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Just a short 2 hour flight in a 737-800, from Orly (LFPO) to Palermo (LICP), track about 140 degrees, 800 nm, something like - using http://skyvector.com/
But then another hour plus by bus, approximately South, to get to our 'hotel', Hotel Costanza Beach Club, quite close to Selinute. It is actually a Lookea resort.
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Monday: Since we had started in the wee hours of the morning, and arrived about noon, the rest of that first day was just relaxing beside the lovely swimming pool.
Tuesday: Being unable to decide on an excursion, this was again a day beside the pool, although I did take the small electric train to the beach in the afternoon.
Wednesday: All day excusion to Mt Etna and more... Again this day started in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, and we would not return to th ehotel until nearly 10 pm, having done some 650 km in our bus.
Thursday: We had book a car for this day, but Annie was not feeling too well so I took off alone about 10 am, returning about 5 pm having done some 250 km.
Friday: A quiet day beside the pool.
Saturday: We took the small morning bus to Selinute and started to look around. In the tourist office we found out about a little plane ride available, and started to book that for tomorrow. Meantime took a ride around the ancient temple sites there. Back on the 13:00 R bus, and more pool time.
Sunday: 9 am We were collected from out hotel by a 'guide/pilot' and taken to a small private runway about 20 minute East along the coast. About 10:30 I was off on about an hours ride in the little plane, a Citius, from BRM Avio - BRM Costruções Aeronáuticas, Lda . See more aircraft details below.
It was from a small private runway next to the sea, a little to the East of Porto Palo Est, but was not able to spot it using Google maps, but maybe it did not exist back in the 2009 image data? We took of on a Westerly bearing, and first continued West back to Selinute to over-fly the temple ruins, then East along the coast towards Agrigento, but turned back before reaching there.
Monday: Again an early 5:30 am start for the flight back to Paris, Orly.
Home Page: http://www.brmavio.com/#cs
Its name has its roots in ancient Latin and means "faster". Built entirely in aeronautical aluminum, CITIUS is easy to fly, offering through its measures, an unprecedented onboard comfort.
The wing profile seems clean and the edge as a wingtip specifically created to improve the flight, either at high or at low speeds. The fuselage was carefully rounded and a detailed aerodynamic study has enabled a range of cruise speeds ranging from 45km/h to 195Km/h.
The original windows arrangement allows a visibility of 360° and transmits the pilot a feeling of unequal brightness.
The rear fuselage was studied to increase the angle of rotation during take-off, allowing high angles of incidence, thus avoiding the tail to touch the ground during a sudden off and getting out of the turbulence making it more efficient.
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Citius
Specifications | Specifiche |
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Wing span
Apertura alare |
9.2 m |
Fuselage width
Larghezza fusoliera |
1.19 m |
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Wing surface
Superficie alare |
13.25 m² |
Maximum take-off weigth
Peso massimo al decollo |
450 kg |
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Length
Lunghezza |
6.5 m |
Wing tank
Capacità serbatoi alari |
76 l |
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Heigth
Altezza |
2.35 m |
Maximum luggage
Peso max. bagagli |
30 kg |
| performance - prestazioni | |||
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Engine
Motore |
Rotax 912 |
Limit of crossed wind
Limite di vento al traverso |
40 k/h |
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Max. Speed (VNE)
Velocità massima |
240 k/h |
Stall speed
Velocità di stallo |
45 k/h |
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Approach speed
Velocità di approccio |
70 k/h |
Cruise speed
Velocità di crociera |
193 k/h
(5000 rpm) |
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Take-off distance
Spazio di decollo |
30 m |
Consumption
Consumo |
13 l/h |
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Charge coefficient (*)
Fattore di carico (*) |
+4g /-2g (at 450 kg) | ||
| (*)The security coefficient does not permit, in any case, to exceed the maximum take-off weight of 450 kg. | |||
| DOWNLOAD - Plane Manual | DOWNLOAD - Flight Manual - Special thanks to Generale Patrono (Aeroclub Savona) | |||
On this trip Annie comandeered our Panasonic digital camera, so most images taken were by her, except those I took during the 1 hour joy ride in the Citrus above. And quite a number were shot through the plexiglass window of a bus, so have 'strange' reflections and artifacts.
A full set of images can be seen here, or a simple slideshow here. Warning: The slideshow uses the FULL SIZE 4 MB images, thus can be quite slow to load, waiting for the pre-load of all 146 images, so that the slide show will run smoothly. After clearing the cache, it can take 5 minutes or MORE of loading - you should see a 'working' cursor during this - before the slide show will change smoothly. Here is a slideshow using the thumbnails. Much faster, but not so high quality! AND DUE TO JAVASCRIPT INCOMPATIBILITIES THE SLIDESHOW MAY NOT WORK IN ALL BROWSERS!
Each day was hot and sunny. Most days a quite strong wind developed towards the evening. In a way this wind was a blessing in that there are mosquitoes in abundance, but these only became really apparent when there was no wind. After the warm day, sometimes the evening temperature dropped sufficient that one may need a light sweater.
The hotel 'ritual' was breakfast from about 8-10 am, although some was laid out ealier on the days we left ealier than this hour. Drinks were available from the pool bar from about 8 am to mid-night. Lunch was from abotu 12:30 to 2:00 pm, normally commencing at the pool bar for an aperitif. And afternoon small snack was provided at the pool bar around 4 pm. Dinner commenced about 7:30 pm to about 9 or 10, again usually preceeded by an aperitif at the pool bar.
After dinner, there was about a 1-2 hour 'show', and the disco started about mid-night. Throughout the day the Lookea team provided various types of 'entertainment', be it water polo, aqua-gymnasitics, and of course dancing. As to be expected most of the team were Sicilian in origin, but most also spoke good French. A small few understood some English.
All in all a fabulous sunny, warm trip ;=)) Well worth another visit, but there are just so many other places to go...
