FLYER Exhibitions
Our flying club arranges a five-day trip every summer to some fun and interesting destinations. Usually, we aim for around 15 hours flying time in total. This year, the plan was to visit the UK. We had a fairly detailed plan, thanks to tips from this forum, and we planned to go as far as North Wales. When the day of departure, 9 July, grew nearer, it was fairly clear that we had to switch to Plan B: the forecast did not look like it allowed FL55 from Texel to Norfolk.
So, Plan B it was. We tried to go to Plzen in the Czech Republic four years ago but had to divert due to winds, so that was our target. We decided to land at Strausberg (EDAY) and spend an evening in Berlin on the way from our base in Gothenburg (ESGP).
The three aircraft in our little fleet started out southbound on FL75, well above the SCT clouds. Had we chosen a direct route to Germany we could have stayed there, but the change of plans required new maps and a stop at Malmö (ESMS) where there is a little shop. It's interesting looking for a hole where one can descend like a corkscrew, but we found one and completed the trip at 1,500 feet where it was considerably more bumpy. The headwind when landing was so strong that we almost felt like a helicopter.
The flight from Malmö to Berlin starts with a crossing of the Baltic Sea. Not very far, but one does like to have a bit of altitude. Not to reach the coastline in the event of engine failure, but at least to allow some extra time in the air and less time in the water. Due to clouds and poor visibility, FL55 had to be changed to first 3,500 feet and then 2,500 feet. But no matter: the engines performed as per usual, i.e. without a hitch.
Overhead Strausberg (EDAY)
I cannot speak highly enough of Strausberg! Good service at reasonable prices, and no delays. We had our first landing beer at the train station fairly quickly. We reached Alexanderplatz in about an hour and spent the evening sightseeing, eating and sampling German beers.
The direct route from Strausberg to Line/Plzen (LKLN) is almost devoid of controlled airspace, except for at Dresden. At 2,500 feet we could choose between crossing a corner of the CTR or going around it. We tried both options, and both were fine with good guidance from Munich Information. Crossing the terminal area, i.e. above 2,500 feet, was not an option for us: Munich Radar is too busy. After Dresden the ground rises slowly but surely, but so did the cumulus clouds. 3,500 feet MSL was enough to cross the mountains. When entering the Czech airspace it looked like we arrived in Mordor: open pits of coal(?) mines scarred the otherwise beautiful landscape. Western Czech Republich is dotted with hills, so there is some mechanical turbulance when there is a wind. The flight information service from Praha Information did not include telling us we were passing an area with gliders. Luckily, my co-pilot has young and keen eyes.
Downwind Line/Plzen (LKLN)
Line/Plzen is a former military airbase with a long concrete runway. One sees a lot of those in Eastern Europe: some are closed but many are now open to GA. The welcome at Plzen was warm, but it was clear they were not used to as many as three aircraft coming at the same time. The staff who helped us with the hangar seemed friendly enough, but spoke only Czech. It was possible to pay with credit card, but cash is easier: Euros are accepted if you have no Czech currency. Landing and overnight parking in a hangar was 38 Euros, taxi to town was just under 20 Euros.
The hangar looked very rusty and unmaintained, as can be seen below. That was however only camouflage!
On the way back to Sweden we chose to stop for a night at Dresden (EDDC). It's a fairly large airport, but GA friendly enough. Follow-me car, overnight parking and efficient handling came to 30 Euros. Not bad, I thought, for such a large airport. That's about the same as the landing fee, without parking, for visiting aircraft at our home base which is considerably smaller. We were shown parking spaces where we could tie down the aircraft in anticipation of a storm at night. The local train to the city took 20 minutes and cost 2 Euros pp. The old city is restored, quite beautiful and littered with reasonably priced restaurants. Seeing street musicians sing light opera, and very skillfully too, was a surprise and a highlight.
On day four we had to improvise: we wanted to fly to Rügen (EDCG), but all TAFs included things like TEMPO 22020G35 and poor visibility in rain showers. We decided to try Strausberg (again) for lunch and fresh weather. It was easy enough to see the promised TEMPO groups, and easy enough to go around them.
One of them closed in on the airfield just when we landed, but the runway direction matched the wind. I have done smoother landings, but it never felt unsafe. During the afternoon flight to Rügen the intensity of the rain and wind had subsided and we had a pleasant cruise northwards at 2,500 feet.
Of the three places we landed in Germany, Rügen was the smallest. As always in Germany it is GA friendly and had reasonable prices. 12.50 EUR for landing and overnight parking. 900 meters concrete runway was easy enough, but the traffic pattern was tighter than we were used to: 900 feet ground on downwind and then a quite short base and final due to noise abatement. But all in all not really difficult in the calm evening breeze.
Final runway 09 at Rügen (EDCG)
The last of three aircrafts in our little fleet is parking, while we watch from the tower.
On our last day we did some tourist things in the morning and then headed back home after lunch. The tailwind meant that the trip was less than two hours. Just when we had refuelled and returned the trusty C172 to the hangar, the rain started: the worst rain we had had during the whole trip.
Eastern Germany and the Czech Republic are not the closest European destinations for UK pilots, but I can recommend the area nonetheless.
/Peter
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