Crazy, I followed your flight on FlightRadar24. This is a great challenge.
We could do a no landing fly-in some time like a formation low pass at L2K !
I just turn around Belgium which is a very small airspace.
What kind of flight plan did you file for this trip ?
Fantastic trip report, Peter. That was a very high risk flight, logistically speaking.
This issue regarding GA and longer flights to/from the UK being constrained so heavily by the ridiculous opening hours of most GA-accessible airports (and I mean “de facto” accessible, not £2k GA accessible) is quite frustrating. 09 to 17h is not good enough for any serious day-trip.
Even in normal times and during the summer, when the sun sets at 22:30 or so, most airfields are shut by 17-18h which to me is mind-boggling.
Sure you’ll say people need to work there and be paid etc… but why can’t aerodromes operate more like in the USA, where you can arrive anytime, turn the lights on with the PTT, land, help yourself for fuel etc.?
In Spain this wasn’t the problem so much when I was time building based at LEJR. The airport opened between 6 and 23h, more than plenty for a full day away in which you could actually take your time and do things at the destination before having to head back; no quick lunch in a rush as is customary in the UK. Alternate option LEGR equally open, with Avgas, and a cheap landing fee. In case you need it, LEZL is available too, more expensive but one order of magnitude less than EGGW.
What kind of flight plan did you file for this trip ?
Filed route: IFR EGKA N0145F040 SFD VFR DCT KUNAV DCT ABB/N0151F090 DCT BILGO/N0151F090 IFR B3 VATRI G40 ARSIL B13 SOMDA A6 DJL A1 LISMO VFR MONIN DCT LISMO A1 DJL/N0151F090 IFR A6 SOMDA B13 ARSIL G40 VATRI B3 BILGO H20 XORBI H40 NEBRU/N0150F120 H40 ABB VFR N20 KUNAV DCT WAFFU EGKA
MONIN is the closest waypoint to Jungfrau.
09 to 17h is not good enough for any serious day-trip.
I had 0900-1800 officially and a 2000 extension booked which should have been ok with a fairly fast refuel at Little.
At this point Swiss ATC, who earlier cleared me for anything below FL150, went somewhat ballistic and demanded a descent below FL130 due to an imminent military exercise.
It’s important to brief pre alpine flights that on weekdays airspace between FL130 and FL150 is class E only between 12h and 13h45 and otherwise class D for military use – so one has to expect being kicked out around that time. Meiringen is a very active base and there is a lot of Hornet & Tiger training around that specific area.
What a marathon, some great photos of the mountains.
Isn’t Swiss airspace uncontrolled at below 2,000 AGL in mountainous terrain?
Isn’t Swiss airspace uncontrolled at below 2,000 AGL in mountainous terrain?
There is all sorts of airspace around the Alps, some of it pretty low down, which is why I was talking to Geneva / Swiss units the entire time. I told them the proposed route on first contact. I told them I was going “Jungfrau / Monch / Eiger and then straight back to England”. They fully understood; in fact they were the first ATC unit on this trip to apparently realise it was a circular flight.
I did the flight which I wanted to do; the only thing was that I could have gone down lower. I just did not believe that I was high enough from the picture out of the window, so I climbed to ~ FL145 (about 14800ft) and it was apparent only when I got close to Jungfrau that I was higher than needed. There was no wind so no risk of mountain waves etc.
When I get the video done I will see just how far above the summit I was.
Incredible flight. Followed you too online.
You will be more relaxed for your next flight, to say Svalbard 
I am sure there is a private or darkweb forum of ATCOs, which longest thread is « the adventures of N113AC »
Isn’t Swiss airspace uncontrolled at below 2,000 AGL in mountainous terrain?
It is, but considering how rugged the terrain it is not really easy to follow the 2000 AGL limit if you’re not a helicopter ^^ which is why depending on where you are you will receive a more or less pressing call to get out of the way.
Well, T28, how come you missed a great opportunity to brief everyone here for the months for which this thread and this one had been running? 
Actually the Swiss are normally pretty good. I would not have gone all that way otherwise.
What briefing would you have expected – “Read the VFR map if you fly VFR”? Buckerfan briefed you pretty extensively on routing, I wouldn’t have thought you need briefing on reading the airspace map.
