My trip to Switzerland was fantastic. First I met Reto Froesch who owns the magnificent SF260W you will see later. Here he is with Stefano who owns a full service aircraft operation. He presently has over 20 aircraft listed for sale.
I stayed in a lovely lakeside Hotel, the Schiff. I would recommend this place to anyone. Your room comes with a full breakfast buffet, which is more than anyone can eat. This view from in front of the hotel is breath taking.
A little to the right you see this view. I spent two hours walking upon the hill you see. There was a court yard about 100 feet above the lake that had an elevator at the far end so cars could be brought up from the ground level and parked there. There was no exit for the cars onto the narrow streets from the courtyard. The German I could speak was of little benefit since most people could speak better English than I could.
Here is the hotel Schiff. 
Day two we are off through the Alps in a Pilatus PC3. This plane has inverted fuel and oil but no Hooker harness. Our first roll involved about 30 seconds of negative 1.5 gs and I was hanging from my four-point harness like a sack of potatoes. In my CAP 222 I have a Ratchet Hooker harness and can secure the seat belt quite well. Not so here. We skimmed along the side of the mountains over the tiny villages and houses on what was to become the most memorable flight of my life.
We landed at a military field high in the Alps. It was surrounded by tank traps where were built during the cold war. This is in a very narrow valley and for security reasons I was asked not to photograph the numerous bunkers that housed their jets.
Note the one-piece canopy on this PC3. This is the canopy normally used on the turboprop PC7. The group was very proud of the fact that they had obtained this as salvage and could use it. The cost was $376.00. As much as I tried I could not find one for my friend Lloyd Freeman at any price. Again note how narrow the valley is. If you take off toward the northwest and do not climb enough you will run into the mountain as there is not enough side room for a 180° turn.
Here is the wonder plane parked in the back of this bunker. It has not flown for five months since it awaits Swiss inspection following its change in registration from Italy to Switzerland. This change will also require a silencer for the muffler. See the photograph at the end of the page of the club glider tow plane with a 4 bladed prop and a silencer. Even that plane elicits noise protests although I could hardly hear it when it flew by.
The instrument panel is good but the owner wants an HSI. I have told him that the HSI is not necessary. Your comments on this addition are welcomed.
Here is the paper air filter that comes standard on the SF260. It is the first one I have seen since my planes all came with a Brackett filter.
Look at how well this canopy fits. I have never had an SF260 that had such a perfect fit of the canopy with the windshield.
