Mario, the airport manager at Santarem, kindly met us at 6 am and drove us to the airport. A small amount of time adjusting flight plans and generally making ready and captain Moff sat in the pilot's seat for the first time, ready for departure.
It was exhilarating to power her down the runway at about 5% over MTOW, as authorised by CASA.
She lifted off easily at 0610 zulu and before you know it we're on track at 8000 feet.
The haze made scenery less than inspiring but it was entertaining to fly through Madrid Airspace. The warning I received from Madrid approach was blunt: "you are in Madrid airspace; you must fly altitude." Message received loud and clear. Fortunately, our altitude hold autopilot functions perfectly to hold us exactly at the correct level.
Pretty soon we are overhead Valencia and my first significant overwater flight is underway.
We had hoped to fly to the north of Palma but ATC routed us to the south and around the island. Beautiful turquoise bays surrounded by azure Mediterranean sea. They looked pretty inviting in our high 20 degrees C cockpit.
We learned a lesson today as well. Jan took us to Alghero, Sardinia, on the understanding gleaned from an aviation book that there was Avgas there. Rule 1, never believe the book.
Fortunately Corsica is only a few miles away and has plenty of Avgas. And that is where we are, in a small town called Pianotolli.
Food time.
Approx Track Miles: 878NM
Hobbs Hours: 3.1
Fuel Uplift before: 420 litres
Price per Litre: 2 Euros (AUD $2.45)
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| Day 1 Route |
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| Cute Kid eating at the table next to us |
Not to mention that Corsica brings with it French fare. So glad that all instruments are working! There seem so many more than in the planes we've been flying - there are even ones overhead.
ReplyDeleteTony, the Banfields were all fixated on the Spotme tracker all the way to Sardinia last night. (And much confusion this morning to see it had moved to Corsica, until I read your blog !)
ReplyDeleteKyle is presenting his news at school this morning about "My dad's friend Tony and his amazing adventure" !!
Last nights fare was typiclly French fantastic. Drowning in butter just the way I like it.
ReplyDeleteSteve, I love that!
Calamris, greek salad and mythos beer for tea tonight then huh!!
ReplyDeleteThought you might love the French fare after the tapas. I can feel a lovely French meal coming on myself - possibly one that is owed to the supportive wifey. Perhaps starting with some French bubbles...
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who are a little conerned about the unscheduled stopping of Spot me over Palermo, the boys have landed. A red warning light for the landing gear came on so they set down in Palermo to sort it out. Tony has promised me he won't take off until it is fixed or they have worked out why it lit up. The gear was fine when they landed so they think it is just a 'bug'.
ReplyDeleteThis is so good.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to Facebook this --- I reckon lots of people would love to follow. Presume that you are OK for this, given then this is public.
They are now flying on to work on the plane or establish what the issue is. They can't get a hangar where they are now. They are probably going to Catania, 100 miles away.
ReplyDeleteSpoke to Donna -- I will not make it public on Facebook or any other medium. But, Tony, you ought to get Instagram on your iphone and record the journey with photos. Happy travels.
ReplyDeleteDid you fly past a control tower to ensure your landing gear was fully in place before landing at Palermo?
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether it'd be worth a phone call to previous owners to see whether they've ever had the problem? They just might have the solution??
Its a bummer, Ton, but look on the bright side. You might never have got to visit Catania without this!!