Just for fun?

Erm, not exactly.

Since 2007 we (the Machell family) have been working towards returning to beloved Africa. We hope to work with the organisation Mission Aviation Fellowship.They require their new pilots to have at least 500 flying hours, and currently I (Steve) have 420. With the British winter approaching and aircraft being booked for maintenance, we hit upon the idea of going to Spain for 12 days to get closer to the target, so that we might be able to leave for Africa next year.

Obviusly we would all love to go to Spain, but the object of the exercise is to get the flying hours in, so regrettably this has to be a solo trip.

Southern Spain has several advantages for flying: first and foremost the weather is generally more conducive to general aviation than the UK at this time of year. Second, the terrain is unfamiliar (good for honing my navigation skills). There are also good opportunities to go further afield, as per the map opposite.

Finally, since Steve has a JAA/EASA (i.e. European) pilot license, he can fly there without requiring any license conversion or further administrative steps.

Please feel free to submit any questions or comments and I'll try to answer them between flights.