Aviating over Upstate NY in Chris' Cherokee

Plane: Piper Cherokee
Route: SDC-DSV-SDC 
Weather: Clear, 78 degrees, wind 050 degrees at 4 knots

One of the best things about traveling so much is the ability to meet up with friends all over the country... all over the world, for that matter. I've flown into his home 'drome (Williamson-Sodus) before with Gina but never had the chance to take to the sky in his right seat. Tonight, after arriving via AA mid-afternoon for a week of work in Rochester, we finally corrected that and spent a fall-like, totally beautiful evening in the sky.

Don't mind me shamelessly reusing Chris' photo here

Read more on Chris' blog: http://warrior481.blogspot.com/2016/08/digital-community.html

A little Deutschland flying in a Mooney

Plane: Mooney M20
Route: EDLN, Local 
Weather: Haze, 81 degrees, wind 350 degrees at 5 knots

After ten days of crazy work leading up to and kicking off the big trade show, it's time for vacation. Gina flew over a couple days ago and this afternoon - after spending a few hours seeing the show as tourists - Rainer, a coworker and fellow pilot, took us up in his Mooney. He and I have talked airplanes and aviation plenty of times when he's in the US; it was great to finally experience general aviation in Germany.

Our route over North Rhine-Westphalia

He shares his Mooney with four other pilots. They base it at Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport, which is about 10 miles outside the city. Today the airport serves purely GA traffic, however it has been served by some commuter and budget airlines in the past. It's towered and the security reminds me of air carrier airports in the US as key cards and badges are required to access the tarmac through the terminal.

Mooneys, Mooneys everywhere (and some other planes, too)

The now-unused passenger terminal at Mönchengladbach Airport

No moving your own airplane - have to wait for the FBO staff with the tug

Rainer finishing his preflight

Rainer called the FBO while we were driving to the airport to request that the airplane be pulled out of the hangar. As you can see above, they're rather expertly arranged inside. In fact, owners aren't even allowed to move their airplanes until they're outside.

Once the preflight was complete we all climbed onboard. He got the ATIS and we got situated, then he started the engine and things proceeded much as they do on this side of the Atlantic. The whole international standardization of aviation is quite handy at times. The tower controller cleared us to taxi to the end of Runway 31.

Lots of nice electronic goodies in the cockpit

Taxiing to the runway

Although Rainer is a CFI, I was still a little surprised when he asked if I wanted to take off and fly for a bit. Obviously most of us pilot folk don't turn down a chance to pilot an airplane. Once I reminded him I don't do much complex flying (i.e. none) and he still thought I was capable, that was that. I taxied us to the runway and - cleared for takeoff - I advanced the throttle and soon lifted off and into the blue German sky. He managed the propeller and I believe I retracted the gear upon his instruction, though I honestly don't recall the latter.

Takeoff - not bad for my first in a retract, if I do say so myself

There's a surprising amount of farmland not that far outside of town

There's a specific departure route to avoid the airspace and arrivals at Düsseldorf Int'l. While on the ground he had pointed it out on the map and the controller gave further instructions. Once airborne, I followed it by essentially following a freeway and remaining below a specific altitude until we were about 5 miles west of the airport.

Once in more open airspace and leveled off, he helped me trim out the airplane (the electric trim is on the pilot's yoke) and pointed out some local sights. They have a radar datalink on one of the screens; he updated that to keep tabs on some developing storm cells to our southwest. I did my best to keep us reasonably level while taking in the view.

Looking at the latest radar on the panel, I believe

The trees along the road here caught my eye

As we flew away from the city we ran into some showers...

...eventually turning around to avoid this thunderstorm to our southwest

Eventually, with the weather continuing to trend towards the iffy category, I turned around and we headed back towards Düsseldorf. The visible cloud-to-ground lightning bolts may have also contributed to the decision. Now, it really was just a pop-up cell, but it was in our way (Rainer had hoped for us to fly further that direction, towards the mountains and better scenery) and going around it wasn't a great option. So instead we headed back northeast.

We saw plenty of windmills as you may expect 

Cologne from 20 miles out - you can spot the famous cathedral if you look carefully

Düsseldorf from the south, with the main airport visible in the distance

The Rhine River snaking southward from Düsseldorf 

Seems like all large German cities have a tall tower with a restaurant on top

The terrain becomes more hilly as you continue eastward 

One final view of Düsseldorf before we turned back to land

We flew past the city on the south side, enjoying seeing all the spots I've spent the better part of the past ten days - the Altstadt, the parks along the Rhine, and the Messe - from above. Cologne (where we'll be heading tomorrow) was also visible from 20-25 miles away through the summer haze.

As we made one final 180 to head back to the airport, Rainer requested a practice approach, which the controller granted. He engaged the autopilot, which precisely flew the approach back to Runway 31. Disengaging on final, he brought us down for a very soft landing after about 45 minutes in the air.

Once everything was shut down and packed up, we wandered back through the mostly-deserted terminal and Rainer drove us back to our hotel. Obviously our thanks go out to him for the awesome airplane ride; I seriously owe him a Cub ride next time he's in Dayton! It was really fun and interesting to compare how things work at home versus overseas - and to see a foreign city from a familiar perspective. User fees aside, everything honestly felt just about the same. Well I suppose we speak a tad less German to the line guys, too.

Thanks as always to Gina putting up with me sitting up front while she takes photos in the rear! :)

A scenic flight over the Southern Alps from Milford Sound

Plane: Cessna 208 Caravan 
Route: NZMF-NZQN
Weather: Clear, 45 degrees, wind 270 degrees at 3 knots

After yesterday's awesome hang gliding experience, we headed off on another breathtakingly scenic adventure this morning. Pretty much everyone recommends visiting Milford Sound (it's often called the 8th Wonder of the World for good reason) if you make it to New Zealand and having now been there, I certainly agree.  We spent the day on a great combination trip (drive out, boat cruise, fly back) with the highly-rated BBQ Bus tour company.

Since this blog is centered around flying, I'll focus more on that portion of the trip. But I can't completely ignore the beautiful four-hour drive from Queenstown to Milford sound via Te Anau, Fiordland National Park, and the Homer Tunnel. As you can see below, the drive itself has its fair share of amazing sights and the boat cruise in Milford Sound was equally stunning. We had a great lunch on the boat and spent nearly two hours on the fjord in total.

Driving into Fiordland National Park after leaving Te Anau

Stopped in the Eglinton Valley in Fiordland National Park

Milford Sound

The mouth of Milford Sound where it meets the Tasman Sea

Seals sunning on the rocks in Milford Sound

Stirling Falls

Cruising in Milford Sound - looking southeast

Cruising in Milford Sound - looking northwest

Cruising in Milford Sound - looking southeast

Lady Bowen Falls

After we returned to the marina following the cruise, we hopped a bus for the very short ride to the airport. Compared to the 4+ hour drive out, it's only 35-40 minutes back to Queenstown via airplane. The two pilots, who we had met while waiting for the bus at the marina, instructed everyone where to sit and all nine of us quickly boarded the C-208. I got lucky and was seated in the front-left seat, directly behind Air Milford's chief pilot, who did the flying today.

Within a couple minutes, we were taxiing to the end of the runway, number three for takeoff behind a two other planes. The pilot pushed the throttle in and the PT6A roared to life; we rumbled down the runway and lifted off, initially climbing northeast over the fjord. Besides the views outside, I enjoyed the very-different-from-Ohio views on the Garmin's terrain map.

I kind of wish we still called them aeroplanes on this side of the pond

We had a short taxi behind two other planes

Taking off from Runway 29 at Milford Sound Airport

Climbing over Milford Sound

Circling - continuing straight would have been a bad idea, obviously

Climbing over Milford Sound before flying over the mountains

Looking southeast towards the end of the fjord 

There is much cumulogranite to be avoided on that map!

Lady Bowen Falls from above

Cruise boat terminal at the end of the fjord

Climbing over top of Milford Sound Airport

We circled, gaining altitude and looking down upon Milford Sound, before heading into the mountains. I can't even begin to try naming all the peaks and valleys but, no matter where you turned to look, the view was marvelous. It didn't take long to appreciate having a turbine driving the propeller up front, either, considering the sheer amount of cumulogranite surrounding us for basically the entire flight.

Still a tad more terrain than Ohio but safely above enough of it

Climbing over the Arthur River

Sutherland Falls - the tallest in Fiordland

For the most part, the flight was surprisingly smooth - especially considering the terrain. We hit a few good bumps when we crossed over to the lee side of the Southern Alps but they didn't seem to bother anyone on board. At one point, we flew directly over the valley and road we took into the park this morning near Lake Gunn.

Looking south over Lake Te Anau

Looking north over Lake Gunn and Lake Fergus

Lake McKellar

Greenstone River

Leaving the Southern Alps behind, we turned south over Lake Wakatipu near Glenorchy. The perfectly clear, blue skies yielded incredible visibility in the crisp winter air. I quickly spotted the little aerodrome where we went hang gliding yesterday. The lake was calm, reflecting the mountains behind as if it were a perfect mirror. It was remarkable.

Lake Wakatipu

Glenorchy Aerodrome, where we went hang gliding yesterday

Mount Crichton and the Queenstown to Glenorchy road

Lake Wakatipu and the Queenstown to Glenorchy road

Lake Wakatipu and the Queenstown to Glenorchy road

Farmers were burning off some crops or grasses on the south shore of the lake and the smoke somewhat obscured the vivid blue waters as it drifted northeast towards Queenstown. We saw the same thing yesterday when driving back from Glenorchy so it was quite interesting to gain the aerial perspective this afternoon. Approaching town, I spotted our hotel on the west side as we continued descending towards the airport.

Looking east towards Queenstown over Lake Wakatipu

Flying over the south shore of Lake Wakatipu

Queenstown from across Lake Wakatipu

Lake Wakatipu south of Queenstown

As we made our way east towards the airport I spotted some other places we visited yesterday, including Bob's Cove. We stopped and hiked down the gravel path to a striking, calm, secluded bay on the north side of the lake. Continuing east, we were able to see to the southern end of Lake Wakatipu at Kingston, which we drove through on State Highway 6 this morning.

Queenstown Airport (NZQN)

The airport sits east of the Frankton Arm of Lake Wakatipu

Turning final for Runway 14 at NZQN

Short final in the Cessna 208 Caravan

Back in the hangar after an awesome scenic flight

Our final approach was very smooth, circling around from the south to east to north to line up for Runway 14. The stall horn was sounding just as the pilot flared and brought the Caravan down on the asphalt for an extremely soft landing. We taxied over to Air Milford's hangar, climbed down, and chatted briefly in the office before a short van ride back to our hotel.

I took tons of photos but they truly do no justice to the sheer natural beauty you experience in person. On the one hand, the short flight absolutely beat a long drive back - and the perspective it provided was second to none. On the other hand, I could have stayed up there all day surrounded by the stunning beauty. I'd definitely make some room for this on your bucket list.