The Hotel at Nagpur was quite comfortable. Best of all, it was very close to the airport, so the rest was optimal.

First briefing I got was the weather one. According to the predictions, it wasn’t the best day to go. Calcutta was the center of a big low pressure, generating monsoons. Ts (Thunderstorms) or CBs (Cumulo-nimbus) were to be present all along the route. And they did.

I managed to have the clearance to fly VFR. It was the best of the solutions, as I would be able to move with more freedom ,besides the aircraft was heavy again.

The take off I am doing those last days, since Amman, are not a joke. They have to be made with precision, and all the senses in. The aircraft has to accelerate in ground effect almost all the runway length (and we are talking about airliners runways). Next come the first part of the climb…everything depends of the airport situation and around.

Once the first 500 ft AGL (Above Ground Level) are clear, I start feeling better. The in-cruise climb is just a matter of time and depends of the final altitude needed. Main concern is the engine overheating. It is not necessary to have an indicator… the engine starts complaining as soon it is not happy.

So, Nagpur (the Indian city of oranges), was departed at 0823 local time. I overflew the city and was able to see the people looking at the KF. Temperature was high and flying low didn’t help. Ceiling was around 3000 ft, so there I kept my level.

Soon I was required to try a call to Calcutta, using the HF. I deployed everything, being sure not to lose anything during the experiment. After several tries, I got something not different, that means, I got nothing! The HF I have is very good, so imagine who is the failing. As I was flying low, soon I lost the radio contact and it is good to rest. Just half the communications (the aircraft ones) were listened. From times to times I kept the controllers informed about my positions and estimates, just for them to know I still was there.

Landscape reminds me of places in France. A lot of green everywhere, and a big difference: just a few roads and electrical lines. Plenty of small villages, of around 500 inhabitants, were all around, separated by 3 miles or so. Their red roofs and small streets made them attractive. Almost all of them have a kind of lake inside or close. Water is not missing (at least now) mainly fed by red to brown rivers.

Thunderstorms are rising everywhere. They are special. When they are young, they just let you in. They play with the aircraft, test their power, and show you how powerful they will be. When mature, it is another tory. They show a different face, they are no longer white and pure. They become aggressive, dark, sometimes pretty close to black, They generally don’t want you in. From times t times they are embedded in the cloud layers. If you are unlucky and you enter one, everything is possible.

The air was hot, but not bumpy. A lot of flight hours in a KF lets me experiment, let say, play, with it.

I was remembering the book called "How to fly a KF". Some ways are missing. It is flyable using just the feet, or just the stick, or just right feet to left rudder, or using the knees. Feet or knees are a good solution for lunch time or some reading ( Charts, papers…). The latest I have tried ( and it works) is just shifting the body weight (like in hang gliders). Put the weight to the window, and aircraft starts a gentle left turn. Go forward, and a descent is begun.

Games were to be finished soon. Terrain was rising and cloud layer didn’t climb, so it was a moment, 3 hrs after take off, that I didn’t felt comfortable. I was being caught like inside a pliers, with reduced visibility in showers. I turned back and found an opening in the sky. I then circled there to take the 5100 minimum sector altitude. That way, I would be safe. Besides, the very low pressure made that minimum even a must.

I went through the bad area, and from then to Calcutta, dedicated the time to avoid the CBs I saw.

Front of me, they are two of them, with a door between them. Left one has just exploded. It is finished, the full power converted in death. The right one is still young. It is rising like a steel column , compact, white thick. The sides are boiling. The borders are very clear. It is like it want to concentrate all the new power, to show the old one who is now the master.

Right turn into that young guy. I approached the CB and using my right wing , I cut the thick wall, just for it to know who is who. After that, of course, I escaped as soon as possible! I kept climbing to FL 090. Temperature was nice up there.

In an sky opening, I said " wow". What a sky, a deep blue I think I have never seen. Incredible, beautiful. When I write about the flight, I am not able to explain the many situations I see. It has to be done and felt. Up there, in the places I am flying, what a marvel, what a joy.