#39 Athens - Aviation Hopscotch

Now that I'm ready to leave Budapest, my next targeted destination is Athens, more than 600 miles away. Between here and there are a number of countries that I'm not sure I'd visit in real life. But I would like to see the scenery in this part of southeastern Europe that I know so little about. So, I think I'll let FSE guide me; I'll do my best to head south, but FSE will pick the destinations I visit on my way to Greece.

Start: LHBP, 0743; $6089.04 and 40gal

My first leg is about as perfect a fit as I could want; 3 Group Charter passengers going on a course of 185. So, I'm going to get to visit Sombor in far western Serbia. Very flat landscape, and no big cities visible, so just a straight flight this time.

End: Z27V, 0909; $7032.39 and 31gal

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There aren't many choices from this small airstrip, but I found 184kg of canned goods heading for central Romania. And I'm so close to the border, I'm going to do a touch-and-go at Klisa, just to visit Croatia. So be it.

If I do say so myself, that was a really nice touch-and-go -- didn't even rattle the cans!

End: LDOS, 0925

After a 15-second visit to Croatia, I'm airborne again, on my way to Sibiu with my cans. Still a very flat, rather unremarkable landscape. So, just for something to do, I think I'll file an IFR plan for this leg. I mean, I could talk to the cans, but I don't speak Romanian.

The closer I get to Sibiu, the hillier the terrain gets. And, as often happens, ATC must be bored because they are giving my new headings every few minutes!

Sibiu turns out to be a larger town than I expected. Don't know why I expected anything at all, because I've never even heard of Sibiu before! Turns out, it's a good sized city.

End: LRSB, 1151; $7773.68 and 40gal

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My next two legs take me into Bulgaria. I've got 1 Travel Service technician headed for Sofia and 2 Travel Service technicians headed for Plovdiv. In Sofia, I'll exchange 1 Travel Service technician for another also heading for Plovdiv. Not too far out of my way, and the money's good! Plus, we got to see an excellent example of FSX's "extreme farming" in Romania!

Just exactly how do they plow all those fields without getting seasick?

End: LBSF, 1405; $8598.08 and 25gal

End: LBPD, 1505; $10670.78 and 20gal

How about that? Exactly one hour, and 5 gallons of fuel. That's pretty good efficiency, especially with 3 passengers!

New End: LBPD, 1510; $10551.22 and 45 gal

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My luck continues to hold! Although it's farther than I would have picked myself, there are 3 Travel Service tourists heading for Heraklion, Greece (which I almost got to visit in real life). So, instead of stopping in Athens, I'll just do a scenic fly-by.

Athens is pretty good. The Parthenon is excellent, and the city is rendered well. But, there are too many generic auto-gen buildings, so much of it looks like any other large European city. I wanted more white-washed walls and red or blue roofs. Still, I'm glad I was here.

Is this the Olympic village?

The Parthenon

I got so wrapped up in shooting photos of Athens, I didn't realize how late it was getting, or how long this last leg would take. I've got nearly 2 hours before I get to Heraklion, and it's going to start getting dark. So, I'm on my way, and I'm filing an IFR flight plan.

Ninety minutes later, I'm over the Aegean Sea, and let me tell you, when it gets dark, it gets DARK! My GPS tells me I'm 30 miles from the airport, but all I see are a few stars (which are significantly farther away!). No more photos today, I think.

End: LGIR, 1946; $13,143.22 and 16gal

Total Distance Flown:  10,369 nautical miles