Muelli,
do you fly single engine at all?
Or at SEP at night?
Achim,
lovely report, thanks. That is a seriously nice setup you have in your plane. Was not aware that the Avidyne AP is already installable here in Europe, so much the nicer. Basically, you got the setup I dream of for my plane: Aspen PFD and Avidyne AP. STC doesn't exist yet though for the AP....
do you fly single engine at all? Or at SEP at night?
You may check my profile. I try to preserve at least a little chance in case I go down.
Lovely plane the Silver Eagle.
We had a Swiss one flying around the world not too long ago, right now there is another one on a RTW trip. Kind of puts Achim's 2 hour night hop into perspective I reckon, apart, your engine is much more reliable than our pedestrian piston...
Today's western society is too much about avoiding risks at any cost. There is no limit to what you can do and how much you can spend to minimize risks and in many regards, I believe we are going too far, killing creativity, entrepreneurship and just fun. In Egypt nobody uses a safety belt in a car although driving a car there is an order of magnitude more dangerous than in Europe. If you get killed, it's Allah's will so why try fighting it. That's not my point of view but it kind of shows how risk perception greatly differs.
Until a few years ago, night flying was very common in SEPs, our airfield had night flying days but nowadays this doesn't exist anymore. My FTO has problems finding instructors that are willing to instruct for the night rating. At the same FTO, ATPL students told me they would never fly IFR in a single engine and single pilot airplane. There was much more GA activity in the 70s/80s, at night, over the sea and all that without GPS and engine monitors, just ADF and VDF. My airplane logs show that it was in Greece in the early 80s when neither the German pilot nor anybody at the Greek airfields spoke any English. A few weeks after the Berlin wall fell, it flew to Dresden using a street map (of what the West thought the East would look like) and compass.
We are all sissies today and wonder why we accomplish less and less and our freedom gets replaced by rules that limit us in every way. Where I have been successful in my entrepreneurial career, it was where I did the opposite of what others told me and where I took risks everybody said I shouldn't take. Follow the ideals of Immanuel Kant and think for yourself.
well, yes - risk perception differs - but i think it IS a cultural achievement that we use safetly belts, helmets on motorcycles, and that we don't (at least I don't) rather have some influence on when or why we die. And that we value life.
Yes, we are sissies. And to some point I agree with you completely. I still hate it when my kids ride their bikes without a helmet. And so will you ... (wanna bet?)
There is nothing more difficult about flying to Greece than there is about flying to France, which is why I started writing up my trip reports back in 2004.
In fact Greece is easier in many ways than some of N Europe, because most Greek airports speak good English and communicate well, whereas a lot of small places in some more northern countries hang the phone up if you phone them in English, and of course never reply to written comms.
Flying in Greece has been a pleasure which is why I fly there most years. Only in 2013 we missed out and did Croatia instead, which is why I am at Athens right now (via Easyjet, sadly) 
Peter, that doesn't explain why you flew Easyjet. Is the TB20 in for an annual or something?
Personally, my most memorable and adventurous cross country trips have ALWAYS been those where something didn't go according to the original plan. That's when you start to feel really alive.
I'll tell you what turns you into a damn p*ssy: Flying a more capable aircraft. Ever since I got the DA42, the thought of flying a SEP across the open ocean feels positively disagreeable to me, whereas in the old days it was just plain adventure.
I'm still in awe of this guy's flight adventure...
Is the TB20 in for an annual or something?
I had to be back for Sunday. Take a look at the charts and you will see....
Also I've done a load of flying this year already - don't fancy another 15-20hrs. Especially as the plane is at Biggin (due to fog at last arrival) so I have to retrieve it sometime.
