03.10.2015: I went flying today, as I wanted to check the engine performance at high altitude. Since the last annual, where we also overhauled the carburettors, the engine shows some signs of rough running as soon as I pull carburettor heat. All I can see on the instruments is a drop of the EGT on the left exhaust while the right EGT stays more or less stable. I recorded a lot of engine parameters, so that I can discuss them with our mechanics on Monday.
Even though this was a kind of check flight I none the less took some pictures, as the weather in the alps was quite spectacular.
Half way into the flight I noticed a larger aircraft flying significantly below me, and when I took a closer look I realised it was one of he Junkers Ju-52 from JuAir on a sightseeing flight. I had a chance to fly with them in October 2011, definitely a great experience. I followed the Ju-52 and took some pictures, which turned out not too badly considering I only had my small IXUS with me and that there was quite a bit of turbulence. Below the Ju-52 from the side, with an enlargement.
The Ju-52 then turned back towards Dübendorf airbase, where is is based in a hangar that was built when the Air Force bought it together with two sister aircraft in 1939.
I spent some more time just enjoying the scenery before returning to Lommis.
05.10.2015: I finally found the reason for the rough running of the engine, which is important as I am planning a longer trip for next weekend. During the engine synchronization the float chamber venting line which runs to the airbox must have come off at the left carburettor, with the result that the two carburettors had unequal air pressure in the bowl, resulting in different mixtures. This was especially strong when pulling carb heat, as the air pressure in the airbox changes due to the different air intake. Also the effect was much less strong on the ground, as the air pressure under the cowling changes with speed due to the ram effect. Just reconnecting the tube solved he problem.
Of course I had to do a check flight, even though the weather was less nice than on Saturday, and of course I had to check whether all is fine at all altitudes, so I headed for about 45 min towards the mountains.
The top of the Säntis was in the clouds, one could just about see the big antenna building.
Towards the lake the weather was much nicer, below the city of St. Gallen, with it’s airport visible in the background.
09.10.2015: It was my plan to fly with a friend for a longer weekend to northern Germany and Denmark, but autumn weather was at it’s best with fog and very low clouds so we spent both Friday and Saturday mornings hanging around the airport, staring holes in the sky. We finally gave up on Saturday afternoon, as we would have had to be back on Monday evening.
24.10.2015: For once the weather was quite nice today, so we decided to take the chance and go watch the yellow larch forests in the alps. We initially considered flying for a coffee to either Locarno or a place in western Switzerland, but the weather looked not really nice there, with haze and limited visibility. In the south-eastern part of Switzerland things looked however much better.
Unfortunately the battery of my camera was empty, so all the pictures below were taken with my mobile phone.
Below a view west after takeoff, the predicted haze is clearly visible.
The Glarner alps looked a lot better…
… with only some high clouds.
The further we got the better things looked.
A fresh, thin layer of snow brought out the rock features much better than if there is a lot of snow, but it had nearly melted away again on all south facing slopes. We had 7o C in 11’500 ft / 3’500 m, quite warm for the time of the year.
Below the Oberalp pass, with Sedrun in the background.
From there we headed south-east…
…passing the Lago die Lei with it’s impressive dam,…
… then passing Piz Platta, with it’s 3’392 m / 11’130 ft.
Below the Avers valley, where I spent holidays as a child, with Juf, the highest village inhabited year round in Europe.
We then crossed over to the Engadin, with the Maloya pass and the Silsersee and Silvaplanersee visible to the east.
Below a closer view of the Silsersee, with the impressive Maloya Palace Hotel. It was built in 1884 by a Belgian Count in Renaissance style, with restaurants, church, golf course, ski jump etc. At that time it was one of the largest and most modern hotels in Europe. It was intended to be a gathering place of European aristocracy, but ran through difficult times until it finally closed in 1934. It was later used by the Swiss army to accommodate soldiers, and later as a kind of holiday camp for youth groups. Becoming more and more derelict and a money loosing enterprise it was finally bought by an Italian entrepreneur, who restored it to it’s former glory and reopened it in 2009.
We then continued towards the Piz Bernina, to then return again via the Engadin valley back towards Lommis.
Below the above mentioned lakes again, this time looking west.
I’m always amazed about the mountains one passed when just flying straight line, and then try to find out what they are called later. The one below is called Piz Mitgel and is 3’158 m tall.
After flying for nearly 1 1/2 hours above 11’000 ft with nearly no wind the weather suddenly changed, with 25 – 30 kts wind from the west. The weather looks still nice toward the north-west, but a front moving in from the west was clearly visible. Not that it was any limitation for flying, but still he change was quite noticeable.
We landed back in Lommis after 2:23, totally relaxed from just cruising high over the alps and enjoying the view. During flights like that I very much enjoy using the autopilot, so that even I as the pilot can just relax and enjoy the view (and of course observe the airspace).
After returning I took down the cowling to start making a list of all the fuel, oil and water hoses, as I have to replace them during winter after five years of usage. It’s impressive how many metres of fuel line there are for example, I measured around 8 m in total. I will see where I can order them, most seem to be standard types used in cars.
27.10.2015: Back to flying airliners (as passenger..), as I had to go to Brussels today, It has been foggy in Zurich, but soon after departure we broke free of the layer of fog with a beautiful view over the alps…
…and the Jura. That’s one of the few benefits of frequent business travels, especially in October/November.
Below a view on Mont Blanc, marking the western end of the Panorama.
Somewhere over Germany I saw windmills sticking through the obviously pretty thin layer of fog.
29.10.2015: Viktor solved the question about the mysterious hole in the mountain, which I photographed on our flight back from Berne to Lommis on the 12th September. It is called Tor (door in German), and lies in the canton of Uri, on the Oberalper Grat. I will fly there on one of my next flights to have a closer look.
