The long summer in Provence is now definitely over, and it was time to bring the aircraft back to Sterpenich, Luxembourg.
For a full month, my Blackwing had been parked outside in Fayence, safely covered with the Clouddancers All Impact cover and firmly tied down. But with autumn weather approaching, I was eager to get it back into a hangar.
Weather challenges
On 30 September, my planned departure was cancelled. Along my route via Lyon, the conditions were IMC, and flying VFR was out of the question. A day of waiting had already passed, so it was frustrating, but safety comes first.
VMC (Visual Meteorological Conditions): weather conditions good enough to fly by visual reference.
IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions): weather conditions too poor for visual flight – for example, inside clouds or fog.
VFR (Visual Flight Rules): flying by visual references, navigating with what you see outside.
IFR (Instrument Flight Rules): flying solely by instruments, often in controlled airspace and typically used in poor weather
To prepare mentally and practically, I made a short local flight over the Bay of Saint-Tropez with my friend Michel Calabrese. A beautiful half-hour at 2,500 feet – the perfect way to reset before the long journey north.
Packing and planning
As always after a long stay in Provence, there was plenty of luggage to take back. My large blue suitcase fit perfectly in the Blackwing’s spacious baggage compartment. With careful weight and balance planning, I decided to fly solo, giving me maximum margin within MTOM.
MTOM (Maximum Take-Off Mass): the maximum authorised weight at which an aircraft is allowed to take off. For my – French registered – Blackwing, this is 525 kg. This includes the aircraft, fuel, baggage, and pilot – everything together must stay within that limit.
On 1 October, I closely monitored Aeroweather and called Belgian meteorology for advice. The morning still looked IFR in Lyon, Basel and Luxembourg, but the forecast suggested conditions would improve in the afternoon. I decided to depart at 12:30 local time.
The route north
Instead of the shorter track via Gap and the Alps – where cloud bases were too low – I chose the safer Rhône valley route.
Passing by the Mont Ventoux was spectacular. But the Mistral – the famous strong, cold northwesterly wind in southern France – was blowing hard, giving me 30–40 knots of headwind.
I confirmed winds aloft via my Iridium satellite link and decided to descend to a lower altitude, where conditions were slightly calmer.
Over Lyon, the controller on Lyon Info stood out: friendly, chatty, almost like a conversation. He reminded me that the eastern VFR corridor must be flown at 3,500 feet maximum, which seems a bit low to me. .
Between Grenoble and Lyon, haze and low clouds forced me very briefly into IMC. Safety first: I climbed 1,000 feet to maintain terrain clearance, and within seconds I was back in VMC.
North of Lyon, the weather gradually improved, though the headwind remained persistent. In my Blackwing, I can connect via Bluetooth to my Iphone Music. I only do so on longer strechtes when the workload is less.
Arrival in Luxembourg
I had filed a flight plan to Sedan-Douzy, but conditions led me to divert to my alternate: Sterpenich/Luxembourg.
After 3.5 hours of flying – about 45 minutes longer than planned due to the Rhône valley detour, the VFR corridor around Lyon, and the heavy headwind – I touched down safely in Luxembourg.
End good, all good. The Blackwing is now back in its hangar, ready for the next adventure.
