Just in case you thought it was easy...

Here's a quick photo of our instrument displays while on climb out of Larnaca this morning... note that the available fuel is less than what is needed. Obviously we finally made it, but only because we went high and burned less fuel. The current endurance shown is based on the higher fuel burn at low altitude and on climb, and when combined with the lower groundspeed while on climb, life looks pretty scary for half an hour or so..

The map

This is the map of our trip today. Note that we went through some fairly hostile airspace. Just as well we didn't deviate from our track.

A little dry around here

Here's a photo I took from the balcony of our hotel. It's not too good as it was pretty dark at the time, but it does show the terrain here a little. Very dry and rocky isn't it?

I might also add, that it was still about 35 degrees and about 95 percent humidity....

What's happening?

Ok, here's a question - What do you notice about this aeroplane? For a start it has no markings, no registration, and no identifying marks at all. It came up behind us while we were still about 1000 miles to run to Muscat. We were at 27,000 feet, and he flew right over us and turned away as he passed in front of us. Nothing was said by the controller, and I didn't hear anything on the radio, so it's all a bit of a mystery. If he'd been a few feet lower, he would have set off our traffic awareness system and probably given us a bit of a fright. Even though I knew he was there, I had no idea what he was up to.

Since we were where we where, I thought it best not to ask any questions..... still wondering though.

Day two complete

Here we are, finally in Muscat, Oman. Another big day in the seat - have I mentioned that the seats in the aeroplane are like sitting on a park bench? Anyway, I opened the door and within 30 seconds, the humidity in the air had condensed all over the handrail, and even the floor and all the gear inside. When I stepped back into the aircraft after about five minutes outside, I was leaving footprints on the floor, even though it wasn't raining...

Photo shows the entry hall of our hotel here in Muscat. I'm too tired to argue.... it will have to do.

First day

Here's the approximate track we flew today. Much of Italy was under a layer of scattered cloud, so we missed out on some great photos. However, the balance of the trip was pretty good weather and well worth the painful butt!

Finally, we can see the alps.

For the first time in nearly a week in Switzerland, we finally saw the Alps, mainly because we were above them, but also because the weather was much better this morning. Although we went through a small patch of rain (it only lasted about 10 minutes), most of the trip to Cyprus was really quite routine. It was however, a very long flight, and we shut down exactly 7 hours after startup in Buochs.

We're off!

Here's the view as we lined up on runway 07 in Buochs this morning. Check out the size of that hill at the end.... and the reporting point we were to track to, is behind the highest part. We were departing visually, so all was pretty easy really, but I wouldn't like to have to try it in cloud or at night - I'm far too chicken...

Looking through the looking glass....

Alright, just a little artistic diversion here. You can see in this photo, seven PC12 fuselages on the assembly line. The rear window positions on the PC12 are the only ones that line up with each other, and of course, when you build aeroplanes, you tend to line up the parts for convenience anyway. I think it looks pretty cool.

Very important part

This is the most important part of a Pilatus PC12. It is the forward wing-attach former, and it started life as a 380kg lump of aluminium. After 8.5 hours of computer-aided machine time, it looks like this and weighs only 35kg. The machines are of course huge, and very impressive, and without this technology, you couldn't hope to build modern aircraft at all.

It all began here....

It's pretty clear from just walking around the factory, that the people building these aeroplanes are very proud of their achievements - as they should be, it's an amazing place. Equally, it is clear that they got the PC12 pretty much right from the outset. This is the first prototype, now retired to a pole, and walking around it, you can see that very little has really been changed over the years. Yes, the wings are 2 metres shorter, and there are no ventral fins, but everything else is either the same, or has only had small detail changes.

The second prototype (of only two prototypes TOTAL), is also at the factory, and is airworthy, still used for occasional equipment testing. It has been modified to accept all kinds of test gear, so it no longer conforms to the type certificate as such, but is still a very useful airframe, as well as being historic.

Smile for the camera...

Ok, a simple tourist shot so I have at least one of me at the factory... here I'm with Dieter, one of the marketing team, who looks after the marketing and delivery of PC12's. I'm impressed with all the team here at Pilatus. They are friendly, professional, and generally speak very good english, certainly much better than my school-boy german.

My kind of kit

Those that know me of course, know that I am into model aeroplanes of all kinds, flying and non-flying.... no surprises there. I've just found what I want for Christmas.... it's a PC12 KIT! Because there is insufficient space at the Stans factory, Pilatus have the main components built up off site, in either Poland or Portugal. This one just arrived from Poland and was unloaded right after lunchtime today. I missed the unloading, as Chris and I were "out to lunch", but I'll get more photos in the factory tour tomorrow.

Gliding in the Swiss Alps

Ok, this photo is a little interesing... note the propeller feathered outside the windscreen, several of the screens black, and we are gliding at 125 knots while passing 10,000 feet. Every PC12 goes through a shutdown and relight on its first flight, so we can now say that FVE has had TWO in-flight shutdowns.

A very simple and interesting excercise really, but your brain is constantly trying to remind you that the unnatural quiet and lack of vibration is perhaps not what you should be enjoying right now, and get back to the business of relighting.

Takeoff

This photo shows Chris conducting the takeoff at Stans, with Marc doing all the navigating and radio work for the moment. Note the terrain shown on the PDU. We're not used to seeing so much yellow and red on our displays when flying in Australia, and I must say that I'd not be too keen to operate here at night. Strictly an IFR operation I would say.

Off we go for the acceptance flight.

Part of the acceptance of the aircraft involves us flying it, checking that it all works as advertised, and has no outstanding bugs or deficiencies that need to be addressed prior to our ferry flight. The photo shows Marc, our test pilot, lodging a flight plan via his iPad and iPhone, while standing outside with the aeroplane! These Swiss are definitiely up there with technology (this we knew of course)!

When we got to it, FVE (still registered in Switzerland as HB-FQQ) had just under 4.0 hours total flight time on it. By the time we get home, it will have over 40.0!

Here she is!

Ok, after all these months of anticipation, we finally got to see, and fly, our aeroplane today. This isn't the first aeroplane I've flown that is new, but it certainly is the most exciting journey and most satisfying trip I've done - so far.

You'll note that the final assembly hall at Pilatus is HUGE, made of envionmentally friendly materials, neatly arranged, and spotless. I would feel comfortable eating my lunch from the floor! No, I don't want to, but I would if I had to.

The building is heated by a circulating hot water system mounted in the rafters, but there is no air conditioning in the entire building, including the offices as that would not be "green". Instead, they have built the offices on the northern side of the building (overlooking the factory proper), to keep them somewhat isolated from the sun, and huge fans circulate the air in the building. We found it entirely comfortable, although the humidity level is a little higher than we're used to.

Wild cats loose in the mountains

Did somebody say that there were wildcats loose in the mountains? This must be one of them, so I had better give him a wide berth.

Highest altitude feline I've seen.

Bell-ringers extrodinair

Julie Andrews sang "The hills are alive, with the sound of music", but she should really have said "BELLS". All the cows (lots of them) have bells around their necks, and as a result of almost any movement of their heads, the bell will ring and of course tell the farmer where his charges are. With so many cows around, and such still air, we were constantly hearing bells - even as we went up or down in the cable cars. Really cool!

Are we expecting company?

Looking at the stacks of stakes, we're expecting an invasion of vampires.....

... of course they're really just fence posts.