Hello Captains and welcome back. We’re making good progress as we circumnavigate the world in our A2A Comanche. As you may have noticed, I’m selecting smaller GA only airports (when possible) for my adventure. I feel this is a little more immersive for this style of flying versus landing in larger airports such as BOS, LHR etc. etc. Of course some larger airports do allow for GA use, but these smaller airfields are just nicer to fly into with my Comanche. As I continue to plan the next several legs, and especially after leaving Europe smaller GA only type airfields appear to be few and far between. But I’ll continue my best to at the very least avoid the really big international airports.
System Update 3 (SU3) dropped a couple of days ago and has presented no issues for me in MSFS 2024. Hopefully this too has been your experience. Let’s continue flying….
Flight Day 11
As we’re planning to depart Oxford, England after a few days exploring we’ll head towards the coast of England and briefly land at the Lydd Airport (EGMD) before crossing the channel for Antwerp, Belgium (EBAW). My wife grew up here and we’ll spend a few days here visiting her family. I’ll also take the time to service the Comanche with an oil change and spark plug replacement. By the time we reach Antwerp I’ll have put a little under 40 hours and I’d prefer to do this work in a location of my choosing versus scrambling in some place I’m not that familiar with.
We had our full English breakfast and I inspected the Comanche. We departed Oxford, made a loop around Blenheim Palace. Blenheim Palace is the birthplace and ancestorial home of Sir Winston Churchill. We turned and headed direct towards London. While this might not be possible in the real world, I wanted to see London as it’s depicted in the sim. We flew across High Wycombe where I met my wife back in 2001 and then across London, down the Thames and returned on course towards Lydd. It was a beautiful day for flying across southeastern England.
After stretching our legs and grabbing some snacks we departed Lydd (EGMD) towards Antwerp, Belgium (EBAW) to end this day of flying.
Flight Day 12
We had a nice visit with family in the area and I spent the necessary time to perform some routine maintenance on the Comanche. I said goodbye to the wife who is going to spend a few more days here before returning back home to Texas. I on the other hand am headed towards Paderborn, Germany (EDLP) to continue my around the world adventure. My course over the next few days will lead me in a southeasterly direction through Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and into Turkey.
After a brief stop in Paderborn, I climb back into the Comanche and set my course towards the Vodochody Airport (LKVO) just on the outskirts of Prague where I plan to spend the night and so some sightseeing around Prague this evening and tomorrow morning.
Flight Day 13
Up early for a quick breakfast and more sightseeing around Prague. Arrived at the airport just a little after lunch. Once prepped and ready today, I depart Prague headed towards Piestany, Slovakia. The plan is to land, have a quick bio break then grab a few snacks and back in the air towards Arad, Romania (LRAR) arriving late evening.
Flight Day 14
Once again up early with coffee and a light breakfast while I study the weather and charts for the days flying. From Arad, Romania I’m headed to the Gorna Oryahovitsa Airport in Bulgaria for a rest break and lunch. Then onward to Istanbul to the Hezarfen Airfieldwhich is a small GA airport just outside Istanbul, Turkey. The first leg of this route will cross over a mountain range which tops out at just below 8K. Tonight will be the last night on the European continent of this journey.
Flight Day 15
Today I’ll cross over the threshold between Europe and Asia as I fly across the Bosphorus Strait further into Turkey. I arrived at the airport after breakfast and coffee in the hotel. I have a lunch stop planned in Samsun, Turkey (LTFH) then onward to Batumi, Georgia (UGSB) where I’ll stay for the night. Today should be a good weather day, but will face a headwind just about the entire way.
Well that wraps up this update. I’d love to hear from you if you are flying an around the world adventure in the A2A Comanche or in any aircraft. It’s been a fun trip for me and we still have a long, long way to go before returning home.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry