The second shortest leg of my trip. Only the last 12 miles of the 145 mile leg is over land. I have read other posts on pilot forums on which a lot of private pilots are concerned about long legs over the sea. It’s not something that troubles me. I think it is simply a matter of what you are used to. Being based in Jersey I have no option but to fly over the sea and sometimes for very long legs (I’ve flown the whole Bay of Biscay without worry). In any event, this is not a long leg over the sea; it’s about 1 hour 20 minutes (if that). At least you don’t have to be worried about terrain!
The flight profile can be viewed by clicking the thumbnail below:
Why so high? Because currently (mid-July) the temperatures are showing 37c and I want to get high up, lean the fuel mixture and open the vents and get some cold (hopefully) air in the cockpit.
Initially I was going to make Corsica a stopping point and spend some time there. I have since changed my mind. I have a tight schedule and I want to explore other places. I would have liked to fly directly to Elba without stopping in Corsica but the issue is fuel. I understand that getting fuel in Elba can be difficult. The flight from Cannes to Elba would be just over 150 miles leaving me with about 3 hours of fuel left. The leg from Elba to Salerno will take about 2 hours 30 minutes. It can be done on the fuel remaining but why? If I can fill up tanks I do (generally). So my plan is to stop in Bastia and fill up again. The leg from Bastia to Elba is only about 30 minutes if that. So, if there is no fuel in Elba I will have about 4 hours of fuel on departure from there to make a trip taking 2 hours 30 minutes. Plenty spare.
2015 Euro Flight 