Expedition Day 27 The weather quickly deteriorated over the boot of Italy as I progressed further south towards Greece. I fought for improved vectors multiple times as ATC kept directing me in to cumulonimbus weather. Position reports were required every 10 minutes as there was no radar coverage off-shore. The dark waters of the Ionian sea are hidden from view as pass off the east coast of Italy. Not so much cloud dancing, but a mauling through cumulonimbus off the east coast of Italy. The RV-9A is very light and gets tossed around within the clouds. My standard operating procedure was to slow down to maneuvering speed to minimize stress on the airframe and pilot. I kept an eye on the g-meter to not exceed limits set by the RV-9A designer/engineer before the trip. Greek ATC placed me in to a 8 turn hold over the uninhabited island of Dia (Ntia).
On approach to Iraklion, air traffic control placed me in to a 8 turn hold at 1500 feet off the coast of Crete. After circling for 15 minutes over the island of Dia, I declared "running low on fuel", which was promptly ignored by ATC. Eventually, they vectored me to the ILS approach. My 75 knot stabilized approach speed was too slow for the following jet traffic. Heraklion tower badgered me to make all possible speed on final and landing. The airport needs an expansion, and is well known for long hold times for both arriving and departing traffic. I have never seen ground staff hustle so quickly to keep the flow of people and aircraft moving. After clearing customs, I was whisked to my hotel and greatly enjoyed an early dinner of Antikristo and rice, along with a local craft beer. I went for a walk, then prepared for the what would be the most interesting flight of the trip: fly 400nm over the eastern Mediterranean, the great pyramids, Suez canal, Mt. Sinai, and cross the Red Sea to Jordan. All in one day.
Brian Eisner
7/10/2018 09:58:05 am
Hi again John.
Brian Eisner
7/13/2018 04:52:25 am
Hi John.
bourdon
7/16/2018 11:38:49 pm
greedy for more images and stories, Comments are closed.
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