The trip day 1: sunday 8.30 am lt
I met Wim and Jurjen at the meteo office to get the latest updates. We got weather charts and although the weather in Rotterdam would not be that good (low clouds and rainshowers), we knew that we would be flying towards nicer weather. In advance we had agreed to leave only when we would be able to cross the English Channel, and that did not seem to be problem, so there it was: a go!

At the club we arranged for life jackets (in case of an unvoluntary swim), 2 litres of oil (in case of thursty engines), and ropes and corkscrews (to fix the aircraft in case of wind during a stop-over).
We did the walkaround to check that everything was in order and away we went!



It started raining in Rotterdam and we took off under special VFR (for some reason since the visibility was 7000 meters according to ATIS). We crossed Zeeland, and were soon crossing the Belgian border. We had to orbit (circle) around Oostende city due to a departing airliner in our course along the belgian coastline.

A couple of minutes later it was time put on the life jackets since we needed to prepare for crossing the channel. The clouds were quite low for a channel crossing (which 20 minutes over water), and although they were layered we decided not to climb on top. Soon we were transferred by Calais tower to London Information, who immediately told us to contact Manston approach for "flight information services". With flight information services a controller follows your routing and altitude and warns you of other traffic nearby. For that, they give the pilot a sqauwk code (4 figure code), which we need to dial into our transponder so that we can be identified.

Lydd airport: EGMD

After a few minutes we reached the ATZ area of Lydd (near Dover), our first stop! Wim landed the aircraft beautifully and we stepped out for coffee. The airfield was quiet. They've had a flooding so the crew reception and briefing rooms were relocated, but at that moment the sun was shining! A nice and friendly girl behind the counter helped us pay the landing duties: GBP 10 (EUR 15).

We then called Bembridge aerodrome, our next stop (on the Isle of Wight) to see if they would be able to supply fuel. This was not the case and so we decided to "fill 'er up" at Lydd. An army tankwagon, operated by 3 man soon arrived at the airplane and in 10 minutes we were ready to go.



At starting up, the airport of Bristol Filton called us on our cellphone. They had a 747 doing engine testing on the runway at the time we would arrive, so we could come in before or after that time. We didn't know yet how long we would be for lunch at Bembridge so we decided to go to Cardiff instead. Planning for alternate airports is absolutely neccessary.

We took off in westerly direction and followed the coastline at 1.900 feet. There were few clouds in our way and we surfed around them, a beautifull sight and fun for the pilot!



Bembridge, Isle of Wight: EGHJ

Great weather to fly. We enjoyed the view, and at the mean time were transferred to different controllers. There wasn't that much other traffic in the area, but we say 2 or 3 other aircraft. Bembridge came in sight, and they instructed us for a runway 10 righthand circuit. This means we enter the Isle of Wight at the Harbour and fly the circuit over the sea. The view when you're on final for the runway is stunning, and the distance to some trees on the ground is not that big. The upslope runway helps to reduce speed and after backtracking on the runway (looking out to keep on the runway and not in the mud next to it) we taxied towards the aeroclub building.



We paid our landing fees: GBP 10 (EUR 15) at the counter, where the waitress of the restaurant doubled as airport administrator. After that we ordered lunch consisting of a nice panini, with salad and crisps. Bembridge was fully in the sun, and we watched some gliders being pulled up by another airplane. The FIO (dutch flight information office) was called to file our plan to Cardiff and after a coffee we walked back to the plane. While going there we met the crew and pax of PH-LLL, a turboprop(?) from Lelystad. They had come in for coffee and a visit to the harbour and were now flying back to Lelystad.

The wind direction had changed, so we had the comfort of having a downslope runway for takeoff. With a right turnout, Wim decided to do a tour around the island to look at the white cliffs.



Cardiff airport: EGFF

On to Cardiff! We decided to cross the Bournemoth CTR (control zone), which is a serious field, but the controller (lady) managed to only supply us with vague instructions. We didn't even know whether we were cleared to cross, and had to confirm it multiple times. After that we crossed Bridgewater Bay (which divides the Wales from Devon and Somerset) and Wim was lucky to get a 8 mile straight-in on runway 30. Only just before landing the tower instructed to do a go-around because of possible "runway contamination" (apparently the 757 that landed before us saw some ceramic material on the runway, and didn't if his engines swallowed it). We had to do a right turnout and hold on downwind (did 2 orbits), for the runway inspection to be completed. Nothing was found, and we were cleared to land soon after.

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We paid the landing, GBP 24.68 (EUR 36, most expensive landing of this trip). We also wanted to take some fuel, but the ground services were waiting for a med flight (medical flight). We calculated that the fuel would be enough to fly our last leg of the day (and still have 45 minutes of fuel left), but it meant we had to wait the next morning for filling up our 53 gallon AVGAS-tank.

Haverfordwest: EGFE

The most western airport in Wales that is still in use is Haverfordwest, which belongs to a town with the same name (pronounced Hevverfortwest, and in Welsh written as: Hwlffordd). We knew that we would perhaps arriving after official operational hours, so we had called to see if we could arrange something. We were told that probably everybody would be long gone at our arrival time, but that we could land and park the plane for the night anyway. Great! So we were prepared for radio silence. But how to determine the wind and a suitable runway when there is no-one and no auto-metar (automatic indication with wind and visibility?). We were under the watch of flight information services who provided us with a regional QNH (air pressure indication so that you see the correct altitude). We also tried 2 airports we passed on the way to see whether they would be able to provide us with fuel (we had sufficient, but did not want to wait the next morning until official opening hours), but none could provide us with that.

We started calling the airport over the radio when we were 3 miles out. We tried a couple of times but nothing but complete silence was returned. OK, we knew this beforehand, so nothing to worry about. I decided to overfly the airport, to see if we could make out a signal square (indicating the runway last in use) or a windbag, but did not see either. So from the wind we've had untill then, we determined that runway 27 would be the most suitable (also because it was the longest). I flew a circuit at 1000 feet above ground level and called at every turn we made: PH-VDM, righthand downwind runway 27, righthand base 27, final 27. Then, all of a sudden, while we were on short final and about 20 meters of the ground: "ehhh, PH-VDM do you require fuel?". Hmmm, so there were still people left!

It turned out, that the volunteers who operate the airfield on weekends were still present at the airfield, since they were looking for a part that fell of a helicopter. Without it, the heli would be grounded. They also helped us doing the paperwork and the special police branche permit to be able to fly to Ireland. But the fuel could still not be supplied since we could only pay in cash or check (and we didn't carry that much pounds). In the end, Ray (one of the volunteers) even brought us to our Guesthouse, since none of the taxi companies responded to our calls.

Time for dinner, and sleep!



See more pictures of day 1!