On 13 August 2026 the Fédération Aéronautique Luxembourgeoise (FAL) — the Luxembourg national aviation federation — issued the official press release for the Private Pilot Expedition to Georgia 2026. The full French text is downloadable below. Here is the English summary for readers of the site.
Download the full press release (PDF, French)
Luxembourg to Georgia — an expedition that builds itself along the way
On 29 August, nine aircraft will take off from Luxembourg-Findel. At each stop, other European and Turkish crews will join the formation. By the time the group is complete, 27 aircraft and around 60 pilots and passengers will be flying together to cover more than 4,000 nautical miles across eleven countries to reach Georgia.
Conceived by Luxembourg pilot Peter Sodermans, the Private Pilot Expedition to Georgia 2026 is a private initiative — designed by pilots, for pilots. Each participant flies their own aircraft, under their own responsibility, at their own expense. What they share is a common bearing: linking Europe to the Caucasus and turning every stop into an opportunity for encounter.
A Europe that gathers along the way
From the Danube valley to the shores of the Black Sea, the route will unfold landscape after landscape, language after language, culture after culture. Every landing is a chance to meet local pilots, institutions and communities. Little by little, a small delegation departing from Luxembourg will become a European aviation gathering, united by a shared appetite to discover and share.
On arrival, participants will discover Batumi and then the Kakheti wine region. Beyond the aeronautical achievement itself, the project aims to open a new route towards the Caucasus and to give European private pilots the appetite to explore its airfields, regions and heritage.
Aircraft built for the journey
The diversity of the aircraft engaged also tells the story of light aviation’s evolution. Alongside certified aircraft will fly modern top-tier ULMs built for long distances. Digital cockpits, autopilots, ballistic recovery parachutes, retractable gear, variable-pitch propellers — these machines have little in common with the historic image of the elementary ultralight. Their performance can rival many classic aircraft, at significantly lower fuel consumption. Two Blackwings, among the most advanced touring ULMs in their category, will be present at the launch ceremony at Luxembourg-Findel.
Schengen must also exist in the sky
Crossing eleven countries in a light aircraft requires multiplying customs formalities, flight plans, local authorisations and applications to aviation authorities. For pilots, procedures, timelines and requirements change often from one state to the next. The press release quotes Peter directly on this:
“The spirit of Schengen must not stop at the doors of airports. The 2018 European decision to introduce the Article 2(8) Opt-Out of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, which allows member states to keep or develop their own national regulations for certain categories of ULM, was in my view a mistake. This has led to growing fragmentation of the European regulatory framework. A large part of European countries today apply their own national ULM regulations, with rules, licences, limitations and authorisation procedures that differ from one country to the next. The result is paradoxical: while Europe has removed borders for its citizens, a ULM pilot who wants to travel across Europe still too often has to start administrative procedures over again at every border. We need to move towards genuine mutual recognition of ULMs, licences and authorisations between European states, so that a pilot can travel freely in Europe without having to restart an administrative procedure at every border, as should be natural for sporting aviation.”
— Peter Sodermans
First take-off from Findel
The launch ceremony will take place on Saturday 29 August 2026 at 11:00 at Luxembourg-Findel Airport. Nine aircraft will take off in the presence of institutional partners, representatives of the Luxembourg and Georgian authorities, and the media. A few hours later the formation will start to grow in the sky. The great European story of this expedition will have truly begun.
At a glance
- 27 aircraft in total
- Around 60 pilots and passengers
- 9 aircraft at the official departure from Findel
- Over 4,000 nautical miles
- 15 days of travel
- 11 countries crossed
- 2 Blackwings present at the Findel ceremony
- Under the High Patronage of the Honorary Consulate of Georgia in Luxembourg
Official departure: Luxembourg-Findel
Destination: Georgia (Batumi and Kakheti)
Press contacts
Follow the expedition
Day-by-day updates from the road and the sky:
📸 Instagram — @expeditionprivatepilot
📘 Facebook — Expedition Private Pilot
Patrick Théry — Communication & public affairs adviser (FAL) — communication.fal.lux@gmail.com
