…and the calima is back… Winds blowing from Africa bringing hot, dry air with lot’s of sand covering the islands. This can be perfectly seen on this satelite image by Copernicus EU (I’m not flying that high yet lol…) But I was “lucky” enough to be flying these days and to get above the calima layer to get get some “fresh air” and some better views. I have to admit the view from above was pretty impressive. Well, this layer reached almost 6.000-7.000 feet and mostly causes some breathing issues to the part of the population. I’ll share it with you in the next image. Stay safe, safe flying and ..read more

In the last couple of weeks I have been working on a very interesting “offline” project: The Piper Pilot Online Shop. Why “Offline” if it’s “Online”? Well, you can buy a calendar or a mug online and see it “Offline” at home without the need to see it on the computer (=online), like the usual way. All products in this online shop have been created personally be me using my aerial images with their perfect imperfection capturing and immortalizing each and every special moment/view during my flights around Canary Islands.  I hope you’ll like the products and I hope they will decorate your h ..read more

Finally got the chance to do a flight from Tenerife south to Madeira airport. The distance is approximately 280NM and the flight time on the ATR72 is around 1:30-1:45 minutes depending on the winds and traffic at Madeira (and also Tenerife south airport). Madeira airport is very famous for its complicated approach; specially on a windy a stormy days. Captain landing only, and several other requirements by the local aviation authorities. On this flight the winds were calm, which helped to make the flight more enjoyable and comfortable specially fot the passengers. As I have spent some days on t ..read more

Where to start and how to get to the point… To spend some time in a full motion simulator is a dream of every private pilot or an aviation enthusiast. To enjoy the almost “real” feeling of flying a passenger plane, get pushed into the seat when increasing the power for take off, or experience the “vibrations” when passing through the turbulence. Well, I’ve been a couple of times to a simulator and I mostly enjoyed it very much. Practicing IFR, enjoying the flight, just enhancing my knowledge. ATR 72-600 cockpit Well, now I had the chance to experience the “other side” of flying in the simulato ..read more

Yes. Good things take time… Since 2007 I was flying around the Canary Islands, but it took me almost 16 years to manage to visit the smallest islands situated northwest of Lanzarote: Isla de Alegranza and Isla de Montaña Clara. Yes, it took a lot of time… These are some perks of this job. The diameter of the crater at Alegranza is 1.1kms. And is the biggest (=widest) crater of the Archipiélago. In the past these islands could have been visited by boat, unfortunately it’s not allowed anymore. More information about these islands can be found on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montaña ..read more

After visiting the closed aerodrome “El Revolcadero” at La Gomera, I did mention that my next stop will be at Breña Alta, to explore the former La Palma’s aerodrome. So here it comes. Unfortunately there is not much to see around. A road is passing on the former runway and the terminal building and the tower are not accesible. Aeropuerto Viejo “Breña Alta”, La Palma The elevation of the aerodrome is 1.3700 feet and is surrounded by mountainous terrain, which I think was the cause why the aerodrome was closed. When clouds start to form, visual approach into this airport could become pretty comp ..read more

Usually don’t fly very often to Lanzarote, but on this occasion also the weather was playing with and when we flew around the National Parc and around the volcanoes, I simply couldn’t resist to take some shots of this amazing volcanic landscape. This one is called Caldera Blanca, and it feel like we are about to land on the Moon or Mars… Enjoy it with me! Caldera Blanca, LanzaroteCaldera Blanca, Lanzarote ..read more

Yesterday the weather was fantastic and we took of early from Tenerife south airport on our training flight toward the island La Palma. As there was not much traffic, we decided to practice with the student the SID (standard instrumental departure) and the arrival into La Palma. Even though that we operate under visual flight rules, we can request simulated instrument departure or arrival and simulate it under VMC. We briefed the procedures with my student and requested the simulation. We did the Araco 4E departure followed by the NDB36 into La Palma airport as you can see on the image from Fl ..read more

Not every day we get the chance to pass under the rainbow arc just on the final approach. Looks like the autumn is starting here as well, some precipitations will be coming, which is good after all those dry months. Look at this amazing cloud formation (cumulus congestus) and the squalls and rain down there… Cumulus congestus above the TFS airport It’s not the usual view we are used to here at the south of Tenerife… But we can’t make the weather :-D. Cumulus congestus above the TFS airportOur turn to pass under the rainbow But it was still better visible from the ground… Rainbow over Tenerife ..read more

Time flies so fast that I almost did not get the chance (or find a moment) to write a quick post about a flight with a friend of mine in Germany a couple of weeks ago. We meet met at Bonn-Hangelar airport (EDKB), not far away from Bonn on a very warm August day. Bonn-Hangelar airport We flew the C172, it’s a great aircraft, and I always liked to fly it. Definitely one of the highlights was the flight around Cologne and to see the Cathedral from above. Exactly 2 years ago I’ve visited the city and stood just next to it. Now also the view from above… Cologne Cathedralral Another highlight was th ..read more