Hello, firstly I apologise for the long gap since my previous post, and its time for an update…. You may remember a few months ago I had to cancel my Falklands trip but it had meant that I needed to re-access my flying and online activities. Well I decided to take some time out and as luck (depending how you look at it) would have it my website suffered a major database failure which had to be sorted. In addition the recording systems I use for the flight videos have been tweaked so they are a lot more clearer and volumes have been adjusted too.
Recently I have been looking at expanding my current fleet to make operations more flexible, after identifying suitable aircraft and securing their transfer to my fleet we have to make plans for collection. That’s what we have been doing this weekend, yesterday we set out from the Isle of Wight at Sandown Airfield in our TBM 850 aircraft down to Malaga, Costa Del Sol airport to return with a Cessna 182T Skylane (N9115K). The aircraft has been in storage at the airport for a number of months, a purchase prices was a agreed and the aircraft was put through it’s paces on the ground and the aircraft documentation and tech log scrutinised in preparation for today’s flights.
Flight to Bilbao
The day started with an early wake up call at a local hotel so I could get up and prepare my for the day ahead and create the first of three flight plans that will take me back to base at Blackpool. Not long after that was done it was time to head from the room from breakfast and check out, bags packed, flight plan pre-filed with Malaga ATC and belly full with a Spanish cooked breakfast it was time to jump into my hire car and head the 15minutes or so to receive the aircraft keys from maintenance. The closeness and ‘summer’ smell of a hot Spanish day was in the air as the sun was climbing through the sky. I was surprised that the previous owner had made the trip from Alicante to hand me the keys personally and showed me around his much newer Beechcraft Baron 58.
We parted soon after with a smile and a fist bump (COVID) it was time for me to find the nearest coffee outlet and validate my flight plan with ATC and load my baggage, pre-flight and fuel up for the trip to Bilbao. The flight time to Bilbao estimated at over 4hours and a distance of 415nm (768km) and a planned cruise at 11,000ft I made sure that I had coffee and snacks onboard and ready.
The tablet has quickly become a Pilot’s best asset, I’m no exception all the charts needed for the flight are on my iPad, it’s been along time since I’ve been in a Cessna Skylane and the Garmin G1000 is a welcome sight. Not totally knowing the capacity of the aircraft’s battery it’s a lot easier to start the engine whilst I got the flight plan sorted out.
Start checklist was a breeze and the engine started on first try. Time to get airborne…
Routing to Bilbao
LEMG – BLN – (J865) VTB – (UN865) SIE – (B190) DGO – LEBB
The flight was very uneventful which is always a good thing these days, during the cruise to Bilbao the aircraft felt very stable and responsive with autopilot on and off. The Cessna High-wing type aircraft has been their trademark since the 152 was built. The approach to Bilbao was an NDB approach from ATC although I did setup the aircraft to follow the ILS systems on runway 10 to test autopilot’s capability.
Arriving in Bilbao and taxying into the GA parking area it was a short walk to the FBO, United Aviation, I was able to prep for the next flight into Jersey, and yes there is free coffee and pastries’.
Flight to Jersey
Well that was the most comfiest I’ve been since in about 4hours, and I won’t lie I had a cheeky nap in the back of the lounge once I had filed the plan to Jersey. More coffee and Aviation Fuel and a long trip over the French Wine Region towards the British Channel island of Jersey, it is the largest of Channel Islands and the most southern in the group. Again the weather was perfect for flying and armed with more snacks and drinks.
