Over the last week I have been flying from LFPT (Pontoise outside Paris) to (at the present) ENCB (Kristiansund), and this week I will be flying southbound along the west coast of Norway, hopefully to Copenhagen and back to Pontoise. After having lived in. The U.S. and continental Europe for 15 years, I longed for Norwegian landscapes. One might think that this is not the best period for undertaking such a flight, but so far I have not had any major difficulties due to weather.
Unfortunately I do not have much in terms of photos because they are all on my SLR SD card… So photos will have to wait until I am back home.
Route:
My first stop was ENST Strasbourg to visit family. The flight was conducted under IFR in perfect VMC. After landing on runway 05 I was given a parking spot in the southwestern part of apron B, asked TWR for fuel and was told it would arrive within 10 minutes. The fuel arrived, I finished securing the airplane and exited the airfield through the “GA terminal” which was an unattended little white building. Getting a taxi is not simple, and we ended up walking to the main terminal where you have the choice between a train and taxi.
A taxi to downtown is 40€ on a weekday or 50 € on a holiday or outside “normal” hours. We stayed at Hotel Diana Dauphine which was very nice, good value, and a short walk to the old city. We took a Batorama boat ride on the canals
This year Strasbourg is celebrating the 1000th anniversary of the cathedral and there is a light show where the statues on the western side of the cathedral are “painted” in their original colours, and there are animations on the southern facade.
Strasbourg Cathedral illuminated.
Downtown Strasbourg by night.
Getting back airside involved calling on an intercom and showing your pilot’s license to a camera.
My next destination was ESMS Malmø in Sweden, a four hour flight from ENST Strasbourg through Germany with benign weather although there were some CBs lurking. I could visually observe this cell which was surprisingly static for a long period of time.
Just in case of unfavorable winds I had EDOP as an en-route alternate, and EKRK (Roskilde) as destination alternate.
From BAKLI I was vectored to a right downwind for RWY 17, landed, was directed to the northern apron where a follow-me car was awaiting and designated a parking spot. From the time I landed until I had fueled and was ready to leave the airplane to be taken to the terminal building by airport security, only 30 minutes elapsed.
Outside the terminal building I saw that I would need to wait 30 minutes for the shuttle bus, and therefore decided to take a taxi. There were two lines, one for each taxi company. I chose the taxi based on the fare advertised in the windshield. 390 SEK for something like a 30 minute drive.
I Malmø I joined Peter for a night out (staying very reasonable). Peter decided to head home the next morning, and due to a succession of fronts that were coming from the south west, I decided to skip Copenhagen and head north, or northwest to Kristiansand.
A taxi back to the Sturup airport was somewhat higher than to the center, but still a fixed price which appeared to be the same across all companies. At the airport, taxes were paid at the visitor center in the center of the terminal building. They let me in to a corridor at the end of which there was a flight planning room with a computer and printer, as well as a security checkpoint. After having called at an intercom, a lady showed up and took care of the security screening before she drove me the 200 m to the airplane.
Weather was reasonable although there were some CBs here and there but nothing that could not be circumnavigated.
Also this leg was IFR. At FL100 over Jytland I encountered light icing and decided to descend to FL080.
By the time I arrived at AMSELV, it was VMC all the way to landing. After having secured the aircraft and airport employee drove me to the terminal where I was met by another airport employee who asked whether I wanted to make purchases in the tax free shop. There is a bus to the city center once every hour which I just missed and therefore took a taxi.
Flight to ENCN
Kristiansand is a little bit like Cannes. Dead in the winter but bustling with vacationers during the summer. This was my first visit, and visiting such a town in the rain is a special experience. I stayed at YESS hotel. If you want your wife, GF or significant other to come with you next time, do not choose this hotel. It was clean, but the room was small and very basic. I found it perfect for my purpose.
Direct flights from ENCN to Prague.
Simple hotel room, centrally located. Good enough for me!
The next day I decided to press on to ENTO. The previous 2 days there had been a lot of lightning activity over the Sandedjord area, but that seemed to be a thing of the past. On the other hand it still was very humid as a through was lingering from the NW of ENTO across the fjord to the Swedish border. The TAF was relatively good for IFR albeit with a healthy crosswind on RWY 36/18 but there was a tempo for 4600 m visibility and a 400 foot ceiling.
I took the bus from the center to the airport. To get back in airside, I had to walk a short distance from the terminal to the fire station. I was told that a bill for parking and departure would be mailed. Given that I had a foreign registered airplane, I asked whether it would be possible to leave my contact information. They referred me to a web page where you can actually pay the parking and departure fees (separately) or even buy a weekly pass. There is a flight planning room with a computer. Print-outs go to the printer in the watch room and is handed to you by the firemen.
Getting airside at ENCN.
I took off from ENCN in VMC but entered IMC at around 1500 feet, and it remained solid IMC at 5000 feet for the whole route. Approaching ENTO it became apparent that the tempo was in force with a ceiling of 300 feet.
I landed in 18, made a right turn off the runway and parked on the northern part of the apron. I walked uphill to the fire station and had to call the phone number posted of the code number pad for the firemen to open the gate and let me out.
I spent 3 days in Sandefjord, visiting family. On Friday I had to be in Oslo. Fortunately, by then the through had disappeared, and there was no front in sight. Getting back airside at ENTO you walk up the stairs to the left of the gate to the watch room, tell them your intentions and they open the gate. The web site previously mentioned does not appear to support ENTO, so I left my contact information.
Given the gorgeous weather, and the fact that I was headed for ENKJ which does not have any IAP, I flew VFR. ENKJ requires PPR from Kjeller Aero. The phone number is provided in AIP or at http://www.kjellerflyplass.no/. In order to get some good photo opportunities, I flew on the east side of the Oslo fjord, after initially circumventing the ENRY Rygge CTR. ENKJ has standard pattern for both runway directions and I flew left crosswind for RWY 30 (the preferential runway) and the downwind overhead the river in Lillestrøm (the city south of the airfield).
ENKJ apron
The Lillestrøm railway station is a 20 minutes brisk walk down Storgata. Make a right turn when exiting the airfield perimeter, and walk past the threshold of RWY 30, then straight, past Fagerborg hotel (left hand), through the pedestrian section of Storgata and at the end make a right turn and you have arrived. Buy a ticket to Oslo S for NOK 50 which allows you to transfer to bus, tram of subway. If you do not want to walk, just stop at the first bus stop (just past the RWY threshold) and wait for the first bus. Make a hand signal to the driver for him to stop and pick you up.
Spectators to a sand volleyball game in front of the Oslo Central Station (Oslo S)
Mjøsa by Minnesund
Today I filed a Z flight plan from ENKJ (Kjeller outside Oslo) to ENKB (Kristiansand Kvernberget) just in case I could not make it VFR all the way. The plan was to fly over Mjøsa, Rondane and Dovrefjell then Kyrksæterrøra.
It turned out that I did not need to get an IFR clearance despite some rain showers here and there, and lowering ceiling as I got north and west.
Departing from ENKJ I turned to Sørum and followed Vorma and Glomma northbound to Eidsvoll (the crib of the Norwegian state/constitution), Minnesund, then Hamar (which was the venue for several disciplines of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics). I flew past ENHA and was planning to follow the Gudbrandalen valley but due to fighter activity I had to fly further east towards Tynset and use a bigger lens on my camera 
Weather could have been better.
From Kyrksæterrøra I followed the arm of a fjord to the airport and was cleared final 25. Parking in the NE corner of the apron. Two helicopters landed and taxied in to deliver their load of North Sea workers. In the background one of Widerøe’s Dash-8s, the lifeline of many small communities throughout Norway.
On the apron I had the surprise of finding Piper Archer LN-NPO which I flew back in 1998-1999.
Outside the terminal building there is a bus stop with two departures to downtown Kristiansund every hour.
Kristiansund, like most other ports on the coast between Bergen and Kirkenes, receive the visit of the Coastal Express “Hurtigruten”. This one came and left within a half hour.
Kristiansund consists of several islands that are connected by a small ferry.
Cool.
Be sure to get some Baccalao when in Kristiansund My son and I flew to Kristiansund this summer just to eat Baccalao. For those who didn’t know baccalao is made from klippfisk (dried and salted cod), and exported to Spain and Portugal mainly, for thousand years I think.
Did not know about the bacalao, which I understand is a Portuguese dish made of Norwegian cod, but I did get some very good fish&chips at Havnekontoret, a bar/restaurant overlooking the pier.
One thing that struck me today as I entered airside at the Kristiansund airport is that Norway still is a country where people are trustful, as opposed to most of continental Europe where nobody seems to trusts anyone.
The only question I was asked as I walked through the watch room at the fire station, was whether I had a high-visibility vest. No security screening, noone asking for licenses. I was ushered through as if they wanted to get rid of me and resume their conversation.
Lets hope it stays this way.
One thing you need to pay attention to in this part of Norway is your fuel, at least if you are burning AVGAS. Molde (ENML), Florø (ENBL) and Sandane (ENSD) seem to be the only public airports between Trondheim and Bergen that seem to have AVGAS. AVGAS can be arranged with the local flying clubs at some additional airports like Ørsta-Volda.
And even in Molde and Florø you’d better inquire about the availability as they occasionally run out and it may take one week to receive a new delivery.
The future of AVGAS in Molde is uncertain. The current facility is old and requires an attendant. It currently also prevents an extension of the apron to the east, so a new facility, including tank, would need to be built at the western end of the apron, where the aeroclub and GA parking is located. In that case it will be a self-service facility. If it is ever built. Otherwise there will no longer be AVGAS available in
Since I needed fuel, I opted for Molde as my next destination after having called them and ascertained that they had 6.000 l remaining out of their 20.000 l capacity.
There was quite a bit of helicopter traffic arriving from the platforms offshore as I departed. Therefore my request for a left turn after departure from RWY 07 was declined and I had to make a right turn and promise I would stay south of the airport. Because of a low cloud base (1.900 feet) in Molde at the time I left, I did not want to fly in some of the narrow fjords with the tops covered with clouds in an area I was not familiar with, so I chose to proceed coastwise at 1.500 feet. Another good reason for not flying below terrain in fjords is that there may be aerial cables laid across the fjords, and some are not marked on the charts. Such cables are difficult to see. You almost have to spot the masts on either side to deduce where the cable is.
By Kvitholm I got a good glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean Road
After landing and refueling, I parked in the western end of the apron, next to the aeroclub.
Outside the terminal there was an airport shuttle waiting, so I jumped on and headed in to town.
A word about fees at norwegian airports.
Most Norwegian airports are run by Avinor. They collect parking fees and departure fees as opposed to landing fees.
Parking fees for aircraft with MTOW 1200 kg are 250 NOK per 24 hrs plus 25% sales tax. With the current exchange rate that is about 27 € or 33,50 € with tax.
The departure fee for an aircraft with MTOW between 1001 and 1500 kg is 218 NOK plus sales tax, i.e. 23 € or 30 € incl. tax.
If you plan making more than 3 departures within a 7 day period, buying a 7-day pass for 753 NOK plus tax may be a better option. The problem is that this pass comes with 2.250 NOK worth of parking which makes it 321 NOK per day. So this requires some more investigating…
Aviathor wrote:
The problem is that this pass comes with 2.250 NOK worth of parking which makes it 321 NOK per day. So this requires some more investigating…
The solution is simple, become a member of a club, any club, AOPA will do perfectly. Then you can park as long as you want for free on all Avinor airports.
https://aopano.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/avinor-endrer-parkeringsavgift-etter-patrykk-fra-aopa/
An this
Aviathor wrote:
The only question I was asked as I walked through the watch room at the fire station, was whether I had a high-visibility vest. No security screening, noone asking for licenses. I was ushered through as if they wanted to get rid of me and resume their conversation.
This has changed. After 2001 there was check and screening for everyone, and you had to show your pilot license as well as other IDs. A few (4-5 maybe) years ago Avinor started to issue special Avinor cards for everybody having any business at a special airport (member of a club, an airplane, etc), not just for people working there. To get a card you have to take a test/course and also send in your “resume” (a list showing all your crimes ) from the police as well as show that you have a valid reason to be there. It’s all part of the anti-terror thing. An effect of this is that no other ID is valid, not drivers license, passport or pilot license. With this card and your PIN code you can enter through gates and doors with no questions asked, no screening or anything. Some have cards valid for several, or all Avinor airports, but that is mostly Avinor personnel.
When coming from another place, you don’t have a card for that particular airport, but landing your airplane is of course a perfectly good reason to be there, so getting in and out is no problem when they remember your face, or you have a card from another (Avinor) airport. It’s only when they start seeing your face regularly that you may be asked to get a card for that particular airport. Getting in with no card and no airplane parked, then you will be asked for ID and a pilot license (I think, I have had a card the last 4 years, so I have never tried lately).
All in all, things are much more relaxed than 5 years ago, even though the whole thing is a bit of a farce.
Baccalao: check.
