Malta Air Rally  

Date of Visit = 2000

Pilot: = Julian Berry

e-mail = jjb@bartholomew.co.uk

Field Report = My wife and I departed Shoreham, with a cloudbase of 700'; but from 1100' up it was gin clear, so no worries. Cleared customs at Rouen, and then headed to an airfield near Lyon (St Yan), to drop off some spare parts for someone who was also heading for Malta, in a TB9. Her voltage regulator had packed up, and was grounded ;-(. From there, it was on to Cannes, to join the rich and famous - some seriously expensive planes on the apron!

Day 2 saw us route out to Bastia (Corsica), for some fuel, before routing (via o'head Elba) to Napoli; we had been warned that avgas would be very difficult to get in Italy, but thankfully we had absolutely no problems whatsoever. That said, Napoli's computer didn't list a TB10, so I hate to see what the landing fee invoice will be (when it is sent via post), as I now notice it was called a TU10 - no doubt a mega big Tupolov or some such ;-((

We had travelled in convoy with a PA28 from Shoreham, with (semi-list lurker) Paul Crosskey. He and a friend came as far as Bastia, but decided against running the fuel gauntlet of Italy, and so they just stayed on Corsica - and evidentially had a great time there!

BTW, the vfr approach to Napoli from the north is not for the fainthearted - almost as bad as the approach for Le Bourget ;-((

From Napoli (via Mt Etna on Sicily!) to Malta was done entirely without GPS (shock horror!), as 10 seconds after departure, the GPS lost it's signal ;-((. 3 nights in Malta, in blistering heat, and enjoying very well organised meals etc with about 25-30 other GA aircraft who had also gone to the Malta Air Rally.

We left Malta early on Tuesday, and went to Elba, again via Naples. GPS signal was again iffy, but better than before. Elba was magnificent - thoroughly recommended!. Wednesday saw us route via Valence to Le Chateau La Chassagne, a wonderful chateau with private airstrip ;-)) Bumped into Geoffrey Boot, who happened to be staying there for a couple of nights!.

And finally, today, routing home (via Toussus le Noble), to be met by a 400' cloud base, and an NDB approach down to minimums, and a tail wind landing ;-((

All in all, 6 days, 2650 nm, 27:25 hours, and 8 new airfields. And only one mistake/error - I forgot to close a flight plan at Valence, and was seriously yelled at by ATC after lunch ;-(( Needless to say, I won't let that happen again...

Hate to think of the cost, but the memories will prevail ... Julian Berry

PS Thanks must go out to Riccardo, who was a most welcome and friendly voice when we were in Italy; either he pulled some strings with the fuel people, or we were much luckier than many, suffering no shortages or delays ...

PPS ATC in Italy were extremely helpful, if a little slow to respond to an initial call. Much easier to understand than the French, and always willing to try to sort out an SVFR transit through A airspace if at all possible. Top marks for customer service!

PPPS We took and wore immersion suits on every over water leg; whilst very hot when on the ground, they were fine in the air, and certainly gave an extra sense of re-assurance - particularly as we spent a total of approx. 12:30 hours over water ;-((