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Pictures: VFR flying in Switzerland

Great pictures!

I flow down in that area myself, one thing to add to the briefing and keep as a big watchout for non-local pilots who wants to fly in the area is WIND, not surface per se but look at altitude winds.

The GAFOR is a nice tool but looks only at vis and ceiling and may look perfect eg by a crystal clear day. But you should also look at winds at altitude, if they are strong be very careful. Typical wind strength when start to think more precisely about the flight rather than just going down the valley is 15/20 kts at ridge altitude. Difficult to generalize on strategies, but fly either high (good margin above ridges) or well below (unless strong winds then this is a no go too) the ridges. Worst alt range to fly is at the level of ridges (if wonds come across those) plus/minus a thousand feet.

There’s much to mountain flying than this, but at least as a general watchout remember the wind. That was one of main learnings for me when moving here from a very flat country…

About fliyng on shady/sunny side… I was taught flying on right side of the valley for traffic avoidance unless wind conditions requires other strategy… Traffic can be fairly intense on good weather days in the mountains. Keep a good look out for gliders and tow planes as well. If you are crossing (eg VFR) to go south a sugggestion would be to contact the Local flight information (eg Geneva) who will help you and provide traffic information if possible.

Happy flying!

LSGL (currently) KMMU ESMS ESSB
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