I work as a lawyer in Zurich and have flown since 2017. The first motivation wasn't travel — it was the discipline. Precise briefing, precise execution, sole responsibility in the cockpit. That has shifted. Today the travel is the reason I'm still sitting at the dining table with charts on Thursday evenings.
I postponed the move from the school DA40 to my own aircraft for a long time. What convinced me about the Blackwing wasn't the looks (although they got me at the apron). It was the fact that this is a UL you can fly like a proper travel machine — 600 kg MTOM, no apology on payload, no compromise on cruise trim.
I almost always fly with a co-pilot — usually my partner Marc. The standard route reads: Mollis LSZM out over the Glarner plain, Brenner corridor, Bolzano LIPB for customs and lunch, then onwards across Slovenia to the Adriatic.
Bolzano is a category of its own: valley-bowl approach, 1,294 m asphalt at 794 ft elevation, mountains on three sides. With the Rotax 916 iS I'm relaxed — 175 m takeoff according to the manufacturer; on a typical summer day I measure a touch more and plan conservatively.
From Bolzano it's another two hours to Mali Lošinj LDLO. I land on the 900-metre asphalt 13/31 by the sea, park on the GA apron, and walk ten minutes to the harbour restaurant. Burn sits around 18 litres per hour at 65 percent — the 140-litre tank can cover the entire trip non-stop when I want it to.
Mollis LSZM has been my home base for years — the Linth plain offers honest, instructive winds and the field is quiet enough for clean training. Bolzano LIPB is my standard stop for southern routes: Italian customs at the tower, both AVGAS and Jet A-1, restaurant on the apron.
Mali Lošinj LDLO is the payoff. Approach along the island chain with visibility all the way to Krk, runway 31 inbound over open sea, taxi past the old olive grove to the GA apron. In summer it's busy — PPR is mandatory and the FBO crew manage the slots professionally.
On the Adriatic run I often meet pilots with bigger machines — DA40, Cirrus, the occasional Blackshape Prime. The Prime BK160 would be a logical candidate for my route profile: IFR-capable, longer legs, same Rotax 915iS heart. What I prefer about the BW 650 is the view — low-cut canopy, side-by-side seating, turning an Adriatic approach into theatre for two.
A tandem is more sporting, but I like sharing the view. And honestly: 600 kg MTOM forces clean weight-and-balance discipline, which suits the lawyer in me.
“Nothing on the Blackwing is over-engineered for comfort. That's exactly what makes it honest.”
If I were ordering again today I would specify the seat heating and the lumbar support from day one. On long legs over Tyrol and Slovenia an uncomfortable seat steals your attention. Sounds trivial — it isn't.
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