Europe 2017 - 2019 Freelancing
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Ending 2019 with two of my favourite things ... |
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Munich's enormous airport seen in passing from 28,000 ft |
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Sunset over Poland |
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Dropping off crew in EGKK Gatwick, London UK |
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Finals 26L in the rain at EGKK Gatwick |
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Taxying at EGKK Gatwick |
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Gatwick - taxying for departure ...past the recently bankrupt Thomas Cook Airlines aircraft blocked in with tractors and snowplows |
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Approaching Saanen/Gstaad LSGK - Swiss Alps reflected off the wing |
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Approaching EPPO Poznan - looking for instructions on how to land this thing |
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EPGD Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport, Poland |
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EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg - 1 airport shared by 3 countries |
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Crossing Runway 07R for a midnight landing on Runway 02 at LEBL Barcelona, Spain |
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Good memories from Papua - my friends Engineers Marsel and Meli |
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Sad memories from Papua - PK-CDC crash site, taking the lives of the crew and the passenger. I knew Engineer Ujang (right) from Nabire ...he is the 6th person I know who has been killed in a Papua crash since 2016 |
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Dusk reflection off our PC12's radome |
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Enjoying the catering department's hard work over Bulgaria |
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Opposite traffic passing over Macedonia |
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Landing in EINN Shannon, Ireland |
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Dawn ...enroute from Paris to Berlin |
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EPWA Warsaw Runway 33 ....in the rain |
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LELL Sabadell Runway 31 ....in the rain |
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Fun with the GoPro Wide Angle in a legacy equipped PC12/45 |
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Efficacy of bird scaring methods needs re-assessed at LSZH Zurich |
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Warsaw, Poland skyline catching the last of the sun |
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Looking up over Germany |
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Ryanair passing us in a race to Poznan, Poland |
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Departing after my first visit to EPGD Gdansk, Poland |
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Waiting for fuel on my first visit to LGZA Zakynthos, Greece |
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....dropped the GoPro |
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Traffic passing 1000 ft above us over Romania |
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Fun with reflections on the radome in LIRS Grosseto, Italy |
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Cooling the engine for a quick turnaround at LIRS Grosseto |
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Heavy workload for Swiss Air Traffic Control led to a delayed descent clearance, leaving us to lose 12,000 feet on a [very wide] approach to land at LSGK Saanen/Gstaad |
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On short finals at LFGI Dijon/Darois, France |
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Departing EBCI Charleroi, Belgium |
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Runway 22R at LFMN Nice, France |
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Executive Apron at LFMN Nice, France |
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Refuelling at LFMN Nice, France |
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Nice |
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Nice |
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Getting towed off the parking apron to our start-up position in LFMN Nice, France |
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Retrieving the GoPro ...or... a child's worst nightmare |
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The Cote d'Azur ...Nice, Monaco and Cumulo Nimbus |
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Evening flight into LFLY Lyon/Bron, France |
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On the ground at LFLY Lyon/Bron |
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Not my best photo ...but finally captured the Matterhorn.... |
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....whilst being passed by a Swissair Airbus |
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Pleasant 4 day trip to Bergerac and Bordeaux in France, starting with a view of the River Dordogne |
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Approaching LFBD Bordeaux-Merignac, France |
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'Yellow Vest' demonstration outside our hotel in Bergerac, France |
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Sampling the best of the Dordogne |
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Dinner on a terrace in Bergerac, France ...overlooking the Dordogne River |
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Dropping off a B737 crew in EGKK Gatwick, UK ...only 3 holding patterns |
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My first time in Gatwick in a PC12 |
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Departing EGKK Gatwick, UK |
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Water reservoir in France (can't remember where exactly) |
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Normal approach route into LFTZ St-Tropez/La Mole |
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Circuitous approach into LFTZ La Mole - airspace saturation around Nice saw us vectored 25 NM out to sea by Air Traffic Control |
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Busy day on the apron at LFTZ St-Tropez/La Mole, France |
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Catering for a plane full of hungry passengers |
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Departing LFTZ La Mole ...the Gulf of St-Tropez, France |
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EGBJ Gloucester, UK |
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Sunset over Bulgaria |
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Traffic above catching the last of the light |
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Delivering spare parts to LEIB Ibiza, Spain |
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Traffic below dwarfed by the Swiss Alps |
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Dry rivers in the summer haze during the descent into LIRP Pisa, Italy |
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Pisa |
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Finally seen the Tower ...another box ticked |
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Irreverent seagull atop Pisa Cathedral |
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Business Class seat with extra ventilation |
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Marble quarries around Carrara, Italy |
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Genoa seen from 23,000 ft |
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Ryanair passing above us over Northern Italy |
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Interesting cloud shadow and rainbow in Belgium |
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Turning on approach to EBCI Charleroi, Belgium |
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36 degrees C on the apron in LFML Marseilles, France |
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Interesting light reflections off traffic at 30,000 ft |
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Passing Heathrow on descent into EGLD Denham, UK |
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What happens when pilots get bored..... |
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Waiting in line in EPWA Warsaw, Poland |
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On the apron in LGAV Athens, Greece at 2 AM delivering spare parts |
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Broad spectrum of services in a Warsaw neighbourhood - Gyneacology, Endocrinology and Dentistry (with a bicycle repair shop behind the black door) |
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Ryanair turning above us over the Slovak Republic |
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Home of Pilatus Aircraft LSZC Buochs, Switzerland seen in passing |
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Sleet over Belgium |
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At the holding point behind another PC12 in LFSB Basle |
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On Final at LFTH Toulon–Hyères, France |
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The longest runway in Western Europe at Istres Air Force Base, France, having served in the past as an alternate for the Space Shuttle |
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Skimming the top of a cloud layer showed us a nice Corona |
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EDLE Essen, Germany |
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EDLE Essen, Germany |
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A peaceful moment in the cruise |
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A beautiful day in Gstaad, Switzerland with EAPC's newest PC12 OO-PCN |
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Not a beautiful day in Gstaad ...got stuck for the night |
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Skirting a thunderstorm over the Irish Sea on approach to EIWT Dublin-Weston, Ireland |
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Back in EIWT Weston for the first time since 2016 |
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Traffic below .... |
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Traffic above .... |
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LOWI Innsbruck, Austria |
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Descending into the Rhône Valley, Switzerland on approach to LSGS Sion |
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Turning over Martigny towards Sion, Switzerland |
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3 EAPC aircraft on the apron at LSGS Sion |
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A game of Wingtips and Navigation Lights |
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The second-tallest boat lift in the world at Strépy-Thieu, Belgium |
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LSZR StGallen-Altenrhein, Switzerland ...the stairs truck got moved once we paid the landing fee |
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Seen from Biggin Hill ...wake left behind by an aircraft in the holding pattern for Heathrow |
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LSGL Lausanne, Switzerland |
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Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain, seen from 24,000 ft |
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Attending the Pilatus PC24 Type Rating Course at FlightSafety International Training Centre in Dallas, Texas USA |
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EAPC's Pilatus PC24 being prepared for test flight at the factory in Stans, Switzerland |
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Dallas, Texas and the Full Motion Flight Simulator (and yes, I did get motion sick) |
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In the Simulator in Dallas, Texas ...Oxygen Masks and Smoke Goggles |
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More essential equipment at FlightSafety ...the popcorn machine |
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PC24 Initial Type Rating training ...smoke in the cockpit |
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Shelter inside FlightSafety in Dallas. A month later a storm hit. |
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While we were in Dallas Europe experienced its own weather |
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20 January 2019 Super Moon seen from the ground in Warsaw |
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Departing EPWA Warsaw with spare parts for a grounded Boeing 737 on Rhodos |
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View thru the windscreen at 27,000 ft over Holland |
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Miscommunication in Charleroi, Belgium meant Immigration Control was closed when our flight from Edinburgh arrived ...or perhaps it was just rehearsal for Brexit |
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LOWI Innsbruck, Austria on Boxing Day 2018 |
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Emirates A380 4000 ft above us over the Czech Republic |
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PC12NG OO-PCM visiting its birthplace at the Pilatus factory in Stans, Switzerland. Mount Pilatus is visible in the distance while the grass, woods and buildings in the sun are where scenes in James Bond's 'Goldfinger' were filmed |
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EAPC's PC12NG OO-PCM and Mount Pilatus |
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The Maasvlakte and entrance to Rotterdam's Europort, Netherlands |
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Low winter sun in the Swiss Alps on approach to Gstaad |
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Helvetic scene just before landing at LSGK Gstaad Saanen |
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Gstaad Saanen : open cowl flaps to cool the engine for a quick turn-around |
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Le Rubli peak just south of Saanen Airport |
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Walking back to the hotel after dinner in Charleroi, Belgium ...a SciFi fan's best dream or worst nightmare |
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Reflections.... |
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Reflections.... |
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Turning on approach to Zurich LSZH in the dusk |
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OO-PCJ being put aside for the night in Zurich |
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Crew fondue in Zurich (you can tell who is feeling the cold and wearing 2 sweaters) |
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Zurich Hotel : handy info for air crew who wake up not knowing where they are or what day it is |
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Fuzzy zoom lens pic over Switzerland |
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Setting up for the approach into EPWA Warsaw |
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Obliging an Air Traffic Control request to land long beyond the runway intersection in Warsaw |
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Strobe in the night over England |
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Poznan Cathedral on Ostrów Tumski island originally built in the year 968 - then destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries |
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The Cathedral's Porta Posnania visitor centre - architecture has come a long way in a thousand years |
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Qatar Airways A380 5000 ft above us over France |
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LSGG Geneva |
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Low level winds stretching factory smoke on the French channel coast |
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High level air currents creating artistry from contrails |
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EBCI Charleroi, Belgium : husks of nuts left by birds who drop them on the apron from high up to crack them open |
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Night stop in Paris |
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Past meets present at EGBJ Gloucester ...the first Cessna Caravan I flew back in 2012-2013 |
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....after landing in LOWW Vienna |
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....ice accretion on the spinner |
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Taxying for departure in LEMD Madrid |
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Dusk on the apron in EBCI Charleroi |
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The end of the day in Charleroi |
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103 knots crosswind at 27,000 ft over France |
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There are few social barriers in Charleroi : view of the Men's Room as seen [by all] from the main concourse |
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The three Forth Bridges seen from 12,000 ft on descent to Perth |
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Departing EGPT Perth, Scotland (Thanks, Wallace) |
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EGPT Perth - heading for Farnborough (Thanks, Wallace) |
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Telling tall tales enroute to Malaga, Spain |
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Sunset and a cruise ship in the Alboran Sea on approach to LEMG Malaga |
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On approach to LEMG Malaga |
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EAPC's PC12NG OO-PCM looking good on the apron at Malaga |
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Departing sunny Malaga, Spain for cloudy Sion, Switzerland |
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Some manoeuvring was required to find a hole in the clouds big enough to make an approach at LSGS Sion, Switzerland |
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Looking for a gap in the clouds between the Swiss Alps |
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The visual approach into LSGS Sion runs close along the hills |
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On approach to land at Sion, Switzerland. Note the inflated de-icing boot cracking ice off the wing's leading edge |
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No enlargements - traffic over Italy was busy and close |
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Weather in LIDT Trento was even worse than over Sion |
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On the ground in LIDT Trento, Italy |
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Weather improved for our departure from Trento |
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Enroute from Charleroi, Belgium to Durham, UK - France and England visible at the Pas de Calais |
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The River Thames and London seen from 26,000 ft enroute to EGNV Durham |
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Iberian sunset enroute to Madrid |
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Iberian sunset |
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Bringing a large hunting party to Madrid : 3 PC12s on the apron at LEMD |
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London seen from 28,000 ft |
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On Finals for RWY14 at LSZH Zurich |
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Depleted water reservoir outside Paris |
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LIRA Ancona Falconara (aka Marche aka Raffaello Sanzio), Italy |
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Dawn on a day off in Senigallia, Ancona Province, Italy |
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Breakwater in Senigallia, Italy |
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Lovers' trysts commemorated with padlocks by a lonely Senigallia mermaid |
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Flight Planning al fresco at the hotel in Senigallia, Italy |
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All flights out of LIRA Ancona delayed by 30 minutes due to Mayday traffic landing - a 737 on one engine |
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Blue Panaroma Airlines 737 landing with one engine inoperative ...without incident |
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Aviation at its most glamorous ...fixing the flusher of the [recently used] WC at 27,000 over France |
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Breakfast in Bern, Switzerland |
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Looking up over Germany |
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Another dawn start in EBCI Charleroi, Belgium |
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Sharing the apron with the UK Royal Flight in LYTV Tivat, Montenegro |
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Last seen more than 2 years ago during my initial training on the PC12, LSZC Buochs airport - dominated by Mount Pilatus |
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Lined up nicely for RWY24 at EBCI Charleroi, Belgium |
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Descending towards Lake Geneva, our entry point into the Swiss Alps |
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Manoeuvering around Gstaad village onto final approach to LSGK Saanen/Gstaad |
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View from the office landing at LSGK Gstaad |
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Short finals on RWY26 at LSGK Saanen/Gstaad |
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Swiss scene beside the runway at Saanen/Gstaad |
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Parking on the apron in Saanen |
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Another PC12NG landing at Saanen |
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On the apron at Saanen / Gstaad, Switzerland |
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EAPC's PC12NG OO-PCJ ready to go in Saanen |
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On the apron in Saanen / Gstaad |
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Departing LSGK Saanen / Gstaad |
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Paris in passing from 27,000 ft |
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Traffic passing 1000 ft above us over Macedonia |
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My co-pilot looking the part in the gloaming over Germany |
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Sunset over the English Channel |
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The Captain is flummoxed by the Go Pro (and the contorsions required to position it) |
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Company aircraft passing us over Switzerland |
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Night landing in Poznan EPPO |
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Paris CDG seen from approach to Le Bourget LFPB |
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Dusk at Paris Le Bourget LFPB |
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Departing Paris at 0300 local time |
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Heading South over France - early morning fog filling the valleys |
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Fog filled valleys in France |
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Swiss Alps |
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Geneva, Switzerland |
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Zurich, Switzerland |
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Dawn enroute from Warsaw EPWA to Wroclaw EPWR to pick up Cabin Crew |
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Departing Wroclaw EPWR for Katowice EPKT |
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Departing Wroclaw EPWR |
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Switching on the landing lights on visual approach to Katowice EPKT |
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Very large areas of Poland are dedicated to agriculture |
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Landing Warsaw EPWA in crosswind and rain |
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Warsaw ...brakes ON |
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Rescuing 'Tina Turner' - see post 01Aug18 |
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With 'Tina Turner' at the Corran Ferry, Scotland - see post 01Aug18 |
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Landing on LGRP Rhodos in a legacy PC12/45 |
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LGRP Rhodos - having delivered crew and a battery to the 737 |
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Interesting clouds over Greece enroute from Rhodos to Warsaw |
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Towering Cumulus / Baby CB over Bulgaria |
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The last of the day's CBs dissipating over distant Romania |
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Sofia, Bularia |
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Filming the landing on Runway 33 at EPWA Warsaw, with the runway visible on the phone |
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EAPC's PC12NG OO-PCM in flight |
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Selfie with Co-Pilot Anas on board OO-PCM enroute to Son Bonet, Mallorca |
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Visual Approach to LESB Son Bonet in PC12NG OO-PCM ...note the ground reflected in the sun visor |
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EAPC's PC12NG OO-PCM on the apron in LESB Son Bonet, Mallorca |
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Olbia, Sardinia |
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Isolas Tavolara and Molara off Sardina |
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Isola Capri, Italy |
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On Finals at LGMK Mikonos, Greece |
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Landing on Runway 34 at LGMK Mikonos, Greece |
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On the apron at LGMK Mikonos, Greece |
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Clearing the ladder forgotten by the refueller |
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Enjoying the view after departure from Mikonos |
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Italy - smoke from forrest fires rising above 30,000 ft |
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Swiss Alps with Mont Blanc in the distance |
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Swiss Alps as seen on our Primary Flight Display |
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Summer haze / smoke making Lake Geneva and its fountain difficult to see |
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Landing in LFEV Gray St. Adrien, France |
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With our PC12 OO-PCM in the hangar for scheduled maintenance in Gray we got a ride back to Charleroi in EAPC's Extra500 |
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Charleroi's lights reflecting off our Extra500's wing |
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Personal record for the smallest cargo I have ever flown - enroute to Poznan, Poland |
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Enjoying a visual approach into EPPO Poznan, Poland |
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Grateful for radar vectors to avoid thunderstorms on approach to Warsaw, Poland |
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Ice while skirting around thunderstorms |
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Chasing the Follow Me Car to the ramp while delivering spare parts to EPKT Katowice, Poland |
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EGLD Denham, UK |
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Sun's reflection on the currents of the Skagerrak seen thru a polarized windscreen |
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Southern Norway |
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Contrail and moon over Sweden |
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Moon and traffic over Denmark |
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Edge of the German Alps |
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Alps on the Austrian-Italian border |
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Carpathians - Czech Republic |
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Sunset Reflection |
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Towering Cumulus over Bulgaria |
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Unloading spares in EPKT Katowice |
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Italian Alps |
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Innsbruck, Austria |
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Walchensee, Germany |
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Skirting around a storm cell over Poland |
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Bulging potato crisps packet at 7000 ft cabin altitude |
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Obliging Warsaw Tower's request to land long ... |
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...and enjoying every second of it ! |
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Seriously ...does my nose look that big ?!? |
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I love my job ! |
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Sunset over Austria on descent to Vienna |
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Berlin Airlift Monument at Frankfurt Airport |
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Dusk over the Czech Republic |
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Tallinn, Estonia |
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Departing EETN Tallinn, Estonia |
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Over the Gulf of Bothnia, looking North into Finland at 24,000 ft |
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Interesting light effect looking South into the Gulf of Bothnia thru a polarized windscreen |
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On descent over the start of the Stockholm Archipelago |
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Stockholm - I can see my [1980-1984] house from here !!! |
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Stockholm - my old [1980-1984] neighbourhoods |
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Stockholm - on finals for ESSB Bromma for the first time since I learned to fly here in 1984 ...note the channel in the ice on the right
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Stockholm - landing on RWY30 at ESSB Bromma |
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Stockholm Bromma ESSB - where it all began in 1984 |
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Swedish Meatballs in Stockholm |
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Departing Bromma ESSB in the dusk |
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Arriving Warsaw EPWA in the dark |
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Blast from the Past : stills from simultaneous videos taken on 25Feb16 of AsianOneAir's PK-LTF and PK-LTV |
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Warsaw EPWA -14°C |
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De-icing just short of the Holding Point in Warsaw EPWA |
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Heading for Krakow EPKK |
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On Finals for RWY07 at Krakow EPKK |
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Ice and snow removal on the apron at Krakow |
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Waiting for the 737 crew on the apron at Krakow in -14°C and a 15 knot north wind |
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Family history : apartment building where my family lived when stationed in Warsaw |
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Warsaw : apartment courtyard and original rack where my Mother beat the carpets ...in 1960 ! |
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Dinner in Castelo Branco, Portugal |
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EAPC's OO-PCM at Castelo Branco's brand new airport |
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LFCB Castelo Branco Emergency Crew |
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Sunset over Northern Spain, approaching the Pyrenees |
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Looking up over France at 26,000 ft enroute from LFBP Pau to EBCI Charleroi |
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A new adventure - low temp enroute to Finland |
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A balmy -12°C on the ground in EFKT Kittala above the Arctic Circle in Finland |
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De-icing in -12°C in EFKT Kittala above the Arctic Circle in Finland |
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De-icing fluid tinges everything orange - including the 737 taxying out |
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EGNM Leeds-Bradford, UK |
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EAPC PC12NG OO-PCM in EBCI Charleroi, Belgium and 2 hours later in EGPE Inverness, UK |
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Snap back to Indo : Engineer Marselinus doing something I would not do (Komodo Dragon) |
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EGJJ Jersey, UK Channel Islands |
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EAPC's OO-PCJ lonely on the apron at an old Soviet Base at EPKZ Koszalin, Poland |
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EFRO Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle in Finland |
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EFRO Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle in Finland |
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EFRO Rovaniemi in Finland, parked beside the 737 which needs our Engineer's attention |
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De-icing in EFRO Rovaniemi, Finland as darkness falls (at 2 o'clock in the afternoon) |
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"After IPSIM report ..." NOT what you need to hear after a 3 hour flight |
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EAPC's PC12NG OO-PCK landing at EGLK Blackbushe, UK |
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Interesting light effects on the apron at EPKT Katowice, Poland |
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On the apron at EPKT Katowice, Poland |
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Interesting light effects on the apron at EPKT Katowice, Poland |