About
Rainer-Marc Frey
I started flying almost 20 years ago. Initially with the PPL (Private Pilot License) on smaller planes such as Cesnas and Pipers. Subsequently, I progressed with the IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) to a Piper Malibu, a PC-12 and, for the last couple of years, I am flying the outstanding PC-24.
I count the countries by their United Nations membership. This approach contains 193 member states, in addition to 5 special/not full member states. Beyond, I have visited a further 50 autonomous regions, semi-autonomous states and overseas territories. All together, this adds up to about 240 countries. Personally I have been flying with friends and my team to about 160 countries. The remainder I visited through business and family travel.
The Crew
Thomas Hartmann
Tom, being a professional pilot, is responsible for the flight logistics and safety. Together with our supporting team, he is in charge of routing, landing/take off permits, fueling, etc. It is a lengthy and cumbersome process to have all the necessary papers, maps, routings in place. We start planning about a year before the take-off for any trip. Tom has been my trusted captain for all extended trips.
Pascal Rahm
Pascal is my regular pilot and the chief captain of the PC-24. Over the last 10 years, Pascal has accompanied me on numerous shorter trips, such as the Balkan states and the Baltics, adding to about 20 countries.
Urs Spörri
For decades, Urs was my partner in the business world. As a savy traveller himself, he initiated and routed the first trip through Africa in 2010. He also has joined us in Transamerica 2012, and Transasia 2014. Urs was responsible for the ground activities, along with the travel documentation that included website, photographs and blog.
Albert Stutz
Albert has also been a business partner for a decade. He took over from Urs for Transpacific 2016. He is a passionate photographer and traveller and has his own blog (which can be found here). He has joined me on three trips; Transpacific 2016, Transafrica 2018 and Transamerica 2021. Like Urs, he is responsible for the on-ground logistics, photography and travel blogging of our experiences.
Marc-Philippe Frey
Marc-Philippe, my oldest son, joined us first on Transamerica 2021. On the back of this experience, he joined as a flight engineer, and now taking over the role of Webmaster, Blog and Photography for Transamerica 2022.
The Planes
PIPER PA46-DLX
This aircraft is powered by a single turbine and has the capacity for two pilots and 4 passengers. It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6A engine (560 shp). The average cruising speed is 220 kts and the maximum cruising range is 1‘000 nm
Pilatus PC-12
Our plane is the familiar Pilatus PC-12 NG with the registration HB-FVC. This aircraft is powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67P Turboprop and has the capacity for two pilots and 8 passengers. The max cruise speed is 280 kts, max range 1‘560 nm and max operating altitude is 30‘000 ft. The PC-12 is a single-engine turboprop-powered aircraft, designed for performing in multiple roles and to deliver equal performance and safety to twin-engine aircraft.
Pilatus PC-24
The World’s First Super Versatile Jet, the PC-24 is the only aircraft combining the versatility of a turboprop with the cabin size of a medium-light jet, and the performance of a light jet. The PC-24 has been engineered to be “off-road” compatible from the beginning. With a cruise speed up to 440 kts (815 km/h) and a range of 1’800 nm (3’334 km) at an altitude up to 45’000 ft (13’716 m) this airplane puts our travel ambitions and ability to reach places into another dimension.