Vagar/ Faeroe Islands

Having landed at Vagar at night in IMC I would strongly suggest you ensure it is clear when you try to go. As Wick is your only option to return you need to be careful of fog. We did Greenland to Vagar in October. I would call Andrew at Far North Aviation who will have a good feel.

It is a fun place to fly into but there isn’t much there.

They do have hangarage if you are going in colder months.

I am sure you can read the tafs and metars like anybody else but the thing I find useful as a guard against fog formation is how close the temp and dewpoint are.

If say the temp is +8C and the DP is +6C then the temp only has to fall by 2C and you are likely to get instant and widespread fog.

This is often the case in the Shoreham (UK coast) area where one needs to be careful flying in the evening. If doing a very short local (e.g. to log night time) you can usually see the start of it by looking at the street lights and when they start to get fuzzy you fly back fast

So I would time any flight (in such conditions) so that it happens when the temp-DP spread is improving i.e. nowhere near late afternoon or evening.

So pick two consecutive days of decent wx (evident from the MSLP charts, and from the tafs etc nearer the time) and do the two flights in the morning.

I nearly always do significant trips with an early morning departure because it gives one much more time to hang out, etc.

Fog forecasting is a near-total black art which nobody seems to have a grip on. Forecasting the stuff seems largely haphazard and based on doing this many times I would never get airborne to a fogged-up destination whose fog is forecast to clear by time X for example. Actually in this case, with no alternates, any forecast of fog – stay away.

I dont agree with JasonC saying that ‘there is not much there’. Why after flying all that way not spend a few days enjoying the scenery, fresh air and culture. You can
hire a car at the airfield and explore the other islands as well. However you can at times get some raging winds up there, at FL270 I had 89kts headwind which decreased to about 20kts at the surface. You should go for it, IMHO its a great place to visit. Rgds, Q

For once I’d have to disagree with Jason as well – Faroe Islands is one of the most stunning locations in Europe, in terms of landscapes. (and no, I don’t say that just because I’m danish) The scenery is absolutely out of this World & easily matches Iceland etc. I’m actually surprised so few european pilots knows about this place.

A tech stop in IMC shows pretty much nothing. (the airport itself is indeed strikingly dull)

You have to spend a couple of days up there. The road network & public transport is excellent. (courtesy of the Danish taxpayers ) Also you can file VFR & tour low level around the islands & enjoy the stunning landscapes. However, make sure you study the map of power lines pretty carefully – they span some of the fjords. Also being right in the middle of the North Atlantic weather systems, “quickly changing weather conditions” would be an understatement. (think Norway times x 10)

Fair enough I stand corrected. My views on the rest of the Islands are driven by Danish friends. The airport hotel is actually quite OK and is an easy walk.

I promise to give the Faroe Islands another chance. Maybe in summer!