Flight visually in good weather

A bit nervous and with two pieces of luggage, we set off to Giebelstädter Flugplatz (http://www.edqg.de/). The customs vehicle (the customs must be informed for flights to Switzerland) is already coming towards us on the way. Arriving at the airfield, I meet Thomas, my pilot (https://flyt.club/user/1023).

After a short greeting and exchange of a few details, we head to the aircraft.

The staff at Giebelstädter Flugplatz is consistently friendly and supports us with the preparations for takeoff.

After the luggage is stowed away, we do the obligatory pre-flight check. After all, we're going 'up in the air' at about 8,500 feet - and nothing is left to chance there.

The runway for takeoff is surprisingly short. Thomas explains to me that we're flying the 'strong version' of the Diamond. After a few hundred meters, we're already in the air.

The takeoff is smoother than with some commercial aircraft. This is certainly due to Thomas, who has over 750 hours of flight experience and a commercial pilot's license.

After just over 30 minutes, we pass through the corridor between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart - avoiding entering the airspace of the larger airports.

While we announce ourselves and sign off on changing frequencies with the ground staff of the various regions, I am intensively informed about the instruments. Especially that no value measured on board is exact (everything depends on air pressure, temperature, and weather).

With a vertical distance of 500 feet to possibly crossing planes, it's no problem at all. We regularly adjust the current air pressure on the instrument to maintain our altitude as accurately as possible.

After a little over an hour, we already cross the border into Switzerland and can see the first foothills of the Alps.

We land in Birrfeld (http://www.birrfeld.ch/) after exactly 1 hour and 20 minutes, passing Lake Schluchsee. First, we go to the customs parking lot - an obligatory scenario for border crossings. We are informed that there is no customs officer present and roll back a bit to the hangar.

After unloading the luggage, the aircraft has to be washed quickly. Similar to the windshield of a car, we have collected a few insects.

One last treat awaits us: a Piper Malibu Meridian. A real business aircraft with a cruising speed of almost 500 km/h and a 'club arrangement' (meaning: seats arranged in a lounge-like manner opposite each other at the back). It will probably take off tomorrow morning.

It doesn't always have to be a jet...