Around the world in Cessna 182


January 24, 2004
Le Mans, France (LFRM) to Madrid, Spain (LEMD)

I got stuck in Europe for way too long. I will have to start flying more often than once a week. It should start getting easier now that I made it this far south.

Early this morning, I left (a very tiny) Le Mans airport, climbed to 10,500 and set the heading to 205, direct route to Madrid. I will not go over the Pyrenees, so there will be no shopping in Andorra this time. I really have very fond memories of that place, it is a very interesting country indeed. Maybe next time.

I flew VFR today, as the weather was nice. There were some clouds around Le Mans, but after about 30 minutes the weather mostly cleared up. My flight today took me over the south-western France, Bay of Biscay, then Cordillera Cantabrica and finally over the Old Castile into Madrid.

While approaching the North coast of Spain, over the Bay of Biscay, I had a fantastic view of the Cordillera Cantabrica in the distance. The reflection of the sun of the sea, the mountain peaks peering through the clouds... just beautiful. This alone was worth a week long wait for this flight. Had I done this at night, I would have missed this spectacular view. It was hard to capture that in the pictures, but I still tried (see below).

The approach and landing in Madrid were without any problems. By now, I am really getting good at this. Who knows, one day, I might even decide to take the lessons (and get a license for) in real Cessna.

After landing at Madrid airport, I went to refueling station, topped the tanks off, and went on to make a flight plan for the next leg of my trip.

Leaving Le Mans

Bay of Biscay

Approaching the North coast of Spain

Flying over the Cordillera Cantabrica

Final approach to Madrid airport

Preparing for the next flight
List of countries:

France

Spain

Flight log:


Produced and maintained by Peter Askovich.
Last updated January 02, 2004