So, just back from this years Big Trip around Europe. A little more drama than last year but enjoyable nonrtheless...For those having NOT read last years trip report, or have just plain forgotten, here are the basic details....
A bit about me....
I am a PPL/IR (as is my flying buddy and co-owner) with over 300hrs and everything was to be conducted IFR apart from the landing and departure from Tokol as its a VFR airfield. Last year we flew around Europe on a similar route so had a bit of experience in planning and flying longer trips....
Oh, and I'm also an Area Radar controller at London Centre which certainly helps with the RT confidence!!
So...on to the hardware....
The aircraft is a 1977 Piper Turbo Arrow and to make use of the performance, I have a Sky-Ox 22 CuFt portable oxy system giving around 20 man-hours @ 15000ft. We both have the same kit so having 2 full bottles for the trip ensured we most definitely had enough Oxy for the entire trip. Some folks swear by the Mountain High system but, having done a LOT of research prior to buying a kit, I liked the simplicity of the Sky-Ox system and not having yet another item which was reliant on having batteries.
For in-flight weather I bought an older Golze ADL120 last year which works very well. The aircraft has a GTN650 for IFR navigation/approaches and a pair of Garmin G5's. I also use Skydemon in-flight too for added situational awareness and charts should it be necessray to drop below CAS/MSA due to icing etc...I also have a raft and lifejackets for over water risk reduction!!!
The initial idea
This years plan was to get down to and back from Dubrovnik with the following route...
Lee-On-Solent (EGHF) - Strasbourg (LFST) - Tokol (LHTL) - Dubrovnik (LDDU) - Innsbruck (LOWI) - Montpellier (LFMT) - Tours (LFOT) - Lee-On-Solent.
As with all things longer distance touring the plan rarely survives contact with reality so we ended up with...
The reason was primarily weather related but I'll get onto that in due course!!!
As always, routes planned and filed using Autorouter. GAR's submitted via SGAR and preflight weather info obtained via a combo of Windy Premium, Weather & Radar app, GRAMET and a few others. Inflight weather obtained via Golze ADL120....
Leg 1 EGHF-LFST
First leg started well with a fully fuelled aircraft, all things stowed and oxy all prepped and ready. Departed Lee bang on schedule and after a couple of minutes had obtained a clearance from my buddies at London Control
to join CAS. Cruising level for this leg was FL150 which we were cleared to pretty much straight away! Planned route was EGHF N0153F150 MID L18 DVR L9 KONAN L607 LNO N852 GTQ GTQ6V LFST. Planned Vs actual below....
Got a few shortcuts en-route and had good weather along the way so happy with that!
We were given an ILS to RW05 which was conducted in good VMC. We were on stand very quickly and, as always, requested fuel on arrival.
Almost everyone will tell you that this is probably THE No.1 best idea for flying around Europe. Took around 30 mins for bowser to arrive and then we went to find Customs and Immigration.
Despite asking for this previously by email to airport Ops (no separate Douane email for this airport) no-one was there to greet us. A LOT of too-ing and fro-ing between terminal and other parts of the airport EVENTUALLY saw us with stamped passports!!! Steps were certainly obtained THAT day!!
A 10 min walk to the train and we were then on our way into town.....My flying buddy and I both like older, picturesque European towns/cities and Strasbourg did NOT disappoint! LOADS to see and explore but, unfortunately, we were only here for one night.
Leg 2 LFST-LHTL
Normally I would have planned to land at Budapest Frenec (LHBP) but there was a question around AVGAS availability plus the fees were somewhat exorbitant!!! Therefore I had chosen Tokol as it was not only cheap, WITH AVGAS but it had some great reviews which turned out to be absolutley spot-on
It doesn't have any instrument approaches but I had selected Gyor as a suitable instrument alternate. Cruising level for this leg was FL140. Planned route was LFST SUL1S SUL DCT ETAGO DCT ABTAL L173 RIXED DCT RENLO L603 BESNI L605 ESEGA DCT ABETI VFR LHTL Planned Vs actual below....
After making our way back to the airport the next day we prepped the aircraft for the next leg only to find we had a 30 min slot delay!! We had studied the weather both the previous evening AND that morning and knew that it was going to be weathery and IMC until we were at least East of Stuttgart....
I had set the ADL to auto updates which was sensible as we were 'in it' and could not see much around us. The controller at Stuttgart Approach was working VERY hard with weather avoidance and at one point we were given a 90deg right for 'separation'
. This is not phraseology I was aware of and NOT something we use in the UK and it caused us to raise our eyebrows somewhat.....we even managed to pick up a bit of ice along the way.... ...we knew this was a distinct possibility and had pre-planned our course of action should things get too crazy (descend into warmer air in this case!)
Eventually we found better weather, still claggy but WAY better than we had justy experienced!! Bit of IMC in the descent but Tokol was pretty easily sighted from a good few miles away
Tokol was an ex-Soviet era base (some excellent reading about it HERE) and there are lots of remnants of that dotted around. The runway and paved areas are in good condition and it would appear to be a reasonably busy little place. Again, we asked for fuel on arrival and were met by a very helpful chap who fuelled us up and assisted with manhandling the aircraft to parking. He swiftly sorted out our bill from his little hut AND ordered us a taxi Top service!!!
We had 2 nights in Budapest and covered a lot of the sights and racked up the steps
. VERY similar to Prague from last years trip and just as stunning!! A VERY cool place to visit and I can't believe I hadn't visited earlier.
Leg 3 LHTL-EDDC
So, our time in Hungary had come to an end and we returned to the airfield. We had filed a Z flight plan as it would be a VFR departure out of Tokol with an IFR pickup a few miles downroute. The guys at Tokol, once again, were fantastic and had arranged a clearance for us from Budapest Approach which they provided as we taxied out!! The weather immediately around the airfield was actually reasonable and allowed for an uneventful VFR departure. We were soon climbing into CAS and into the previously predicted claggy weather!!! Cruising level for this leg was FL140. Planned route was LHTL GILEP/N0151F140 IFR DCT MIRLU DCT MABOD DCT LEDVA DCT ODNEM DCT BODAL DCT VLM DCT BEKVI DCT ODLIV DCT GOLOP M725 HDO EDDC Planned Vs actual below....
We managed to catch some cracking directs which saved a load of time as this leg was predominantly into wind. Thankfully the claggy weather dissipated and after another 2 hrs of being on top of, or clear of, clouds we landed in Dresden.
Dresden airport is quite a decent size and we were provided with a Follow Me car after turning off the runway
Once we had sorted everything out and put the cover on the aircraft we were quickly shuttled to the GA terminal. Great service from the team there and we were guided out into the main terminal where the chap explained to us where all the transport links could be found. Dresden airport has a train stop downstairs so we took that into the City. We got off at Dresden Mitte stop and walked into the centre where our accomodation was. Despite Dresden being an, initially, unplanned stop we were both hugely surprised by just how amazing the place is!!! Loads of old buildings to see which included the 'Zwinger' which looked like a vast palace... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwinger_(Dresden). Despite it being in the middle of some renovations you could tell it was a stunning building. Well worth a visit in its own right!!!
Leg 4 EDDC-LFGA
Next morning we did the usual hunt for coffee and pastries and happened upon a little place just round the corner from the hotel. That job complete we made our way back to the aircraft after having encountered some drama with the scheduled train back to airport being nowhere to be seen at the stated time!!! . I can only imagine it was cancelled but regardless we found a taxi instead. Back at the airport we were swiftly processed and on the shuttle back to the GA apron. Aircraft suitably prepped we called for start and taxi.
With the experience we now have of touring we are very good at arranging everything to ensure that our aircraft arrival to taxi time is around 20mins. We pretty much nail the flight planned EOBT time EVERY time (unless given a slot
) which is rather satisfying!
A short time later we were lifting the gear out of Dresden with another great destination under our belts!!! The flight to Colmar was planned at FL140 and the filed route was EDDC ABKIS3W ABKIS Z715 ANELA N869 TEDGO T716 DENEL T715 LIPKA T715 RIGVI LFGA Planned Vs actual below....
No weather encountered on this leg , just nice clear (cold )air giving great views of the surrounding towns and countryside.
Despite being good VMC I elected to do the RNP for runway 19 for the practice . Turns out I was reasonably good at it as nothing was bent nor did we require ambulance on arrival!!
Once again we fuelled up after landing and parked up on the grass.
The guys at Colmar were very friendly and helpful and we were swiftly in our taxi to town....
Colmar is only around 55KMs SSW of Strasbourg so it was unsurprising that the architecture and 'feel' was very similar. This was no issue as we both loved Strasbourg. After taking in the sights we were starving and happened upon a little restaurant which looked decent Restaurant L' Escale (not to be confused with L'Escale ). After a tense perusal of the menu...the tension arising from the fact that there were SO many dishes I could easily have munched...I opted for their own speciality home-made Chicken Cordon Bleu.... ...mindblowing!!! Thats all I can say on that....it was VERY yummy!!!
Leg 5 LFGA-LFMP
Yet again our morning hunt for coffee and pastries came up trumps despite it being a Sunday (we discovered last year that France pretty much closes on a sunday!! )....Le Boudoir sorting us out with perhaps the lightest, freshest croissant I've had to date!!
Back to the aircraft and we were, once again, on our way to the next of our 'surprise' destinations....Perpignan. We HAD toyed with going to Girona in NE Spain but that got binned for reasons I can't remember . The flight was planned at FL140 and the filed route was LFGA OLBEN Z50 ROTOS Z669 MILPA Z66 ARGIS T544 LSE A6 ROMAM Z16 MTL DCT MOLEN DCT NG DCT FJR FJR3F LFMP Planned Vs actual below....
Another leg mostly conducted above the clouds with only a small portion in IMC around half way downroute.
We were initailly sequenced for the RNP for RW15 but when the controller asked for our approach speed he changed the plan as there was a Ryanair 737 a bit behind us. After a bit of CRM we (sorry, I) informed the controller we could accept a visual rather than **** around being re-sequenced to the IAF/IF. After a short 'standby' (obvoiusly to sctatch his chin and have a think ) he gave us a join for LB15. We kept the power on and the gear up until the last gasp and touched down in Colmar!! The Ryanair touching down a few minutes later 
A short taxi for fuel saw us at the pumps armed with my Total fuel card!! Yet again, the value of having Total and Air BP cards CANNOT be overstated here. All done we taxied to GA parking at the Northern end of the field. Obviously some morons have, in the past, walked down the taxiway which was evident by the 'WALKING DOWN THE TAXIWAY IS FORBIDDEN' note on the Aerops email I had received upon booking PPR. God knows why folks do that as there is a walkway from the GA apron which gets you landside. Very straightforward. Getting back in requires you to have settled your bill via Aerops as you are then provided with the code for getting back through the gate to apron.
A quick stop in the terminal for a pee before our transport arrived then we were whisked off into town....After a mooch around I think that I would describe Perpignan as 'nice' rather than 'WOW' like some of the other places we had visited. I dont know if we had been, perhaps, spoiled by the grandeur of previous destinations but I was a tad underwhelmed by Perpignan despite it looking decent during our research phase a couple of days before
. I mean, im sure its got its plus points but it just seemed a bit unloved and 'meh'.
Leg 6 LFMP - LFRK
This leg saw us go through MANY options as it would be the last 'Euro' leg before Blighty. This always requires extra attention to detail as we would need customs and fuel...the customs bit being the key part. Initial thoughts were Nantes, Rennes, Lorient and St Nazaire (last two because I wanted to see the U-boat bases ). After a read of both Skydemon and EuroGA feedback it was decided to discount ALL of them mostly due to the unbelievable hassle and/or costs encountered by others with arranging customs. We decided on Caen as that leg, flown by me, would do wonders for evening up the flying times for the pair of us. So, suitably ready we left Perpignan for Caen. The flight was planned at FL150 and the filed route was LFMP ORBIL5N ORBIL G36 LMG A34 BALAN R10 OLINO A34 SOPIL R10 AMB A34 BENAR H20 LGL LGL4C LFRK. Planned Vs actual below..
We knew we would have a bit of a headwind as there was a low pressure system off to the West coming through the Bay of Biscay so we elected to stay at FL120 as the winds were not as bad lower down. The flight was uneventful en-route and I was given an ILS for RW31. Lets just say that this was somewhat blustery but, and I dont wish to blow smoke up my own rear, I nailed the CDI on both glide and localiser 
.
However.....this previously mentioned weather was giving us a bit to think about. Prior to departure we had discussed some options as the forecast weather at Lee on Tuesday late afternoon was shaping up to be PANTS to say the least ....The options were 1. DON'T stay overnight in Caen and head straight to UK; 2. Leave early the next morning to beat the worst of it; 3. Stay an EXTRA night. Both 1 and 2 were at the mercy of customs as I had already booked them for Tuesday afternoon and if they weren't there when we arrived in Caen we would be screwed and have to plump for option 3.
On parking up we left everything in the aircraft and headed to Terminal to pay fees etc and see if the Douane chaps were in attendance. The nice young lady at the desk informed us that they were not . Some French was duly espoused by her colleague at the back of the office and we were informed that, if we could wait until 1800 (it was 1540), they would be arriving to deal with another flight to UK. This had us nodding like crazy people and we were invited to wait in the VIP lounge (she had obviously witnessed my ILS ).
I hurriedly cancelled and refiled our FLP and modified our GAR for the revised schedule. After a bit of a wait we were invited to see the Douane chaps and have our passports stamped....result!!
A few shortcuts by Lodon Control had us back to Lee in under an hour
SUMMARY
Unfortunately the weather, once again, had intervened to scupper our initial plan. This was expected before we had even departed Lee but we were both surprised that the plan had fallen apart after only the second leg. I think you'll agree that the GRAMET for Dubrovnik was less than inviting.....
So I think we definitely made the right decision to bin Croatia on this occasion....despite this we still visited some great unplanned destinations and covered c2400nm with 18h05m of flying. We encountered some 'intertesting' IMC, picked up some ice and inhaled just over 1 full 22cuft tank of Oxy on the way!! A good result with some great memories to ponder......as well as picking up some more self-learned tips/lessons with which to add to our list. The big one this year was ALWAYS take your licence with you when you exit the airfield. Usually I'd leave it in the flight bag in the aircraft but that would definitely have caused issues this time around. We would not have been able to get airside in Strasbourg without either it or some huge hassle.
Next year were going to Morrocco and I aint taking no for an answer
SD
A bit about me....
I am a PPL/IR (as is my flying buddy and co-owner) with over 300hrs and everything was to be conducted IFR apart from the landing and departure from Tokol as its a VFR airfield. Last year we flew around Europe on a similar route so had a bit of experience in planning and flying longer trips....
Oh, and I'm also an Area Radar controller at London Centre which certainly helps with the RT confidence!!
So...on to the hardware....
The aircraft is a 1977 Piper Turbo Arrow and to make use of the performance, I have a Sky-Ox 22 CuFt portable oxy system giving around 20 man-hours @ 15000ft. We both have the same kit so having 2 full bottles for the trip ensured we most definitely had enough Oxy for the entire trip. Some folks swear by the Mountain High system but, having done a LOT of research prior to buying a kit, I liked the simplicity of the Sky-Ox system and not having yet another item which was reliant on having batteries.
For in-flight weather I bought an older Golze ADL120 last year which works very well. The aircraft has a GTN650 for IFR navigation/approaches and a pair of Garmin G5's. I also use Skydemon in-flight too for added situational awareness and charts should it be necessray to drop below CAS/MSA due to icing etc...I also have a raft and lifejackets for over water risk reduction!!!
The initial idea
This years plan was to get down to and back from Dubrovnik with the following route...
Lee-On-Solent (EGHF) - Strasbourg (LFST) - Tokol (LHTL) - Dubrovnik (LDDU) - Innsbruck (LOWI) - Montpellier (LFMT) - Tours (LFOT) - Lee-On-Solent.
As with all things longer distance touring the plan rarely survives contact with reality so we ended up with...
The reason was primarily weather related but I'll get onto that in due course!!!
As always, routes planned and filed using Autorouter. GAR's submitted via SGAR and preflight weather info obtained via a combo of Windy Premium, Weather & Radar app, GRAMET and a few others. Inflight weather obtained via Golze ADL120....
Leg 1 EGHF-LFST
First leg started well with a fully fuelled aircraft, all things stowed and oxy all prepped and ready. Departed Lee bang on schedule and after a couple of minutes had obtained a clearance from my buddies at London Control
to join CAS. Cruising level for this leg was FL150 which we were cleared to pretty much straight away! Planned route was EGHF N0153F150 MID L18 DVR L9 KONAN L607 LNO N852 GTQ GTQ6V LFST. Planned Vs actual below....Got a few shortcuts en-route and had good weather along the way so happy with that!
We were given an ILS to RW05 which was conducted in good VMC. We were on stand very quickly and, as always, requested fuel on arrival.
Almost everyone will tell you that this is probably THE No.1 best idea for flying around Europe. Took around 30 mins for bowser to arrive and then we went to find Customs and Immigration.
Despite asking for this previously by email to airport Ops (no separate Douane email for this airport) no-one was there to greet us. A LOT of too-ing and fro-ing between terminal and other parts of the airport EVENTUALLY saw us with stamped passports!!! Steps were certainly obtained THAT day!! A 10 min walk to the train and we were then on our way into town.....My flying buddy and I both like older, picturesque European towns/cities and Strasbourg did NOT disappoint! LOADS to see and explore but, unfortunately, we were only here for one night.
Leg 2 LFST-LHTL
Normally I would have planned to land at Budapest Frenec (LHBP) but there was a question around AVGAS availability plus the fees were somewhat exorbitant!!! Therefore I had chosen Tokol as it was not only cheap, WITH AVGAS but it had some great reviews which turned out to be absolutley spot-on
It doesn't have any instrument approaches but I had selected Gyor as a suitable instrument alternate. Cruising level for this leg was FL140. Planned route was LFST SUL1S SUL DCT ETAGO DCT ABTAL L173 RIXED DCT RENLO L603 BESNI L605 ESEGA DCT ABETI VFR LHTL Planned Vs actual below....After making our way back to the airport the next day we prepped the aircraft for the next leg only to find we had a 30 min slot delay!! We had studied the weather both the previous evening AND that morning and knew that it was going to be weathery and IMC until we were at least East of Stuttgart....
I had set the ADL to auto updates which was sensible as we were 'in it' and could not see much around us. The controller at Stuttgart Approach was working VERY hard with weather avoidance and at one point we were given a 90deg right for 'separation'
. This is not phraseology I was aware of and NOT something we use in the UK and it caused us to raise our eyebrows somewhat.....we even managed to pick up a bit of ice along the way.... ...we knew this was a distinct possibility and had pre-planned our course of action should things get too crazy (descend into warmer air in this case!)Eventually we found better weather, still claggy but WAY better than we had justy experienced!! Bit of IMC in the descent but Tokol was pretty easily sighted from a good few miles away
Tokol was an ex-Soviet era base (some excellent reading about it HERE) and there are lots of remnants of that dotted around. The runway and paved areas are in good condition and it would appear to be a reasonably busy little place. Again, we asked for fuel on arrival and were met by a very helpful chap who fuelled us up and assisted with manhandling the aircraft to parking. He swiftly sorted out our bill from his little hut AND ordered us a taxi
Top service!!!We had 2 nights in Budapest and covered a lot of the sights and racked up the steps
. VERY similar to Prague from last years trip and just as stunning!! A VERY cool place to visit and I can't believe I hadn't visited earlier. Leg 3 LHTL-EDDC
So, our time in Hungary had come to an end and we returned to the airfield. We had filed a Z flight plan as it would be a VFR departure out of Tokol with an IFR pickup a few miles downroute. The guys at Tokol, once again, were fantastic and had arranged a clearance for us from Budapest Approach which they provided as we taxied out!! The weather immediately around the airfield was actually reasonable and allowed for an uneventful VFR departure. We were soon climbing into CAS and into the previously predicted claggy weather!!! Cruising level for this leg was FL140. Planned route was LHTL GILEP/N0151F140 IFR DCT MIRLU DCT MABOD DCT LEDVA DCT ODNEM DCT BODAL DCT VLM DCT BEKVI DCT ODLIV DCT GOLOP M725 HDO EDDC Planned Vs actual below....
We managed to catch some cracking directs which saved a load of time as this leg was predominantly into wind. Thankfully the claggy weather dissipated and after another 2 hrs of being on top of, or clear of, clouds we landed in Dresden.
Dresden airport is quite a decent size and we were provided with a Follow Me car after turning off the runway
Once we had sorted everything out and put the cover on the aircraft we were quickly shuttled to the GA terminal. Great service from the team there and we were guided out into the main terminal where the chap explained to us where all the transport links could be found. Dresden airport has a train stop downstairs so we took that into the City. We got off at Dresden Mitte stop and walked into the centre where our accomodation was. Despite Dresden being an, initially, unplanned stop we were both hugely surprised by just how amazing the place is!!! Loads of old buildings to see which included the 'Zwinger' which looked like a vast palace... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwinger_(Dresden). Despite it being in the middle of some renovations you could tell it was a stunning building. Well worth a visit in its own right!!!Leg 4 EDDC-LFGA
Next morning we did the usual hunt for coffee and pastries and happened upon a little place just round the corner from the hotel. That job complete we made our way back to the aircraft after having encountered some drama with the scheduled train back to airport being nowhere to be seen at the stated time!!!
. I can only imagine it was cancelled but regardless we found a taxi instead. Back at the airport we were swiftly processed and on the shuttle back to the GA apron. Aircraft suitably prepped we called for start and taxi. With the experience we now have of touring we are very good at arranging everything to ensure that our aircraft arrival to taxi time is around 20mins. We pretty much nail the flight planned EOBT time EVERY time (unless given a slot
) which is rather satisfying! A short time later we were lifting the gear out of Dresden with another great destination under our belts!!! The flight to Colmar was planned at FL140 and the filed route was EDDC ABKIS3W ABKIS Z715 ANELA N869 TEDGO T716 DENEL T715 LIPKA T715 RIGVI LFGA Planned Vs actual below....
No weather encountered on this leg , just nice clear (cold
)air giving great views of the surrounding towns and countryside. Despite being good VMC I elected to do the RNP for runway 19 for the practice
. Turns out I was reasonably good at it as nothing was bent nor did we require ambulance on arrival!! Once again we fuelled up after landing and parked up on the grass.
The guys at Colmar were very friendly and helpful and we were swiftly in our taxi to town....
Colmar is only around 55KMs SSW of Strasbourg so it was unsurprising that the architecture and 'feel' was very similar. This was no issue as we both loved Strasbourg. After taking in the sights we were starving and happened upon a little restaurant which looked decent Restaurant L' Escale (not to be confused with L'Escale
). After a tense perusal of the menu...the tension arising from the fact that there were SO many dishes I could easily have munched...I opted for their own speciality home-made Chicken Cordon Bleu.... ...mindblowing!!! Thats all I can say on that....it was VERY yummy!!!Leg 5 LFGA-LFMP
Yet again our morning hunt for coffee and pastries came up trumps despite it being a Sunday (we discovered last year that France pretty much closes on a sunday!!
)....Le Boudoir sorting us out with perhaps the lightest, freshest croissant I've had to date!! Back to the aircraft and we were, once again, on our way to the next of our 'surprise' destinations....Perpignan. We HAD toyed with going to Girona in NE Spain but that got binned for reasons I can't remember
. The flight was planned at FL140 and the filed route was LFGA OLBEN Z50 ROTOS Z669 MILPA Z66 ARGIS T544 LSE A6 ROMAM Z16 MTL DCT MOLEN DCT NG DCT FJR FJR3F LFMP Planned Vs actual below....Another leg mostly conducted above the clouds with only a small portion in IMC around half way downroute.
We were initailly sequenced for the RNP for RW15 but when the controller asked for our approach speed he changed the plan as there was a Ryanair 737 a bit behind us. After a bit of CRM
we (sorry, I) informed the controller we could accept a visual rather than **** around being re-sequenced to the IAF/IF. After a short 'standby' (obvoiusly to sctatch his chin and have a think ) he gave us a join for LB15. We kept the power on and the gear up until the last gasp and touched down in Colmar!! The Ryanair touching down a few minutes later A short taxi for fuel saw us at the pumps armed with my Total fuel card!! Yet again, the value of having Total and Air BP cards CANNOT be overstated here. All done we taxied to GA parking at the Northern end of the field. Obviously some morons have, in the past, walked down the taxiway which was evident by the 'WALKING DOWN THE TAXIWAY IS FORBIDDEN' note on the Aerops email I had received upon booking PPR. God knows why folks do that as there is a walkway from the GA apron which gets you landside. Very straightforward. Getting back in requires you to have settled your bill via Aerops as you are then provided with the code for getting back through the gate to apron.
A quick stop in the terminal for a pee before our transport arrived then we were whisked off into town....After a mooch around I think that I would describe Perpignan as 'nice' rather than 'WOW' like some of the other places we had visited. I dont know if we had been, perhaps, spoiled by the grandeur of previous destinations but I was a tad underwhelmed by Perpignan despite it looking decent during our research phase a couple of days before
. I mean, im sure its got its plus points but it just seemed a bit unloved and 'meh'.Leg 6 LFMP - LFRK
This leg saw us go through MANY options as it would be the last 'Euro' leg before Blighty. This always requires extra attention to detail as we would need customs and fuel...the customs bit being the key part. Initial thoughts were Nantes, Rennes, Lorient and St Nazaire (last two because I wanted to see the U-boat bases
). After a read of both Skydemon and EuroGA feedback it was decided to discount ALL of them mostly due to the unbelievable hassle and/or costs encountered by others with arranging customs. We decided on Caen as that leg, flown by me, would do wonders for evening up the flying times for the pair of us. So, suitably ready we left Perpignan for Caen. The flight was planned at FL150 and the filed route was LFMP ORBIL5N ORBIL G36 LMG A34 BALAN R10 OLINO A34 SOPIL R10 AMB A34 BENAR H20 LGL LGL4C LFRK. Planned Vs actual below..We knew we would have a bit of a headwind as there was a low pressure system off to the West coming through the Bay of Biscay so we elected to stay at FL120 as the winds were not as bad lower down. The flight was uneventful en-route and I was given an ILS for RW31. Lets just say that this was somewhat blustery but, and I dont wish to blow smoke up my own rear, I nailed the CDI on both glide and localiser
. However.....this previously mentioned weather was giving us a bit to think about. Prior to departure we had discussed some options as the forecast weather at Lee on Tuesday late afternoon was shaping up to be PANTS to say the least ....The options were 1. DON'T stay overnight in Caen and head straight to UK; 2. Leave early the next morning to beat the worst of it; 3. Stay an EXTRA night. Both 1 and 2 were at the mercy of customs as I had already booked them for Tuesday afternoon and if they weren't there when we arrived in Caen we would be screwed and have to plump for option 3.
On parking up we left everything in the aircraft and headed to Terminal to pay fees etc and see if the Douane chaps were in attendance. The nice young lady at the desk informed us that they were not
. Some French was duly espoused by her colleague at the back of the office and we were informed that, if we could wait until 1800 (it was 1540), they would be arriving to deal with another flight to UK. This had us nodding like crazy people and we were invited to wait in the VIP lounge (she had obviously witnessed my ILS ). I hurriedly cancelled and refiled our FLP and modified our GAR for the revised schedule. After a bit of a wait we were invited to see the Douane chaps and have our passports stamped....result!!
A few shortcuts by Lodon Control had us back to Lee in under an hour
SUMMARY
Unfortunately the weather, once again, had intervened to scupper our initial plan. This was expected before we had even departed Lee but we were both surprised that the plan had fallen apart after only the second leg. I think you'll agree that the GRAMET for Dubrovnik was less than inviting.....
So I think we definitely made the right decision to bin Croatia on this occasion....despite this we still visited some great unplanned destinations and covered c2400nm with 18h05m of flying. We encountered some 'intertesting' IMC, picked up some ice and inhaled just over 1 full 22cuft tank of Oxy on the way!! A good result with some great memories to ponder......as well as picking up some more self-learned tips/lessons with which to add to our list. The big one this year was ALWAYS take your licence with you when you exit the airfield. Usually I'd leave it in the flight bag in the aircraft but that would definitely have caused issues this time around. We would not have been able to get airside in Strasbourg without either it or some huge hassle.
Next year were going to Morrocco and I aint taking no for an answer
SD