Treasures From The Pioneer Era, reported by Ernie Tanner: In fine weather, with a full tank and renewed courage, we took off from Lausanne towards Geneva. Navigation wasn’t a problem this time, as I needed only to fly along the shore of Lake Geneva. We enjoyed the magnificent scenery below […]
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In 1977 the president of the Swiss Aeroclub asked me whether some of their planes might accompany me on the flight across the desert to Cameroon. They wanted to seize the opportunity to have a helicopter with them as an emergency measure on their high-risk enterprise. And so I had an escort of twenty-two planes. No, not really an escort of course, because they all flew much faster than I did and they went ahead of me. This was my fourth crossing. We had arranged to meet up again in Olbia, Sardinia.
To avoid long flights over water I planned to cross the Mediterranean at the Strait of Gibraltar, but because of the military no-go area I had to turn aside much sooner and aim for Morocco. I needed all my courage for the long flight over water.
Ernie Tanner experienced a dangerous emergency landing during the drought in the south of Ethiopia in 1985. Together with General Mobratu, Governor of the Province of Gemu Gofa and a good friend of his, he had the task of inspecting the state of health of the people in certain areas of the country.
