Fly Where the Weather is Good!

Welcome to my trip blog on our 2026 European tour. The FWTWIG plan is simple: we pick a general direction, cross the Channel, and let the weather dictate our adventure.

This year, our targets stretched as far east as Hungary, taking us through complex airspace around Milan, stunning mountain passes in France, Slovenia and Austria, and a few countries that required some pre-flight permits. Notably, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Hungary required some administrative legwork. With permits secured and a life raft packed, we set off.

The FWTWIG 2026 Fleet

Aircraft Registration	Aircraft Type	Pilots / Crew
G-PTSI	Sling TSi	Peter and Graham
N-152WB	Diamond DA40	Paul and Brigitte
G-BBRC	Fuji 200	Laura and Neil
G-COSA	Sling TSi	Hitesh and Trevor
F-JTRW	Pipistrel	Filip
D-MEEO	Pipistrel	Torsten
G-OPST	Cessna 182	Henry and Vaughan

FWTWIG Team 2026

The Route as it turned out

Day 1: Saturday, June 13 – The Dash to Champagne Country

🗺️ Route: Popham (EGHP) to Troyes (LFQV)

• Distance: ~230 nm
• Conditions: 30-knot tailwind, mechanical turbulence, rapid airspace descents

Our scheduled departure for Friday the 12th was an immediate vindication of the FWTWIG ethos: we couldn’t even get airborne due to a low-pressure system pinning us down across the UK and northern France. Saturday morning, however, dawned bright and clear. Departing Popham, G-PTSI headed south toward the French coast. We routed to the west of Paris to avoid the complex terminal airspace. A roaring 30-knot tailwind gave us fantastic ground speeds.

The French ATC service was good; the only real sweat was a descent required to keep us cleanly tucked underneath Paris’s TMA Class A airspace. Once clear, it was a smooth setup for a straight-in final into Runway 35 at Troyes.

After parking up, we took a short taxi into town. Troyes is a stunning blend of ancient timber-framed architecture, a magnificent Cathedral, and winding canals. Over a generous round of “great to see you again” beers, our final arrival, Torsten, rolled in to complete the group. Dinner was an animated affair of flight storytelling, rounded off with our traditional group ice creams.

Day 2: Sunday, June 14 – Valleys, Vineyards, and the French Inquisition

🗺️ Leg 1: Troyes (LFQV) to Bourg-Ceyzeriat (LFHS)

With Annecy off the table, we headed further south toward Gap-Tallard. All seven planes departed Troyes sequentially by 10:00 AM, pacing ourselves to ensure we wouldn’t overwhelm the circuit at our lunch stop in Bourg.

With Graham P1 we elected to stay low, contour-flying over sprawling tree-covered hills and deeply carved valleys where our route took us west over the historic village of Cluny, giving us an incredible aerial view of its famous Abbey. From there, we squeezed through a prominent motorway gap in the hills, dropping nicely onto the final approach for Bourg-Ceyzeriat.

👮 The Gendarmerie Ramp Check

Lunch at Bourg was excellent and doubled as a surprise birthday celebration for Henry. However, the local Gendarmerie (Police) were parked on the apron watching us eat, likely wondering what this massive influx of British-registered aircraft was up to. While everyone was strictly on the sparkling water, our departure prep was abruptly interrupted. Henry and Vaughan in the Cessna 182 (G-OPST) were a bit too slow on their pre-flight walks and bore the brunt of a full French breathalyser inquisition! Thankfully, everyone blew a clean 0.0, paperwork was deemed in order, and we were cleared to depart.

🗺️ Leg 2: Bourg-Ceyzeriat (LFHS) to Gap-Tallard (LFNA)

As the towering foothills of the Alps began rising to meet us past Grenoble. Turning west between the mountain peaks, the wind shearing off the granite walls dealt us a bumpy ride. To escape the worst of the turbulence, we initiated a rapid climb up to 7,000 feet to establish a safer margin above the ridges.

Arriving at Gap-Tallard, we were thrown by the local air traffic. We were stabilised on a rapid descent, lined up perfectly for Runway 20, just as a local skydiving drop plane slammed down on the reciprocal Runway 02. The controller didn’t bat an eye, calmly reassuring us it was “all quite normal”. A simultaneous reciprocal landing like that would cause an absolute meltdown at a UK airfield, but here, it was just another Sunday afternoon!

We tucked the planes away for the night and took a brisk 10-minute walk to our budget hotel located right next to the airfield in an industrial estate with amazing mountain views!. The evening’s primary logistical puzzle wasn’t aviation-related, but rather how to herd 13 hungry pilots into a restaurant in a nearby village on a quiet Sunday evening. Thanks to two tightly packed shuttle runs and a highly cooperative local taxi driver, we made it to a fantastic dinner to toast a successful opening two days of mountain flying.

Next up: We cross the Alps into Italy, targeting Bologna and navigating some famously chaotic VFR routing!

Day 3: Monday, June 15 – Squeezing Through the Alps to Bologna

🗺️ Route: Gap-Tallard (LFNA) to Bologna (LIPE) via Flyozzano

Before starting our high-altitude leg across the Alps, we topped up our tanks at Gap-Tallard. Because our tanks were currently at 70% MOGAS, we added in some 100LL avgas mitigate potential vapour lock during the climb.

With the fuel sorted, Filips mountain flying instructor gave us all a mountain flying briefing on the best techniques and routes. It turned out to be an absolutely amazing flight, tracing spectacular ridges up to 7,500 feet to cross the pass toward Flyozzano.

As we transitioned out of the Alps, we needed to drop down low quite quickly to keep out of the Milan TMA. As we dropped out of the mountains, we were met initially by radio silence, and then Milan ATC was suddenly heard calling several of us. Navigating the Italian system for VFR Information service seems completely chaotic until you suddenly realise what they are doing. You have to be ready to report what, at first sight, seem to be completely obscure IFR intersections for your next clearance, and also take the initiative to report position frequently. Needless to say, one of our parties’ requests for FL100 direct to the VOR was flatly denied, and followed by a northerly routing away from intended track. Many of us, meanwhile, had an easier route to getting clearances at lower levels.

We eventually made it through the complex airspace steps surrounding Milan, Turin, Verona, and Bologna. It was incredibly hot in the city center, but a cold drink and a bowl of authentic Bolognese in Bologna quickly sorted us out.

Day 4: Tuesday, June 16 – Flyozzano to Lake Bled, Slovenia

🗺️ Route: Flyozzano to Lake Bled (LJBL) via Venice Lido

Departing Flyozzano, we tracked along the coast at low level and passed right past the famous Venice Lido airfield. It brought back many happy memories from earlier group trips where the Lido had been a beautiful overnight spot.

From Venice, we crossed into Slovenia, routing toward Lake Bled. The approach and scenery into Bled were nothing short of stunning, with emerald waters and mountain backdrops greeting us all on arrival.

Torsten and Hitesh had decided on an impromptu aviation side-quest, diverting briefly to go fly a microlight helicopter!

I spent the afternoon on my Brompton circumnavigating the lake; others headed for the mountain bobsleigh run (on wheels).

By evening, all 13 of us were reunited. We found a beautiful local restaurant for dinner right next to the lake, although fitting our massive party onto a very narrow outdoor balcony overlooking the water required some negotiation with the restaurant manager.

Days 5 & 6: June 17 & 18 – Cocktails, Cellars, and Vineyards in Vienna

🗺️ Route: Lake Bled (LJBL) to Vöslau (LOAV)

After a short briefing, we departed Slovenia and made the hop over the mountains into Austria, landing at Vöslau Airport just south of Vienna.

Henry had been hankering after a rooftop bar, so our first evening mission was tracking down a round of high-end cocktails and gin & tonics overlooking the city skyline. We followed the drinks by heading deep underground for a fantastic, traditional Austrian meal inside an ancient wine cellar.

The next day was a no-flying culture day. So an electric scooter run around the city with Graham. Followed by a traditional and authentic Apfelstrudel, because its a mandatory requirement when in Austria.

In the evening, we took the U-Bahn and caught a local bus up into the rolling hills overlooking the city. We spent the evening at a traditional vineyard restaurant, drinking wine that came directly from the grape fields sitting right next to our tables, before enjoying a walk back down the hill.

By this stage of the trip, our group size had naturally trimmed down from 13 to 9 as a few pilots headed for home on commercial planes.

Days 7 & 8: June 19 & 20 – Exploring Hungary

🗺️ Route: Vöslau (LOAV) to Hévíz-Balaton (LHSM)

Because our homebuilt aircraft didn’t possess full flight permits for Slovakia, we planned a 2-hour route out of Austria that skirted cleanly around the border and dropped us straight into Hungary.

Our destination was Hévíz-Balaton Airport. It’s a massive, incredibly quiet airfield that gave us flawless service and full handling.

We dedicated Day 8 entirely to local exploration. We hiked up to the impressive Sümeg Castle perched high on the hill, took a tin boat and navigated the nearby underground limestone caves, and explored the gorgeous Tihany Peninsula, which was covered in endless fields of purple lavender. We even caught a local band performing an open-air rendition of The Sound of Music.

Returning to the airfield, we boarded the luggage tractor trailer for a hilarious, slow-speed shuttle ride!

Days 9 & 10: June 21 & 22 – The Prague Arrival & The Fire Engine Test Run

🗺️ Route: Hévíz-Balaton (LHSM) to Prague Letňany (LKLT)

Departing Hungary, we set course for Prague Letňany, a small, bustling general aviation airstrip situated to the southwest of the city centre. But with a very bumpy runway. Navigating the arrival was a real test of…ahem airmanship.. We had to manage high-density airspace steps over heavily populated suburban areas, skirt a live military airbase, avoid active restricted zones, and tuck under the main Prague TMA. We certainly didn’t make life any easier for ourselves by flying a bit too tightly together on arrival.

We needed to get to the local train station a few kilometers away to catch a connection into central Prague. Seeing us stranded with our luggage, the incredibly friendly aeroclub locals at Letňany offered us a lift in their active airport fire engine just to give it a “test run”!

The comedy continued at the train station ticket window. When I bought a handful of senior citizen concession tickets for the group, it caused some hilarious mock offence from a few of our decidedly non-senior pilots!

Brigitte did a magnificent job tracking down a brilliant, comfortable hotel with fully functioning air conditioning right in the heart of Prague. We spent the afternoon unwinding outside the hotel tables, solving the world’s problems over cold drinks.

The following day, Laura orchestrated a massive Prague Tour Quiz. Split into competitive teams, we spent two hours racing through the city, snapping evidence photos and solving tasks while learning about the city. We wrapped up Prague with an incredible rooftop dinner. By this point in the journey, our shared Splitwise account had cleanly evolved into two fierce factions: those who drink alcohol and those who don’t!

Days 11 : – Turning Northwest for Home

🗺️ Route: Prague (LKLT) ➔ Soest, Germany ➔ Langeoog Island

Leaving the Czech Republic, we pointed our noses northwest into Germany, flying into Soest. Torsten and Melanie kindly opened their home to our entire remaining crew, hosting us for an unforgettable evening of hospitality as all the boys toys came out.

From Soest, we hopped out to the spectacular North German Islands, landing directly at the seaside airstrip on Langeoog Island. We rented bicycles and spent the afternoon cycling across the entire car-free island, taking in the bracing North Sea air.

Day 12: – Midden Zeeland

🗺️ Langeoog Island ➔ Midden-Zeeland (EHMZ)

Our penultimate leg took us the whole length of Holland. Surprisingly easy to do on the Eastern side of Schiphol International. ATC (Dutch Military) were very helpful, giving us clearances as required without having to change frequency until almost at Midden-Zeeland. We overnighted before formal customs departure clearance out of the European Union.

Midden-Zeeland is where we discovered that Booking.com’s definition of “air conditioning” is highly subjective. Finding 3 of our 5 rooms completely sweltering, we promptly cancelled 3 on the spot and marched across the river to a hotel that actually possessed working AC and a proper breakfast menu! Amusingly, the first hotel took one look at our demanding group of pilots, realised we were far too tricky to handle, and unprompted offered us a full refund—probably glad they didn’t have to attempt serving us breakfast!

Jolly japes

Day 13: – Heading Home

Time to get back home. It was a bit of a squash getting back to the airfield in one run with a slipping clutch and a 4 seater car. Is that a police car behind us…or customs…

13 days, 2,500 nautical miles, and 21 hours of pure, unadulterated aviation adventure. Another unforgettable FWTWIG tour.