[bravo180]

Hello

Anyone had any recent experience of flying around Corsica?

We have a 5 day France trip planned in a couple of weeks and would like to visit the airfields on Corsica, departing from Cannes.

Are there any special points we should note - I can appreciate that the interior is very mountainous and suggest strong winds. Are any of the airfields more susceptible to these winds?

We are thinking of spending a night in Ajaccio, before heading back to the mainland, is this a good location? Any suggestions of hotels/restaurants appreciated. We looked at Calvi but accommodation appears to be pretty expensive.

Many thanks

[Lefty]

Ajjacio - like Benidorm - full of drunken tourists - wouldn’t recommend it. There is a small airport on the beach at Propriano just south of Ajjacio.

Calvi is a gorgeous harbour town - with an ancient Citadel, and a great beach.
Calvi Airport has limited GA parking so you need to book parking in advance.

You can take a train along the coast from Calvi to Isle Rousse, another gorgeous village on the northern coastline.

Bastia, on the East Coast is very very Italian. Full of Italian piazzas and architecture. However the airport is a very long way from the city.

I don’t know much about the other airfields in the south of the island as I’ve always found Calvi such a brilliant place to stay.

[chevvron]

Ajjacio - like Benidorm - full of drunken tourists - wouldn’t recommend it. There is a small airport on the beach at Propriano just south of Ajjacio.

Calvi is a gorgeous harbour town - with an ancient Citadel, and a great beach.
Calvi Airport has limited GA parking so you need to book parking in advance.

You can take a train along the coast from Calvi to Isle Rousse, another gorgeous village on the northern coastline.

Bastia, on the East Coast is very very Italian. Full of Italian piazzas and architecture. However the airport is a very long way from the city.

I don’t know much about the other airfields in the south of the island as I’ve always found Calvi such a brilliant place to stay.

Figari is down south, but it's not near anywhere apart from Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio. The latter used to be HQ of the Foreign Legion (now in Ajaccio); their barrack blocks are still there.

[Alexw82]

I have recently been to Bastia (2018) and Ajjacio (2019)

Both have AVGAS at reasonable French prices! Circa 2euro per Litre. Ajjacio was AirBP (and was a couple of cents cheaper a ltr than Cannes in May)

Both are fairly large airports with car hire easily available. Ajjacio is probably slightly easier to get in and out of with the handling company being super helpful. If you call them they try to speak English ...if you can’t understand ask for Richard he is an American ex pro basketball player who speaks perfect English! The fees were circa 70euro including a couple of days parking.

Corsica is a fantastic island well worth exploring.

[Corsican]

Figari is down south, but it's not near anywhere apart from Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio. The latter used to be HQ of the Foreign Legion (now in Ajaccio); their barrack blocks are still there.

Figari is about 35 mn from Porto Vecchju but Porto Vecchju has beautiful beaches - Palombaggia, Santa Giulia, Rondinara (the beaches in the south are much nicer than the northwest). The town is ok, Calvi may have more to offer.

The Legion 2REP is still outside Calvi.

Other airfield is Ghisonnaccia, about midway down the East coast. I’ve not flown into that one but am told that apart from parachuting, the crosswind can catch the complacent.

There is an airfield in the centre if the island at Corte, but it can be closed unpredictably. I think the only area you must avoid (ATC will yell or ask what you are doing) is Solenzara Air Force base and the nearby live fire range, also on the east coast.

Mind the winds if crossing at the base of the Cap Corse.

[simon32]

Corsica is not called the Ile de Beauté for nothing and is well worth exploring. By air you can appreciate the rugged terrain, which means you can expect many narrow twisty roads if you hire a car. The four main airports, Ajaccio, Bastia, Calvi and Figari have good facilities for GA, but Calvi can be sticky with parking, although I gather it is exaggerated except in the high tourist season. There is apparently plenty of space on the grass.
The four smaller airfields have few to no facilities. Ghisonaccia is PPR and is in Solenzara military airspace. I have landed there and there is no problem if the wind is calm. Pilots have been caught in bad turbulence from westerly winds blowing over nearby terrain. Corte is surrounded by higher terrain and seems daunting, but is OK if the wind is calm. I think Propriano has fuel and a taxi service and you can camp there. Although it is close to a beach you have to ford a small stream to get to it.
As for restaurants and hotels it is best to use your favourite websites as pilot reports are often quite dated (like mine here). There is no shortage of tourist guidebooks.
Courtesy is important to the Corsicans as they feel the continental French look down on them. Saying bonjour maybe all that is required. Traditional Corsican food can be quite filling and I would avoid restaurants serving the full Corsican menu.
Simon

[bravo180]

Thanks for the all the advice much appreciated.

[chevvron]

Traditional Corsican food can be quite filling and I would avoid restaurants serving the full Corsican menu.
Simon

We went on an IT, the last but one week with Thomson before they pulled out of Corsica.
Stayed at a hotel in a small resort on the east coast called Favone. Wild boar was on the menu no less than 3 times during our week there!
By the way, I read somehwere that Figari (where the Thomson flight landed; I think Easyjet go there now) is 'daylight hours only' due to a large rock close to final for runway 05 and no runway lighting.

[Peter_G]

Calvi can be sticky with parking, although I gather it is exaggerated except in the high tourist season. There is apparently plenty of space on the grass.

What grass?
Calvi parking can be a ‘high risk’ strategy.
The Parking area is lethal chippings which can ruin propellers in seconds.
Remember to take a Tow Bar. Shut Down before entry and insist on Pushing Back. Likewise, before Start Up.

[simon32]

My mistake, French pilots refer to it as gravel, do not taxi on it.
Simon

[kanga]

...
Courtesy is important to the Corsicans as they feel the continental French look down on them. Saying bonjour maybe all that is required. ..

.. or even Bonghjornu

[and Avvedeci, Per piacè, À ringraziavvi (response is di nunda), and if necessary Parlate Inglese? ..]

Many place names will have their own Corsican names, mostly sounding like the French ones though. The language is like Catalan, Provencal or Sardinian, sounding more Italian than French. Bon viaghju

[chevvron]

...
Courtesy is important to the Corsicans as they feel the continental French look down on them. Saying bonjour maybe all that is required. ..

.. or even Bonghjornu

[and Avvedeci, Per piacè, À ringraziavvi (response is di nunda), and if necessary Parlate Inglese? ..]

Many place names will have their own Corsican names, mostly sounding like the French ones though. The language is like Catalan, Provencal or Sardinian, sounding more Italian than French. Bon viaghju

You'll notice the signposts were painted with the French place name above the Corsican place name (on the orders of the French government) but most of them have the French name painted out.

[Corsican]

You'll notice the signposts were painted with the French place name above the Corsican place name (on the orders of the French government) but most of them have the French name painted out.

Like this. Includes bullet holes:

[kanga]

As may be seen in North Wales, Southern Albania, Western Macedonia, and possibly elsewhere. In each, ironically, the regional language has been given equal status to the national, including on official signage, but the national version has been effaced. Meanwhile, there are nations which make no
equivalent concessions to minority language users, as in Northern Greece or southern Italy, and until recently in France, so there is nothing to leave intact if the national is effaced.