Two aircraft we keep coming back to, and three airfields every pilot should have on their list. Some are easy, some are scary, all of them are fun.
Aircraft
Cessna 172S Skyhawk
The plane half the world learned to fly in. It’s high-winged, so you get a great view down, it’s forgiving, and almost every flight school has one. Not exciting on paper, but you’ll love it after your first cross-country.
- 4 seats, 180 hp Lycoming IO-360 engine
- Cruise around 124 knots at 75% power
- Range up to about 640 NM at economy power
- Maximum take-off weight 2,550 lb
Pipistrel Velis Electro
A quiet little trainer from Slovenia that runs on batteries. On 10 June 2020 it became the first electric aircraft in the world to get a full type certificate from EASA. Flights are short, but circuits in near silence are something else.
- 2 seats, Pipistrel E-811 electric motor, 57.6 kW take-off power
- Maximum take-off weight 600 kg
- Built for circuit training close to the home airfield
Airfields worth the trip
Courchevel Altiport, France (LFLJ)
A 537 m (1,762 ft) runway in the Alps, at about 2,008 m (6,588 ft) above sea level, with a slope of about 18.6%. You land uphill and take off downhill, and there’s no going around once you’re committed. You need a special mountain qualification to land here, so most of us will enjoy it from the passenger seat or a video.
Barra, Scotland (EGPR)
The runway is a beach. Barra in the Outer Hebrides is believed to be the only airport in the world where scheduled flights land on a tidal beach. There are three runways in a triangle, marked with wooden poles, and they disappear under the sea at high tide. Loganair’s Twin Otters fly in from Glasgow when the tide allows.
Oshkosh, USA (KOSH)
Most of the year it’s a quiet regional airport in Wisconsin. Then every July EAA AirVenture arrives, and it turns into the biggest fly-in on the planet, with thousands of aircraft and a whole lot of very happy pilots camping under their wings.
Sources: Plane & Pilot (Cessna 172S), AOPA (Velis Electro), Wikipedia: Courchevel Altiport, Barra Airport. Figures are published values; always use your aircraft’s POH and current charts.