A friend had already told me in March that on August 12th a total solar eclipse would take place in Spain, and that he had already booked a trip with his family. I then decided to fly there with my Taifun if possible. Most of last year it had been in repair, because cylinder #3 of our Sauer engine no longer had sufficient compression and the valves had to be overhauled. (The problem probably arose from overheating due to poor ventilation on the left side of the motor which, unfortunately, still has not been solved. But perhaps more about that elsewhere.)
Another problem had also caused me problems shortly before the trip: the brake no longer worked even after bleeding and refilling. I tried this and that, without success. So I took the plane to the last resort, namely Cornelia Korff. She discovered that the piston was leaking at the bottom and needed to be replaced. After the repairs, the aircraft was finally ready for the flight to Spain.
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After breakfast and saying goodbye to Bianca and Nicu, I drove along the Canal du Midi back to Béziers airport, which took about an hour. Since the plane was already fueled, I just had to take it out of its cover and pack it up and was able to take off around midday (10:06 UTC). I flew along the Mediterranean coast past Perpignan and then pretty much directly along the south side of the Pyrenees to my destination Soria-Garray (LEGY). I was also able to use a little thermal power during the flight. Doing that flights typically take a little longer, but they certainly also require less fuel although the precise savings are difficult to quantify. The landing in Garray took place without a flight controller, as the airfield exists but currently does not have an operator.
Soria-Garray airfield is located about 3 km west of the nearest village Garray and about 6 km north of the nearest town Soria. When I arrived at the airport, which was deserted, I rode my bike to Garray and looked for overnight stays - unfortunately in vain. According to booking.com, rooms would only have been available in Soria (about 7 km from Garray and difficult to reach by bike), but at the high price of 600 euros for two nights. I then called Peter (goflysoon, a member of our Taifun mailing list), who had recommended Garray to me, and was put in touch with Javi, whose Taifun is based in Garray, and Johannes, a German pilot whose DG-400 is also based in Garray. The latter wrote to me that he was at the airport this evening. Because it wasn't evening yet, I was able to take a look at the Numancia archaeological site on the hill next to Garray. Numancia was a small Celtiberian town that resisted the Romans for a long time and was only conquered by the general Scipio in 133 BC after a long siege. It was then re-founded as a Roman town under Augustus. Luckily, there was no entrance fee to the exhibition that evening (apart from three nice T-shirts that I bought :-). “Sun tourists” could also be seen already today on Numancia Hill, where they were probably trying out their equipment. Then I drove to the airfield again, where I met Johannes with family and friends, to whom he was showing his DG-400 (a beautiful self-starter that a fellow pilot from Biberach also flies). I was able to sort everything out with him, including tents, water and electricity at the airport. I then simply pitched my tent on the asphalt next to the Taifun and afterwards rode my bike to Garray for dinner, where I enjoyed a very good meal, which also only cost about half of what I would have expected in Germany.
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The next day three more planes arrived: a Ukrainian named Artem with a Piper from Baden-Baden, who had already completed a long journey with stopovers in Elba and Biarritz, and two Swiss Remos, each with a family on board, who had already been traveling through France and Spain with their planes for almost two weeks. Artem had booked a hotel room in Soria at short notice (the "last minute" prices were probably lower again, namely only 180 euros for one night) and soon took a taxi to his hotel. He also had photography equipment with him and had chosen a distant vantage point with a castle as his motif. Later, three British paramotor pilots arrived with caravans who wanted to fly during the solar eclipse.
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There was still a little time until the solar eclipse in the evening. So I first went to Garray for breakfast and then cycled to the neighboring town of Soria. The path was more of a dirt road than a cycle path and without an electric motor I would have had a hard time with the small wheels of the Brompton, but with the motor it was OK. Soria is a pretty attractive town, but unfortunately I didn't have much time to visit it. I drove through the city, visited the city park and bathed in the river - then I had to go back to the airport.
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I had arranged to meet Javi there to fuel the TN for the flight back to France tomorrow. When this was accomplished thanks to Javi, his canisters and his car, the time for the solar eclipse had already arrived. Theoretically, I could have flown during the eclipse like the British powered parachutes. But since I hadn't even experienced a total solar eclipse on the ground, I preferred to experience it in a more standard way. So I cycled up to Numancia Hill near Garray again. A small semi-circular stage was set up there with a view towards the setting sun, and some musicians played popular, melancholic classics. A seat there would probably have cost an entrance fee, but you could hear the music almost as well sitting a little further away on the hill.
From the beginning of the obscuration until the total solar eclipse, everything became darker and darker. I had wondered whether it might become completely night, but that wasn't the case, probably because the sun's atmosphere (solar corona) was still sending enough light to Earth (you could see the ring known from photos), perhaps also because of scattered light in more distant layers of the atmosphere. Then came the moment when the first direct glow of the photosphere became again visible, people clapped and it got brighter again until the sun set, about a third still being covered by the moon. (BTW, the photos are taken with relatively high resolution, and can be magnified in separate windows.)
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When I drove back through Garray, the restaurants were busy again (they were closed during the eclipse). Since the good restaurant from the previous evening was full due to a group event, I chose a small chicken snack in a bar, which unfortunately was not very good. Back at the airport I put up my tent (I had taken it down again in the morning; with modern tents everything happens quickly), the English left us for a camping site and I and the Swiss went to sleep next to our planes.
The next morning was departure day for all of us. The first to leave was Artem, who had come from Soria by taxi. He photo session had went wll, although he seemed not perfectly satisfied. Then the Swiss followed, who were headed to a airport not too far away for refueling. I was the last one because I always need quite some time to unpack the Taifun and stow away all my luggage.
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So I didn't leave until around 12:30 local time. Because I had already refueled yesterday thanks to Javi, I was able to directly fly to Mende-Brenoux airfield (LFNB) in the Massif Central, which is located more than 300 NM from Garray. Firstly, it is located almost exactly in the middle between Garray and Biberach and, secondly, was also recommended to me by one of the two Swiss pilots. The other Swiss family also wanted to get there today. My flight went pretty smoothly, except that in these hot temperatures I always have to be careful that the CHT on the left side doesn't get too hot. In the Pyrenees there were nice updrafts up to FL130, but after the Pyrenees I had to quickly descend to 1800ft MSL in order to fly below the controlled airspace of Toulouse. After Toulouse, the thermals got better and better, with a base of FL130 again in the Massif Central.
Unfortunately, when I landed in Mende, it turned out that there was no one to be seen and the gas station only worked with the “Carte Total”. Since I don't have such a card, I couldn't refuel immediately and headed for the city, which is more than 300 meters altitude below the airfield. So I expected a pleasant descent on the bike.
Unfortunately, I was very wrong. It was so steep that I had to constantly brake, which is not good for long with the small wheels of the Brompton bike as the tubes can burst if the rims overheat. So I soon had to push my bike and luggage. Although I could have camped at the airport, I allowed myself a hotel in Mende for recovery. The old town is beautiful and also has a cathedral. However, I was first busy finding oil for my engine because the oil level was quite low after landing. I finally found a non-synthetic 10W-40 oil at a motorcycle shop. Not exactly the 20W-50, that was filled in at the last 100 hour check, but better than nothing. Afterwards, I picked up some French delicacies (pastries, cheese, grapes, juice) for dinner.
After a very restful night, the sad part of my report begins. Quite early in the morning I contacted the tower in Mende, which was occupied at the time. I found out that there was someone called Christophe at the airfield whose Carte Totale I could use, and then headed to the airfield. Because of the considerable difference in altitude and the very steep ascent, I did not want to rely on my motor-powered bicycle, but ordered a taxi that quickly took me to the airport.
I successfully completed refueling and then submitted a flight plan to AIS Germany for a flight from Mende to Biberach for 10:30 UTC. Packing my luggage took time again and also filling in about 1/4 liter of oil. A quick look at the DWD weather and transferring the navigation data to my second cell phone meant that the start time was quickly reached at 10:30 UTC. I got on the plane and off we went: it was filled with fuel, the oil level was topped up, everything was good. When I took off, it may have taken a while to get off the ground, but otherwise everything seemed normal.
At this midday it was already good gliding weather with very strong thermals. Soon I was circling and climbing at 4 m/s with the engine running at low power. However, at about 1000 meters GND there was a huge bang and when I looked around I noticed that the top engine cover had disappeared. However, the plane was still flying and continued to climb in the thermals.
What to do? In fact, I briefly considered whether I should continue the flight, but then decided to make an emergency landing in Mende, especially because I didn't trust the stability of the half cowling. I took out the flaps and headed back to Mende from a high altitude. However, on the cross approach I noticed that the landing gear was not yet extended and that I was having strange difficulties extending it (I suspect because the air flow was somehow interacting badly with the gear cover which has to be opened first). I therefore had to use engine power for gaining time to extend the landing gear and make another approach. This was successful and the landing wasn't bad at the end.
But then I saw that continuing the flight would have had little chance of success. In fact, one propeller blade was damaged at the outermost third (although, strangely, at the rear tip), and the second blade was also scratched at about the same height. So the engine cover must have been taken up by the propeller while damaging it. And although the engine still worked, theoretically it could also have been affected.
What was the reason for the whole mess? Most likely an incredible act of stupidity on my part: Probably, I had just put the upper cowling on after filling in the oil, but not screwed it tight, probably because something else came up and I wanted to check the oil dipstick again later and correct the oil level if necessary. Then the scheduled take-off time came, and I jumped into the plane (from behind without thinking about the unattached cowling. I idiotically didn't do the pre-flight check again.
What happened next? First I called Cornelia Korff. She said that the only option was actually to get the plane with a trailer to Germany. The helpful helicopter pilots from Mende cleared a space in a hangar for my wounded plane, where she could stay for some days protected from thunderstorms. Then I took public transport back to Germany, which unfortunately took quite some time. By plane, I would have been in Biberach in a little less than 4 hours. So I took a taxi from the airport to the bus station (still on Friday, August 14th, the day of the accident), then a bus (3:35-6:45 p.m.) to Clermont-Ferrand. I spent some time there and rode my bike to the city park.
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From Clermont-Ferrand, I continued my voyage to Lyon with the FlixBus (20:45-23:06). It was my first trip with Flixbus, and I learned that you have to book the ticket online in advance and that you should be there already half an hour before departure. When I arrived in Lyon after 11 p.m., I rode my bike a few kilometers to the North where I had booked a hotel near the train station Lyon Part Dieu. This was the first hotel, where I experienced being assigned a room that was already occupied. Well, the situation was certainly much more unpleasant for the man I woke up from his sleep than it was for me... I was then given another larger room where I slept well.
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Carelessness and unreflectiveness (why did I just put the hood on without screwing it on?) resulted in life-threatening danger, high costs and a lot of time wasted. I hope our insurance will pay for the damage to the aircraft, but if not, I would also accept it without too much anger, given my severe mistake. At least, I was lucky in this story because things could have turned out even worse in a number of ways.
Nevertheless: You shouldn't cause that much trouble for your guardian angel. That's why I've been even thinking about whether I should stop flying. However, I have now moved on from these gloomy thoughts. But what I want to do in the future: immediately before takeoff, I will walk once around the plane.
And finally I remember something important: A big thank you goes to my non-pilot friends (Bernhard, Bianca and Nicu) who hosted me so kindly! And a big thank you also to the many fellow pilots mentioned in the text above (Peter, Javi, Johannes, Christophe, Camille, Cornelia and Harald): Without you, I would not have been able to carry out this trip or repair the damage caused. Thank you all!