Comments on: Frankfurt vs. Heathrow… what do you bet ?

By: Frankfurt apron push-back: Mea Culpa | Plastic Pilot

Frankfurt apron push-back: Mea Culpa | Plastic Pilot — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:02:35 +0000

[...] my “Frankfurt vs. Heathrow” post I ironised about the need for push-back out of a “mid-apron” parking [...]

By: PlasticPilot

PlasticPilot — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:35:25 +0000

@Axel, you won’t have to wait that much… Tonight’s post is a surprise, on a different topic, and the next one, planned for the 14th is already about the Alps.

I also had a special thought when I saw the AOPA magazine. All the PC12s I saw while visiting the factory were the NG version. However, it was not possible to go in the cockpit. It is a bit frustrating, but were I a Pilatus customer, I would probably not like to see my plane to be become a visitors center.

By: Axel

Axel — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:14:23 +0000

Great! I’m sure I speak for many of your readers when I say I’m very much looking forward to that!

Did you see the cover story in the October issue of AOPA Pilot? It’s a fascinating story about the Pilatus PC-12NG. Did you have a chance to see any of those while visiting the Pilatus factory in Switzerland?

By: PlasticPilot

PlasticPilot — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:45:01 +0000

From several recent comments, it seems that many readers dream of flying the Alps. Stay tuned, I’m preparing a series on this topic…

By: Axel

Axel — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:31:10 +0000

When I’m back to Europe again and as soon as I can afford to go through with it, I’ll just make a stop in the Frankfurt area to pick you up and we’ll head straight for the Alps….with your local knowledge of the area it’s bound to be a sure-fire success!

By: PlasticPilot

PlasticPilot — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:51:03 +0000

Axel, I’ll be happy to fly the Alps with you, if you stop somewhere in Germany to pick me up. Talking about floats, you can do that in Como, in norther Italy: http://www.aeroclubcomo.com/En/Henglish.asp

By: Axel

Axel — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:09:55 +0000

That would be nice. I’ll do that. I am playing with some ideas for some sort of scenic and memorable flight that I can do when I get back to Europe after my stay in the U.S to celebrate the completion of my flight training in the U.S. Some ideas that I have come up with so far include something like a sightseeing flight across the Alps or maybe a floatplane flight hopping between the lakes and fjords of the Norwegian mountains. Given that my post-flight-training financial situation allows for such an adventure, if you want to come along for such a flight that would be great!

I plan on getting my floatplane rating as well while I am in Florida, so it would be fun to put that to some good use when I get back home to Europe again…

By: PlasticPilot

PlasticPilot — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:25:40 +0000

@Axel, yes Lufthansa flies directly to Orlando out of Frankfurt, but I would not call that “non-stop”. I’m thinking of the stops at security, passport check, security again, boarding, bus, …

Let me know if you fly through FRA again, so that we can arrange something together.

By: Axel

Axel — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:59:31 +0000

PP,
Yeah, it definitely makes sense when travelling from Norway. If only I was living in Frankfurt….Lufthansa flies non-stop from Frankfurt to Orlando. That would easily make up for the little extra time it takes to get through a major hub like FRA. Add a connecting flight from Norway and it all becomes a different story though…

I saw your picture of the Autobahn taken on the approach to runway 25R in Frankfurt. I must have been landing on that very same runway once as I remember the exact same view….same road sign and everything. Fun to see it again.

By: PlasticPilot

PlasticPilot — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:44:55 +0000

@Sylvia (again), your own comparison between Saratoga and EasyJet is also very interesting: http://www.fearoflanding.com/misc/faster-than-a-speeding-jet-single-engine-travels/

I flew twice Geneva to Biggin-Hill, which is three times longer with a Saratoga than with EasyJet (to Gatwick, obviously), but the concept of a “queue” is simply non-existent at Biggin and on the GA side of Geneva.