In 2023, I visited 10 countries in my Aeroprakt: Norway, Sweden, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia. Here is an overview of the aerodromes where I landed at least once outside my home airfield, 32 in total if I remembered everything.
I’m going to point out a couple of places that were special to me in one or another way. Maybe it was my first visit, or maybe it wasn’t but I discovered something extraordinary there which I want to share.
Tønsberg in Norway was long on my wishlist. It is the oldest town in Norway, full of exciting history and surrounded by stunning nature. I was lucky to be put on 30 minutes holding in a military control zone before landing, and it gave a rare chance to fly over Tønsberg and to experience this great piece of Norwegian heritage from above:
It was in the beginning of May, when crisp and cold air from Arctic brought sunshine and blue skies. Flemming joined me on that long weekend tour, and it was a such a good help to have a co-pilot with me.
The air temperature was +12C and lots of people were out enjoying the sunny spring weather. One could clearly see who was local and who was tourist. Norwegian women wore light flowery summer dresses, barefoot sandals, summer hats, bags and accessories. Norwegian men – shorts or light summer trousers, short sleeve shirts. Flemming and I kept our wool sweaters on, though it was warm and pleasant to sit in the sun in a sheltered restaurant.
There was a lot to do in Tønsberg, and hiking trails started at your doorstep. Tønsberg was very charming, and we quickly agreed the house we stayed in was one of the most pretty ones in the town:
If you want to read more, please click on this link or look in Archive, May 2023.
In June the engine of my OY-9797 rounded 300 hours and I did a 100-hours service, for the first time without a technician by my side. Some of the tasks I still need help with, because I simply don’t have enough of muscle power or routine with. And then I can always ask the pilots from my club.
I would normally ask Lars, a friend from my former flying club in Måløv, to give a hand, and he has always been very helpful, but that time Lars told me he trusted I could do it myself. It went well and was easy.
Then came July and it was time to go on a long summer tour. Previously, I planned well in advance, and had a target, like reaching the Channel Islands, visiting Romania, or flying over the snowy Kebnekaise (the highest mountain in Swedish Lapland). Due to the job change, work overload and an evening course with an exam, I didn’t have the time to prepare. So I told Flemming, we were going to fly where the weather was nice, and see where it would bring us to. Any direction was perfect!
I did the same kind of tour without preparations once before in 2021, together with Jens, a friend from a flying club in Ringsted. We went on a 3-week Easter tour around Denmark, and it worked fine, we had a great time. You can read the summary here or look in Archive, April 2021.
With Flemming, we headed south and the summer 2023 tour became as follows:
We visited 8 countries in 32 days, flew 4,800 km, and I logged 36 airborne hours. All countries and places were good, and we met nice people everywhere. I’m going to mention some of the special experiences or places below.
Flying to Austria from Czech Republic, Flemming and I had a stop for refuelling on a small airfield in Slovakia:
The permission to land was given via e-mail with a help of Google Translate, together with the message that fuel was available. What we found out after landing – the fuel was at the normal gas station a couple of hundreds meters away! We got help from the friendly staff at the gas station and local track drivers – to slowly drag my Aeropract there, as taxiing wasn’t possible. After refuelling, we just dragged it back. It was fun, though as an aircraft owner, I was often afraid that those kind people would hit a tree or a building with one of the wings…
In Austria, Flemming and I stayed in Graz – a small vibrant city with lots of life, exhibitions, good restaurants, gorgeous architecture, concerts, you name it. Among other things, we went to a Queen concert under the stars in the Schlossberg Castle ruins where this photo was taken:
People were enjoying life in Graz all day long. Nothing wild, but I never heard so many bottles of champagne being opened, and from the very early morning.
Entering the Adriatic coast of Croatia was mesmerizing! We flew over the mountains, and suddenly an alluring new world unfolded in front of our eyes: myriads of small islands, azure lagoons, and the sea… It was at least as spectacular, as flying over the Whitsundays in Australia in a seaplane:
Flemming and I landed on one of the islands, called Losinj, where we stayed for several days. We did sailing trips to other islands, lots of hiking, and of course beach. In the morning, Flemming would go to the fish market and buy enough of seafood for two days, grill it for dinner – and we would eat it all in one day, so fresh and deliscious it was.
There were storms in all countries around Croatia – Italy, France, Slovenia. It wasn’t possible to fly to Italy as we hoped, and the storms were coming to Croatia, too. We saw videos from Zagreb, where the roofs were blown off the houses, like they were made of paper. So we decided to escape to the south of the Adriatian coast, to the island of Hvar.
We had so little bagage with us, and lots of free room in the bagage compartment. I didn’t want to buy anything, though I like bringing home some local delicacies from my travels. I also hoped, a pair of shorts and my lttle black dress would be enough for 4-5 weeks, but it was so hot and dry in Croatia, with +38C day and night. On Hvar I had to buy a dress that would allow for more air coming through. It became the one on the photo below, and the only dress I could find made of natural fabric:
I invited some local people for flights over Hvar – to show them how adorable their island was. Many people never see their homes from above. Even in Denmark, I meet people who never heard of e.g. Vejrø island, never dreamed of walking the desert of Anholt, or who thought that Jutland was boring! The islanders were greatful for the experiences, and we went for drinks together afterwards.
A brief but powerful storm came by; Flemming and I were dancing in the rain, getting cooled down:
That day we for the first time experienced mammatus clouds. Common around storms in the mountain areas, those clouds are made primarily of ice and typically underneath a cumulonimbus raincloud. They signal extream weather and are highly dangerous to fly close by:
Hvar was a great place, with lovely ancient well-preserved towns, unbelievable views, stunning nature.
Eventually Flemming and I had to leave Croatia and fly to Slovenia. Choosing the right day and time was the key:
We took off very early, to minimise the effect of the upcoming strong headwinds, with an intention to land in Slovakia in between the storms, as indicated on the photo above. Having prepared plans B and C, we knew we could be caught in bad weather if it developed differently than forecasted, and it was quite uncomfortable to think of the possible consequences of it.
There were no other airplanes in the air, and we got green light everywhere. In general, we were positively surprised how easy and clear the radio communication was in many east-european countries, especially in Croatia and Slovenia, compare to the west-european ones. As soon as you make your first call, they answer “identified, proceed according to the plan”. No more talking. They knew who you were and where you were, long before you crossed the country boarder or got close to an area that required clearence. It was a pleasure to have such professional services.
We landed safely in Slovenia, an hour before the rain came. Slovenian mountains quickly won our hearts:
The valleys often were filled with thick fog:
People were very kind, and we made new friends. We loved hiking in Slovenia, exploring old ironworks that were in use for 500 years, and having mauth-watering and hearty meals in mountain restaurants.
As always, Flemming and I tried to discover and explore as much as we could. Later, we were happy to experience the European Gliding Championship in Leszno, Poland:
We met our Danish team competing in different categories and lots of other pilots.
After the summer tour, there were other weekend trips – to Poland, Germany, Sweden. Another unforgettable place I visited during autumn was Våderöarna (The Weather Islands), a rocky archipelago in Sweden. I flew to Fjällbacka and was fortunate to stay in a B&B the owner of which sailed me to Våderöarna in her boat, after she learned it was my dream to visit those islands.
I love that kind of places, with rugged nature, interesting walks, wind, rain and sunshine altogether.
In December, we had a little snow a couple of days in Denmark. It was great to have a chance to fly over those snowy landscapes.
After flying in the Swedish Lapland in 2020, I’ve been dreaming of moving there. During summer time I could transform my Aeroprakt into a seaplane, during winter – get aero skies on it. It would have been so much fun! Maybe later, who knows.
By the end of 2023, I passed the 600 hours mark in my pilot logbook. My OY-9797 flew around 120 hours in 2023. Nothing is better than having your own aeroplane!