left orbit to final, and then Athena got 100% busy with some arrivals into Iraklion and I could not get a word in edgeways, so I just changed to Milos Information and landed… There is no landing clearance involved. It was odd to get controlled down to such a low level, by a unit which is really busy at times.
The famous multi-coloured quarries of Milos
The airport, viewed from the landing direction
This was about the point I decided to give up trying to call Athena
Parked up next to a G-reg Cessna, with Justine hiding in the shade behind
The flight was about 45 mins airborne time. I landed with 75 USG and this will have to last to Skiathos and then to Corfu. I need to check that… otherwise it will be Samos.
One of these turned up about 15 mins later
and clearly this is what the narrow time slot is for.
Time for lunch and Ouzo
It’s not cheap (don’t expect that in the Eurozone) but it’s very fresh
You can get the other stuff too
I am glad you made Brac, lenthamen. It’s a super place (not cheap, at about €90 and that’s after the 50% AOPA discount). It would make a great EuroGA fly-in location too, althought I would suspect it might be a little far for some. OTOH some people from Spain came to Mali Losinj in May 2014 so maybe not?
Great report, Peter.
Looks like your approach to Milos was handled different than mine in June. I also wanted the VOR approach, just for practice, but they never let me down. I had to cancel IFR in 9000 feet when i was 20 or 15 miles out … and landed VFR
Say hi from G-YORC :-)
Peter wrote:
The ATC accent was barely legible, with the ICAO mnemonics almost impossible to make out. They also joined up all the names into one continuous sentence.
They did the same on the way in (while you were still completing the landing roll). But luckily then you had an experienced first officer, who noted them all down and translated them into left/right/straight on instructions, while you finished the landing
an experienced first officer
And poor me who always believed this forum was about general aviation
Admittedly though, there are only hints at the subject of said first officer’s main experience…
They did the same on the way in (while you were still completing the landing roll). But luckily then you had an experienced first officer, who noted them all down and translated them into left/right/straight on instructions, while you finished the landing
Yes, very true, and the guy did such a good job that I completely forgot
But, seriously, I wonder what is the best way to handle these situations? Officially, AFAIK, you are supposed to use one of
I did notice that today the LGAV controller spoke much more clearly during the latter part of the taxi. He must have realised I was unfamiliar with the place. But there may have been something else going on, because he did twice ask me where I was. I also recall getting cleared to D7 which is obviously wrong – the wrong direction for someone starting at the GA area and heading for a departure on 21L unless he wanted me to depart from partway along the 4000m runway which obviously would make sense, but then the instruction to follow that Volotia jet made it ambiguous, because following it would take me to D12 or even D13.
Also, a departure from D7 would make an aircraft much more vulnerable to wake turbulence from an aircraft departing from D12 or D13… most of the jets will be rotating around D7.
That’s a real advantage of a modern glass cockpit. After landing the MFD in my Cirrus automatically switches to the taxi chart, and that really makes it easier.
I need that festure three times a year … but then it is great fun.
Indeed, though there are two issues:
If ATC speaks slowly and clearly, and you have the printed airport chart under your nose and have had a good look at it, worked out where you are, know the departure runway, then having a good stab at the likely taxi route, plus the likely SID, is not hard.
Of course, but if you have the taxi chart BIG and up there in eyesight level you can much better anticipate what they will tell you to do …(i still have to stop sometimes :-))
And, yes, it us expensive. I have the whole Jeppesen package (2 × GNS430, NavData for MFD, IFR approach charts Europe and VFR approach charts) … and all that costs € 2700/year …. but COPA members get a 25 percent discount (15 months instead of 12)
I use Garmi’s SafeTaxi on G1000 – it wasn’t expensive (maybe 60-70€) and replay option on voice panel if I miss something.
