My favourite trip was with a client. We flew from Wycombe to Newquay to have lunch at a Rick Stein restaurant in Padstow, and then we flew back again. It was my favourite trip because it was the first time that I used my recently acquired TB20 for a real purpose and because my passenger thought the whole day was completely brilliant….as did I, and because the whole route was new to me and it all went very well and I felt entirely at ease, even when one ATC controller was rude to me for not being able to spot a little town that she wanted me to report at. (The other controllers were just very professional as we spoke CAP413 to each other.)
I made up my mind that day that the TB20 is a real go places plane …for people like me who think that travelling a few hundred miles is going places :-). I’m going to stretch my TB20’s retractible legs further in 2014. France would be good but I’m still a bit put off by the flight plan, GAR, lifeboat, immersion suit, French-speaking complexity of it all…
alexisvc
I did the same – but in Warton ;-)
I did a good number of trips in 2013 but nothing “epic” to e.g. Greece. The longest one was down to Mali Losinj LDLO (twice actually) and back via Pula LDPL on the 2nd one. That one is still waiting to be written up…
I look forward to the 2014 EuroGA fly-in, which I suggest will be to Mali Losinj LDLO or Brac LDSB – both lovely islands in the Adriatic. No Zepellin museums on either 
From N Europe this is a “very high value” scenic trip. For those who don’t have a suitable aircraft, I am sure there will be spare seats. Probably late May, but not at the very end because of the Socata fly-in.
I did a few longer trips in 2013. The LA to NY and back being the longest. But the greatest was probably my flight to Vancouver from LA. It was the first time I’d crossed a border in my own plane and beautiful ride up the coast. Even landed at Vancouver International (CYVR) with all the Air Canada 767’s breathing down my neck. The Canadians couldn’t have been nicer and they were falling over themselves in the tower to help me find the smaller field upriver where I could park cheaply for my stay. I’d also heard horror stories dealing with CBP when re-entering the US. Especially in a Commander with bad paint that looked like a drug runner. But it couldn’t have been smoother. The CBP officer circled the plane with a Geiger meter and that was pretty much it. Didn’t even look inside. I’ve never cleared US customs quicker in my life.
With the new engines and hopefully an IR soon, I’m dreaming of taking the Aerostar to Europe this summer or fall. That would be great. I hope it can be achieved.
There can only be one for me. Just over 100 hours in my log for 2013, but nearly half of that was flying my RV-8 back from LA to England after my job finished in California.
Going from the deserts of New Mexico to the frozen seas and wilderness of the Arctic over three weeks, taking in so many interesting sights and meeting so many kind and interesting people.
I did a write up for the LAA magazine if you want to see a bit more detail.
Irony is that another job came up this time in Northern California, so I’m back in the sunshine with a somewhat cheaper VFR runaround now.
Good read, Mark!
Flying the 617 squadron Dam-Busters route, finishing with a low(ish), run up the length of the Mohnesee.
For several personal reasons (not only, but not least, that I was named after one of the pilots) the Dam Buster story is a very personal one to me, and whilst I perhaps don’t have a historian’s detailed knowledge of the raid, the human significance of it has always been something I understood extremely well. Flying up the Mohnesee and over the top of the dam, aware of the great young men who died flying that route, was the most emotionally significant thing I’ve ever done in an aeroplane. I was not prepared at-all for the emotional “hit” at that moment, but will never forget those few minutes in particular.
Not for a moment to compare anything I’ve ever done to what those young men did, but I believe for that trip I understand it far better than I ever could have done otherwise.
G
Great trip with your RV! And nice list of stuff you carried with you. I’ll add bear spray and a laser pointer to my requirement list.
Without question, my best trip was Fairoaks – Edinburgh – Stornoway – Prestwick – Islay – Biggin Hill.
We had a wonderful flight up to Edinburgh where stayed overnight and picked up a friend. Then low level through the hills on a beautiful day past Perth, Pitlochry, Loch Rannoch, south of Ben Nevis to Loch Leven, then up the Great Glen to Inverness, climb to FL90 and over to Stornoway in a straight line.
We stayed overnight in Stornoway, then flew down to Prestwick via Uist, Benbecula, Barra and Tiree to drop our friend off. Then a quick hop over to Islay and another night’s stay.
In the morning we went for a walk over the mudflats from Bridgend to Bowmore, followed by a perfect flight back home to Biggin Hill.
The TB10 may not be the fastest plane around, or have the best range, but it is perfect for this mix of low level scenic flying and medium distance touring.
Without question, my best trip was Fairoaks – Edinburgh – Stornoway – Prestwick – Islay – Biggin Hill. Some pictures (in a strange order) on flickr .
We had a wonderful flight up to Edinburgh where stayed overnight and picked up a friend. Then low level through the hills on a beautiful day past Perth, Pitlochry, Loch Rannoch, south of Ben Nevis to Loch Leven, then up the Great Glen to Inverness, climb to FL90 and over to Stornoway in a straight line.
We stayed overnight in Stornoway, then flew down to Prestwick via Uist, Benbecula, Barra and Tiree to drop our friend off. Then a quick hop over to Islay and another night’s stay.
In the morning we went for a walk over the mudflats from Bridgend to Bowmore, followed by a perfect flight back home to Biggin Hill.
The TB10 may not be the fastest plane around, or have the best range, but it is perfect for this mix of low level scenic flying and medium distance touring.
