Batty on Tour

Batty On Tour

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The Black Box Isn't Black. There Are Two of Them. And One Is Pinging Somewhere in the Ocean Right Now.

The Black Box Isn't Black. There Are Two of Them. And One Is Pinging Somewhere in the Ocean Right Now.

This week on Batty on Air: the thing every flight carries and nobody thinks about until they have to. Here is a fact that aviation has simply accepted and moved on from: the black box is orange. It has always been orange. It will always be orange — high-visibility, heat-

Learn to fly. The First Flight

Batty learns to fly

Learn to fly. The First Flight

Learn to fly. Picking a School

Batty learns to fly

Learn to fly. Picking a School

Learn to Fly. Please Say Again

Batty learns to fly

Learn to Fly. Please Say Again

Learn to fly: First, a Doctor

Learn to fly: First, a Doctor

The Medical. Because Even Bats Need a Doctor's Note. Before you fly a single metre. Before you book a trial flight. Before you even call a flight school. You need a doctor. Not your regular doctor. A special doctor. One who is certified by Austro Control, trained in

Learn to fly: Welcome to the Circus

Learn to fly: Welcome to the Circus

The Basement That Got Completely Out of Hand

The Basement That Got Completely Out of Hand

The CPL Has Started. The Aircraft Is Extraordinary.

The CPL Has Started. The Aircraft Is Extraordinary.

You Were Never Meant to Sleep Eight Hours Straight

You Were Never Meant to Sleep Eight Hours Straight

How Batty Was Born — A Story About a Bridge, a Stranger, and a Small Plastic Batman

How Batty Was Born — A Story About a Bridge, a Stranger, and a Small Plastic Batman

New York. March 2019. And the Moment Everything Changed. Every good story has a moment. A specific, unremarkable, entirely ordinary moment that turns out — only later, with the perspective that time provides — to have been the moment. The hinge point. The thing that split the timeline into before and after.

The Music Was Free. The Lawsuit Was Not.

The Music Was Free. The Lawsuit Was Not.

What Every Social Media Creator Needs to Know About Licensing — Before It Gets Expensive Let's have a brief, important, and occasionally alarming conversation about copyright. Not because Batty is a lawyer. Batty is not a lawyer. Batty is a private pilot with strong opinions about espresso and an

Myth Boarded by Batty — Episode 3

Myth Boarded by Batty — Episode 3

Myth Boarded by Batty — Episode 2

Myth Boarded by Batty — Episode 2

The Croissant Is French. (No It Isn't.) Myth Boarded by Batty — the series where commonly held beliefs are politely removed from the menu and replaced with the actual ingredients. No turbulence. Just facts, served warm. Let me tell you something about living in the Austrian Salzkammergut. Every morning,

Batty on Air — We Have a Podcast Now. Yes, Really.

Batty on Air — We Have a Podcast Now. Yes, Really.

Something rather exciting has happened. After years of writing about hotels, airlines, restaurants, espresso, and the occasional fact that turns out to be completely wrong — Batty on Tour now has a podcast. It is called Batty on Air. Which works on two levels if you think about it, and we

Dear Spotify — Thank You for the Price Increase. Sincerely.

Dear Spotify — Thank You for the Price Increase. Sincerely.

How a Greedy Invoice Sent Batty Back to Where It All Started. Let's start at the beginning. The actual beginning. There was a time — and those of a certain vintage will remember this with either fondness or mild psychological scarring — when you made your own playlists by sitting

Myth Boarded by Batty — Episode 1

Myth Boarded by Batty — Episode 1

Adieu, Lufthansa Group — It Was Almost Worth It. Almost.

Adieu, Lufthansa Group — It Was Almost Worth It. Almost.

FLYLOG.io — The Digital Logbook That Finally Got It Right

FLYLOG.io — The Digital Logbook That Finally Got It Right

Bangkok in 72 Hours — Because Some Cities Deserve an Encore Before the Credits Even Roll

Bangkok in 72 Hours — Because Some Cities Deserve an Encore Before the Credits Even Roll

Katana Diplomacy: Gmunden to Lienz, Lienz to Italy, and Back Over the Roof of Austria

Katana Diplomacy: Gmunden to Lienz, Lienz to Italy, and Back Over the Roof of Austria

"I'm Still Alive" — And Why Luck Is Not a Safety System

"I'm Still Alive" — And Why Luck Is Not a Safety System

Saturday, 24th May 2026. Piesendorf, Pinzgau. Clear skies, good visibility, alpine thermals doing exactly what alpine thermals do on a summer afternoon. A 44-year-old paraglider pilot from Upper Austria has launched from the Schmittenhöhe and is quietly floating above the Pinzgauer Hütte. A 28-year-old from Tyrol

Adios, Amex Platinum: A Breakup Letter That Was a Long Time Coming

Adios, Amex Platinum: A Breakup Letter That Was a Long Time Coming

Every relationship has a tipping point. A moment where you look across the table, tally up what you're giving versus what you're getting, and realise that the other party has been quietly coasting on historical goodwill while systematically dismantling everything that made the arrangement worthwhile in

Turks & Caicos: The Beach That Makes You Forgive Everything

Turks & Caicos: The Beach That Makes You Forgive Everything

Right. Let's talk about the journey first, because it deserves its own paragraph — possibly its own therapy session. Getting to Turks & Caicos from Europe is not what you'd call a streamlined operation. My routing that time had all the elegance of a drunk cartographer: Austria

Shabu Le Wagyu Taipei

Shabu Le Wagyu Taipei

Batty’s IFR Dilemma: The Search for the Perfect Two-Seater

Batty’s IFR Dilemma: The Search for the Perfect Two-Seater