Route: LFKJ – CV – LONSU – STP – TLN COAST FG – LFMK
Up and out to the airport reasonably early. I am beginning to think we may have tried for too many overnight stops, when it might have been better to go for fewer stays and two nights at each. Something to consider for future trips.
We check the met courtesy of various laptops, Avbrief and WiFi etc (I have got to get some of this stuff). Looks good to go. I am already fuelled up (rule no 1 – always fuel up on arrival and not on departure) and ready to go.
Dan loads up and checks the plane out while I file the flight plan. Timothy has to fuel up, so we start up and taxi out and are the first of the now reduced group to take-off. We are routed out via the VRP’s (they are very keen on these in Corsica) and head up the coast to Calvi. We climb to FL45 and are routed again via VRP’s at Calvi out to sea.
Blue sky and excellent visibility – I could get used to this Mediterranean flying lark you know!
We trundle along and are handed over to Nice Information. We coast in near STP and descend to 1000’ to follow the required altitude and trail of VRP’s that mark the low level VFR route around the south coast of France (again, clearly marked on the Jeppesen charts).
In short order we are handed over to Hyeres Tower, who release us to Marseilles Information. They advise us of opposite direction traffic also following the VFR route as a Cessna 210 at 1200’. We descend to 700’ and spot him shortly afterwards.
We are handed over to Montpelier Information and start to transit the Carmargue – a series of salt lakes and marshes long ago converted into salt drying pans for sea salt.
Just past Montpelier, I ask for and am granted a climb to 3000’ and direct track to Carcassonne. We try to raise Toulouse Approach as instructed on the Carcassonne plates, but even at 3000’ we are apparently out of line of sight. A helpful aircraft relays my message that I am changing to Carcassonne Tower and this is approved.
As we approach Carcassonne, I am struggling to make out the famous walled old town – and then I spot it – WOW!! I hope our hotel is near there.
I seem to be racing a German registered aircraft in (he is joining from the north) but I appear to have won as I get a right base join for runway 28 with a wind something like 260 / 20. I come in for a nice landing and can see what they mean about the wind.
We taxi over to the pumps and join a queue of about four planes in front of us – all German. I speak to one of the pilots and it is a club flyout to Spain. The fuelling takes some time and as I wait, Derek Fage and Paul Venton and wives land in their Cherokee 6 – they were behind us all the way but didn’t catch up – shame – I was hoping for some air-to-air pictures. This is one of the few airfields that take the BP Fuel Card I have and the pompier is delighted to see it. He tells Dan that it is so much quicker to process.
We are instructed to park on the hard apron to the east of the tower and they are disappointed when I tell them that we are down to some four aircraft.
Dan and I secure the plane and make for the terminal. We get a taxi just before a Ryanair comes in to land. Our hotel is right by the old city and only a 100m walk – and a nice modern and clean hotel to boot.
I have a quick shower and we meet up and head into the old walled city. It is a bank holiday in France and the place is crowded on such a nice sunny day. We beat our way though crowds to find a slightly more out of the way bar and grab a beer – EUR5 for a half a litre of beer!
Dan and I then go sightseeing around the old town and find a really nice looking restaurant for the evening – wood-smoke fire for cooking, live music – great! We bump into Derek and Tammy and they check out the restaurant and we book it for all of us for the evening.
We grab another beer in the main square – this time an even more outrageous EUR6 for half a litre!
We head back to the hotel, shower, changed and head into town as a group for the evening.
The restaurant does not disappoint (well, not me anyway – I had the casoulet). The live music is local folk played by a very enthusiastic and animated guy, but it certainly does not meet with approval from Timothy (who is more accustomed to opera and classical).
A good day, with a nice long trip (3.4 hour leg) from Corsica to Carcassonne along the French Riviera in glorious sunshine. This is the life!
