Trip report: VFR from Belgium to Istanbul

Yes you did all right! I also grow up with every of this flights and the people say the same things (5.000h FI never left the traffik pattern) “you can´t do this with XX hours”. Yes you can do it and it is really a good way to learn! Thanks for sharing.

Vieke wrote:

I was allowed to make the trip with their plane if I was searching a copilot with at least 2 -3000 hr and and ATPL or instrument rating.

What? I am sure this guy is one himself who has never left the traffic circuit and is secretly scared to fly. 2-3000 hours? In other words, nobody. He did not want to give you the plane and that is all. Well, ok, fine, there are other clubs and there are lots of planes for sale. Clubs like that, with little absolutistic kings, have killed more than one flying career with their attitude. Also nice to know that your instructors and examiners were behind you, but if even they can´t do anything to overrule a guy like that, then I suppose a different solution is in order.

Clearly, the owner of any plane have all the right to refuse a trip to someone they don´t feel is up to it. But their argumentation is totally ridiculous.

This kind of stuff is why I got my first plane the day after I got my PPL.

Vieke wrote:

So I hope and I think I did prove myself a little bit with this trip, and the outcome? We will see.

Did you ever. And good on you.

Reading the message that quote is from I can only repeat what I said before: A club like that is not anywhere I´d like to be.

Lovely report, thanks a lot for sharing!

1980 HB-DFH

Oh, I know this plane. Nice to see she is still going strong!

So is this the Westflug airplane?

Vieke,
What a wonderful trip and report! Fantastic that you did that with relatively little experience.
Hope to meet you at the fly-in at Carcassonne, provided the powers that be at your club allow you to fly to such a difficult destination..

Let me chime in with all the praise – an inspiring report of a great trip! Going further south than Croatia and Montenegro, at least to some Greek islands, has been on my bucket list for quite some time now.

Concerning this “interesting” club chairman, I am absolutely with Mooneydriver. But my tolerance towards those people may well be below average…

Vieke: a little late I just read your trip report last night. Very good report and great pictures. I recognize a few things in your story. When I started flying 5 years ago I got my my fresh PPL license in November and started flying a Piper Archer 2 that was owned by a group of 20 pilots. I just bought a share at that time. Then in February I went to Chambery to train with a mountain instructor (at that time Alex Combes) for my site license of Courchevel. I only had my PPL 3 months and now had a site license for Courchevel. Now, the next time I wanted to fly myself to Courchevel with the group owned Piper Archer 2 I got a phone call from the chairman that the insurance company would not allow me to fly to Courchevel with the Piper. I just did not have enough hours and it would not be insured. Instead of taking him for his word (he was an insurance broker by profession) I called myself the insurance company. They told me that indeed our chairman had called them and that he tried to get their collaboration to stop me from flying to Courchevel, but that they as an insurance company would and could not help out there. The point of view of the insurance company was that if I was formallly checked out to fly to Courchevel and signed off on that and had my PPL valid with a valid medical, they could and would not stop me from going there.

So … I went to Courchevel and kept on going there and to other places. In the end, I replaced the chairman and became myself for some time the chairman and thus resolved that issue.

You drive for adventure and to experience new places with your aircraft is one that I share with you. Keep on going places and take the advise from others, but set your own course and make your own decisions.

And as for Barra, I flew that same Piper Archer 2 in there some years ago. Was a great experience and at that time I had less hours than you have.

One little tip that I picked up from an IFR pilot and use al the tiem, might be useful here.
I say that he was an IFR pilot, as I think this is common among IFR pilots, but not really known/used by VFR pilots.

Once I get the ATIS, I turn the heading bug on the autopilot to the runway heading (for both arrivals and departures). If I start to get confused about which runway, how to join the circuit direction, or which way to turn onto the runway, a quick look at the heading bug gives a very powerful picture. And a final check before departure or arrival is that the heading bug at at the top of the DI. Otherwise something is wrong!

A small thing, but quite useful, and has helped me answer such questions very quickly!

Colm

dublinpilot wrote:

Once I get the ATIS, I turn the heading bug on the autopilot to the runway heading (for both arrivals and departures).

Maybe even adjusted slightly for the wind direction indicated on the ATIS. That could help during the circuit, too.

A variant of this, for those with an HSI, is to turn the HSI course pointer to the runway bearing.

Then the heading bug is available for it’s normal use i.e. driving the autopilot, or just for pilot reference whenhand flying. It is good practice to always set the heading bug to the intended heading, in most phases of flight.