Sojourner - Traveling with the “Canman”

  A journey from the Bosphorus to Turkish Aerospace Run, Canman, Run (Berlin → Istanbul, June 11) Every sojourner learns lessons in airports, and this one came courtesy of Berlin. I breezed through security with time for a leisurely coffee, then walked into a customs queue I hadn't planned for. With an hour to go and only one stall open, my Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul was suddenly in doubt. A few more stalls opened, and I cleared customs with ten minutes to spare. Then I ran eight minutes to the gate and made it. Whew. Lesson learned: in Europe, budget for the customs line, not just security. The Odyssey to Karaköy Landing at Istanbul Airport, I decided to travel like a local: metro, tram, and bus, no taxis. The first leg went smoothly. Then, switching trains in the city, a kindly gentleman, seeing me trying to understand the signs and process to board the next train, told me the money on my metro card only worked outside the city.  He helped me add money to a ...

     Brandenburg Gate, with the pretzel   I had never been to Berlin. I arrived in early June for the 37th SFTE European Symposium and left with a head full of flight test insights, great memories with colleagues old and new, sober reminders from history, and a new appreciation for the coming aviation future. Day one, obviously, called for a pretzel at the Brandenburg Gate.  The SFTE European symposium was held out in Adlershof, on the far southeast side of the city. I stayed at the B&B Hotel Aldershof, a lovely and efficient hotel right next to the symposium venue.  Once checked in I had a day to explore Berlin and got to know the excellent train system quickly. Berlin-Adlershof station Opening Session at the Symposium More than 100 flight test professionals from across Europe and beyond gathered from June 7 to 10 around the theme "Dreams and Hard Realities in Flight Test: Dream Big, Test Harder." The program covered standards, certification, safety-...