SkiFlyBri

SkiFlyBri

Listen to the Wind....

Weathered in at St Omer the welcome could not be better or the winds worse. I am sitting here listening to the hanger doors rattle in the 35 - 45 mph winds. Certainly not flying weather, so we brew 3 in 1 from Kenco and look again at the weather maps, synoptics and forecast for the days ahead.

There is a relative "lull" down to 15- 25 mph winds tomorrow, with no significant weather and so that is our chance to cross the channel and make it home. Tonight it's a waiting game with little to do save for contemplate what tomorrow will bring.

The great news is that I shall be home tomorrow regardless!!! If the weather does not play ball we will simply slip onto the ferry and borrow another favoir from one of our long suffering friends or relatives and ask them to pick us up.

Being stuck is an odd mix of expectation, frustration and time to think.

I have fueled for a 4 hour Flint home! That same flight usually takes 2 hours, And in 20 minutes I shall start to pack the trike before dinner.....and beer ro two and a night on the hanger floor! Deep joy.

As for now the coffee tastes good and Kim Wild is on the radio taking me back 25 years, what happy years they have been.

Microlight Tumble - Brian Searle

Mont Blanc

By 0915 we were working our way up Mont Blanc, above the snow line and at 10 12 thousand feet the wings, engines and propellers struggle with the thin air. The sight of the glaciers and the sheer relative size of the mountain demand respect.

Morning Megeve - off to fly Mont Blanc

Camping at Megeve

Cloud Forming

This is the cloud forming as the air runs up the slop caused by the sun heating the side of the mountain in the morning, the air of the opposite face of the valley is in the shade and air is rushing down.

Merible

Waking this morning after the excellent weather of the last few days, we are greeted with more sun low winds, todays plan was a relatively short flight of 48 miles visiting

Meribel
La Rossier
Megeve

This shot of Meribel is taken on the approach of 159 degrees to hook around to down wind. After the Altislope of yesterday these Tarmac Altiports seem a little low rent! Although the technique to land is opposite of a traditional landing in many ways. One Must only land if the wind is from behind or uphill in the direction of landing, we must keep the power on all the way down and plan to land on the very end of the lowest section of the runway. Take off's are always down hill!

First flight of the day

Heading toward L'Alps D'Huez for our first altiports of the day I simply decided last night to plan and research this location and lead myself into it, after all what was I going to learn from watching someone else doing it while I dangled around at 7000 feet?

In the big scheme of things it was an a magical moment and a walk in the park all rolled into one. The blogs pictures tell the story!

Jaques!

Beaune at Bedtime

It's been a long day, it took a long while for the rain to clear, it was a long time to get packed up and and was a long flight across the north of France to Beaune. Across the battlefields we are reminded of the past peppered with cemetery and graveyards, flags and monuments, the freedom to fly is not free.

I don't think that I have ever felt this way at the end of a days flying, I feel flat! I feel like I would have rather spent the day with the people I love, perhaps the balance is changing.

Day 2 - St Omer - ????

The plan is to truck toward the Alps, stopping at Challon, and Beaune. There we thinking about running full steam to GAP, the weather and fatigue will dictate how far we get!

Over night rain, a wet tent and a front dictate when we will be leaving, xcweather.co.uk is our reference and seems to be very accurate!

France - Day one

The goodbyes were more difficult today, I don't know why but arriving at the Hanger the aircraft was fully inspected and trusted! Loading up took a while and the fronts that passed though did so in time with the forecast. Set off at 1600hrs landing in Calais 2 hours later the crossing was easy, fun almost, as I relaxed at 5250 feet with Brian and Richard off my wing tips.

Tomorrow we planning 6 hours to Beaune ( pronounced bone ), to arrive Sunday in the Alps.
M

Preparation - Cheers Steve

Preparation tonight started with a list, as it grows I wonder if it will all fit into the trike and more importantly, if I really need it all! A well timed "gift" knocks the food shopping on the head! CHEERS Steve, you know who you are!

Today, the repairs to the flight trim systems complete and tested, the airframe and engine had one of the closest inspections I have completed for a long while. G-SA is officially ready, now the packing and checking can start while I keep one eye on preparation and the other on the weather.

Officially Excited! - Flying the Alps in less than 10 days!