From Lelystad to Gunzenhausen

On Saturday, April 25 2009, we departed from Lelystad for a one week holiday in Italy. We first flew to Gunzenhausen to visit relatives in nearby Pappenheim. Then on Sunday we would fly via the Brenner pass and Bolzano to Brescia, Montichiari.

Local flights around Pappenheim

The next morning (Sunday), Veleda left early to Lago d'Idro. Rene first made two local flights around Pappenheim. The first flight with Addy, Roland and Maaike, then second flight with Sofia, Alexander and Maaike.

From Gunzenhausen to Brescia

After the two local flights we departed to Bolzano, hoping to cross the Brenner before the strong foehn that was forecasted for later that day. Rene checked the winds at 10,000 ft over the Brenner on the radio, but already could see the distinctive mountain wave clouds from near Munich. The meteo estimated winds 40G60 kts at 10,000 ft over the Brenner, and Rene decided to go around the high Alps via an eastern route to Brescia. We flew through the Salzburg TMA to the east, and then with a bow to Klagenfurt in southen Austria. From there we flew south-west to Italy, and further south of the Alps to Brescia, with the last 80 miles in limited visibility through rain.

Round trip

Since we arrived in Italy on Sunday, it was raining every day. On Thursday, April 30, the weather outlook was ok. Maurits and Rene made a round trip to Cremona, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Carpi, Verona, and over Lago di Garda and Lago d'Idro back to Brescia.

From Brescia to Trento

On Saturday, May 2 2009, we made the trips back home. Mom, dad and Maurits would fly with Rene to Bolzano. In Bolzano we would catch up with Veleda, Charlotte and Laurence. After departure Brescia, the tower requested us to see where a plume of smoke came from north of the field. It appeared to be an old car on someone's backyard on fire. We continued our flight over Lago di Garda. At Riva del Garda we turned east to Rovereto, and then north to Trento, where we landed on runway 36.

From Trento to Bolzano

At Trento we had coffee, and we contacted Veleda to see how they were progressing by car. After an hour we departed Trento for Bolzano, flying up north via the Valle dell'Adige.

From Bolzano via the Brenner pass to Heubach

At Bolzano, we had the rendez-vous with Veleda, Laurence and Charlotte. We had lunch at the airport. Charlotte would further join Rene to fly back to Lelystad, and she switched places with dad. There was a moderate north foehn over the mountains, which of course would bring some turbulence. Cloud and visibility where ok to Innsbruck. After departure Rene followed the Brenner highway to stay on the upwind side of the mountains. Weather can change in a few minutes in the mountains, and after the Brenner pass the weather was worsening. Innsbruck tower reported heavy showers north west of Innsbruck, and suggested the north-eastern route via the Inn valley.

We followed the Inn river out of the valley. When Veleda passed the Europabrucke half an hour or so later, it was completely in clouds. We had passed the Brenner in time.

From Heubach to Lelystad