British United DC-3 in Scilly Isles (Land's End later) ...

[P_7878 6,674]

This post is triggered, by a member suggestion, on my Channel Islands (Aurigny Air) post, to also explore the (charming) Isles of Scilly, just about 40 miles (south and west) of (England's) Land's End. It's to be noted that Lizard Point maybe the most southerly point in mainland Great Britain, but it's St Agnes Island of the Isles of Scilly (which we're visiting today) is the southernmost part of England and the entire United Kingdom, edging out Lizard's Point by barely about 4 miles of oceanic water, further southward.

Isles of Scilly, the geography of which I've now a fairly good idea, thanks to the member suggestion, has 5 main islands (see my (superposed) VFR MAP in the on-ground image (shot #1) below, sorry, no nice G1000/G3000 MFD Map here, because I'm flying the DC-3...🙂...). Out of the 5 main (inhabited) islands, St Agnes is the southernmost on my MAP, and St Mary's (EGHE) is the one with a long enough runway (~2,000 ft). I could barely lift off with my (cumbersome) DC-3 from that runway...so please be aware that this is done by a (non)-professional pilot in a closed (home)-course and is not recommended for RW scenario...🙂...I have then travelled clockwise in a circle overflying the 5 main islands seen on my VFR MAP. In the Isle of Scilly, there are very few cars...the few belong to the residents. So, intra-island, one uses Bikes, and Electric Bikes (my choice in Guernsey Island...🙂...), and inter-island, one uses ferry, helicopters, or DHC-6s and BN-2s.

From my visit here, what struck me most, are these "islets" (tiny "usually unnamed" pieces of uninhabitable land; see my images) defiantly sticking above the oceanic waters, strewn all around this area (there are 140 such islets in the Isles of Scilly). In fact, Isles of Scilly was once, ~12,000 years ago, part of the mainland England but got detached and then engulfed by the Ocean, which fact is quite evident by occurrence of these trace "islets" that I would observe (later) on my path while heading towards the mainland (Land's End) ...that trip to be in my Part II Post. 

Please find 20 images below where I've (thoroughly) explored, from above, the unique moods and the splendid beauty of the Isles of Scilly...so near the mainland, yet they seem so pristinely isolated in the endless waters of the Celtic Sea and the wider Atlantic Ocean. Scilly islands (together) may be just one-fourth the area of Guernsey (island) of my previous post, but these islands are equally beautiful and even more interesting in their (cumulative) topographical appeal...

Hope you enjoy this collection of pictures from my tour...! 

[Note: I had actually wished to fly the British Caledonian (BCal) DC-3 for this post, but instead preferred to use a DC-3 equipped with GPS/Autopilot (to reduce pilot workload...🙂...of this intensive tour), so, I've opted for British United Airways (BUA). Coincidentally, I learned later that BUA, that operated for only 10 years between 1960-1970, would be later bought out by Caledonian Airways to eventually form British Caledonian (BCal)... (I'm fond of these airlines affectionately known as the "Callys".... maybe because of that (Scottish) Rampant Lion logo...complete with protruding tongue and extended claws...🙂...none on this BUA livery though...still, if you ask me, the (blue-nosed and cheat-lined) BUA DC-3 looks good here...) ...]

Please expect to see the images of my concluding portion of the trip from the Isles of Scilly to the Mainland...in my next post...

Thanks for viewing...!

[andiflyit 460]

Beautiful images from the weathersimulator P_7878! 🙂

[Alaska738 8,448]

Great shots! 😉 

[John F 2,440]

Lots to see and explore before the sun goes down.

[pmplayer 9,537]

Beautiful set, and very nice Islands..

cheers 😉

[andy1252 3,924]

Great set of shots, P_7878, and glad you enjoyed the place! With so many scenery addons on my system it's often a while before I get to re-visit places, but the Scillies are one of those places that I do go back to (relatively) often. It helps that they are sort of in my backyard for real, and there's a lot of nice scenery between me and them as well. Haven't tried them in the DC-3 though. But that's got me thinking I might take the C-130 or the Chinook down there for a trip soon.

[P_7878 6,674]

Andreas, Will, John, pmplayer, Andy et al.:

Many thanks for the comments and responses...!