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Report:
Note:
Due to the multiple stops of this tour, we did
not use FS Passengers as that it would have been
difficult since it resets flight information upon
touch down. As such, the above information about
flight details is not in our typical format.
Belgium
is a contrast from this project's perspective.
On one hand, it's beer selection, history and
traditions are absolutely spectacular. Each selection
offers us a new path on which to journey, with
unexpected and new tastes and flavors to discover.
The pure pinnacle of what this quest is about.
From
the flying side, however, this land is, well,
unexciting. Rolling, low hills quilted with agriculture,
little villages connected by roads that offer
less than spectacular twists and turns. I am somewhat
amazed that the most renowned curve in motorsport,
Eau
Rouge at Spa Francorchamps, exists here.
I am sure. In person, the culture more than makes
up for the less-than-inspiring landscape presented
to us in FS.
My
hope is that no one takes this comment personally,
Hell, we hale from Florida. Talk about boring
landscapes! We're just commenting on the fact
that this is no Greenland.
All
in all, that is probably a good thing. We met
up with a couple of daring locals who decided
to guide us on a Flying Belgian Beer Tour of sorts,
stopping off at several breweries in order to
stock up on beers for now, and the future. See,
we have Africa coming up. Lots of miles and few
native beers. We need something to tie us over,
and what would be better than some fine, bold
Belgian brew to do just that.
Apparently,
there are lots of Air Bases in Belgium. We landed
at several, where our local friends ran out and
disappeared for a few minutes, than arrived back
with loads of beer. Chimay,
St. Bernardus, Kwak
and more. So many that we had some adventurous
takeoffs due to payload balance issues.
Like
I said, it was probably a good thing that the
terrain was more or less benign. By the time we
arrived at our final stop at the Florenness Air
Base, GB's flying was bordering on the erratic.
In fact, he couldn't even remember many details
of this particular flight - hence I am authoring
the PIREP!
So
now, we're off to more challenging terrain - Switzerland,
the home of our beloved Pilatus. We
hope that her homecoming will be more spectacular
than this tour of Belgium was.
GZ
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