We were up a little after 4, and arrived back at the Skopje airport just after 5. During the drive I had noticed frost on most of the parked cars, and I was hoping this would not be an issue on Planey. We waited for a few minutes at the airport information desk for them to call the handler, who showed up and pointed us in the direction of immigration, then disappearing again. This was unusual; usually we’d be escorted…
Planey spent a couple of months comfortably tucked away in the Flight Cal hangar at Shoreham, kindly looked after by Andy from the Flyer forums, while I returned to the real world of work and the like. I spent this time preparing for the next part of the journey, which would be by far the most logistically challenging. Everywhere after Slovenia would require a flight permit for landing or overflight, and fuel would need to be arranged in each stop….
Today was a day off from flying, which we spent exploring the town of Cascais. Juvy and I would be parting ways later in the day, with her spending a few days in Lisbon before flying on the airlines back to the US and me continuing with Planey as far as the UK. We slept a little late, and then rode in an Uber to the other end of Cascais to enjoy brunch at a restaurant by the marina. Just…
As is usual before a particularly long and adventurous flight, I slept fitfully, not helped by the fact that the wind against my room on the top floor of the hotel sounded like it was doing its best to blow the building away. I am never comfortable leaving Planey without tie-downs, all the more so in weather like that, and I can never understand why so many airports don’t take the very simple step of providing a few tie-down rings….
It was an early start to the day, as befits the beginning of any big adventure. I was at the airport at around 0530am, pulling Planey out of the hangar and performing pre-flight checks. Over the previous days and weeks Shane and I had been working hard to prepare Planey for the trip; we completed a thorough annual inspection and did our best to eliminate every little squawk on my running list, however minor. A new battery and Emergency Location…