When pilots don’t fly, they project new flights – I’m no exception to this rule. One of my projects is to fly 12 legs in a day, to 12 different airports. It all started while discussing with a friend pilot. I suggested 10 airports, but as it sounded too easy, so we decided to make the challenge a bit more… challenging.
The plan was to do full-stop landings at each destination, pay landing fees (welcome to Switzerland) and start the next leg, swapping seats each time. This Google Earth snapshot shows the selected airports.
Putting Lugano (LSZA, bottom right corner) in the list makes it even harder, because crossing the Alps VFR is not always an easy task. The total flying time with a DA40 is about 6 hours, and 30 minutes stops means a total time of 12 hours ! This is clearly a project for a long summer day with nice weather. A variant is to fly 8 legs myself in a day, so as to fill a page of my logbook in one day…
Having such projects is important for private pilots, because it helps to avoid boredom. Many private pilots stop flying within the three years after they get their license, mostly because they get bored of flying to the same airports, and can’t afford (or are afraid of) long trips.
I’m anywhere but close to realise this project (read here for more), but I still hope to make it one day, as I still hope flying to La Rochelle, Guernsey and to the Toronto City Center Airport. When a pilot stops having projects and dreams, he’s not far away from stopping to fly. So keep dreaming, and share your projects in comments.
Vincent Lambercy is a Swiss private pilot now living in Germany. He holds a private pilot certificate with single-engine, multi-engine and instrument ratings and has logged more than 430 hours of flight.
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Filling a page of logbook in one day is a good idea!
Hmmm, I could probably find enough nearby airfield to keep it in my budget!
My projects are:
-Alderney (but with the new English requirements from the DGAC I’m not sure I’ll be willing to pay 70 euros + trip to Paris for one flight a year to the Channel Islands…).
-Visiting Friends near Nantes and South Brittany
-Visiting Normandy and maybe going to St Cyr l’Ecole by plane.
As you said I hope I won’t be afraid of flying to places I’ve never been.
That’s why I keep practicing as much as I can, as well as dreaming…
Pat, we’ll probably meet on a Channel Island once, as one of my projected destination is Guernsey. I had to bring a friend there once beacuse his plane was stuck there for maintenance, but this flight has been cancelled at last moment because of weather. I still have the navigation plan ready…
You’d better have a full stop at Dinard on your way to Guernesey.
I could give you a drive to an excellent nearby “Crêperie”
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