Day 7-8 Spirit of Douglas Sector 2

Changing continents and cultures 

It feels like another milestone in the journey as we head from Europe to the Middle East. 

A very early morning pre-dawn start in Chania, Crete in order to pack in everything for the day. After clearing our last security point in the EU we were at Spirit of Douglas in the morning half-light. It was fitting to see a huge US military C-17 land on the runway as we readied for take-off. A real sense of US aviation transporter history - then and now.

The soft morning light was a gift for filming for Gregory and Anouck. As Gregory described it: "the early morning pre-dawn light with the aircraft is like a Christmas tree". Exciting and beautiful. 

As we took off and flew along the coast it was a bit of a surprise to see snow blanketing the high hills of Crete. 

Turning to the south-east we charted a course over the Mediterranean Sea, and with a strong tailwind, we headed for Egypt. It’s always a relief to be flying back over land and we headed over the coast and then south to Capital International airport. Incredible views of endless half-built massive multi-storey buildings on the edge of Cairo as we came closer. The realisation we were no longer flying in the EU was evident when we saw our GPS was blocked. 

Capital International airport was an experience. Warmly welcomed, we were the only aircraft on the ramp and the only people in the terminal. Quite surreal. We re-boarded after immigration and flew across Cairo to October 6 Airport to collect Avgas. We were incredibly lucky as we were re-routed by air traffic control at low altitude within sight of the great pyramids of Giza. They were were magnificent even through the haze.  

Landing at October 6 Airport we were greeted by enthusiastic flight school pilots and local airside employees. 

What followed was a couple of hours of maintenance replacing packings in a push rod tube that had created an oil leak. Tyler (assisted by the team) performed it flawlessly. 

We finally arrived at the hotel late in the day. We couldn’t believe the difference in cultures we’d experience in the space of a single day. . 

Wednesday was a no-fly day so we took the chance to sightsee in Cairo. Then we spent some time fine-tuning plans for the next legs and preparing for an early start on Thursday. Permits, flight plans, fuel availability, logistics and accommodation matters all in play