
Wed 7 july - Sydney-Singapore - QF A380 - Tom got last seat in first so I had to suffer business - coped by sleeping off my pre-departure headache for 6 hours straight! On approach into SIN couldn't find my glasses - after huge search involving 2 hosties with torches dismantling the sleeper seat, the bloke next door eventually found them folded into his tray table slot & employed his 7yo son's small hand to fetch them out - lenses intact but one arm at jaunty angle & unwearable - solved that by attempting to straighten & breaking off completely - now look like one arm bandit but at least I can read - maybe I can get them repaired in Hungary ...
Singapore-London - QF A380 first class - what can I say ... movies, gourmet meals, wine, luxury bed - Enya all the way - interestingly all pommie crew (who don't call Australia home)
Thurs 8 july - London-Copenhagen - SAS A319 economy - last 2 seats (lucky!!) - with Scandanavian priced food/drinks ($15 sambo + coke) - we'd eaten enough for a week so no prob - on approach into CPH saw lots of windfarms - and a long bridge that just ends (Tom assures me it descends into a tunnel) - Copenhagen fine & sunny - found 711 with slightly cheaper food/drinks ($10 sambo + coke)
Copenhagen-Aalborg (nthn Denmark) - SAS Canadair RJ900 economy - but with FREE coffee!! (no time to collect money on 30 min flt) - Aalborg raining - after brief wait, we spotted a Touareg approaching the terminal with attitude - Anders, who's lending us a glider & car, was rushing from picking up the repacked parachute
Good news - the Nimbus 4M is in beautiful condition and has had an annual inspection; our tow car is a roomy Ford transit van
and ... the 302 is in for calibration & is expected in the post in the next day or so
and ... the Transit van also hasn't driven for 2 yrs - currently in for service, still needs inspection (pink slip) & new plates (from Danish RTA)
Meanwhile - several calls to car service place explaining urgency
lunchtime - car's out of service and ready for inspection - we go to inspection place & explain urgency but they're very busy
1.30pm - the inspection is not done and we won't make the RTA (30 min drive) before they close at 2 - can't get plates till mon am
2.10pm - back home, inspection place phones - inspection finished - aarrgghh!
40 min delay has cost another day - even driving like stink, earliest we can make Schempp is tue am
We took Anders & Karen to dinner at a restaurant in an historic boutique brewery - great ribs - and beer of course (even tho I was a pleb and drank wine)!
Sat 10 july - it's sunny! yay!!
- will the 302 turn up in the post? (which miraculously does come on a saturday!) - or do we have to drive 100k to steal one out of another glider?
- will the RTA give us our plates on mon am?
- will our heroes make the 1144k to Schemp in one day (at max 90 kph)?
- will Schemp drop everything (incl all other WGC glider fixes) to do our engine check asap?
- will our heroes make the 1057k to Szeged in one day?
- will our hero get to fly at all before the official practice (20 jul)?
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