Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By UKflyer
#1585799
Anyone flown to the Faroe Islands in a SEP? Something I'd really like to do, and after planning it, it seems quite simple. (?)

My plan:
I'd like to stop at Wick, fill the tanks - gives me over 6 hours endurance at 95 knots - and change into immersion suits. I've been quoted £30-£60 to hire immersion suits for a week and liferafts £40-£200 for the same period.

My plan is to wait for decent weather at Vagar, as I know it can be covered with low cloud, worst case I'd turn around and fly back to Wick.

We'd stay for about two days on the Faroe's - I was very surpised to see how cheap their fees are. Again, I'd fill the tanks, the only sting being the £50 surcharge for someone to operate the fuel pump.

The return would again be a stop off at Wick to add any extra fuel needed and take immersion suits off.

The only thing I'd need to sort is: insurance as the insurance policy only covers mainland Europe, the Faroe Islands can be added but I need to get the club owner to enquire about this. And finally confirm that the owner is happy for me to take it away for a few days to the Faroe Islands.

My main concern is how much extra to add cover for the Faroe Islands is going to be. The policy is with Visicover. Their policy has two main areas which they cover. 'Europe 1' covers most of mainland Europe and is what the policy has. To fly to the Faroe Islands, I'd need to add 'Europe 2' which includes the Faore Islands, but it needs the policy holder to enquire to get a quote.

What are people's thoughts etc?
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By Lockhaven
#1585802
Be careful of the winds and severe turbulence that can be encountered for all approaches, and if flying in the fjords visually watch out for lots of power lines.
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By Iceman
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1585805
I have done it in an SEP and in an MEP, the last time in a Seneca for the total eclipse in 2015. That trip formed the basis of a Flyer magazine article by Aerbabe. I'll read your post in full later.

Give Visicover a call and I think that you'll be pleasantly surprised how little the extra cover will cost (and you can always cancel the cover after the trip).

As you say, the weather there can be extremely changeable. This was my view out of the window at minima on the 30 ILS (photo by Aerbabe sat in the back).

Image

This is what it looks like on a good day.

Image

Aerbabe expressed later 'Oh, that's what it should look like !".

Iceman 8)
Last edited by Iceman on Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:59 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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By UKflyer
#1585814
It's a non equity group, I'll look into Gap insurance.

I've spoken with Visicover - I can only find an email for them - and they won't give me any information as I'm not the policy holder. I'll have to see what the club owner says, but don't want to waist their time if this never comes to fruition.

Iceman - stunning pictures! Be great to hear your thoughts on my plan etc.
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By BlackheathBloke
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1585823
Would be interested in how your planning goes.

It's a route that's been sitting in SkyDemon for a while and needs to be flown soon (this summer?) :D
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By Lockhaven
#1585857
BlackheathBloke wrote:Would be interested in how your planning goes.

It's a route that's been sitting in SkyDemon for a while and needs to be flown soon (this summer?) :D


Basically go North until 61N04W then go left a bit up G11 for approx 115 NM, look right and it should be there :thumright:
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By Iceman
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1585879
UKflyer wrote:The policy is with Visicover. Their policy has two main areas which they cover. 'Europe 1' covers most of mainland Europe and is what the policy has. To fly to the Faroe Islands, I'd need to add 'Europe 2' which includes the Faore Islands, but it needs the policy holder to enquire to get a quote.


I made this inquiry with Visicover for the Europe 2 add-on and it worked out at something ridiculous like £20 for the year which he then said we could cancel after the trip so we'd end up paying about £5.

The Faeroe Islands AIP is available on-line and you can read the whole thing in an evening. The airport was created by the British during WW2, closed after WW2 and was reopened in the sixties by some Icelanders I seem to recall. The airport is in the bottom of a double-ended fjord and is built on about the only possible place on the 18 main islands that you could possibly put a runway. Perched in the North Atlantic and in the bottom of a fjord, the wind can funnel through there and as stated above, approaches and departures can be 'somewhat sporting' :shock:. I have only ever arrived on 30 and departed on 12. The missed approach / departure on 30 / arrival on 12 can be particularly unpleasant apparently. It gets windy. The islands are the only place in the world where I have seen waterfalls going upwards.

Vagar airport has all of the facilities and is serviced by A320 / 737 sized aircraft from various parts of Europe. It is FISO-only as they only have a very few aircraft per day, but there are instrument approaches at both ends. From the pictures above you can see that it's a bit of a leap of faith in IMC and you make sure that you have those needles nailed going down the approach / missed-approach.

After the 2015 total eclipse, we were about 40 minutes SW of Vagar at flight level 065 working Icelandic Control in the oceanic airspace (Class A) which extends down to F055. We were in glorious sunshine (or not :D ) for the eclipse but the islands were covered in rolling cloud banks. There were many aircraft trying to recover to Vagar after the eclipse, Icelandic Control getting rid of each aircraft as they descended through F055 but being given radar-based traffic information on the other aircraft before being passed to Vagar Information. Vagar Info just told everybody to talk go each other and 'self-sequence' for the approach as a FISO cannot authorise approaches. It was 'interesting' with people taking up the hold at various levels before agreeing on who would go next for the ILS. A KingAir in front of me tried for the visual cloud break procedure over the famous waterfall approach for 30 but called no joy at minimas and came back up to the hold, agreeing that I would go next for a try on the ILS. We got in at minimas and he followed me in with an A320 then departing. It all made for some spectacular flying, On touch down, there was this massive rumbley noise and I thought WTF have I done to the aircraft (the landing had been ok). I had forgotten about the grooved runway surface intended to dissipate water (of which they get a lot), and it makes one hell of a racket :shock:. Still, there was no screaming from the passengers, just me :lol:.

They are geared up for GA aircraft and fuel / oil is readily available (ground pump first time, bowser second time). Flight plans, weather can be obtained in the tower and the terminal has Wifi. Customs / immigration and fees are all handled efficiently in the main terminal, There is a good cafe in the main terminal. Parking was on the main apron. Check your submitted flight plan if you do it in the tower - on our return, the FISO had entered the Scottish FIR boundary designator as our destination which meant that Kirkwall had no knowledge of our arrival (Sumburgh Radar sorted out the mess once I had sussed what had happened). Be sure to file a GENDEC for your UK return.

The islands are fascinating to tour around, the main islands being connected by unlit, long, single track, undersea tunnels which have passing places every so often - quite disconcerting when you see headlights coming the other way :shock:. The people are friendly but restaurants quite difficult to find outside the capital Torshavn (about an hour's drive from the airport). Do try the puffin - I didn't :P. On our first visit, we had pre-booked a car, but on our arrival, no one was to be seen so we gave up on him and hired from one of the Hertz / Avis at the airport. We had a similar story when we reached our hotel in Torshavn - no one on the desk. It became apparent later that they all arrange their times around the commercial flight schedule and were thrown by us arriving at an ad hoc time in a non-scheduled aircraft. The islands are wet, windy and bleak with lots and lots of very high waterfalls. There was quite a bit of snow on my second visit with quite deep roadside snow drifts in places. Wildlife comprises highland cattle, sheep and geese which quite often surround the car in a rather comical fashion.

Some pictures from our September 2007 visit. A Blackpool based modern PA28 with Gareth Davies at the helm, myself and Janie.

F085 in the cruise from Stornoway, blobby suits / life jackets on, life raft and PLB available.


Doing what Iceman does best - it was September so you can pick up ice at any time of year !


My first ever siting of Vagar on the first trip.


Tie-downs arrive 'Vagar-style' - they get some serious wind here !!!




The crew.
Image

The locals - it was a bit of a standoff for a while :lol:.


Refer to the Flyer article in about July 2015 for the eclipse trip in the Seneca (myself, SmithGD and Aerbabe).

Iceman 8)
Last edited by Iceman on Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By Adrian
#1585887
If anyone is put off by the pictures of mist and fog...... it's not always like that. Turning from downwind to base, over the waterfall:

Image

Base leg:
Image

Final:
Image

I do confess that I've only visited once, and Iceman's pictures may be more representative! I had the same problem with a non existent flight plan having trusted the lady in the tower to file it.
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By Bill McCarthy
#1585937
If someone can fly to Shetland in a Shadow powered by a Rotax 447 2-stroke you should be able to make it to the Faroes !
I thought Iceman was describing Caithness (waterfalls going up) as the terrain and weather are very similar.
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By Trent772
#1585938
Immersion suits.... Pah !

What's wrong with a bottle of Talisker, a 9mm and a lemon ?

Hell of a find if your last transmission is

"The lemon is in play"

:pirat:
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By mmcp42
#1585940
Trent772 wrote:Immersion suits.... Pah !

What's wrong with a bottle of Talisker, a 9mm and a lemon ?

Hell of a find if your last transmission is

"The lemon is in play"

:pirat:

ok I'll play dumb
lemon?
User avatar
By Lockhaven
#1585941
Trent772 wrote:Immersion suits.... Pah !

What's wrong with a bottle of Talisker, a 9mm and a lemon ?

Hell of a find if your last transmission is

"The lemon is in play"

:pirat:


And what are going to do with a 9mm shoot fish :lol: take a proper one along a .45