Flight Log: Son Bonet LESB -- Bastia (Korsika) LFKB 03.12.2015

Distance: 488 NM
scheduled Flying time: 3:35 hrs
Filed Route:
ATIS Mallorca:
Clearance:
Take Off Time: 8:50h
ATIS Bastia:
Landing Time: 12:25h
03.12.2015 Son Bonet (Majorca)/Bastia (Corsica):
Son Bonet airport doesn’t open until 9.15 a.m., so we had a flight plan for 10 a.m. This plan was to follow instrument-flight rules and take us from Majorca northwards to the French coast and then eastwards to Corsica. Martin was particularly annoyed at this enormous detour and determined to fly another route. He wanted to submit another flight plan based on visual-flight rules. However, this would have been quite complicated at Son Bonet airport. We agreed to accept and follow the existing plan. After take-off we decided to ask ATC whether we could fly directly to Bastia and if impossible based on instrument-flight rules, to fly by visual-flight rules. The air-traffic controller was really friendly and helpful. He allowed us to turn to the left, to ascend to 3,000 feet and fly based on visual flight rules along the northern coastline towards the island in the north east. We then flew about 50/60 miles at an altitude of just 3,000 feet. Afterwards we ascended to 7,000 feet, following visual-flight rules all the time. As a result, we were able to fly directly to Corsica without taking a huge detour. This would have been an option that we couldn’t have really afforded because are tanks weren’t quite full and in our opinion had just about enough for a flight to Corsica. But by taking such a big detour it would have been a bit tricky. However, both the Spanish and the French air-traffic controllers allowed us to fly our instrument-flight plan according to visual-flight rules to Corsica. We weren't required to change these visual-flight rules any more either. Corsica was a place with mountains covered in forests, attractive valleys and towns with a distinct lack of high-rise buildings. We then flew past a vast military airstrip where the German army trains too. Friendly voices accompanied us to Bastia airport. After landing, we had our first real encounter with customs. Five customs officers approached us with big smiles, only to give our luggage a good going-over. They asked us whether and how much money we had brought with us. After checking our luggage thoroughly, they were more talkative. They wanted to know exactly where we came from, where we wanted to go to and why we had interrupted our trip to Brazil. They also wanted to know who the attractive plane belonged to and who had designed it etc. They were also interested in our survival suits and for our outfits in general. They were convinced we’d bought them from the military. After these controls were completed, we filled up the plan and drove to the last hotel on this trip.