AUSTRIA TO ALASKA 2009
4th July to 7th August, 2009
Last Updated 6th December 2011 @ 06.00 hrs
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This web site will be up-dated to the end of July 2009 and will cover the trip from Austria (Vienna) to Alaska (Anchorage) and this will be where the two Bobs get off
An round the world flight for a number of light aircraft was organized by Johannes (Hans) Gutmann and two Bobs joined in Bob Gannon's Cessna 182 N182VE also fondly called Lucky Lady Too. It is a very basic 1968 Cessna 182 without an auto pilot. But it can be filled with Avgas or MoGas (Petrol) to give it an endurance of 18 hours. The fuel tank takes up more room than the two occupants and the very large life raft is in the front cockpit on the floor with the two pilots.
The pilots in the other aircraft come from Austria, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Russia and one of the Bobs is a Yank and the other is an Ozzie.
The group flew into Weiner Neustadt, Austria (40Km. south of Vienna) from all over Europe. Bob Gannon had previously came across northern Africa with his Cessna 182 and had arrived in Lienz, Austria about a month earlier where he had a good mechanical check up performed. The day before we departed we had a tour of the Diamond Aircraft Factory on the airfield of Weiner Neustadt.
Bob Bates arrived on a commercial flight into Vienna and was brought to the starting point by his friend Wolfgang from Austrian Airlines.
We departed from Wiener Neustadt Airport, on Saturday 4th July 2009. Wiener Neustadt Airport is the "home" of the Diamond aircraft factory.
The route will take us from Austria through, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia (Including, Siberia, East Russia and Far East Russia) and finishing in Anchorage in Alaska. It involves flying in high lattitudes in the northern hemisphere and at times very close to the Arctic Circle.
The trip involves crossing 15 time zones, more than half way around the world.
From Anchorage one of the Bobs will fly commercially back to Australia and PNG while the other Bob will continue onto Seattle and will take the Cessna 182 back to Europe across the "Greenland Route" in about another month.
We have now divided the page up into three "chapters" so one doesn't have to keep scrolling down the page. Just click on the link below for the appropriate "Chapter".
Not only have the two Bobs become known as Big Bob and Little Bob but they have also become known as the two crazy Bob's.
CHAPTER 1. AUSTRIA TO TURKEY TO ARMENIA (4TH TO 9 JULY)
CHAPTER 2. ARMENIA TO KAZHAKISTAN TO MONGOLIA (10TH TO 15 JULY)
CHAPTER 3. MONGOLIA TO RUSSIA TO ALASKA(16TH TO 25TH JULY)
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TRANS NIUGINI TOURS is Papua New Guinea's leading inbound tour operator.
Trans Niugini Tours operates cultural and nature tours in Papua New Guinea and owns and operates a number of award winning Wilderness Lodges there.
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