Needing to build-up hours and experience for my PPL test, what could be better than a trip to the Millau Viaduct and back, with a stop for lunch (and crème caramel!) at the local hotel/restaurant.
It was a fantastic opportunity to practice navigation and planning, plus it was exciting to get a taste of what it will be like once we have our licences; day trips to places of interest with an incredible choice of destinations, and without the long car rides!
Our original plan was to take a second plane, piloted by Matt (the 17 year-old who had just got his PPL), however, sadly his plane was unavailable on the day, and, while we talked about postponing, the conditions were perfect.
With winter closing in, it was possibly the last opportunity this year for this trip, and so, decision made, Elroy and I headed out with Sue for the 280nm round trip.
To maximise the experience, I flew down, and Elroy (who had completed his licence with Sue a few weeks earlier) flew back.
This meant we both took a turn at being pilot under Sue's expert guidance, and also passenger where we could just relax and enjoy the scenery.
Having driven from Toulouse to Limoges several times in the last few months, we thought we had a good feel for this part of the countryside.
However, seeing France from a small plane gives you a perspective unlike any other!
As a private pilot, you are close enough to see detail in the landscape—like gorgeous castles on a lake or a manor house on the top of the hill—yet high enough get a sense of the countryside as a whole.
The viaduct itself appeared suddenly as we came over the Massif Centrale.
The tallest vehicular bridge in the world, it is an enormous structure, dwarfing everything around it.
A week later, we drove over it and it was amazing to see the scale of it from the ground having seen it from the air not long before.
Our next trip will be to Isle d’Yeu for lunch after which we are hoping to sample some traditional French fare in the Dordogne, overlooking some of the most amazing countryside around…
After that? Who knows—maybe Paris for afternoon tea?
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