Remember the cross country skiing trip to Sweden in a Bonanza?
Well, more trips followed! The most demanding was our family holiday on Corsica which took place July last year. A flat tire held us hostage on the beautiful French island for a couple of days. We also had a medical urgency on board and – last but not least – our small dog ate some expensive door for her supper.
Now the dust has settled and I am ready to publish the write up! So here it is: PDF, 25 pages, complete with photos
Holy cow, what a trip. You had every kind of stressful problem and seemingly handled all of them simultaneously in a calm and competent way. And your daughters had a good holiday. That’s really good.
I’ve found in times of mechanical crisis with planes that fellow pilots and mechanics at airports can be incredibly helpful, like they were waiting for the opportunity. I guess I’m the same, so it’s a part of flying culture in many places.
A few comments on the more upbeat parts of your experience: my view of Corsica (I’ve travelled there several times) is as fantastic as your daughters drawing, it’s a marvelous place. My experience with the food there is likewise similar, good for sure but not uniformly the best. I once had wine there at a restaurant that was truly horrible, which surprised me. Next time at a different restaurant I was a bit nervous, but it was fine.
Best wishes to your wife, and for a rapid resolution to her medical issue. Separately, we have similar issues with my wife’s motion sickness and I think it takes a strong willed passenger to fly anyway.
Thanks for the report on an interesting and adventurous experience.
Great write-up! I didn’t expect I would read all 25 pages, but in fact I did. 
Traveling by GA, especially with people you are emotionally attached to, can require a lot of patience and flexibility!
Sounds like a trip from hell. Kudos for your perseverance and taking care of everything!
What’s the range of your Bonanza? Can you use Mogas?
Thanks for your kind words :)
Snoopy wrote:
What’s the range of your Bonanza? Can you use Mogas?
The tanks hold 74 US gallons and the fuel burn was 50 – 52 l/h, usually flying TAS 140 – 155. So that gives 750 – 800 NM, not including reserves. But the fuel gauges are quite analog and I was flying this plane only for a year… so I never got into the mood of explore the limits!
EPKM – LFKO straight line (no routing considerations) is 665 NM.
Great trip! Probably a bit more adventurous than you’ve planned
What a trip! Worthy of Lemony Snicket 😀. Ignore the flying, good pilots are experts at problem-solving.
I liked the river canyon photos, and had no idea they existed.
I’m definitely leaving a spare tube in the back of the plane after reading this.
Amazing trip, and really shows a worthwhile use for a plane. Wonderful to see a whole family flying
Not uneventful but that’s not unusual.
