Bourges-Pau, July 24th

Last night, I slept like a log, which is good because today is going to be a long day, as we need to reach Pau, which is a distance of 262 nautical miles, or 485 km by air.

After breakfast, we went to the weather briefing, which wasn’t very promising. A thunderstorm is approaching Pau, and we’ll have to wait for it to dissipate. Normally, after this thunderstorm, we should have a window to land. All that’s left is to wait.

I was supposed to take off at 12:00 PM. It’s 12:30 PM, and we’re still on the parking apron under a scorching sun. I’m taking advantage of this to eat my packed lunch; it’s better than nothing and good for morale.

According to the latest news, we won’t be going to Pau. We’re going to divert to the Marmande airfield, where the air club will improvise parking for our aircraft. Finally, take-off at 3:15 PM, and I’m the 21st to go. Climb to 2000 feet, then 3000 feet to clear the terrain. I’m maintaining a southwest heading, so I have the sun in my face, which is going to give me a sunburn by the time I arrive. The temperature inside the aircraft is staying around 28-32°C.

4:02 PM: The flight officials announce over the radio that the sky has cleared and that we can continue the flight to Pau.

After 3 hours and 25 minutes of flight, I land on the Pau runway, which is a mixed civil and military runway. On one side, commercial aviation, on the other, the ALAT (Army Light Aviation).

The ground temperature here is 38°C… and I’m arriving as number 1, ahead of the Air France flight, to the parking area, a privilege of the Hop Tour! After parking the aircraft, we head to the mess, where we are expected.

It’s 8:00 PM. I just finished dinner at the mess: stuffed tomato and rice. I’m taking some fresh air on the airfield, but it’s not very cool. Competitors from the Hop Tour are still arriving. A Puma is taking off as well, a kind of omen for our day tomorrow. Since the ALAT is a military base, it’s not possible to take photos…