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Beers So Far
 
Paris, France to Ibiza, Blearic Islands, Spain
Date Aircraft ID Color Crew Passengers
8/05/2005 Pilatus PC-12 N317G White/Red 2 0
Departing Airport Departure Time Arriving Airport Arrival Time Total Time Aloft Cruising Altitude
LFPB 1935 LEIB 2246 3:11 FL260

Flight PLan: IFR (high altitude routes)

LFPB > PTV > PIROG > MODSA > BEBIX > MAKOX > AGN > GIROM > MOPAS > USKAR > REBUL > ARBEK > KARES > SELVA > RES > EBROX > MARTA > GATOS > IBZ > LEIB

Report:
After our Summer holidays around France with many a day trip to the countryside, we had finally returned to the Hopper which we had stored safely in one of the many gimungous hangars on Le Bourget airport property. Like all flights, we try to time our takeoff time around our estimated landing time to fully appreciate the wonderful FS Environment; what could beat a sunset flight to the top party destination in the Mediterranean? Not French Country Ale that’s for sure.

As we taxied and held short at RWY 7, awaiting Le Bourget Tower to clear us, we noticed we had a perfect view of what appeared to be Notre Dame , but what I really think is a different but similar landmark. Most notably missing (at least from my perspective) was one of my favorite words in architectural nomenclature, the “flying buttress.”

Takeoff around 1900 was choppy. No it wasn’t the 3 kts of wind or thermals, we're talking about choppy frame-rates in this very scenic area. Paris scenery blessed us with single-digit frame-rates until we managed to get south of the city. Paris is a beautiful area indeed, but perhaps we’ll dial back the amount of scenery detail next time!

Once airborne, we also noticed the amount of air traffic in the Paris area is by far the busiest we’ve encountered to date. As we gained altitude and turned to our flight heading, we had some spectacular aerial views. We had a few issues with our vertical speed; GZ must have set our ascent rate a bit high at 1,800 which had us climbing high at around 90 kts Each of us was too busy drinking to notice until we heard the stall warning. This is why sane people don't drink and fly in real life, kids! Thankfully, with enough altitude to spare, we took action quickly and decisively, and coupled with the forgiving nature of the Pilatus, recovery was reduced to nothing more than a hiccup. We were quite a bit off-course by the time we got things back in order, but the Hopper quickly corrected herself and we were back on course.

Climbing through FL120 over the outskirts of Paris, winds had already picked up to 32 kts, and then 42 kts by the time we reached FL190. In no time we were headed over the south of France at dusk with the Pyrenees in sight and a beautiful French-Spanish sunset. Once over Spain we crossed paths with a Bombardier that left a great contrail across a star flecked sky. The night sky had officially set in by the time we crossed into the Mediterranean, headed first for Mallorca, and the turning East towards Ibiza (pronounced: Ibeetha).

GZ set us up a ILS approach for LIEB, our first ILS approach on this worldly jaunt. Although the weather didn’t call for it, it still worked like a charm. You see, after a few in-flight beers, my approaches are decent but never very precise, as one would expect. This time, though, ILS worked its wonder and our approach was spot on. As we taxied to the parking area, we scribbled down the total flight time as 3:11 (speaking of which, 311 has a new CD coming out next week).

We're off to hit the local clubbing scene which is peaking this time of year; a Mecca of global dance music and THE place to party each Summer. More news in the next pirep of which DJs I saw, and maybe even a link to a set. That may provide the perfect soundtrack for our next leg to Lisbon via Barcelona...

GB

Beer Consumption Report
Beer: St. Amand French Country Ale Origin: Bénifontaine, France
Type: Ale Rating
(1-5):
2.8
Click here for a full review of this beer
Beer # Pilot Navigator Other
1 0:00 0:00  
2 0:25 0:20  
3      
4      
5      
6      

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