Flemming and I were very happy, when we finally could leave for our 4 weeks flying vacation in Sweden:
We had lost around one week waiting for a suitable weather; it was way too windy in Denmark. We had considered Germany and Norway, that opened their borders for Danish tourists. In Germany, we would be forced to wear masks in all public places. In Norway, we could foresee rapidly changing weather and challenges with getting fuel. I didn’t want to fly on AvGas, and I only found one airport with UL91. In Sweden, on the other hand, there were plenty of airports with MoGas. The situation with COVID-19 wasn’t very good, but if we stayed away from Stockholm and Goteborg areas, the risk would be at its minimum.
Whilst desperately waiting for the weather in Denmark to improve, we used our waiting time for interior enhancements in my Aeroprakt. Behind the seats, Flemming made an arrangement for our sleeping bags:
I sewed a couple of compartments that suited perfectly into the free room in the cockpit. They were secured in place with a special tape. We used them for keeping practical things at hand:
Our plan was to fly north of Sweden, and to explore Norrland – the northernmost, largest and least populated part of Sweden. The weather was good, and we felt relived flying over the vast Swedish forests:
The first stop was in Eksjö:
I had been in contact with Fredric regarding refuelling, who asked Matthias to help us that day:
Matthias told us, we disappeared from the FlightRadar24 (an app where you can see an aeroplane’s whereabouts) as soon as we reached Sweden, and he thought we might have landed in Höganäs. But we were on our way, and he waited. After refuelling and a short break, we resumed our trip. Taxiing in Eksjö is fun; you just use the local roads:
The weather was simply perfect:
Next stop and our destination for the day was Köping:
I used the Swedish web-based planning tool for preparing for the flights, for sending and closing flight plans – it was really good; all in one place, easy to use, easy to get in contact with any aviation authorities that were very helpful.
Between Karlsborg and Lindköping (two big air bases we flew by), there were thunderstorms:
We found a “window” in the middle of the two bigger weather systems, and flew there; got a bit of rain:
In Köping, people were out flying, and some members of the club were waiting for us:
They welcomed us to the club, offered coffee, showed around:
We were even proposed a hangar place, because one of the aircraft was out on a tour. Flemming and Martin:
Flemming and I wanted to walk to Köping, but Martin kindly offered us a lift. He dropped us off in the centre, and also gave some guiding tips on what to see in Köping. The main square in the town:
We first headed to the church that was standing on a high hill overlooking the town and the nearby areas:
The Köping’s church was built after the former one on the hill burned down in 1437. The church was closed, and after walking around the old graves for a while, we came to the City Hall square. There was an interesting open air exhibition about coffee drinking culture in the Köping area.
Fine china bone porcelain was displayed on small tables, and the story was, in the beginning of 19th century wealthy women of Köping began holding coffee gatherings at their homes. It was a good style to have 7 different cakes for guests; having more than 7 was considered to be snobbish, less than 7 – stingy.
Martin – our new friend from the Köping flying club – mentioned the Old Town in his recommendations, and we headed there:
It was truly charming, with the old wooden houses and cobbled streets:
Köping was first mentioned in the 13th century; it was a merchant place. In 17th century Köping and its area produced large amounts of iron, and it was exported to many countries. Later, Köping turned itself into an industrial city, with a large mechanical workshop and an affluent harbour. In the 20th century, various companies established themselves in Köping. Volvo built a large factory there in the 1920s; the most known bed manufacturer in Sweden, Hästens, in 1924; and a number of gold shops opened between 1940-1960.
The museum of cars and technical history was closed by the time we got there:
And we just continued our stroll around the old town.
A nice old and beautifully restored villa:
We returned to the main square where Martin picked us up again, and drove to the flying club where we were going to stay over.
Dinner in the club’s house:
The first day of the tour went very good; we met many nice people on our way – in Eksjö and in Köping – that helped us; we felt grateful and happy, and looked forward to the journey to Mohed and Mellansel the day after.