Barry Schiff will be inducted into the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame on May 3, 2002.
In February I discussed here my plans to arrange for a lightplane in Europe and spend the summer of 2003 venting my wanderlust by hopscotching around the continent. Several readers wrote wondering why I was going to wait so long. My answer was that planning an extended flight can be as enjoyable as the experience itself, and it was a process that I wanted to sip and savor.
What surprised me about the response to the announcement of my plans were the 77 e-mails I received from European readers. I even got one from Saudi Arabia. I had no idea that Pilot enjoyed such overseas popularity. (One AOPA member in Italy told me that his copy is passed along each month until all 27 members of his flying club have read it.)
Many of these messages were lengthy and contained generous offers of assistance and detailed, invaluable advice about some truly fascinating airports. One such place, for example, is the Courchevel "Altiport" in the French Alps (about 100 nm southeast of Geneva). Incredible as it might seem, Courchevel's single runway is only 1,750 feet long, is at an elevation of 6,580 feet, and is routinely used by a wide variety of airplanes with less than sterling performance, including Cessna 172s.
I could hardly understand how this was possible until learning that the steeply inclined runway resembles a downhill ski run. Landings are short and obviously made uphill; takeoffs are equally short and are made downhill. I have been advised that an aggressive, climbing flare is required for landing and that substantial power must be applied after touchdown and before coming to a halt to prevent rolling backward and to maintain enough inertia to get to the flat parking area on top of the mountain. During the beginning of the takeoff roll, you can only see 100 feet of runway before the downhill run begins. After that, I am told, you plummet downhill, and it reportedly feels as though you are being shot from a cannon with virtually no chance to abort.
Courchevel is one airport I shall not miss. It is open to the public, but only after taking the instruction needed to learn how to operate there. This earns you an "Altiport Rating" and access to Courchevel in your own or a rented airplane.
Other e-mails contained heartwarming invitations to fly into small airports to meet, dine, and raise tankards with Pilot readers in such diverse places as Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sicily, and Lapland in northern Finland. One reader extended an invitation to spend a few nights in his Irish castle and another offered accommodations in his lakeside home in the Austrian countryside. (I envision scenes from The Sound of Music.)
It gives me pleasure to search for and locate these romantic places on VFR aeronautical charts of Europe. The best of these are the VFR+GPS charts published by Jeppesen. They have the same scale as our sectionals, cover most of Europe, and are laminated in plastic, which makes them almost indestructible. These charts simplify flying in Europe because they cover all countries using the same format and symbology. This is easier than having to gather charts from each country and adapt to a different presentation every time you cross a border in Europe. In addition to instrument charts of Europe (and the rest of the world), Jeppesen publishes the invaluable Bottlang Airfield Manual, which contains individual charts and instructions for almost every airport in Europe.
One problem that I had not anticipated involves European licensing requirements. An FAA pilot certificate is valid only when flying an airplane that is registered in the United States. In some cases, it also can be used to fly a foreign-registered airplane within the country in which that aircraft is registered. But our certificates may not be used to fly that airplane from one country to another.
One solution to this problem is to obtain a license issued in the country in which the airplane to be used is registered. But this can take a great deal of time and effort because of the required written examinations (including one for a radio license) and flight tests that must be taken in Europe (not to mention a European medical exam). Want to use your instrument rating? You would have to take those tests as well.
A more practical solution is to locate one of the few flight schools in the United States that is authorized by the Joint Aviation Authority (a coalition of European countries that have agreed to common licensing and other regulations) and take the tests here for a JAA license that is recognized throughout most of Europe.
The easiest solution, however, is to locate and use an airplane that is based in Europe but registered in the United States. This also allows you full use of your instrument rating. Although there are a surprising number of such aircraft, this limits one's choice.
I was somewhat disturbed to learn that no matter what a pilot's credentials and experience might be, VFR flying at night in Europe is verboten, except in France.
I also want to thank the French pilot who told me to look for the Bureau de Piste at French airports. Without his telling me that this was where to find the "flight-planning desk," I probably would have mistaken it for something else.
Visit the author's Web site ( www.barryschiff.com ).
Related Articles
