“But there were weird clouds, patches at different heights, and I got permission to fly at 9000 ft while I was going through Edinburgh airspace. The higher the altitude, the more fuel you burn.”
Not where I live! Less air=less fuel.
The more I read about the illustrious Vince the less faith I have in his implausible story. The only facts that are true are that he arrived in a tree on a golf course - the rest, as the say, is only speculation.