How Low Can You Go?

The magic of history, an altimeter reading below zero and Air Force comrades reunited − all in one stunning flight over Israel

- Graham Robson

I would be the first to admit that my flying may not extend to every corner of the envelope. No aerobatic itch needs scratching, I have no rotary-wing desires and I cannot reconcile the cost/benefit argument of a twin rating. For me, the pleasure comes from flying itself and I mostly fulfil that passion touring the UK in my 1947 vintage Cessna.

Flying vacations, over the years, have provided many opportunities to add to the list of interesting places, across the channel as far east as Geneva and south to Spain and central Portugal for instance or the USA, where I’ve enjoyed some spectacular journeys and sights, in an environment so completely different to flying at home. An early log-book entry, on my first touring trip in California in a rented Cessna 172 in 2009, produced quite an unusual combination. Breakfast at Big Bear Lake (airfield elevation of 6,752 ft and the highest airport I have ever flown myself into) then on to Furnace Creek airport in Death Valley, sitting at 210ft below MSL, for a night stop. The surreal sight of the altimeter winding down below zero on the approach was interesting, to say the least. At that time I could not imagine flying any lower. However, circumstances would prevail that would eventually beat this by a considerable margin.