About PlasticPilot

My name is Vincent Lambercy and plasticpilot.net is my blog. I’m a Swiss private pilot and I live close to Frankfurt, in Germany, with my wife and our daughter.

I flew more than 430 hours so far in 14 different aircraft types and I continue to work on increasing it. I like to explore different aspects of aviation and to report about it here.

I like to fly complex high-performance single engine aircraft, and my most flown type is the PA32 Saratoga. I’m a fan of modern general aviation, including composite airframes, FADEC controlled engines, and glass-cockpits. I’ve flown 25+ hours in DA40 and DA42 equipped with the Garmin G1000 Glass Cockpit, and know first hand about the risks and benefits of such systems, under both IFR and VFR conditions. But I also feel fine in a Cessna 150.

Why PlasticPilot?

It all started when I got my transition to the DA40. Touching its composite fuselage gives the feeling that it’s made of plastic. Together with a friend, we nicknamed it PlasticPlane. I logically became the PlasticPilot.

Affiliations and other activities

When I’m not flying, blogging or spending time with my family, I’m working as a software and systems engineer for Air Traffic Control. This is a cool job which also gives me good connections to the aviation industry.

I’m half of the crew of the Flying Across America project, which consisted in flying a Cessna 150 from Florida to California and back to promote General Aviation.

I also run www.easymetar.com, a free website which is the easiest way to get METARs, TAFs and NOTAMs online.

I wrote guest posts for a handful of aviation blogs like www.golfhotelwhiskey.com and cross-posted with www.m0a.com and vectorstofinal.com. av8rdan.com also featured me a couple of time, and if you can read Italian don’t miss my column in www.vfrmagazine.net.

I’m an active member of the US AOPA. I used to be a member of the Aéroclub de Genève, Aéroclub de Lausanne, Aéroclub de Suisse, AOPA Switzerland. I’ve been a temporary member of the West London Aeroclub and got training at Cannes Aviation and in the Motorflugschule Egelsbach.

Check my logbook

Total time flown – 435:03, of which 224:32 PIC and 210:31 Dual.

SEP vs. MEP - 426:09 SEP and 8:54 MEP

Condition time – 93:52 IFR and 7:35 NIT

Landings – 806 by day and 21 by night

Longest leg – 3h30 Destin, FL to Baton Rouge, LA in a C150

Longest flying day – 5h35 on the 4th of July 2010

Types flown - AS202 Bravo, Cessna C172 TDI, DiamondStar DA40-TDI, Bonanza F33A, Liberty XL2, Piper PA28 Warrior, Piper PA28 Archer, Piper PA28 Dakota, Piper PA32 Saratoga, DA42 TwinStar, Cessna 150