The journey from St. Georgen airfield in Austria to Italy began back on Sept 27, 2011.  I was pleasantly surprised by the president of the local aero club stating that he and his family, who have been very good friends to me, would fly with me in loose formation on the first leg of my journey to the south.  We left the airfield, located roughly 30 km southeast of Linz, Austria, to fly south through wonderous valleys, around massive peaks and over clear blue lakes of the magnificent high Alps.  I had a consistent smile and sense of awe as the views changed in the windscreen.  These views and the lovely 9 cylinder symphony of the P&W up front made for a most memorable experience.  My friend did the leading as he was the local expert so all I had to do was keep up and watch all this beauty slide by.  All too quickly we had crossed into Slovenia and the coastal airfield of Portoroz came into view.

After an amazing platter of local seafood for lunch my friends flew off to return to St. Georgen, only a tad over a one hour flight to the north.  I decided to RON (remain over night) as it was getting late in the day and the flight down Roma was was going to be over 2 hours.  And the local food was excellent.

Leaving Portoroz, the Red Rockette and I flew the VFR low level route along the beach westward past Venice (which I would be visiting again soon), following it southeastward for a short while, then turning inland to cross initially the flatlands, then the Apennine mountains of central Italy southbound towards Rome.  Flying in Italy under Visual Flight Rules is very challenging due to many restricted, danger, and other high use airspace areas.  The “control” part of all this type of flying would take far too long to explain.  Let’s just say that “overcontrol” is a better term.  After several hours at low level a good number of bugs had accumulated on the windscreen and the leading edges of the wings. But through the bugs I was able to see well enough to find my way and the lovely little “Alituscia” airfield near the small town of Vejano came into view.  High wires at one end (naturally the favored landing direction due to winds) require careful execution of the approach.  I loved it since it reminded me of my crop dusting (topdressing to you Kiwis and Ozzies) days!  Great fun and a wonderful reception by new friends.  They love the music of a round engine as much as I do!

This little airfield is located just a few miles north of Lago Bracciano, a very round lake with loads of seaplane history, about 30 miles north of Roma.  It became even more famous several years back since Tom Cruise rented the entire castle that sits above the lake for his most recent wedding.  For me, it is the location of the Italian Air Force Museum on it’s shores that draws more interest.  More on that next time.  Spent several days getting to know my new local friends and enjoying wonderful Roman hospitality. After giving a few rides to these new friends, it was time for me to wander about 100 km northbound to another little airfield out in the middle of flat farmland in the valley south of Firenze (Florence) but only about 4 km as the crow flies from the famous hilltop town of Cortona. This airfield had a B&B right on the field…and AVGAS as well. I needed little more.

This was a big deal for me.  Not only was it yet another great little airfield of Italy, but one of my three children was visiting the area with her husband.  Elizabeth, the eldest of my 2 daughters, and husband Tim were visiting a local winemaker and would be in the area for 3 to 4 days.  I would join them for part of the time as they enjoyed the fruits of the winemaker, etc.  They also enjoyed the company of friends from Belgium during this period so we all piled into the Red Rockette (this daughter being the one that was a Rockette in New York and that the aircraft is named after) one day to have a wonderful view of the famous piazza in Siena and the surrounding hills of the Chianti region. Amazingly, I later learned via an email from an old Oshkosh friend who was in the area doing a little wine “research” that we had flown directly over the village he was visiting that day.  Although he did not hear nor see us, he looked at my flight track through the website that evening to discover this irony.

This is about all for the moment.  Naturally, there is a good deal more to be filled in.  But to keep you informed on my location at the moment (Tue, 8 Nov, 2011) and plans…I’m back south again, this time staying in downtown Roma doing tourist things as I wait out the brutal weather that has been pounding northern Italy. There has been massive flooding and lives have been lost.  We have had a good deal of rain down here in Roma as well lately.  But being stranded in Roma is not really being stranded, is it?  The plan is to fly north as soon as the weather breaks (forcasted to be in several days) to another private grass airfield, this one housing an aviation museum.  The Staggerwing has been invited to spend her winter there at the museum, located about 40 km north of Venice.  I will find my way home soon after finding the airfield.  Thank goodness for GPS.  Someone please save me a drumstick from Thanksgiving?

One more thing, I had the great privilege of having an article written about the Staggerwing and this journey in the current edition of Volo Sportivo. Check out the Red Rockette in the Volo Sportivo article – you will love the pictures.

Captain Biff Windsock
www.captainbiff.com

Ready to leave Spitzerberg, I noticed that their windsock was somewhat tattered from a recent windstorm.  At that moment the “Windsock Federation” (of the world?) was created.  The new Federation contributed the cost of a new windsock to the club. More on that another time.  Leaving Spitzerberg was not easy. I had spent several weeks there, made new friends, enjoyed some air touring in Slovakia with old friends, listened to some good music at a local concert, and learned some of the history of the local area.  All good stuff.

Flying to another nice little airport at Gmunden, Austria, I was the guest of another Austrian friend.  He and family took me to the lovely village of Bad (Bath) Ischl, took coffee in a historic cafe on the river, then climbed a well known mountain and toured a famous salt mine.  Then cable cars to the top of the mountain for some of the worlds most wonderful views.  A local Staggerwing ride the next day confirmed that this has to be one of the most beautiful parts of the world.

A couple of days back at nearby St. Georgen airfield where my Austrian adventure all began was most enjoyable.  This was sort of a “goodby” visit with many new friends there.  Noticing that the earlier mentioned windstorm had done a number on this aero clubs windsock as well, the new “Windsock Federation” contributed funds for a replacement.  These folks had been very good to me and some sort of gift was in order.

Then it was time to wander away from Austria and head off to sunny Italy.  One of my daughters and her husband were going to be visiting Italy and the plan was to join them for part of their journey.  So the Austrian adventure ends for this year. The adventures of flying a Staggerwing in sunny Italy begin in our next visit.

Captain Biff Windsock
www.captainbiff.com ]]> http://captainbiff.com/blog/2011/10/leaving-austria-not-easy/feed/ 0 http://captainbiff.com/blog/2011/07/journey-to-austria-earlier-than-expected-july-11-2011/ http://captainbiff.com/blog/2011/07/journey-to-austria-earlier-than-expected-july-11-2011/#comments Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:54:13 +0000 admin http://captainbiff.com/blog/?p=777 Continue reading →]]> Well, it’s been a beautiful day in Zell am See, Austria. But why am I here when I had planned to go to Turkey, Greece, Croatia, and Italy from Cyprus prior to Austria? In June, 2011, I had traveled from home in Reno, Nevada back to Cyprus to rejoin my mistress, The Red Rockette at RAF Akrotiri. There was a good deal of work to do on her after sitting for about 5 months or so. I had planned to be there earlier but “life” got in the way. So finally, I was back in Cyprus with old friends and plans to do some local touring this time. And I actually did that. A very pleasant day was spent up north of Paphos in Polis, site of an ancient port which no longer exists. Nearby was a small church overlooking the Med that had quite a collection of walking aids, crutches, and other bits and pieces that folks had discarded due to their being healed during their visits to the chapel.

Naturally, a nice seafood lunch at a seaside cafe was in order along with the requisite bottle of local white wine. Another day was spent going to Nicosia, checking out the old Ledra Palace hotel for a pal in Reno who had honeymooned there with his new wife many years prior. Sadly, the once wonderful old hotel is in a restricted zone on the border with Northern Cyprus and is no longer taking visitors. It houses British troops who are part of the UN Peacekeeping Mission there. The poor chaps deserve better. It’s a mess.

I continued walking past the Ledra Palace, crossing the border into Northern Cyprus. They don’t stamp one’s passport but a piece of paper that is then slipped into your passport. Another stamp upon return. Had a nice lunch, walked about a bit, and found that it’s really much like the south…but there was just a slight hint of tension in the air. Maybe it has something to do with ME…I’ve been leaving a trail of carnage wherever I go these days. The entire Middle East is boiling and some folks are pretty determined to have regime changes. I didn’t think a little red Staggerwing had that much of an impact. Jeepers!

Then a good deal of work on the Staggerwing was in order to get her ready to visit Turkey, Greece, and Italy with a bit of Croatia if time allowed. Loads of help from my friends at RAF Akrotiri where, as you may remember, the old girl had been invited to winter due to her British WWII Royal Navy history. I was requested to give a talk at the RAF Officers Mess one day and did so. It was the first time I sported a necktie for quite some time. The active duty RAF and USAF folks, in addition to the local members of the Aircrew Association seemed to enjoy the presentation. They were impressed that at least a part of the wartime history of the aircraft was known. That is only because of the work of one retired oceanic air traffic controller from Ayr, Scotland, Mr. Peter Berry. He has written a good deal on the history of the entire Staggerwing production effort.

Then came the shocking news of the death of an old friend, Hans Gutmann of Austria. Following is the statement of the FAI:

Submitted by fca on Mon, 20/06/2011 – 13:40

The FAI deeply regrets to announce the sad death of Hans Gutmann, the President of the FAI General Aviation Commission, who died along with two other people in a fatal crash onboard his C 172 near Piacenza, Italy, on Saturday 18 June 2011.

Elected President of the FAI GAC Commission in 2010, Hans Gutmann had been active in the General Aviation and Amateur-build world for many years as a Delegate, Alternate Delegate, Subcommittee Chairman and Technical Adviser, where his knowledge was highly regarded.

Born in 1948 in Stockerau, Austria, Hans Gutmann was well known for the famous tour Around the World that he achieved in 1996 on board a Glasair IIS-RG that he built himself.

The FAI conveys to his wife Elisabeth and daughter Eva the deepest sympathy and extends our sincere condolences.

As many of you know, The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world’s air sports federation, was founded in 1905. It is a non-governmental and non-profit making international organisation with the basic aim of furthering aeronautical and astronautical activities. See www.fai.org if interested.

Hans and I had met many years ago when I attended a meeting of the Earthrounders group. They are a group of folks who either have or want to fly around the world in light aircraft. Their purpose is to share knowledge of such activity. And to teach the rest of us how to enjoy life…which they do very well. Hans and I had wandered South Africa for several days after another Earthrounders meeting there. Hans was one of the founders of that organization as well.

With the knowledge of Hans’ death, I decided to scurry about, get my “stuff” together, and move on to Austria for the funeral…which was delayed by numerous factors. This gave me time to get there. So on Friday, 1 July, the Red Rockette flew 5 flights of thanks to the local military and civilian folks at and around RAF Akrotiri who had been so kind to me. A number of Young Eagles were among the passengers that day as well. Lot’s of big smiles around when one gets a Staggerwing ride. I hesitate in naming individuals for several reasons. With the days flying completed, the old girl was partially packed up and put to bed. It was really wonderful to be “back in the military” for a little while…I loved it. One has to admire deeply the folks who make the military a career these days. I am so proud of them.

Having already checked out of my hotel, I returned to Paphos, some 40 miles away to spend the last days with the old friends. They had been so kind and patient with me. After my last 6pm Mass at the ancient chapel where St. Paul had been tied to a pillar and beaten, it was back up the hill to the Kamares area. Several Campari’s and a fine dinner later, I was exhausted.

Sunday morning it was last minute packing, final goodbyes and off to return the rental car. A ride had been offered back to Akrotiri by the young RAF Officer who had been my “go to guy” at the airbase. A nice dinner with he and a young USAF Officer who had turned the Staggerwing’s prop, etc while I was gone, a short nap, and it was time to go.

Monday, 4 July was another beautiful day in Cyprus. Regulations required that I fly back to a civilian Int’l airport, in this case Paphos, to clear customs, etc., refuel, pay the breathtaking bills, and head away to Corfu for the first night. I knew that no matter how early I got started, and was early, that flying to Paphos, completing all the formalities, refueling, and flying 700+ miles was going to be a full day. Corfu had been highly recommended and that was really good information. It was, indeed, a wonderful place to remain overnight.

To be continued…gotta take a nap.

Being a happy wanderer has many advantages, mainly that I can set my own schedule an change it at will when something of major interest comes along.  I hired a private car with driver and headed south from Amman on Friday morning, 7 Jan, 2011.

This is where I’m going to add a paragraph about driving…or being driven…on the streets and roads of the Middle East.  It reflects my own perception of driving in general and no specific driver is meant to be depicted here.  This is a wide paintbrush of  the area and it’s drivers.  If paragraphs were titled, this one would be “I’m gonna die, I know I’m gonna die!”.  This is written with all due respect to my personal driver, who has not hurt me nor hit anything.  Left lane, left lane, going fast, lots of traffic all around, left lane, BAM..right turn!  Arrghh!  Right lane, right lane, goin’ fast, lots of traffic, WHAK..left turn!  Awaak!  I sit sheepishly with head lowered.  A prayer may well have slipped out now and then.  I think you get the picture.  These guys all go to Boston and New York when they grow up. Having said all of the above, the drive on the national highways is quite sedate.  Why?  Checkpoint after checkpoint with speed guns (radar) at each.  Often backed up with quite manly machine guns as well, especially on the Dead Sea Highway.  You may well know that the Dead Sea is disputed territory and Israel is very visible a few miles across the way.  So the drive on these highways, especially by professional drivers who want to keep their licenses, is very sedate compared to city driving.

Back to Petra.  Driving south from Amman after an hour or so, we stop at a “tourisitc” shop.  As we wanderers have learned, each driver or tour operator has a friend or cousin who has a shop that we must see.  There is a cousin on every road in the drivers country.  A turkish coffee and the purchase of a trinket and we are on our way southbound again.  It’s a beautiful cloudless day and life is good.  After all, I arrived in this country by Staggerwing. It maybe the first Staggerwing to ever touch Jordanian soil but I do not make that claim since I do not know if it is fact.

We arrive in the town of Al-Batra, also known as Petra, find the hotel where I have a reservation, drop the bags, and off we go to the Visitors Center of Petra.  There we meet my guide for the day.  On to a pony for a ride down the trail to the entrance of the wadi, or canyon, that leads to the famous “Lost City of Petra”.  Half way down the trail I have a flash of clarity…should have saved this pony ride to go UP the hill upon my return and not DOWN the hill as I am doing.  I’m just a farmboy from Michigan. :)  Off the pony and a long, interesting descending walk through the wadi with numerous ancient markings, carvings, and remnants of the water transfer system are exposed.

Now fade back with me about 65 years or so.  I’m in a movie theater in Michigan back in the days when we got our visual news from the newsreels prior to the beginning of the movie.  All black and white movies at that time of course.  The famous commentator, Lowell Thomas, is describing in his most distinctive voice the first film release of Petra to the western world.  The movie camera, a massive thing in those days, was being rolled down the trail through the wadi.  Then, accompanied with very dramatic music, the camera captures the sight that I am now seeing first hand after all these years.  It still makes the hair stand on the back of my neck.  That first sight is of the famous Treasury of Petra.

For the next several hours my guide shows me the rest of the ancient city, all of which are rooms carved deep into the walls of the valley.  The Treasury, which it turns out, was not a Treasury at all but a tomb, is the most famous of the rooms.  This was a very moving day for me, having had the memory of the film seen so many years ago buried on my memory chip for so long.  I leave the rest to your own Google search.

The next morning another ride southbound to Wadi Rum.  This area is reminiscent of Monument Valley in the US…but with a different flavor.  A ride out into the valley with a local guide in a well worn pickup, I have tea with a well weathered Bedouin in his camp tent.  Then off further into the valley made famous by Lawrence of Arabia to wander into another wadi with an active stream.  This one was a bit of a challenge but well worth the climb back into it’s recesses.  The valley is a magificent, humbling place, full of color and textures.

Wadi Rum is another destination that is well worth a visit.  There is a hotel near the entrance to the valley with distinctive architecture, including tents if one desires to be adventurous and live the Arabian Nights experience.  I leave this area to your own Google search if you care to learn more.

Enough for this entry.  The next will cover the flight from Amman, Jordan to Paphos, Cyprus…the long way ’round.

I left off several days ago saying that flight clearances had delayed me here in Amman, Jordan.  The clearance issue revolved around the fact that after I arrive at my next destination, Paphos, Cyprus, I intend to fly to the Akrotiri Royal Air Force Base just 25 miles from Paphos.   Because of this Staggerwings WWII British history, it has been invited to use some storage facilities there for a few months while I return to the US.  I am very grateful for that invitation.  The serving RAF personnel at the base have been extremely helpful in this matter.  As an ex-serviceman myself, it is with pride that I acknowledge their service to their country.

The clearance issue has been resolved, Jordanian and Egyptian overflight clearances have already been issued, now the final clearance to be issued is the Cypriot landing permit.  It is expected within several days.  Having checked the weather for early next week I find that Monday, the 17th, will not be a good day to fly.  So the tentative plan is to fly to Cyprus next Tuesday, 18 Jan, 2011.  Weather will be the final determinant.

Having taken this space for the above notice, I’ll leave the tourist info until the next post.  I’ve experienced a good deal of touring during this extended visit and a little time off has been enjoyed.  This country is very rich is history.  I have mud on my shoes and pants from the Baptism site where John baptized Jesus.  I don’t want to clean it off. And so it goes.

Found a tour company that seemed to fit my needs and arrangements were made for a two day tour southbound to a place that I’ve waited about 65 years or so to see…that being one of the “New” 7 Wonders of the World…Petra.  It’s known as the “Lost City” but in reality it was never really lost…just very well kept secret from foreigners.  It’s on the list of World Heritage sites and is alone well worth a journey to Jordan.  Only another hour or so south is another magnificent treasure of Jordan…Wadi Rum.  This area is reminiscent of Monument Valley in the U.S.   I’ll chat about those places next time.  This is just a short one to answer the many questions about why I’m still here.  Answer…flight details.  More in a day or two.

I first went to the airfield on Monday, 3 Jan with plans to depart for Amman, Jordan that day.  However, I found a broken inner landing gear door retract spring broken.  The aircraft engineers of DHL soon found the appropriate spring but by the time it was replaced it was too late to depart for Amman, some 920 or so nautical miles away.  Having anticipated headwinds, I had planned the flight for 7 hours 20 minutes or so, the longest leg of the entire journey so far.  With numerous little projects tended to, I returned to a hotel and prepared for the next mornings departure.   A nice Italian dinner with my local hostess near the US Navy facility in Bahrain was a nice way to complete my visit to Bahrain.

A short taxi ride to the airport early on Tuesday, 4 Jan 2011, easy formality procedures due to the special assistance agent/handler and shortly I was at the aircraft.  This time all went well with the preflight and the ATC and taxi clearance was quickly received.  With the luxury of a 13,000 ft. runway I was fairly certain that the Red Rockette and I could somehow manage getting into the air together even though heavy with fuel.   The tail lifted by itself in the 15 knot wind down the runway, then after what I though was a fairly short roll she lifted off with no hint of heaviness.  What a wonderful aircraft Mr. Walter Beech and Ted Wells had designed!  And what a great job of restoring her to even better than new condition by the Croydon Aircraft Company of Mandeville, New Zealand.  I often thank them all silently for this wonderful red magic carpet.

The route to the west was overflying Al Khobar port in Saudi Arabia, then over Dahran and Dammam (HQ of Aramco oil company with it’s American compound) and onwards into the barren desert on a nearly direct course to Hail, in the northern center of Saudi Arabia.  There was an early challenge to this part of the journey.  My original clearance was to cruise at 8,000 feet.  I was then requested to climb to 12,000 feet.  This was a great deal to ask of a very heavy aircraft even with a great 450 horsepower engine up front.  There was a military exercise taking place to the west of my position and if I wanted to continue I either had to climb to a higher altitude or go around the area…a VERY long way around and not really feasible.  Or return to Bahrain.  That was not really even considered.  So climb we did, the old girl and I.  Slowly but surely we climbed.   A compromise was reached with ATC to cruise at 11,000 feet.  We reached that altitude in good order, she felt comfortable and did not complain about being up there at the current weight.  What a good old girl.  After several hundred miles I was past the military exercise area and recleared to 8000 feet.  The winds were nearly the same at both altitudes…amazingly on the tail most of the way.

There were long stretches of nothingness on the eastern half of the journey.  But along the way my course was quite often within sight of the highway that crosses this part of the  country.  There have been times in our partnership…the Red Rockette and I…that it seemed I was racing the trucks on highways when flying into a strong headwind.  Not so today.  We were zipping right along.  The time out here in the middle did not seem to drag on at all.  There were many, many checkpoints along the airway that needed attention in the GPS, the logging of same, trying to keep upright in turbulence, maintaining altitude, heading, etc, etc.  It was actually a busy trip that just passed quickly.  Every now and then a few buildings in a remote village would appear.  One has to imagine what life would be like way out there in the middle.

Approaching Hail, an interesting sight appeared.  Irrigated areas with wells in the center of giant circles with some type of crop growing.  I’ve not had time to research the area on the net but it was a welcome relief to endless sand dunes.  Hail is quite large but very brown from the air.  Looked like a place where everything one owned would be dusty before long.  Then came the mountains to the north and west of Hail.  They are rugged  and a most beautiful sight from the air with numerous shades of color from various minerals.  It appears that they had been exposed for a very, very long time.  They also provided lift to form a line of cumulus clouds that actually produced a little rain.  I doubt that any of it ever reached the ground.  A glider pilot would have enjoyed the day here until the decision about where to land came up.  So no gliders were in the area.

This is getting too long.  The rest of the journey into Jordan was in the clear until reaching the area about 50 miles to the southeast of Amman.  Then clouds created by the lifting for the mountains again appeared but this time with more haze than out in the middle.  A vector from the airway to avoid the Queen Alia Int’l airport was given and soon I was talking to Marka airport tower.   I had been kept at relatively high altitude so a few turns in order to descend into the valley where the airport and Amman sit.  Nice long runway and welcoming faces with big smiles greeted me in the civil area of the Royal Wings hangar. I was finally in Amman, having been planning this, the longest leg of the journey, for a long time.

Off to Paphos, Cyprus next Monday, 10 Jan 2011.  The low altitude routing will be south around the bottom of Israel, then north through Egypt and into the Med to Cyprus.  There I look forward to a visit with old friends from Europe who live much of the year in Paphos, on the southwest coast of Cyprus.  I can taste the German fried potatoes now.  And so it goes.

This was my second interesting New Years in succession.  Last year at beautiful little Luskintyre Aerodrome (Australia’s Tiger Moth Heaven) near Newcastle, Australia we got up well before dawn, rolled out a fleet of Tiger Moths, one Staggerwing, and a Cessna 172 photo ship.  Engines were started just at daybreak.  The Tiger Moths took off for the beach and a few minutes later the Red Rockette and I followed, catching up to them just as they approached the beach.   There were numerous party goers on the beach, probably having stayed the night there.  Formation flying up and down the beach to welcome in 2010 at dawn was a wonderful experience with the 172 taking photos of the entire event.  A bountiful breakfast followed, again with new friendships being formed.  Just another of the joys of being a wandering aviator in search of the perfect blueberry muffin.

Back to Bahrain and 2011.  More lunches and dinners with new and evolving friends over the next few days, a visit to the amazing new Formula 1 race track where the first F1 race of the season is held in March, a visit to the Animal Park (zoo), and other sight seeing events filled the days.  Eating filled any free time between these events.  One very special meal was a home cooked lunch with a local family in their home.  Exciting and exotic tastes filled the entire eating experience.  Good company and Middle Eastern hospitality was the word of the day. Upon leaving I was told that I always had a home when in Bahrain.  The differences between cultures had been crossed and mutual respect experienced to a high degree.  It was a wonderful experience in a new part of the world for me….but a very old part of the world in the scheme of things.  The Tigris and Euphrates were not far away.  Remember the grade school lessons on the subject of the Cradle of Civilization?

And so it goes in Bahrain.  Off to Amman, Jordan next.

A quick note about Oman.  This place has been a well kept secret.  It’s arid of course, much like parts of Nevada.  But with many, many miles of coastline, relief is close at hand.  The people…friendly, generous, smiling for the most part, gracious…not what I really expected to find in a Middle Eastern country. Numerous ex-pats working here and a fabulous Christmas party hosted by one delightful couple from the US.  I was fortunate enough to be invited to several dinners with local staff of the Muscat Asian Beach Games that Hollis had made friends with over her long visit to Oman.  Wonderful folks who delighted in sharing the local knowledge of food and tea, an important drink in this part of the world.

The geology…rough and rugged arid mountains with many layers of history exposed as one rides along the new and modern highways.  I was reminded of my several rides down to Palmdale from Reno with Captain Mark Goodrich. We both were constantly impressed by the natural beauty of that ride.

Muscat, the city…clean, very modern or being remodeled to be so, jillions of flowers planted along the highways…all well watered and healthy.  The Sultan is very conscious of the visual impression to his people and the visitors.  He spends a great deal on the infrastructure of the country, especially Muscat.  A new multi-lane highway now spans most of the country, eliminating some of the rough rides the Koscos remember so well from their days of working here in the past.

Up early on Monday, 27 Dec, and a quick stop for a little protein on the way to the airport.  Maybe a few carbs thrown in for “extra chin maintenance”.  I did not have a handler at this stop but none was needed.  The met briefing office was easy to find thanks to Col. Kosco, then to Flight Ops for the flight plan filing.  All easy and relatively close to each other in the Int’l terminal.  Then out to the bird and the now dreaded refueling procedure.  This time there was a new wrinkle.  The fuel bowser did arrive in good time but when the hose was unreeled I found the nozzle was the size of a DC-6 wing fueling port!  Good grief…this thing would not even fit into the opening of the Staggerwing filler port.  A manly nozzle it was.  Ideas were zipping in and out of the old cranium and finally got out my “Mr. Funnel” fuel strainer device.  Pushed another piece of plastic hose onto the funnel stem that could take the bending required to get fuel into the tanks.  Finally began the fueling process to find that this was going to take some time.  The strainer and the extension hose could only handle a low flow rate.  Both the fueler chap and I had to take turns doing the nozzle part of the job to shake out our muscles.  Took nearly an hour after finally getting the process started.  Right then I was ready to go to a nice beachfront hotel, of which there are many in beautiful Muscat, and have a nice 3 hour lunch.  But there was flying to be done.

Very efficient handling by the tower and a straight out departure to the west along the beach.  Great views of the many villages along the coast line.  Now some of the weather that was headed Muscat way was on the horizon.  I was on an IFR (instrument flight rules) clearance so the numerous deviations required around the building cumulus clouds was negotiated with ATC (Air Traffic Control) to avoid most of the LPC’s (Little Puffy Clouds). But some of these LPC’s were growing into BPC’s (Big Puffy Clouds) and not always avoidable.  We (the Red Rockette and I) did fly through some turbulent clouds.  In one passage I found it necessary to close the fresh air vents which had been open since the aircraft was restored so well in New Zealand by the Croydon Aircraft Company.  Not only was it chilly, but tiny little snowballs (pellets) were entering the cockpit.  Very refreshing.  Watching the temperature carefully for any signs of icing, I found  none at all had developed.  Used carb heat several time however.  We were soon back in clear air as these buildups were still relatively young and localized, certainly not developed into storms.  But they probably grew up later in the day into real storms.  I did not really expect this in the Middle East at this time of year but then I’ve never been here as an aviator before, having only visited Dubai as a tourist many years ago.  I had, indeed, read up on the general weather patterns for different times of the year and knew that I did not want to deal with some of the conditions that arise here, such as dust storms.

The ATC folks re-routed me further out into the Gulf than I had planned but that’s aviation.  The rest of the flight to Bahrain was in clear air and relatively smooth.  Lot’s of tippy tapping new information and routings into the Garmin 430 GPS on this leg.  Thankfully the visibility was good.  Flying single pilot IFR with no auto pilot keeps one busy…but I love it.  I chose not to have an autopilot installed.  This way I’m kept busy all the time and have no chance of getting bored or distracted.  Gotta pay attention.  I love the 9 cylinder symphony of the dependable old Pratt & Whitney R985 as well.

Excellent handling by approach control at Bahrain Int’l and I was soon on a very long runway.  The visibility was somewhat hazy and the winds quite high, up to 25 knots of gusts.  Thankfully almost directly down the runway.  One wing still tried to lift after touchdown but nothing serious.  We were met by a Follow-Me truck and led into a parking area that was also very windy.  Several airport officials were there to meet me due to folks in Muscat who had advised them of an “interesting” aircraft visitor.  They, like the Omanis, were very friendly and understood the ramifications of the windy conditions.  Again, no tie down facilities at hand.  One official raced off and soon returned with an offer of some hangar space generously presented by the local DHL staff.  Restarted and taxied the old girl over to their facility to put her away in a safe place.  Great hospitality by the DHL folks!

After entry formalities I was picked up by a friend of one of the Omani chaps I had met through Hollis Kosco in Muscat.  This local lady is a “mover and shaker” type natural PR person here in Bahrain.  She is also hosting another chap from Oman as well.  The 3 of us have spent several days of eating well…VERY well.  I’m really going to have to diet once I get home!  As my local host says…we live in a city surrounded by desert…we have little to do other than EAT!  I like it.  All types of cuisine here and I’m doing my best to try them all.

I’m working on the flight plan to Amman, Jordan.  I’ve extended my stay here since I have new friends here but none in Amman.  I’ve decided to spend New Years here, then head to Jordan on 3 Jan.  And so it goes.

The flight from Ahmedabad, India to Muscat was a long one…6.5 hours.  The usual fueling delays and problems with leaky hose nozzles, etc.  I was still refueling when the ATC folks sent a truck out to see why I had not called for my clearance.  One has to work at maintaining demeanor in situations like this one.  Finally got in, received  a start clearance quickly followed by a “taxi now” clearance.  Zipped right into position on the runway, did the runup there, and away we went.  She was heavy but performed beautifully.  A direct course to Karachi was not available so an extra 50 miles was added to the journey by flying north to Chor, Pakistan, making a hard left to Karachi, then out over the Arabian Sea paralleling the coast line.  Headwinds in the early part of the flight but then some nice tailwind and we were zipping along about 160 knots groundspeed for a while.  Nice.  Over Karachi I could not help but think of a movie from my youth with Jerry Colona (sp?)  He was a comedian in many Bob Hope/Bing Crosby movies which most of you are too young to remember.  In one of them Jerry included the phrase, “Come in Rangoon, come in Rangoon, Karachi calling!”  It was a goofy, silly thing that has always stuck with me.  Oh well, so much for trivia.

Very nice weather with very few clouds all the way to Muscat.  Got a vector straight onto downwind and bingo!..I was in Muscat before dark.  The normal formalities and there was old Army friend Bill Kosco waiting for me.  The rest of the family appeared and a wonderful week of reunion, touring, story telling, and good times and interesting food ensued.  One of the highlights was driving approximately 100 plus km to Turtle Beach.  Accommodation had been arranged by the Koscos since they had been there before.  The “Ritz It Ain’t” palm covered camp shacks contained several military style beds but when you’re tired they looked pretty good.  A nice dinner buffet style was included, then tea on a “open to the desert and sky” community sofa under a full moon and the stars was a fitting end to the evening.  We had an excellent dissertation by a very well educated guide on the history of Oman.  Off to bed early since the wake up call was at 0300.  The goal was to wander down to the nearby beach in order to watch the giant green sea turtles lay their eggs.  It was a most memorable event and well worth getting up in the middle of the night for.  A nice breakfast awaited us upon return to the camp, and by that time it was time to wander back towards Muscat.  Stopped in several villages along the coastline to take photos.

Hollis Kosco, Bill and Betty’s daughter, had been in Oman for approx 6 months helping develop the Muscat Asian Beach Game event.  It had been just completed when I arrived and Hollis was breathing a sigh of relief.  She had made many local friends and over the week of my visit some of them are now my friends as well.  Learning that I was headed to Bahrain next, one of the chaps not only gave me a sim card to Bahrain but offered to have one of his friends pick me up and “look after me” during my visit in BAH.  More on that later.