Race, anyone?

[JRoc]

Wowzers, Nav - 9 minutes difference between us!

[Nav]

GREAT time, JRoc!  Looks like your tactics worked out better, you made the most of the strong westerly winds at the beginning, and didn't have to climb high to get over the Alps, good thinking and well done.

Must admit, though, I didn't know that you could land to refuel without counting 'time on ground'.  So my strategy from the beginning was to conserve fuel a bit at first, and do the trip non-stop!  

[JRoc]

I wouldn't say it was tactics as much as I would being paranoid of having the wind flip me into the side of a mountain, way up in the Swiss Alps.  Eating my co-pilot didn't seem too appealing and all.

As for the stop, I had roughly 40 gallons in the centre tank and 35 or something in the other two - I probably could have made it with fuel to spare, but I had no idea if I was going to end up in Egypt or not, so a touch of extra fuel in case I needed to reroute (and nap) was in order. As for the time, I thought that all flights were counted from the second the wheels got off the ground 'til touchdown.

Either way, it was fun, and I realized that I know the European landscape A LOT more than I had expected.  After leaving Greece, though, I just kind of picked a logical bearing and shot for it.

[Nav]

Didn't apply to the 1934 London-Melbourne race, I suppose I had that in mind.  Incredible, that effort - what was it, 72 hours including stops?  Those blokes were supermen by modern standards.