Hello everyone,

I am thinking of taking my Super Cub to Italy this summer from the UK. Any suggestions for good, small, friendly, preferably grass strips are welcome. Also, routes where I can avoid talking to ATC and passing through controlled airspace.

I shall certainly be going to the Italian lakes and then further South, weather permitting. If all was going very well, I would try and do a marathon down to Sicily, so please do give me suggestions for good strips to visit anywhere in Italy. My little boy likes the Romans, so also any good strips near Roman remains?

Look forward to hearing back with any advice.

Many thanks,

QDM

Check these:

http://www.aeroclubmilano.it/manzlang/aeroporti.pdf

http://www.aeroclubmilano.it/manzlang/aviosuperfici.pdf

have fun!

:ok: PZ

papazulu,

That is very useful, thank-you!

Is this a complete list of short grass strips -- aviosuperfici -- or are there others?

Thanks,

QDM

You can find the official list here: http://www.enac-italia.it/ELENCOAVIOSETTEMBRE2005.pdf

I suggest you to visit this one in Sicily http://www.eremodellagiubiliana.it/en/index.htm

Ciao!!!

Rosanna

Thanks, Rosanna. Very helpful. Is there a VFR flight guide published in Italy?

QDM

Thanks, Rosanna. Very helpful. Is there a VFR flight guide published in Italy?
QDM

The only guide I know is this one:
http://www.avioportolano.it/avioportolano2006/en_index.htm

Ciao!!!

Rosanna

Hi QDM....

Try and have a look at this link.
...unfortunatly it is treated only in italian language.

Anyway, enjoy your search and then......the flight!!

http://www.ulm.it/hangar/campi/default.htm

Thanks a lot, Ave Cesar and Rosanna. I really appreciate your help. Please, anyone feel free to send me more details of friendly, small strips I should visit.

QDM

Hi QDM,
Check this
http://www.flysabaudia.it/homeing.html

The place is 80Km south-east of Rome. Grass strip, close to the sea.
No landing tax, and fuel availlable.
Feel free to ask me anything more you need.
Cheers:ok:
Giams

Thanks, Giams. Do people recommend the avioportolano charts or the Jeppesen VFR charts? What about the avioportolano low-level chart? is that useful? Are there other charts?

QDM

I've only used the Jeppesen charts, never tryed the avioportolano ones.
I can tell you that aviportolano gives you more dettails about the place you want to land (if there are resturants, hotel/hostel, ect.), so peraphs is usefull for your trip that you are planning.
However with the web sites that the other italian friends had given you can have more or less the same info.
We have charts printed in Italy as well but are pretty similar to the Jeppesen one.

Giams

What are the regulations about filing flight plans for VFR flights in Italy?

Thanks,

QDM

Ciao,
you can find regulations in italian AIP in ENAV website www.enav.it the registration is free.

Here you can find an abstract: Submission times (http://www.citisolanti.it/rosanna/aip1-10-1.jpg)
Requirements (http://www.citisolanti.it/rosanna/aip1-10-2.jpg)
Flight plan not required (http://www.citisolanti.it/rosanna/aip1-10-3.jpg)

Baci!!!

Rosanna

Thanks, Rosanna, so basically if you have no ELT then flight plan required for flight to all ATS equipped aerodromes or if the flight goes thru C or D airspace.

Does my personal EPIRB count as an aircraft ELT? I guess not.

QDM

Does my personal EPIRB count as an aircraft ELT? I guess not.


Afraid not. ELT must be part of the aeroplane's certified equipment and must go off automatically in case of "hard" impact. Manually activated devices don't qualify.

Ciao,
AE

Asking about the charts, I have bought the avioportolano ones, but I don't think they will be very easy for navigation in terms of airspace markings etc. What do other people think and do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,

QDM

Asking about the charts, I have bought the avioportolano ones, but I don't think they will be very easy for navigation in terms of airspace markings etc. What do other people think and do you have any suggestions?
Thanks,
QDM

For navigation I use Jeppesen VFR+GPS charts. The only thing I don't like of Jeppesen charts are hypsometric colors. In some case it's very hard to find the elevation of the ground.
In these charts (http://www.igmi.org/prodotti/cartografia/carte_speciali/index_2.php) the terrain elevation is more simple to visualize but elevations are in metres and airspace markings are more complex than in Jeppesen charts.

Baci!!

Rosanna

Couple more questions if I may. I now have the Jepp maps and the avioportolano charts and book. Boy, Italy is mountainous! And those mountains rise straight out of the sea in many places.

1. What is a good small customs airfield in Northern Italy if I come down through the Alps via Domodossola? Or alternatively one if I take the coastal route via Monaco.

2. Following the coasts South am I likely to get easy clearances through the many Class D airspaces I will have to cross? I am Mode C transponder equipped.

3. Is there a glossary of Italian aviation terms somewhere online: 'downwind', 'final' etc etc

4. What is July visibility in Italy, esp Southern, like? Does it tend to be clear or hazy?

Thanks a lot,

David

and a good weather website for Italy?

Cheers,

David

David,
Couple more questions if I may. I now have the Jepp maps and the avioportolano charts and book. Boy, Italy is mountainous! And those mountains rise straight out of the sea in many places. yes, we call them islands over here... :)

1. What is a good small customs airfield in Northern Italy if I come down through the Alps via Domodossola? Or alternatively one if I take the coastal route via Monaco. if you fly a General Aviation plane within the Schengen area, you don't need to fly to customs airfield any longer. I trust that you will enter the Schengen area somewhere in France, but after that no customs check are needed.

2. Following the coasts South am I likely to get easy clearances through the many Class D airspaces I will have to cross? I am Mode C transponder equipped. yes, mode C is all you need to cross Class C and D airspace. Try to stick to the published VFR routes if possible, but ATC is usually flexible, if there is little IFR traffic. And speak english slowly, sometimes out ATCs here can have issues with the language... :uhoh:

3. Is there a glossary of Italian aviation terms somewhere online: 'downwind', 'final' etc etc hmmm... found something but it does only have aircraft-related terms, not ATC/ATS terms:

http://www.ulm.it/info/glossario/

If you need more, shoot some terms here and we'll try to help!

4. What is July visibility in Italy, esp Southern, like? Does it tend to be clear or hazy? depends on the winds, obviusly. Northwesterly winds bring clear days, southwesterly winds carry moisture and thus visibility is normally poor. Overall the biggest issues you might have with the weather are thunderstorms, really.

Thanks a lot,

David cheers, Luca

and a good weather website for Italy? the official aviation weather website for Italy is:

http://www.meteoam.it/

If you go to the "Info in Tempo Reale" menu on the web page, you'll get a submenu where it says "Sezione Aeronautica". You'll be able to get METARs, TAFs, GAFORs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, low-level significant weather chart, and detailed charts on cloud coverage and convective activities in the country.

Let me know if you need any further detail.

Ciao, Luca

Thanks, lucaberta, that's very useful, so I don't need to go into a customs airfield in Italy when coming from Switzerland? Presumably, crossing the border needs a flight plan, but one can close the flight plan with Milan information while airborne and then land at a small grass strip.

Here are some terms which it would be useful to translate:

downwind
base leg
final
taking off
left hand circuit
right hand circuit
G-ABCD PA18, 5 miles west, inbound to you from XYZ, current position EFG, height 2000 feet, request airfield information

Thanks again.

Very useful!

David

Hi David,

Thanks, lucaberta, that's very useful, so I don't need to go into a customs airfield in Italy when coming from Switzerland? yes, in case you departed from Switzerland you *do* need to clear customs, while if you're only overflying Switzerland coming, say, from France or Germany, then you don't need to clear customs.

Should you want to clear customs in the north of Italy, Biella Cerrione LILE is a GA airport that can offer customs, but you need to coordinate this at least one day in advance. Also, Cuneo Levaldigi LIMZ is good for GA and can offer customs.

Presumably, crossing the border needs a flight plan, but one can close the flight plan with Milan information while airborne and then land at a small grass strip. I don't believe you can close an FPL with an Flight Information Service like Milan on the radio. You should always call by cellphone when on the ground, unless the airport has landlines with a nearby Control area unit (Cuneo for instance, though uncontrolled, has a landline with Turin).

Here are some terms which it would be useful to translate: let me take a stab at those...

downwind -> sottovento
base leg -> base (or "virata base" for base turn)
final -> finale
taking off -> decollare
left hand circuit -> circuito sinistro
right hand circuit -> circuito destro

G-ABCD PA18, 5 miles west, inbound to you from XYZ, current position EFG, height 2000 feet, request airfield information ->
G-ABCD, PA18, 5 miglia a ovest, diretti al vostro campo con partenza XYZ, posizione corrente EFG, quota 2000 piedi, chiede istruzioni per l'atterraggio.

North -> nord, East -> est, South -> sud, West -> ovest

Mind you, it's always better to specify your altitude as "ground" (using the english word even in italian) or QNH (stating the QNH). So something like "quota 2000 piedi QNH" or "quota 2000 piedi ground".

I know, the purists will say that quota and altitudine means two differents things, but what the heck!! ;)

Thanks again.

Very useful! hope you'll like Italy!!

Ciao, Luca

Thanks for the translations, Luca. Most helpful.

The thing I am wondering now is quite which fuel light aircraft in Italy use? Of the hundreds of airfields in avioportolano, very few have even unleaded available, according to the book, let alone 100LL!

Cheers,

David

The thing I am wondering now is quite which fuel light aircraft in Italy use? Of the hundreds of airfields in avioportolano, very few have even unleaded available, according to the book, let alone 100LL! Avgas is normally found at airports. Be very careful and *always* call ahead of time to check on availablity, price and service hours, you will find that the information reported on any book or website might be different from the current one.

Certain "aviosuperfici", less than an airport but more that just a dirt strip, might have Avgas available. Aviosuperfici are listed on the Avioportolano, they differ in that it is legal to operate on the also with GA planes. Do remember that Avioportolano mostly caters for the ULM community, which never goes to airports and typically runs on Mogas, not Avgas.

Also, a list of aviosuperifici is this one:

http://www.enac-italia.it/ELENCOAVIOSETTEMBRE2005.pdf

Bye, Luca