Marseille to Rijeka

DAY 5, LEG 25 - Marseille to Rijeka

On this penultimate leg of Day 5 we head eastbound towards Croatia.  We'll explore Eastern Europe before heading northbound towards Scandinavia.  Our destination Rijeka is located in north-western Croatia and affords us some stunning views of the mountainous coastline.  Rijeka Airport is located on Krk Island, adjacent to the city itself, and can only be reached by a toll road across the bay!

Turning overhead our departure airport of Marseille.

Climbing through FL200 and witnessing the first glimpse of the French Alps.

Cannes city and airport.

Nice airport.

La Spezia and the eastern coast of Italy.

Meridiana airbus routing north-bound to Milan.

Descending through the cloud base overhead Rijeka city.

Looking at Krk Island and Rijeka Airport.

Long final for runway 14.

Parked at Rijeka.

LFML - LDRI stats

Take off time:    1448

Landing time:     1626

Flight time:        01:38

Fuel used:          684kg / 1505lbs

Alicante to Marseille

DAY 5, LEG 24 - Alicante to Marseille

The original plan for this leg was to island hop around the Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Mallorca, and Menorca before heading to Marseille on the Mediterranean coast of France.  Unfortunately the weather forcast in the islands wasn't great with lots of low cloud which would make touch & go's a dangerous thing to attempt especially at Palma de Mallorca where there is lots of high ground!  Instead, I decided to head northbound along the eastern coast of Spain overhead Barcelona towards Marseille.

BMI Baby landing on runway 10 as I taxi out.

Short wait for departure at Alicante.

Monarch Airlines lined up for departure to London Gatwick.

Scandinavian Airlines 737-700 landing then it's our turn to depart.

Strong crosswind showing on NAV display.  Would have made a quick trip to the Balearics!

Looking west over Spain.

Pyrenees in the distance as we cross into french airspace.

Le Tube Air Base near Marseille.

Final at Marseille.

LEAL - LFML stats

Take off time:   1257

Landing time:    1436

Flight time:       01:39

Fuel used:         700kg / 1540lbs

Porto to Alicante

DAY 5, LEG 23 - Porto to Alicante

Our next destination is back in Spain as we head east to the Spanish "Costa Blanca" tourist resort of Alicante.  The main tourist area of Benidorm is located along the coast to the north-east of Alicante itself.  A healthy tailwind means a very quick flight time of 1 hour 30 minutes scheduled for this coast-to-coast crossing of the Iberian peninsular.  Although this tour is supposed to be taking a westerly course, we are heading east again to explore some of Europe before heading across the Atlantic.

Parked at Porto next to a TAP A330 shortly departing for Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

Taxi out behind the TAP A330.

Cloud breaking over central Spain to reveal the vast expanse of Madrid Airport.

Taxi in at Alicante.

Being marshalled onto the stand at Alicante.

LPPR - LEAL stats

Take off time:     0957

Landing time:     1237 (+1 hour time difference)

Flight time:         01:40

Fuel used:           684kg / 1505lbs

Gibraltar to Porto

DAY 5, LEG 22 - Gibraltar to Porto

From Gibraltar we head to Porto in north-western Portugal.  Porto is the second largest city in Portugal located on the River Douro and perhaps most well-known for producing Port, the fortified wine.

View of the aircraft from the Rock of Gibraltar.

Looking back over the Strait of Gibraltar routing towards Seville.

Passing two easyJet aircraft routing from Faro on the south coast of Portugal back to the UK.

Cloud beginning to clear with Lisbon now in view on the horizon.

Following the River Douro while being vectored for an approach onto Runway 35 at Porto. We are number 2 to another Beech 1900D from Barcelona.

Left it a bit tight in behind the proceeding aircraft so going around from this approach!

The River Douro again on a left base for another approach.

The Beech 1900D we went around for waiting to cross the active runway as we backtrack after landing.

LXGB - LPPR stats

Take off time:    0906

Landing time:     0944 (-1 hour time difference)

Flight time:        01:38

Fuel used:          692kg / 1522 lbs

Jerez to Gibraltar

DAY 5, LEG 21 - Jerez to Gibraltar

After one too many sherries the night before, I arrived at Jerez airport early to take advantage of good weather at Gibraltar in the morning.  The Rock of Gibraltar gives the airport some unique weather patterns, especially during southerly winds, but today the wind is from the west and thankfully the cloud has stayed away as well so it looks like a good day to go!  Thanks to the good weather I decided to fly the route without the autopilot for the first time on the tour!  The aircraft had been fully fuelled for me and I left with full tanks.

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory and historically played an important strategic role in the Mediterranean by guarding all access from the Atlantic Ocean.  The territory has been subject to much discussion between Britain and Spain and flights inbound to Gibraltar used to be prohibited from Spanish airspace, making access very difficult.  Thankfully the restrictions have now been lifted and our flight today can fly directly from Jerez.

Taxi out at Jerez.

 Departing Jerez and turning west towards Rota.

The city of Jerez.

The port city of Cadiz.

Rota Airport - a joint Spanish / US Naval base.

Rock of Gibraltar visible on the horizon.

Over the city of Algeciras looking at the Rock of Gibraltar with the airport located slightly to the north of the rock.

Downwind at Gibraltar.

Crossing the road at Gibraltar.  This road runs across the runway and is the only access route from Gibraltar to the Spanish border.  It closes during scheduled aircraft movements!

Parked at Gibraltar with the huge rock in the background.

LEJR - LXGB stats

Take off time:    0832

Landing time:     0856

Flight time:         0:24

Fuel used:          165kg / 363 lbs

Fez to Jerez

DAY 4, LEG 20 - Fez to Jerez

Leg 20 finally takes us onto the European continent.  Originally the plan was to head to Gibraltar, but since the flight is running slightly later than planned, and Gibraltar has no lighting, I decided to land in Jerez slightly to the north of Gibraltar and spend the night there.  Jerez is located to the south of Seville in Andalucia, southern Spain.  It is most famous for the drink Sherry which originates in the city.  All the more reason to spend a night there!

Parked at Fez before departure.

Last of the setting sun over northern Morocco.

Climbing from FL170 to FL210 to avoid cloud build-up.

Landing runway 21 at Jerez and looking forward to a cold beer.

GMFF - LEJR stats

Take off time:    1745

Landing time:     1942 (+1 hour time difference)

Flight time:        0:57

Fuel used:          423kg / 931 lbs

Lanzarote to Fez

DAY 4, LEG 19 - Lanzarote to Fez

Leaving the Canary Islands behind, the last daylight leg of day 4 brought the last African destination until the end of the tour.  The city of Fez in northern Morocco is the second largest city in the country and is a growing tourist destination with the airport serving many French cities.  The weather was forecast to be very good for the flight with a strong tailwind giving us a groundspeed of 340 knots!  Thanks to this, the flight time was forecast to take under two hours.

Taking off from Lanzarote and turning right to avoid overflying the city after departure and allowing good terrain clearance from the mountains on the extended centreline.

Graciosa island, just off the northwestern coast of Lanzarote.  The town of Caleta de Sebo can be seen on the south-eastern part of the island.

Approaching the west coast of Morocco with the Atlas Mountains clearly visible on the horizon.

Overflying the capital of Morocco, Casablanca.

Descent into Fez as the sun sets.

Misty approach into Fez.

Parked at the general aviation apron at Fez.

GCRR - GMFF stats

Take off time:    1537

Landing time:     1731

Flight time:        01:54

Fuel used:          803kg / 1767lbs