Originally Posted by
Agile
327 nm range for the H130 according to Airbus Helicopter. They mght have landed along the the way... Also above 10K feet fuel consumption is much nicer.
Thanks for the info on range which confirms my assumptions. Flightplan and custom clearance are compulsory for flights from Switzerland to France (I guess this is true for Monaco as well). Not legal to pick up fuel en route without change in flightplan and stop at a major airport for customs. And flying above 10k feet over the Alps is nice if the weather is fine, but for longer flight requires oxygen (at least EASA thinks so) which is not normally installed in this type of helo.
P.S. Anybody who flies to France from outside the EU (like Switzerland) in something smaller than an big Airbus is regarded as a criminal until proven otherwise. Last time I was met with guys with machine guns and I even had to show the passport of my dog. Luckily the dog behaved and so did myself. Lindberg would probably be arrested on the spot nowadays after crossing the Atlantic.