Austria - Vienna

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Sunday 29th June: Franz lived up to the excellent tour reputation we have come to know him for by hiring a Cessna plane from his flying club for the afternoon. My family and I have known Franz now for 18 years so I was very confident in his flying ability which took me back to the days in Bright, Victoria where he used to jump off the Gorge at Mt Buffalo with a bloody Hang Glider! We drove to the airport not far from his home town of Baden on the outskirts of Vienna and wheeled the Cessna out of the hanger. My fear of heights had the nerves kicking in before we had even cranked over the engine! I watched with a close eye as Franz diligently went through all the checks and before long we were airborne with views of Baden and the surrounding towns. I pointed to the highest mountain peak I could see in the distance which I estimated to be around 4000 feet and said "can we head that way?" to which Franz responded "We are going over the top of it!". We circled around the peaks and I was astonished at some of the houses on the edges of the cliffs and the views those residents must have. We then turned and headed north across a castle in Melk and then followed the Danube River before landing in Krems for a beer and lunch - Franz had a lemon drink which I was fine with given we had to take off and land again to get home! Clearly in the video I am very RELAXED about flying the plane in turbulence at an altitude of 6000 feet however I had no choice as Franz said "I don't want to fly for a while"! We then headed east past the outskirts of Vienna again and followed a large lake on the Hungarian border before descending back down to Baden. Later in the evening we headed out for dinner to a restuarant that Franz reccommended and when Spain beat Germany in the Euro 2008 Soccer final (played in Vienna) it capped off a great day! Thanks again Franz!

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Photos

Hanger rotational floor
Out she comes