We fly towards Corsica and leave Elba on our left. We can already see that the sea is quite rough. The advantage is that this wind clears the air, which is like crystal, we can see corsica from the italian mainland, just after take off.
Here is Elba
this is corsica in the distance
this is again Elba. Marina di Campo can be seen on the other side of the island. Check out the waves breaking against the coastline.
We are in the middle of the sea now. a ship can be spotted below us. we have 180kmh of indicated air speed and 100kmh of ground speed. wind is laminar but things will change later on
30 or 40km ouside Corsica we start shaking in a fierce turbulence. we can see areas of white sea water, that is the effect of the turbulence generated by the high mountains of corsica; we try to avoid those areas because there the turbulence will be strong, and descending currents also very strong. we see the sea water splashing and flying up in the air, whipped by the fierce winds, probably around 100kmh. we have a funny conversation with Bastia approach, we find out our trasponder doesnt work (i will later discover a shorted antenna cable) and we end up where we shouldnt be, pushed by the strong wind. we reach the coast of corsica, and there turbulence is manageable, we are protected by the high mountains. the wind is above us, and behind us too, we see 240kmh ground speed now.
this is us. you can see a bit of stress and tiredness, i havent slept well in the last 10 days. maybe old age effects? you can see the ELT, the orange thing in the background, and the now useless GPS cradle on the right.
this is the flat land in ghisoni area, we get slapped around a little, the mountains are more far away and less protective
we see scary clouds. these are generated by the strong winds. a glider pilot told me they are usually smooth. these werent...you can see solenzara military airport in the distance. we have a funny conversation with them, and they let us through the area, which is at time closed because of military training. not even the mils are flying today. they are probably in disbelief, a ULM flying in this weather...
we continue southbond and reach the end of Corsica. Turbulence is FIERCE. we reach the Bocche di Bonifacio, and the sea there is white, the wind channelled between corsica and sardinia makes for some FIERCE turbulence. We get the worst turbulence yet and for a few minutes i consider going back, but Gianni, much more immune to turbulence, insists into the mission. We need to fly 25km outside the Bocche to stay clear of the worst kicks. we finally see Tavolara, the island in front of Olbia. There is an airport there, and we are not supposed to fly inside the controlled airspace around it, we try to stay as much outside as possible, and fly well clear of Tavolara, which generates strong turbulence.
We finally clear Tavolara and the San Teodoro airfield is in sight.
We approach the airfield. nobody is there, but we can clearly see and feel there is a strong and gusty crosswind. we align for landing, speed down, flaps down, as we approach the runway turbulence slaps us around a little, my copilot gets scared and jerks the stick back, sending us again airborne when we were close to touch down. Go around.
We approach again, this time Gianni keeps his hands off the controls and this time we land. At touchdown i feel something strange in the pedals. i stop to check and as suspected, the front tire is flat. we probably picked up something in the Gabbiano airfield. we push the airplane to the parking, and tie it down, wind is so strong the airplane wants to fly away without us and with the engine off. Iam quite relieved, pressure is down, we unload the luggage, and eat something we had with us, and start waiting for someone to show up and collect us.
here an aerial view san teodoro airstrip. i didnt take this picture, a friend did. you know who you are :-)
The GPS has worked flawlessly, and Betty Boop too, no quirks whatsoever. we are glad we are in sardinia. Gianni lives not far from here in a beautiful house with an amazing view, and we will spend a couple days relaxing and fixing the flat tire, my girlfriend will arrive by airline in Cagliari friday afternoon.
Here is Tavolara seen from Gianni's house. wind is still strong, will last another day then die out almost completely, a large high pressure will settle over the mediterranean and ensure several weeks of great weather.
life is good. and i did something i wanted to do since many years, fly my own airplane in a long-ish cross country flight into a vacation :-)