Do you go flying when holidaying abroad?

[Emkay]

If yes, please share your experiences/how you go about doing it

I am going to Iceland on a photography trip with some friends in May, and I would like to rent a plane ideally when there.

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

Back in the '80s we went to Guernsey on holiday, where I hired a Tomahawk for some island-hopping (landing at Jersey and Alderney) and sightseeing with Mrs SSD. Before going I'd contacted the flying club in Guernsey and the day before the hire I had a check-out with them (I had some PA38 time already so I wasn't new to the aeroplane).

Years later we went to USA. I didn't bother getting a US licence so we hired a 172 with an instructor from Kissimee. I had the left hand seat and flew the aeroplane at all times, the instructor being in the front right seat. We flew to Cape Canaveral where I got a clearance to fly along the Space Shuttle runway (but not to land there). Then we did a touch and go at Orlando Executive, before landing back at Kissimee.

Later on that holiday I noticed a Waco biplane giving pleasure flights over Clearwater so I tracked it down at Clearwater Air Park. The owner agreed to put the stick in the front cockpit (he flew pax without it usually) and let me fly the Waco with him in the back cockpit. He even let me do the take off and landing (my log books showed I had a lot of tailwheel time).

[Pilot DAR]

I rented a 172 in Iceland, very worthwhile - but take lots of cash! My previous post...

http://www.pprune.org/private-flying/517321-flying-over-iceland-august.html

[Jude098]

I go flying when I stay with my friends at their Airpark home in Biscarrosse SW France.
On the Airpark there are a couple of Piper Amphibians that once you've been checked out on can be hired/have lessons on.


PM if you want details of their Pilot B&B


Jude

[Curlytips]

SSD - I wonder if we met the same guy? 1990 logbook shows NC32134 UPF-7 with Eddie Hammock (from Kissimmee). Usual mission was a tour over Disney etc. He put the stick back in the front cockpit for me and told me local rules for pleasure flights. "Aerobatics are strictly prohibited, but if you find yourself in an unusual attitude, feel free to recover". What a gentleman!

[Gertrude the Wombat]

I find a flying school and book a flying lesson, with me to do the flying, the instructor to do the radio and the nav, and as many of my family as convenient to fit in the back. Basically a flightseeing tour but I get to write stuff in my log, as Pu/t.

This has worked for me in Canda, New Zealand, Australia, Slovenia and Jamaica (twice).

If I can find someone giving floatplane lessons I go a bit further and take some lessons (but I've never actually bothered to get the rating, it's of limited value in the UK and it would be rather a pain to keep up).

Most fun was a ride in a chartered Beaver in BC - the pilot chucked over the control column for me to have a go, much to the consternation of some of my family in the back, and no doubt not entirely legally. Flying along at 100' or so above the water looking for interesting marine mammals, and having to climb to treetop level when wanting to cross a piece of land. (FTAOD: not the aircraft, and not even the company, in the picture on the left.)

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

SSD - I wonder if we met the same guy? 1990 logbook shows NC32134 UPF-7 with Eddie Hammock (from Kissimmee). Usual mission was a tour over Disney etc. He put the stick back in the front cockpit for me and told me local rules for pleasure flights. "Aerobatics are strictly prohibited, but if you find yourself in an unusual attitude, feel free to recover". What a gentleman!

Mine was a Waco YMF, reg N196RB, Captain Leo Kerner, 1997.

[India Four Two]

Do you go flying when holidaying abroad?Not every time, but fairly often.

Monterey, Ca - 172XP
Archerfield, QLD - Warrior
Surfers Paradise, QLD - Tiger Moth
Noosa Heads, QLD - 172
Sandown, IOW - Tiger Moth
Compton Abbas - 152 and Warrior
Lake Windemere, BC - Super Cub on floats - "Here are the keys and logbook, pay me at the end of the week" - C$100 per hour, wet!
Old Sarum - Bulldog
Tauranga, NZ - Stearman, Super Cub, CT-6, Airtourer, Dominie, Yak-52, Vampire, Spitfire
Matamata (Middle Earth Airfield), NZ - Tecnam P96
Ardmore, NZ - Mustang, Comanche
New Plymouth, NZ - Yak-52 and Vampire
Omarama, NZ - Duo Discus - 5 days, 17 hours, ~1200 km, 16,000' over Mt. Cook!
Edmonton, AB - DA-20 and 172SP
Van Nuys, CA - Cirrus SR-22
Chang Mai, Thailand - DA-20
Santa Monica, CA - 172

[Baikonour]

You can even go flying when on holiday before you get your license...

St. Cyr (Paris), Torp (Norway) and Lilydale (Melbourne, Oz) are in my logbook before license. (Although they can neither count as PUT nor anything else - they're in there with brackets around them).
Same as above - contact the club and ask for an instructor to come with you. :ok:

It appears that not all countries allow passengers/family in the back when you're under instruction, though.

B.

[piperboy84]

Do you go flying when holidaying abroad?

Not much choice really as most of my holidays in the UK/Europe involve taking the plane, as my many aviation navigational screw ups, equipment failures, breakdowns and CAS busting posts on here will attest to.

[India Four Two]

as my many aviation navigational screw ups, equipment failures, breakdowns and CAS busting posts on here will attest to.

Yes, but you are filling your Experience Bucket. ;)

[cavortingcheetah]

Can't be bothered with validations and so on so just rock up and take an instructor. If he wants to fly, that's fine with me. I've done enough of that and just want the thrill of sight seeing for a change.

USA. Grand Canyon. Viet Nam vet instructor. What a fun time! Landed somewhere for lunch, whizz bang up and down the canyon, broke a few rules and had an absolute laugh.

New Zealand. South Island. Queenstown to Milford Sound. Landed there for lunch. Wonderful winter scenic flight over the mountains.

It's cheap too (ish), just the price of a dual session. Wife sits up front on the return journeys by which time instructor is nice and comfortable and usually lets her have a waggle too.

Edit to add: I've often rented and flown in Southern Africa of course but I used to fly there for a living and so I've never really considered that as leisure flying but rather as just another preparatory practice bombing run.

[Maoraigh1]

I've rented in the US and Canada. The area I've kept going back to is Utah/West Colorado, renting from Grand Junction, Colorado. No landing fees, almost new aircraft, well equipped, and costing little more than what I pay for my Group share flying in Scotland. Weather is also good and predictable. Big difference is aircraft performance at altitude and temperature - but a 180hp C172 with 2 up has the same climb rate there as my DR1050 at Max AUW at sea level.

[Helicopterdriverguy]

Flew a 150 HP C150 from Portimao, back to Portimao for a sight seeing flight. Company was http://www.aeroalgarve.com/. The aircraft was a fantastic vintage example. The extra power was welcome. Quite STOL friendly!

[alland2012]

Fortunate to have a holiday home over in Florida so get to fly in the US a lot, go four times a year for six weeks at a time so the hours I log soon adds up with flying maybe 3 or 4 times a week.

Done the usual Florida visitor trips, low pass over the former Space Shuttle Runway,100' is as low as permission given, no touch down allowed, other trips include calling in at various airports up and down the Gulf coastline, and Atlantic coastline

Last summer did a trip up to Nashville TN for a few days then across to Gatlinburg TN (great little airport and aviation museum there), and also took in a trip around the Smoky Mountains on the way back home

This summer plan on doing the Bahama's and a few days down in Key West.

The US is a great place for GA, and very few airports even ask for a landing fee.