Girona – Oran

The beaches and the mountains of Catalonia are great places to spend time, but the journey had to continue. I took off from Girona, flew over the Mediterranean and arrived at the shore of the Northern Africa. The destination airfield was Ahmed Ben Bella (DAOO) near Oran, Algeria. Landing there was very managed and smooth despite of the dusk. The fuel had run very low, as there was only 13% left after the landing.

Departure from Catalonia

Over the Mediterranean

Approaching Algeria and the continent of Africa!

Landing onto Ahmed Ben Bella airport

Oran’s beautiful sea shore, constructed under French rule, was inspired by Nice’s seafront. It consists of a long boulevard lined with cafés, restaurants, and ice cream shops. The boulevard also offers a splendid view of the sea, the harbour, Santa Cruz and the cliffs (“les Falaises”). It has been renamed “Boulevard de l’ALN” by the government after the independence but it is still called Front de Mer by the locals.

Oran, Wikivoyage

Orange – Girona

After spending some time in Orange eating baguette and ratatouille, it was time to fly onto the the sea. There were some fog over the sea, but the trip was without any problems. Landing onto the Girona runway (LEGE) succeeded fairly well.

At Plan de Dieu ready to take off

Over Catalonia finally!

About to land onto Girona Airfield

Safely landed!

Girona is said to consistently win a country-wide poll of citizens on preferred city to live in. Geographically set at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell rivers, it has been a focal point of this region in Catalonia since prior to being part of the Roman Empire.

Girona, Wikivoyage

Annecy – Orange

It was time to continue the trip after a long stay in Annecy. I headed for southwest flying on the mountain valleys. As my navigation skills had got bit rust, the journey went over several mountain ridges instead of vallyes only. Eventually the Alps started to be behind and the landscape started to look less breath-taking. It was time to look for an airfield. Valreas Visan airport near Orange, France, looked like a peaceful place to land, but unfortunately the speed was too high for a touchdown after deep descending from the mountains. Fortunately there was Plan-de-Dieu Airport (LF51 / 8422) nearby, and I managed to land there.

Flying close to Mont Aiguille

Orange is a small town in southern France famous for its well-preserved Roman theatre and its music festival.

Orange, Wikivoyage

Lake Geneva – Annecy

Mont Blanc (4,810 m / 15,780 ft) is the highest point in Europe. About 50 km from it to west is located
Sallanches Aerodrome (LFHZ), which is in Annecy. It’s a village in Haute-Savoie area in Rhône-Alpes. The airport was my next destination.

Crossing the border of Switzerland and France over Lake Geneva

Rhône-Alpes

The last valley before Annecy

Approaching the airport

Landing was quite managed this time. Cessna touched ground some meters before the runway but the rest was very successful.

Landing to Sallanches Aerodrome

Many residents of the Haute-Savoie take pride in the culture and lifestyle that can be described as “typiquement Savoyard” (typical Savoyard, a variation of the word Savoie). Not only do many people believe it is one of the most beautiful parts of France, but there is also the cheese and other special dishes to dote on. Taking a chance to talk to the local people about the ways this area is different than the rest of France is sure to be enlightening and would greatly enrich the travel experience.

The Haute-Savoie, particularly the rural areas, can also provide a revealing look at the quiet, small-town life in France. For the tourist who has a tendency to forget the France outside of Paris, this may be especially eye-opening and entertaining.

Haute-Savoie, Wikivoyage

Interlaken – Lake Geneva

It was time to take the next hop on the Alps. I flew from Interlaken Airport to Lausanne Airport (LSGL) via alpine valleys. have to say, that flying in those valleys makes you want visit there in real life.

Leaving Interlaken and Thunersee behind

Near Diemtigen village

Over Saanen

Near Rossinière

The problem of flying in a mountainous terrain is, that you have to be very careful to not try climb over the ridges or passes too quickly. A small airplane, like Cessna, has a maximum altitude somewhere above 8000 ft, that’s not so high elevation on mountains. As air gets thinner, when you get higher, climbing becomes slower as well. Alpine valleys are usually a safe route, to pass through mountain ranges.

The mountain ridge near Cape au Moine summit at 1,941 m (6,368 ft)

Lausanne Airport in front of Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva, known in French as Lac Léman, is one of the largest lakes in western Europe. It lies on the course of the Rhone river on the frontier between France and Switzerland.

Aside from the city and canton of Geneva most destinations in the Lake Geneva region are in either the Swiss canton of Vaud or the French department of Haute Savoie. For its part Vaud is the largest canton in the French speaking part of Switzerland, and the third largest in the country as a whole. The geography is varied, with the Jura mountains in the north, a hilly plain in the center and in the southwest the Alps. The main attractions of the region are the cities and towns surrounding the lake, the opportunities for skiing and hiking in both mountain ranges, and of course the lake itself.

Lake Geneva, Wikivoyage

Meiringen – Interlaken

The Bernise Oberland is so impressive area to fly even in a simulator, that it was worth taking a small hop from Meiringen Air Base to Interlaken Airport (LSMI). The journey was only about crossing Brienzersee (Lake Brienz), which lies in the same valley as Meiringen and Interlaken themselves.

Takeoff from Meiringen Air Base

Over Brienzersee

Approaching Interlaken Airport

Another landing

Interlaken is a small city in the Bernese Highlands region of central Switzerland. Located between two alpine lakes (Lake Brienz (Brienzersee) and Lake Thun (Thunersee)), Interlaken is a popular base camp for outdoor sports and travel in the surrounding Bernese Oberland Alps. Interlaken itself is a superb holiday destination.

Interlaken, Wikivoyage

Lake Constance – Meiringen

It was raining and bit cloudy, but the Swiss Alps were waiting for us. My first destination there was Meiringen Air Base (LSMM), which is a military airfield in middle of the most famous mountains of the Bernise Oberland.

Over the mountains of St. Gallen

The lake after Stansstad

The flight was short and you had to fly through the valleys carefully. Crossing the ridge between Lungernersee and Brienzersee was a quite adventurous experience, that almost resulted a crash, but somehow Cessna managed to gain enough altitude just on time…

The tires didn’t get grassy during the landing, that probably means, that some improvement has happened. Meiringen Air Base has a breath-taking view between the massive mountain ranges on the both sides of the valley.

Meiringen Air Base

Time to stop engine just before the sunset

This is probably the finest area of the Swiss Alps. Most people will come into Interlaken, sitting between two lakes, the Thunersee & the Brienzersee. From Interlaken, twin valleys go to either the resort town of Grindelwald, or the Lauterbrunnen, which has cable car connections to several stunningly located and isolated towns. Several glaciers are in this area.

Bernise Highlands, Wikivoyage

Bechyně – Lake Constance

The journey continued from Bechyně towards the Alps. The next destination was St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (LSZR) in Switzerland. The takeoff and the flight were fine, except some problems with navigation instruments, that are because of the uneducated pilot. The weather was nice and the landscape has started to be more hilly after the flat terrain.

Flying across Vltava river

Climbing over Bayerischer Wald

Sky got clearer for a while

Somewhere over Baden-Württemberg

Approaching St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport

Landing succeeded without a crash, but again my altitude was too high, when approaching the runway. That resulting too high speed, that made the landing too long. More practice is needed still.

Landed as one piece but with grassy wheels

Lake Constance (Bodensee) is the third biggest lake in Central Europe and it is on the path of the Rhine River. The lake shore is shared between the German federal-states Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, the Austrian federal-state Vorarlberg and the Swiss cantons of Thurgau and St. Gallen.

All three nations have developed a specific culture around their part of the shore. There are eleven islands of which Reichenau is the biggest.

Lake Constance, Wikivoyage

Łódź – Bechyně

It was time to continue the journey from Łódź towards the Alps. The next destination was Bechyně Airport (LKBC), which is a small place in southwest Czech Republic. As VOR radio navigation has its challenges because of the sparse network, I decided to try something different, to get to the destination. Flightgear has an integrated a GPS-based navigation to the simulation and it allows you to set NAV 1 to point at the desired location. I’ll write more about it, when I understand the auto pilot and heading offset better.

Flying over Poland after the takeoff

It’s easy to switch on the panel lights (press L key several times), but far more challenging to find active navigation, landing and taxi lights. You can switch them on using the properties browser (press / key and choose /controls/lights in the hierarchy), but there are also visible switches available under the yoke. The challenge is, they are unlit and you have to push the yoke in, to make them visible.

Light switches under the yoke

Take off was a relatively straight-forward operation and soon Cessna was flying in the cloudy morning sky.

Dawn

The flight itself was quite smooth. Weather was cloudy and foggy, that made visibility minimal, but those were acceptable conditions for flying with an autopilot. I was away from the keyboard most of the time anyway.

In the foggy sky of Czech Republic

Landing on Bechyne airport was not too easy, because of the fog and too high approaching altitude. It was a quite quick and bumpy landing, but at least the plane stopped before the end of the runway. As I don’t have pedals, taxing with keyboard (numpad INS and ENTER keys) is the only option to control they plane on landing and takeoff. It’s manageable, but could be more accurate.

Landing on Bechyně Airport (LKBC)

I hope, the weather during the next flights could be clear, because the mountain terrain is ahead. There are several must-visit airports around the world and one of them is high at the Alps.

Bechyně (Czech pronunciation: [ˈbɛxɪɲɛ]), is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is located on the Lužnice River 20 km southwest of Tábor and has a population of 5,695.

Bechyně, Wikipedia

Ventspils – Łódź

It was time to leave Ventspils behind and continue the trip. The next destination should have been Nide Airport on the famous Curonian Spit, but unfortunately that tiny airport doesn’t exist in FlightGear.

Morning over Lithuania

Curonian Spit

I looked for a new destination and decided to head for an airport in southern Poland. Łódź Władysław Reymont Airport (EPLL) looked like a good candidate.

At 8000 ft

Flying over Rezerwat Dąbrowa Grotnicka park

At this time landing succeeded better than in Estonia. I decreased throttle early enough, that made Cessna practically float to the runway, without bouncing back to the air after the first touch. Naturally I had lowered the flaps earlier.

Approaching the runway

Activating the map canvas for browser helped navigation a lot. Maybe it’s not the most realistic way of naviation, but considering my current navigation skills, there aren’t many choices.

On Łódź Władysław Reymont Airport

Łódź (Pronounced: Wootch) is Poland’s third biggest city, and the capital of the Łódzkie Voivodship. Unlike most other large Polish cities, which boast impressive long histories, Łódź was created almost from scratch during the 19th century textile industry boom to house textile mills, their owners and their workers, and rapidly grew to become an important industrial and commerce centre. In recent years, Łódź has been battling rising unemployment and youth migration resulting from the failing textile industry and is repositioning itself as a hub for design and creative industries.

Łódź, Wikivoyage