Fjord Norway
For Saturday, July 3, 2021

Today we visit Norway's "tourist magnet" region...the fjords of Western Norway. We begin offshore at Alesund to visit some of the coastal islands and fjords and then climb over the Jostedal Glacier, dip down to part of the Sognefjord before flying overland and then down the Hardangerfjord to Bergen.



We depart from Alesund Vigro [ENAL] to fly over the island town and fishing harbor [ALSND] before darting down the Hjorundfjord (perhaps the most beautiful of the not-packed-with-tourists fjords). We land at Hovden [ENOV]. Then out to the rugged coast to Floro [ENFL] which has grown this century as both a regional airport and a helicopter port for North Sea oil. Then back along the islands and lakes and mountains to Sandane Anda [ENSD]. (This terrain-encircled airport can be difficult in heavy Norwegian weather but will be easy-peasy for our summertime visit.)

We climb up over the massive Jostedal Glacier [JOST] and the associated Jostedalsbreen National Park. This is Europe's largest glacier and its grand vistas are worth a look. Then we descend to the Lustrafjord. This is a branch of the famous Songefjord which, at 125 miles, is Norway's longest and deepest fjord (and the world's number two). We get a good view of the historic Urnes Stave Church [URNES], a wooden structure preserved from the 12th century that embodies the transition from Viking to Christian cultures. As the oldest of the 28 remaining stave churches, Urnes is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We climb up to land at Songdal Haukasen [ENSG] which is perched on a steep plateau overlooking the Songefjord.

We turn south, crossing the Songefjord to follow its branches the Aurlandsfjord [ARLND] and then the spectacular Naeroyfjord [NEROY]. These are steep and narrow and pleasing to the eye...and they attract thousands of tourists. The Naeroyfjord, along with the Geirangerfjord (just north of our route) have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites and, together, rated by the National Geographic Society as the world's number one natural heritage site.

We follow the river valleys south and west to Voss and land at Bomoen [ENBM]. This is an attractive rural area with mountains and river valleys. It is of interest to the AVSIM Racing Team as it is the home of Jan Tillung (Gazer75) who was a central member of the team in its early years. Late one night (perhaps while the baton was crossing the vast Pacific), he described the beautiful view from the top of the aerial tramway that stood over the city. We can enjoy that view by climbing up to and circling over the (only vaguely-depicted) gondola site Hangurstoppen Gondol [GONDO].

We proceed down to the Hardangerfjord which is Norway's second longest (and the world's third longest) – it stretches 111 miles from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountainous interior. We reach the fjord and immediately inspect the Hardanger Bridge [HARD], Norway's longest suspension bridge. Just completed in 2013, the bridge is unusual in that it connects at either end two tunnels that allow the east-west highway connection from Oslo to Bergen to pass through this rugged countryside. (If you turn off crash damage, you can fly underneath to gain a proper perspective.) We fly along the fjord to enjoy the views and then turn off to cross over to land at the small private field at Vakinsen Ulven [ENUL]. The site, inserted between two hillsides, makes for a delightful approach and landing.

Finally, we fly up to Bergen to gain a sense of how the city is spread over the islands and slender coastal lands. We pass over Bergen's football stadium [NO16] and over central Bergen to get a close look at the Bryggen [BRYGN] right on the east side of Vagen Harbour. This small district of 14th century commercial buildings marks Bergen's history as a core part of the Hanseatic League. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and a popular tourist attraction. The location is done very well and worth getting low-and-slow to see some of the detail.

Then out over the harbor, perhaps visiting the underside of the Askoy Bridge [ASKOY], before turning to land at Bergen Flesland [ENBR]. This is a very busy commercial airport. And also serves at the principal helicopter base for the North Sea oil operations.

We gather at the old terminal in front of the Flesland's control tower. Maybe near Gate H54.

Documentation
The flightplan can be found here.

Aircraft
We want to fly fairly low to appreciate the scale of the fjords. We need to cover about 310nm so require something that will cruise at about 150kts. Most of our favorite "quick" General Aviation aircraft will be just fine. I'll fly the Piper Turbo Arrow III in the T7-NVG livery by Ron Attwood.

Additional Scenery

Alesund Vigra, Hovden, Sandane Anda, Songdal Haukasen, Voss Bomoen, Vaksinen Ulven, Bergen features, and Bergen Flesland. (In addition, Orbx has a good payware Alesund Vigra.)

Voss Bomoen is required (it is not in the default database). The rest are both recommended and optional.

In addition to the standard libraries, for Bergen (and some other Norwegian airports) you want WombiiActual ENxx Assetpack. You can download a one-stop-package of the library along with the freeware sceneries here.

John Lovell has done a fine photogrammetry Alesund city. This is both comprehensive and very attractive. However, it is a performance challenge so you may want to consider your computing power when you install this.

Finally, Mikeaat has provided an excellent 20m DEM mesh for Norway Part 1 and Norway Part 2. This is a notable modest improvement over the World Update 5 mesh for Norway and there seems to be no performance penalty. However, it conflicts with ENUL in our flightplan. For this particular flight it is not recommended.

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 4:00 pm local for July 3, 2021.
We prefer real weather.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Saturday, July 3, 2021. 1800 UTC
Where: AVSIM RTWR Teamspeak - Casual Flights Channel
Teamspeak Server Address: ts.teamavsim.com
Cross-Platform Multiplayer: JoinFS. Latest version is here. (FSX, FSX-SE, and P3D and MSFS2020)
Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!

Mike,

Thank you for the "one-stop-package - makes for a convenient install!

Can I fly my DC-6?

3 hours ago, Ron Attwood said:

Can I fly my DC-6?

I don't know, Can you?   🙂

1 hour ago, jt_williams said:

I don't know, Can you?   🙂

Ouch! Pedant.

4 hours ago, Ron Attwood said:

Can I fly my DC-6?

We'll be the judge of that!

On 6/30/2021 at 5:27 PM, somiller said:

We'll be the judge of that!

You had to be there. It seems I can....C'mon, ONE crash ain't too bad!

EDIT: I wasn't alone either.

Edited July 2, 20214 yr by Ron Attwood
Thought of a cutting repartee.

For those who like to fly in that beautiful part of Norway more often: ORBX just released ENSG Sogndal Haukasen Airport!

1 hour ago, Viking01 said:

ENSG Sogndal Haukasen Airport!

Ker-ching! + Alesund Viagra