On the 12 July I made the return trip, Zell to Bristol with a stop for fuel In Troyes, E of Paris. It took just over 5 hours flying plus an hour for the fuel stop and refreshments. Quicker than a commercial flight door to door. I picked the day because it was close to perfect weather the whole way, just a bit of cloud from Troyes to the channel and then over Kent.
Climbing out of Zell past a ski slope I taught on most of last winter.
If ever you wanted a reason not to run along in the cloud tops - apart from the fact that its against the rules for a VFR pilot - here it is. You see the bump in the clouds on the RHS of the picture.....
....well that is what is behind it!
In the distance are the Austrian Alps running off towards the Swiss border.
Once I left the mountains behind the air cleared completely until near the channel coast, but it was hazy, so at FL85 photography pointless.
One photo for old time sake. In front and above the wing tip is my old gliding club, Lasham. From here its a short run to Bristol.
