I woke early. The weather in Cortona was perfect, clear skies, still wind, great visibility. I tried not to disturb the wife as I dressed and took my netbook downstairs to reception so I could access the free hotel WiFi to get the en-route weather and file a flight plan etc. This was all going rather well, I got connected and the en-route weather was fine, much better than it had been. I filed a flight plan with Olivia and made sure to note down the number and French agency it was filed with just in case. By this time, others were stirring so I went back and roused the wife for breakfast.
We were packed and driven to the airfield by 09:30. I checked the plane carefully and loaded up. A short taxi to the fuel pumps and I was number two for fuel. Well this was the most expensive fuel on the trip, at EUR 2.40 – ouch! Fortunately, I didn’t need a huge amount, just enough to get to Cannes, my chosen refuelling stop. MY first leg for the day would be a re-trace of my route out.
MONTECCHIO DCT CASTIGNLIONCELLO COAST PISA COAST LASPEZIEA COAST GENOA COAST MONACO COAST LFMD
The UK contingent at Montecchio
I backtracked on the 800m grass runway with nil wind and carried out my power checks, then applied full power and skittered off down the runway. At about the halfway point I was airborne and did a single circuit of the airfield so I could take some photos.
Well there's a first on the trip!
A waggle of the wings as a goodbye and away we went headed for the coast south of Pisa.
Montecchio airfield from the air
I didn’t immediately speak to anyone on the radio as I was enjoying the moment. The approaching Siena I thought I should speak to Pisa, but they insisted I was outside their zone and that I should speak to Grosseto Approach – Oh boy was THAT a mistake! I contacted Grosseto and had to try a few times to raise them. When I did they were fairly hard to hear and had a very heavy Italian accent (fair enough, it is Italy after all!). Well I had to repeat everything three times and even then he would keep coming back asking the same question. They really didn’t understand that I came from Montecchio and that it didn’t have a formal ‘LI’ ICAO code. Here is an example:
GROSS: ‘Wherea you comma from’ GGDRV: ‘Departure airfield is Montecchio Podere, a private airfield near Siena’ …LONG PAUSE… GROSS: ‘You comma from Siena, ees correct?’ GGDRV: ‘NEGATIVE, depart from Montecchio Podere, I say again Montecchio Podere’ GROSS: ‘What is airfield code?’ GGDRV: ‘There IS no airfield code, it is a private airfield, I say again a private airfield’.
It went on in this vein with pretty much every single thing I said. Then of course they claimed that Rome said I didn’t have a flight plan, so I read the receipt number and originating agency on the radio. I know that one of the forumites was on frequency at the time and was doubtless crapping himself laughing, while I was literally at screaming pitch in the cockpit – ask my wife! Well I should have given up after five minutes and simply said ‘Going non-radio’ and switched the bloody thing off, but I didn’t did I?
I HAVE to relate another conversation I had with the, it’s a gem (but I didn’t think so at the time). GROSS: ‘Wherea you goto?’ GGDRV: ‘Destination Cannes in France, Lima Foxtrot Mike Delta’ GROSS: ‘OK, wherea you cross da FIR?’ – Now in the context of the previous question and reply, this isn’t too strange a question, he would be asking where I was planning to cross the FIR boundary between Italy and France, although having told him I was routing along the coast, it seemed a redundant question, but maybe he was just working through the list. So I said GGDRV: ‘Crossing FIR at Monaco’ (Yes, the one with Prince Ranier, loads of millionaires, a world famous formula 1 grand prix etc. GROSS: ‘We donna know Monaco, can you spell’ so I spelt it phonetically and they STILL did not know what I was talking about – AAAARRRGGGHHHHH!
Bottom line is that they decided I was out of their area (not to mention planet) when I was well inside the Pisa zone and by the time I contacted Pisa they wanted me to descend immediately to 1000’ along the coast etc. I had to put that incident behind me as we slipped along the Italian coast at 1000’.
Rosignano Marittimo in Italy
The weather on the coast was low, ill-defined clouds. I am sure I could have got on top at 3000’, but I was stuck at 1000’ occasionally going through low cloud. Pisa were in contrast excellent. I contacted Genoa for a 1000’ routing along the coast and specifically asked for a transit of La Spezia as if I had to route inland I would have to get VMC on top. They came back and agreed a transit without hesitation, perhaps like all military stuff it was closed on the weekend.
The headland at La Spezia
Well what a nice town it looked from the air, must be well worth a visit sometime. I carried on along the coast and contacted Albenga who asked me to report as usual at their three VRP’s, then they suggested I contact Nice (you simply cannot get Milano in this area at a low altitude).
Nice were OK except that they insisted that I must route inland as the coastal VFR route was not available for to the Nice runway in use, oh and by the way I must be at least 5000’ above and well clear of Monaco. I glanced at the low and dense looking clouds above me and extending inland, well no way! I replied that I was unable to do this in VMC. He called me back and gave me special permission for the VFR low level coastal route at 500’. Well the water was a lot calmer than last time and there were numerous expensive speedboats cutting dramatic large white wakes as they tore around the Med. They handed me over to Cannes who confirmed the QNH and that runway 17 was in use with a wind of 170 / 10 and I could join and report left downwind. I don’t believe it – no crosswind, how would I manage? I did my pre-landing checks and joined left downwind. I turned base and chopped the power to bring the airspeed back and dropped the flaps. 75kts coming in nicely and a good approach. Over the numbers, chop the power and let the speed bleed off. Hold off and off for what was the best landing of the trip, not quite a ‘greaser’ but not far off. Now why can’t I do those all the time? I recall the sage word of my first instructor like the disembodies voice of Obeywan in Start Wars ‘A good landing comes from a good approach’ – yes master!
G-GDRV at Cannes
We taxi in and when clear of the runway are told to contact ground. I ask ground for the AVGAS pumps and although they are broken, I am told to taxi there as the fuel truck is parked there. As I taxi in I see Derek and Tammy in their Cherokee six fuelling up that they flew direct IFR straight across the sea. Given that they took off before me, we must have made really good time to be that close behind them.
We will up as far as I dare for weight and balance as the next trip may be a long leg then call for short term parking. They ground guy is extremely helpful as we taxi past lines of top of the line business jets. We park up and wander into the extremely plush, air-conditioned terminal, staffed seemingly exclusively by female models working at the airport in their spare time – did I die somewhere along the route and this is heaven? No, if it was, I would be Richard Gere dressed in cool crisp linen and a pressed white cotton shirt with a jacket tossed in a studied casual over my shoulder. As it is, I am in ‘zipped-off’ hiking trousers with a smelly ‘Air Combat USA’ golf shirt and an ‘I am Canadian’ baseball hat and a camera and ELT hanging from my belt. I get glanced at like I just crawled out from under a rock (no change there then!).
Yep - that's Cannes airport alright!
I want a quick turnaround, so we gently re-hydrate in the bar (soft drinks only of course) while I recheck the weather for the last leg to Vichy. The weather is fine and we pay the modest landing and handling fees and the fuel of course (actually a good prices, about EUR 1:80) and back to the plane to mount up. We take off from 17 as I resume my march along the VFR coastal route.
My route was planned to be:
LFMD COAST MARSEILLE DCT CM DCT MTL DCT VNE DCT ROU DCT LFLV
At St Tropez I contact XXXXXXXXXXXXX Information and they tell me that the coastal route is close as there is an event at Toulon (now why didn’t I spot that in the NOTAMs?). Bugger! He helpfully suggests I divert inland, say from STP to LUC VOR. I flap around with the map while my wife holds the plane. OK, I see what he is getting at. At LUC I wonder where the hell to go next and how to avoid the mess of airspace at the bottom of the coast around Marseille. I decide to follow the large highway below me, the A8 and fly to the various marked VRP’s to the West and North West and pick my way along those to Avignon. I am advised to stay above 3000’ to avoid Aix airspace and the clouds are plenty high enough to allow me to do this. Provence Information are really helpful warning me about traffic and airspace as I announce various VRP’s. I pick my way through to Avignon and now I am back on familiar territory and breath a sigh of relief.
I start to position myself for the low level route around Orange to the west and tell Provence that I am doing this when they tell me Orange is closed (of course, it is military and it is the weekend!) and I can go across at any altitude. I opt for FL45 and sit up there making my stately way up the valley like royalty. I can hear traffic behind me following the same route. The weather is still good with a high and thin overcast and pretty much nil wind (makes a nice change!). At VNE south of Lyon I route direct to MOU to the north west and inform Lyon. I am soon told to contact Clermont Information. The ground below has changed and is now quite hilly and generally ‘corrugated’. I am sure FL45 is enough to clear these ridges, but it certainly isn’t generous.
We reach Roanne and then set direct track to Vichy airfield, LFLV. At 15 miles out, I ask to change to Vichy tower. Clermont ask me to stay on frequency and I hear them call some other traffic apparently near Vichy and tell them that I am inbound. Seems strange? I am asked to contact Vichy Tower. I give them the usual call and ask for airfield information and joining instructions. I get a brief three word reply in French. This puzzles me, so I call again and again the same reply. Eventually between myself and my wife it dawns on us that he is saying something like ‘Report Final’ in French. Not quite what I was expecting, so I check my printed plate and I see that it says when the tower is closed it is a radio service in French only. Then I clicks. I dig out my French airfield call card and start giving blind calls in my best French hoping to God that they don’t reply in a torrent of French that I am not expecting. I gather from another aircraft landing that it is runway 01 in use, which surprises me as what little wind there is was I though from the south, but then I could see that in nil wind, 01 would be best as it is closest to the terminal and aero club. I mean this was one very big runway at 2200m!
I was high on approach and had to side-slip fairly hard to get down and hold airspeed. I was still fast, but chopped the power and gently held off and off while we floated in a stately manner well past the convenient turnoff. Well, no hurry and no other traffic. The stall warner blared as we touched nicely and I trundled on rather than backtrack for the next exit. I taxied in to where there were about half a dozen light aircraft parked up, which was past the main (and deserted looking) terminal to outside a busy Aeroclub. Lots of people around as I taxied in and parked next to an aircraft at the end of the row. We were drawing quite an audience and I was hoping that the ‘Chasing the Morning Sun’ decal on the fin wasn’t making them think that I was the ‘Earthrounder’ (that was of course Manuel, the founding member of our group as he flew this plane around the world when he owned it outright).
Vichy airport
I parked up and shutdown. I clambered out and wandered over to someone at the aeroclub to ask if I was OK to park there for the night in my very halting French. He immediately pointed me at someone else who understood me and from his French reply, I gathered that there may be thunderstorms tonight and would I like to park over some tie downs – well you bet. He lead me out to the apron and showed me the tie down points and I moved the aircraft to park there and tied it down securely. The time was about 16:30 local.
Nice place, Vichy
We unpacked and I asked if anyone knew how I could get a taxi. A very kind soul said in English that it was OK, he was headed back to town anyway and would give us a lift. We got dropped off at the town centre Ibis hotel that I already had booked and got freshened up. We were out quite quickly as we wanted to explore the town. It is very much a real, working town, but also still very much a spa town. It had a fairly ‘upmarket’ feel about with some great and unusual household furnishing and lighting stores. It is a nice place and would be well worth a full days stay and poke around. We found a nice looking Moroccan restaurant and I treated us to a decent bottle of Sancerre and a Tagine meal and very good it was too. Great start to a great days flying in really good weather. Now if only the weather would hold into tomorrow for us to make it back to base in the UK. Could that old French guy be right? Thunderstorms tomorrow? I had not seen it on the forecasts. I slept well but that ‘thunderstorms’ thing was at the back of my mind…..
