The author-aviator atop the Arc de Triomphe, Paris
European Biplane Tour
Michael McCafferty
Summer 1997. Three months of touring Europe in my open cockpit biplane! Leaving in early April, I flew the Waco from San Diego to the factory in Lansing Michigan, a very, very cold trip. At the Waco factory they disassembled my biplane and put it in a 40-foot container and shipped it to Le Havre, France. From there it was trucked to Le Bourget airport in Paris, where it was reassembled and displayed at the Paris Air Show June 15-22.
After all that, it was just pure fun flying throughout France, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, England and Ireland. Truly the adventure of a lifetime!
Each of the following entries was written at the end of each day of the trip and emailed to friends back home.
Click on the Date to read the journal for that day.
Dates with "+" contain photographs.
European Biplane Tour - Daily Flight Log
| Day | Date | Place | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05/23/97 | The Fun House | Waiting for the Slow Boat to France | |
| 1 | 06/05/97 | Paris, France | A Day of Challenges |
| 2 | 06/06/97+ | Paris, France | A Lesson in French Hospitality |
| 3 | 06/07/97+ | Paris, France | An Excursion into the streets of Paris |
| 4 | 06/08/97+ | Paris, France | The Calm Before the Storm |
| 5 | 06/09/97+ | Paris, France | Let There Be Wings! |
| 6 | 06/10/97+ | Paris, France | Taxi Ride from Hell, Haircut in Heaven |
| 7 | 06/11/97 | Paris, France | A Very Short Story |
| 8 | 06/12/97+ | LeTouquet, France | Only Pilots Know Why Birds Sing |
| 9 | 06/13/97+ | Paris, France | Friday the Thirteenth |
| 10 | 06/14/97+ | Paris, France | Who Is This Guy? What Makes Him Tick? |
| 11 | 06/15/97+ | Paris, France | The Paris Air Show - Opening Day 1997 |
| 12 | 06/16/97+ | Paris, France | The Air and Space Museum |
| 13 | 06/17/97+ | Paris, France | Another Rainy Day in Paris |
| 14 | 06/18/97+ | Paris, France | An Old Irish Prescription |
| 15 | 06/19/97+ | Paris, France | Observations From A Sidewalk Cafe |
| 16 | 06/20/97+ | Paris, France | The Loose End of a Long Red Tape? |
| 17 | 06/21/97+ | Paris, France | Meditations at the Babylon Cafe |
| 18 | 06/22/97+ | Paris, France | A Street Party of Epic Proportions |
| 19 | 06/23/97 | Paris, France | Anticipation |
| 20 | 06/24/97+ | Paris, France | Another Day On, and Under, the Ground |
| 21 | 06/25/97+ | Nangis, France | To Fly Is To Be! |
| 22 | 06/26/97+ | Porto Vecchio, Corsica | Of Corsica |
| 23 | 06/27/97+ | Bonifaccio, Corsica | More Than Just A Pretty Face |
| 24 | 06/28/97+ | Ajaccio, Corsica | Mono-kinis |
| 25 | 06/29/97+ | Ajaccio, Corsica | The Global Perspective |
| 26 | 06/30/97+ | Porto Cervo, Sardinia | Please Stand By...We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties |
| 27 | 07/01/97+ | Porto Cervo, Sardinia | There Is No Language Barrier! |
| 28 | 07/02/97+ | Porto Cervo, Sardinia | The Animal & The English Lord |
| 29 | 07/03/97 | Paris, France | Sensory Overload |
| 30 | 07/04/97+ | Nangis, France | Good Friends and Good Flying |
| 31 | 07/05/97+ | La Ferte Alais, France | Testosterone Alley |
| 32 | 07/06/97+ | Nangis, France | Just Playing |
| 33 | 07/07/97+ | Bourg en Bresse, France | The Blue Wizzard |
| 34 | 07/08/97+ | Cannes, France | Oh! Are We Stylin' Now! |
| 35 | 07/09/97+ | Cannes, France | ... And We Didn't Get Arrested! |
| 36 | 07/10/97+ | Ascona, Switzerland | Riding The Edge Of The Storm |
| 37 | 07/11/97+ | Zurich, Switzerland | The Gods Must Have Been Sleeping |
| 38 | 07/12/97+ | Lichtenstein | Wingovers for Nici |
| 39 | 07/13/97+ | Birrfeld, Switzerland | Lost in the Alps! |
| 40 | 07/14/97+ | Augwil, Switzerland | A Day Without Alps... |
| 41 | 07/15/97+ | St. Moritz, Switzerland | Shall We Do Lunch in St. Moritz? |
| 42 | 07/16/97+ | Geneva, Switzerland | A Bit of a Dip in the Strip |
| 43 | 07/17/97+ | Donaueschingen, Germany | The Wake Turbulence Monster |
| 44 | 07/18/97 | Stuttgart, Germany | To Go Or Not To Go? |
| 45 | 07/19/97+ | Stuttgart, Germany | Our Magical Mercedes |
| 46 | 07/20/97+ | Leutershausen, Germany | The First To Fly |
| 47 | 07/21/97+ | Luxembourg | Luxem-bored |
| 48 | 07/22/97+ | Oostende, Belgium | The North Sea |
| 49 | 07/23/97+ | Texel, The Netherlands | An Absolutely Perfect Grass Runway |
| 50 | 07/24/97 | Dan Burg, The Netherlands | McCafferty's First Law of Meteorology |
| 51 | 07/25/97 | Amsterdam, The Netherlands | Foot, Bicycle, Taxi, Rental Car, Ferry, Bus, Train, No Biplane |
| 52 | 07/26/97+ | Borkum, Germany | Party Capital of The North Sea Islands |
| 53 | 07/27/97+ | Borkum, Germany | A Walk On The Beach? |
| 54 | 07/28/97 | Copenhagen, Denmark | Leap of Faith |
| 55 | 07/29/97+ | Roskilde, Denmark | Aliens! |
| 56 | 07/30/97+ | Gromitz, Germany | Future Aviators |
| 57 | 07/31/97 | Hamburg, Germany | The GPS Of The Future |
| 58 | 08/01/97+ | Nordhausen, (East)Germany | Unplanned Landing In (former) Communist Territory |
| 59 | 08/02/97+ | Zurich, Switzerland | Runway Snake! |
| 60 | 08/03/97 | Zurich, Switzerland | Rest And Reflection |
| 61 | 08/04/97 | Donaueschingen, Germany | Preparations |
| 62 | 08/05/97 | Donaueschingen, Germany | Tribute To Lowell Williams |
| 63 | 08/06/97+ | Rheims, France | Stress Test |
| 64 | 08/07/97 | Rheims, France | Why Am I Here? |
| 65 | 08/08/97+ | Rye, England | Happy To Be Alive! |
| 66 | 08/09/97 | London, England | Great Hotels, Great Memories |
| 67 | 08/10/97+ | London, England | The Conservative Club |
| 68 | 08/11/97 | London, England | Down And Out, And Just Around The Corner |
| 69 | 08/12/97+ | New Romney, England | Back At The Beach Again |
| 70 | 08/13/97 | New Romney, England | Hangar Flying |
| 71 | 08/14/97+ | Duxford, England | Mustangs Forever! |
| 72 | 08/15/97+ | Duxford, England | The American Air Museum |
| 73 | 08/16/97+ | Cambridge, England | Punting And Picnicing |
| 74 | 08/17/97+ | Duxford, England | A Most Incredible Day |
| 75 | 08/18/97+ | Duxford, England | Today Well Lived... |
| 76 | 08/19/97+ | East Anglia, England | They Saved The World |
| 77 | 08/20/97+ | Duxford, England | The Land Warfare Hall |
| 78 | 08/21/97+ | Duxford, England | Great Planes |
| 79 | 08/22/97+ | Duxford, England | Playing On The Grass And In The Air |
| 80 | 08/23/97+ | Duxford, England | How To Double The Fun Of A Spitfire Ride |
| 81 | 08/24/97+ | Duxford, England | And Just When You Least Expect It... |
| 82 | 08/25/97+ | Duxford, England | Nice People, Nice Day |
| 83 | 08/26/97+ | Cambridge, England | Floats For My Biplane! |
| 84 | 08/27/97 | Cambridge, England | Ghosts Of Greatness |
| 85 | 08/28/97 | Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England | Cloud-Slop |
| 86 | 08/29/97+ | Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England | Discoveries, Old and New |
| 87 | 08/30/97+ | County Donegal, Ireland | Roots |
| 88 | 08/31/97+ | County Donegal, Ireland | Reflections From Within |
| 89 | 09/01/97+ | Doon Well, Ireland | Miracles, Monarchs, and McCaffertys |
| 90 | 09/02/97+ | Letterkenny, Ireland | Incommunicado |
| 91 | 09/03/97 | Letterkenny, Ireland | Typically Irish Weather |
| 92 | 09/04/97+ | Termon, Ireland | Meeting The Relatives |
| 93 | 09/05/97 | County Donegal, Ireland | Flight of Fancy |
| 94 | 09/06/97 | Bunbeg, Ireland | "The Craic Was Mighty" |
| 95 | 09/07/97+ | County Donegal, Ireland | The End |
all contents copyright 1997, Michael McCafferty