Browsed by
Author: Katamarino

Round the world – Atlantic Day 1

Round the world – Atlantic Day 1

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Pittsburgh, PA, USA to Chibougamau, ON, Canada I turned up to Zelienople bright and early on the morning of Monday, May 6th. Shortly after I arrived, lots of others started trickling in; these included many friends and aero-club members, Jeff and his colleague from Miracheck, and even an Associated Press photographer and a film crew and news anchor from Pittsburgh’s Channel 4 News! We spent about 2 hours fueling, doing a news interview, and carrying out the final packing and…

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RTW – Preparation Part 4

RTW – Preparation Part 4

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After another month in the deserts of the Middle East, I finished work, and headed to the US less than 10 days before planned departure. The work that was scheduled for completion while I was away had not progressed very far, so it was to prove a hectic few days getting ready for departure! The aircraft: While I was away, Quality Avionics of Grove City had removed my Avidyne IFD-440 GPS unit and replaced it with the larger Avidyne IFD-540…

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Western USA – West Coast

Western USA – West Coast

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We took a day off from flying in order to relax and explore the San Juan islands a little. After a lazy morning at the B&B, playing with the animals, we walked in to town for lunch by the harbour. It was an absolutely perfect September day with barely a cloud in the sky, ideal for our afternoon activity of sea kayaking. We set out in a trip of kayaks, a double one for Keiko and I, and Rowan and…

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Western USA – Idaho and Montana

Western USA – Idaho and Montana

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Come morning it was still grey and rainy. We packed up the site and made our way to the airport; once again, the taxi driver had strange world views and was not afraid to share them. We took off and climbed through gaps in the cloud, ending up above a scattered layer crossing the Grand Canyon. On the other side it became clear that we would not be able to get through to Marble Canyon; things were very slightly better…

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Western USA – the Southwest

Western USA – the Southwest

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I left Pittsburgh early on the 6th, arriving at the airport in plenty of time for the flight. This was just as well, because I was still driving a rental car (it takes forever to get a driving licence when moving to the USA, and they won’t let you buy a car without a licence) and had forgotten who I rented it from. After a short cruise around the rental lot asking people if they owned it I was rid…

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California – Across the Sierras

California – Across the Sierras

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Nina and I joined Nipun for breakfast the next morning, and then relaxed at Stanford until early afternoon when the time came for me to be on my way. The following night I was due to collect James from Reno airport, so I planned to East to the foothills of the Sierras today, camp overnight, and then continue to Truckee Tahoe where I’d park the aircraft and rent a car for a couple of days. Nina dropped me off at…

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California – to San Francisco

California – to San Francisco

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The desert heats up early and it was not long in the morning before I was driven out of my tent by the increasing temperature. After a simple breakfast I packed up, and made my way back to the aircraft; this time following the road which turned out to be a far easier route, even if slightly longer. It took only a few minutes to load and pre-flight the aircraft; I took off down hill and turned northeast. The first…

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California – Southern CA

California – Southern CA

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A few weeks after setting the plan in motion I was on a Delta flight from Amsterdam to LA, via Memphis where James met me and liberally handed out free drinks vouchers. Although having originally planned to meet me, grab something to eat, and then return home before coming to California the following week, he decided to board the aircraft with me and come to LA for a few days. Being a Delta employee evidently has its perks. Fortuitously, the…

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Egypt – The Flights Home

Egypt – The Flights Home

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As usual, we were up early. Ahmed collected us from the hotel and returned us to the GA terminal at Cairo. We said goodbye here to Juan, as she was taking an airline flight back to Holland due to work. The remaining two of us made our way through to the aircraft. A note for anyone traversing Cairo International; if you want to take advantage of the “Crew only” discount at Cairo, make sure both people have their licences with…

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Egypt – Exploring Egypt

Egypt – Exploring Egypt

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We arrived at Sitia airport unreasonably early, and I made my way to the control tower to book out. We were charged for 2 extra days parking (at 1.60 Euros per day, not unreasonable), and the airport manager happily told me that he’d received our flight plan and that we were good to go. We made our way back to the aircraft and loaded up in a now familiar routine, before taxiing out and taking off. We were flying on…

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