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Visiting the north of Finland during winter?

I’m just curious at the moment and it is just a game of mind …

Has anyone here flown to/around Finland during winter? Does anyone know about trip reports available somewhere about that?

I’m having those visions about landing on a snow covered runway next to a log cabin somewhere in the middle of nowhere :-)

Frequent travels around Europe

Flying in Northern Finland is probably just as un-problematic as flying in the northern parts of Norway. How far north are you thinking about? Weather is always a problem, and light is another thing. There is only a few ours of light in the middle of the winter. If you want to reach log cabin in the middle of nowhere, then you need skis as well.

It is probably better to wait to April-March, then pilots start to “wake up” from winter sleep, and the sun starts to work again. Runways are made at several frozen lakes with fly-ins etc.

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

Pilots here sleep through winter like bears. We wake up in march/april especially those with ski- installation. Only Finavia airports are plown ,snow removed. For ex. Efks, Efro, Efkt,Efiv, Efet. All these have avgas and electricity on parkapron, but have a heater and wingcovers with. Hangar places are N/A or contact beforehand. Accomandation in skiresorts normally 20km from airport.
This month we have new airspace here, all TMA and CTR areas will ne modified and active TSA TRA chart is in end of Notam list.
Postpone to summer and then you can find airstrips with logcabine next to yor plane.

Matti
EFHV

Ok. I should probably be a bit more specific about my dreams :-)

I would like to learn about a location up North where my family can find the perfect winter wonderland. Where we can do cross-country skiing, ride a dog sledge and things like that. I’d like to fly there and stay for a week or two in a cabin. The looks should be like the “real thing” but it should not be the real wilderness – I guess you understand what I mean :-)

I don’t care too much about the specific country. Can be anywhere in Scandinavia. Preferred time is around the Christmas holiday.

This is a research project and not about going now. If someone has documented it on a blog or has a trip report, I’m more than eager to read the account. And once I actually get to do this myself I will share.

Frequent travels around Europe

There are lots og places where you can do that in Norway. Fagernes, Oppdal, Tynset all of them with airports and well developed tourist infrastructure. Not entirely sure about the airport at Tynset at Christmas time.

But I think Røros will be hard to beat anywhere in the world. It is like nothing else you can find. It is far into the mountains. The city is from the 1700 and looks like its from a fairy tale. The best thing, it has a controlled airport a couple of hundred metres from the city centre. Hotels, restaurants, lodges, everything, but it’s not the best place for down hill skiing.

There are also several places in Sweden, particularly in Ora/Orsa area and of course Åre.

There is nothing like Røros though. http://www.roros.no

It depends om ecactly what you want.

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

You could contact the Siljan Airpark, http://www.siljanairpark.se/
Maybe there are house owners there who would like to lend you their houses?

ESTL

I went to Rovaniemi (N Finland, just S. of the Arctic Circle) a couple of years back in my Warrior (in the summer). The guys there told me that in the autumn they push their planes into their hangars, and don’t get them out again until spring. Doubtless you could fly there in the winter if you could arrange heated hangarage, but it’s a long way from UK and I would not do it because being stuck someplace on the way there when everything is closed would be no joke at all.

However they do have budget airline Santa flights from UK at Christmas time.

EGBW / KPRC, United Kingdom

The wide coverage of EuroGA membership is a wonderful thing, there are clearly several members who are posting very useful information.

I think that the extra complications and risk involved with flying at night will be a big factor in all the locals putting their aircraft to bed over winter, given the very short days. I have been to a couple of places in the far north for short visits in a larger aircraft, and although the weather can be beautiful, it can also be horrible, with low cloud, snow, wind and icing, all at once.

Of course that is all part of the challenge and if you have the time to do such a trip I hope you will also post a report on here. I am in awe of some of the trips people do in single engine aircraft and enjoy reading about them and looking at the pictures too!

Darley Moor, Gamston (UK)

I think that the extra complications and risk involved with flying at night will be a big factor in all the locals putting their aircraft to bed over winter, given the very short days.

I’m a bit surprised, actually. Certainly, I’m based at 60N and not 66N, but we also get a lot of snow, there are always a few times in winter when the temperature is -20°C or less and around christmas, we only have some 6 hours of daylight.

Heated hangars are not necessary, but engine preheating is. Our club aircraft all have electric engine heaters which are turned on whenever an aircraft is in the hangar.

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

I second @LeSving and his post

I have done my share of winter flying in Norway. Some aspects of that flying are a lot more enjoyable that a flight to Calvi during summer or fall. Crystal clear air with unlimited visibility. Total absence of turbulence. Higher engine performance. Landing on frozen lakes and walking 100m to the closest café (Fagernes, Vermundsjøen). As LeSving says, Røros is hard to beat any time of year.

On the other hand you need to know that most Scandinavian aircraft are equipped with a heating element in the oil sump in order to facilitate engine start at low temperatures and prevent engine wear. Yours may not. Aircraft are generally hangared, and those that are not require de-icing, some shoveling of snow and lengthy engine runs to bring up to temperature – both the engine and the cabin. North of the 66th parallel you will see no daylight around Christmas so it will all be night flying over very sparsely populated areas and partly mountainous areas. The further north, the shorter days. During winter you would for that reason probably not want to go too far north.

Southern Norway may be doable, but you may prefer to join a local flying club, rent from them and do some flights with local pilots to learn the ropes of winter flying in that part of the world.

Last Edited by Aviathor at 03 Nov 18:53
LFPT, LFPN
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