2:24h for the last leg of The Tour…
No picture taken, as I didn’t feel like taking any… I fly this stretch quite often, and it is just a straight line over “some European farmland” You are not playing blasé Dan, are you?
The weather is perfect but hot. The Ts at my homebase are around 27°C, scattered clouds and little wind. I’m the only one in the circuit. As I’m flying overhead I spot a small group of people, all heads up, in front of the hangars.
Seeing the firetruck by the taxiway I now realise that my wife, the airfield, the maintenance staff, and all my friends from the local chapter of the EAS (Experimental Association of Switzerland) have organised a small welcome home party!
Thanks guys, that was cool
Cooling champagne with ice cubes, really?
Epilogue…
I’ve been back for a little more than a month as I write these words… still trying to recover from The Tour, somehow feeling depressed, the flying around here is somehow tasteless now…
My head is spinning whilst I recall all the incredible sights and experiences. Writing about The Tour has been a pleasure for me, as it allowed me to relive most of the intense phases.
And no, I will not do it again. There is an inherent amount of risks on a trip like this. Also let’s not forget about the financial side of such a project, aircraft equipment, emergency gear, accommodation, miscellaneous fees, food, gas, and more, all add up.
Many people have come and congratulated me on The Tour. It feels a bit weird as I just have fulfilled my own dream. Many pilots have done similar trips, more will do so. Ferry pilots do these kind of flights for a living. And there was Lindbergh
It has been a fantastic experience, and I have been very lucky in having the opportunity to live the dream.
All of the expectations I had were by far exceeded, the Tour was awesome!
PS
I don’t claim copyright protection for neither the text nor the pictures published herein, but please no commercial use in any form
What a fantastic writeup on a fantastic trip. Thank you so much for posting it!
I have never seen such sights, captured so perfectly in stunning colours in your photos.
Sure there are risks. But you know how it all works and managed the risks.
Scotland always has serious accommodation problems. Not sure why; I was told some years ago they cannot find staff to work in hospitality. It was also a hot summer which maybe drove more people up there.
I do relate to your feelings when you got back home. The last return leg home, or two, is always like that, I find, especially as I usually fly them alone. I am just planning a “long” trip (a tiny fraction of yours) and I know the last 2 legs will not be much fun, especially Sicily to France over some 500 miles of water and out of VHF comms much of that time.
See you in Spain
Thanks for sharing this amazing adventure Daniel !
It was a delight to read about your experiences and glimpse the beautiful sightings through your pictures.
Freundliche Grüße aus Romandie,
Brice
This must have been the most exciting and best written trip report I’ve ever read in over 30 years of internet (and Compuserve) Fora.
Yes, congratulations are in order, it was one heck of a task and you did it safely!
Hopefully one day we get to have a nice cup of something once again somewhere near.
Thanks a lot for sharing.
Best. Trip. Report. Ever. !!
Thanks for sharing, what an amazing voyage !
Thanks for writing this. It must be the best trip report I’ve ever read.
And the photos were just amazing. How did you do it!?
Fantastic!
And inspiring, thanks.
I savoured every word and studied every photo, something I rarely do.
You have given real meaning to your tag “aint the destination its the journey”.
I wanted to learn to fly to emulate the birds. I think you have just done that and I hope many would be PPLs will read your trip report and say “yeah that’s for me”. How could they not. Flying the glaciers of Greenland sure as hell beats hitting a ball round a golf course.
Dan wrote:
somehow feeling depressed, the flying around here is somehow tasteless now…
I guess, THAT could become a REAL threat though.