September 2025 – I was asked by European Aircraft Sales in Odense, Denmark, if I could take a Diamond 42 from Sweden to India. What a chance, the Swedish airplane was very much like my own Diamond 42 and a tour to India was kind of a natural next step after having flown my own to a lot of places, including Greenland, The Faroe Islands and The Azores.
After a lot of planning (and replanning due to late permits from Indian authorities) I ended up flying 7 legs. The total distance flown (actual route) was 4,559 nautical miles or 8,443 kilometres. Most of the trips was flown at between 50 and 60 percent power to get the best range possible, total flying time (block time) was 37:25 hours.
Planning
It takes a lot of planning to do a trip like this. First and foremost one must select a route with appropriate airports – airports where small planes are allowed, airports in countries where overfly permits can be obtained, airports where immigration is available (airports of entry), airports where fuel is available (for cash, credit card, fuel card or fuel release), and airports where handling is available. Prices for landing permits, parking, fuel and handling are also important, but in some cases outrageous prices are unavoidable (e.g. Muscat (OOMS) where handling alone was more than 2,500 usd). Also the distance between the airports matter, too close between and airports fees will skyrocket, too far between and the range of the airplane will become a major problem. And finally, some countries (e.g. Israel, Iraq, Iran, Syria) are just not an option due to security concerns or insurance terms.
Once route and airports had been chosen, next step is obtaining landing permits, slot times, handling agreements, fuel arrangements, visas and hotel bookings. I took care of visas and hotel bookings but had Bo Therkildsen doing all the rest. Bo also created and filed all flight plans after Heraklion in Greece (LGIR).
First flight – From Eskilstuna in Sweden to Roskilde in Denmark
On September 19th my son Søren and I flew up to Eskilstuna near Stockholm in Sweden (ESSU) in my own Diamond 42. After an hour checking the Swedish airplane Søren flew my own airplane back to Roskilde in Denmark (EKRK) and a few moments later I followed him. In Roskilde we kept the airplane for the weekend in our hangar, ready for an early Monday morning departure.
My home airport Roskilde was chosen as the first stop in case there would be any problems with the airplane. This turned out to be a very good idea as the autopilot quit after just 15 minutes of flying (and I had to hand fly the airplane in severe IMC for more than an hour). The problem turned out to be due to some loose connections in the avionics which were quickly solved by General Aviation Service in Roskilde. Except for this issue I didn’t have any issues with the airplane during the entire ferry to India.
Second flight – From Roskilde To Belgrade in Serbia
Early Monday morning on September 23rd I took out the airplane from the hangar and departed for Belgrade in Serbia. I had an agreement with the police to have my passport checked at 8:15 in the airport terminal (standard procedure for flights out of Schengen) and just after 9:00 local time I took off for the 5:45 hour / 756 nautical miles / 1,400 km long flight to Belgrade.
After landing I got the airplane fueled (as always right after landing) and took a taxi to the city centre of Belgrade.
Third flight – From Belgrade to Heraklion on Crete in Greece
Early Tuesday morning, after a good nights sleep at Hotel Majestic in the centre of Belgrade I headed back to the airport for my flight to Heraklion on Crete in Greece. A very interesting flight taking me right over Eleftherios Venizelos International airport close to Athens and just west around Santorini, the place of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in historic times. The flight from Serbia to Greece was 4:55 hours / 644 nautical miles / 1,193 km long.
After landing and fueling I took a taxi to downtown Heraklion and stayed at El Greco Hotel.
Fourth flight – From Heraklion to Hurghada in Egypt
On Wednesday September 25th I flew my fourth leg from Crete to Hurghada in Egypt. My first flight ever from Europe to Africa. My first flight ever over the Mediterranean Sea. After 300 nautical miles over water I coasted in on Africa right over the city of Alexandria. Later I flew right over Cairo from where I could spot the Ceops Pyramids in the distance. And finally another 200 nautical miles over desolated dessert before reaching Hurghada where I did a visual approach to avoid a long detour to the south of the airport. This flight from Greece to Egypt was 5:40 hours / 672 nautical miles / 1,245 km long.
Fifth flight – From Hurghada to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia
For the fourth day in a row, I woke up early and headed right away to the airport to fly yet another leg of the long journey from Sweden to India. The day before I had flown into Africa for my first time, todays flight would take me into the Middle East for the first time.
Right after take off I headed south east over the Red Sea for 150 nautical miles before reaching Saudi Arabia over the tiny town of Al Wajh. From there is was dessert and volcanic landscapes for another 560 nautical miles before I reached Riyadh in central Saudi Arabia. The entire route was flown IFR, but for the first time in my flying career as an instrument rated pilot I wasn’t in contact with any controllers for almost two hours.
Two hours after my landing in Riyadh my son Søren arrived by airline from Denmark, he was going to follow me on the remaining legs. We stayed for two nights at Courtyard by Marriott Riyadh Olaya in downtown Riyadh and spent the rest day doing some sightseeing around the town.
This flight from Egypt to Saudi Arabia was 6:10 hours / 729 nautical miles / 1,350 km long.
Sixth flight – From Riyadh to Muscat in Oman
My sixth flight took us over The Empty Quarter (also known as the Rub’ al Khali) of Saudi Arabia, a roughly 500 x 1,000 km. large dessert of huge sand dunes. Our route took us south around the Emirates and for more than 500 nautical miles we flew over empty dessert before reaching the mountains of Oman and the approach into Muscat.
This flight from Saudi Arabia to Oman was 6:10 hours / 682 nautical miles / 1,263 km long.
Seventh flight – From Muscat to Ahmedabad in India
The final leg into India took us from Muscat in Oman to Ahmedabad in India, mostly over the Arabian Sea south around Pakistan (over water for 540 nautical miles).
The final flight was 7:05 hours / 805 nautical miles / 1,490 km long.
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