The Scarlet Pipistrel in Slovenia

[MM 426]

The Scarlet Pipistrel in Slovenia
(LJAJ-LJPZ)
For July 20, 2022
Michael MacKuen

A special invitation from the Scarlet Pipistrel in Slovenia: Let’s have some fun in light sport aircraft.



We shall explore the forested hills and alpine mountains of Slovenia. This small country (about 2.1 million people) has long been at the crossroads of Slavic, Germanic and Romance cultures. And the territory has been ruled as part of many larger states, most recently the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. After WWII it became part of Tito’s Socialist Yugoslavia. In 1991 it split from Yugoslavia and became an independent state and became a member of the EU and a fairly prosperous society.

We start at Ajdovščina [LJAJ], near Gorizia Italy. This is home to Pipistrel’s main R&D operations and its primary factory. The firm was founded by Ivo Boscarol who started designing and building motorized hang gliders (for Italians as private flight was banned in Yugoslavia) and tested them between dusk and darkness to avoid governmental attention. (The flying time and the shape of the wings earned the nickname “pipistrel”, local dialect for bat.) In the 1990s the firm turned to light-sport composite aircraft and next won multiple NASA General Aviation Technology prizes for its Virus. From 2011, Pipistrel has put serious effort into the development of electric-powered aircraft – with some success in commercial applications including a certified 2-seat trainer. In April 2022, the company was purchased by Textron with the expectation that Pipistrel will continue its current operations but that the company will also seriously deepen its commitment to electric- and hybrid-powered aircraft.

We take off and fly 11 miles northwest, near Italian Gorizia, to follow the Soča river valley through the foothills and then into the mountains of the Julian Alps. The Soča is famous for its emerald-green water (a function of the dissolved bedrock that reflects the green-blue colors). We land at Bovec [LJBO], a busy tourist town which hosts visitors who love outdoor sports such as whitewater kayaking and rafting, hiking, biking, and paragliding. The Soča Trout lures fly-fishermen from all over the world. And in winter, Bovec supports ski resorts on both the Italian and Slovenian sides of Mt Kanin to the north. We depart up the Trenta Valley toward the Triglav National Park and Mount Triglav (Slovenia’s highest peak at 9395 ft). After some climbing along the Soča river, we cross the Luknja Pass through waypoints [6300] and [5400] and turn southeastward to Slovenia’s most popular tourist destination – picturesque Lake Bled. In the lake lies Bled Island [ISLE], the site of a pilgrimage church (a mixture of Gothic and Baroque features). Medieval Bled Castle [BLED], first built by Emperor Henry II in 1011 and then enhanced over the centuries, stands high over the north shore. We land at Lesce-Bled [LJBL], an active general aviation and (especially) glider field. (Some long-distance flights have initiated in these Alps for Italy, Austria, Germany and France.)

Next, we hop down to Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport [LJLJ], the nation’s primary international airport. The 60-year-old facility has recently undergone renovations to a more modern European standard. We depart to cross the foothills of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and land at Šoštanj [LJSO]. On approach we can see the Šoštanj Power Plant [POWER] which operates two large coal-fired power plants and two smaller gas-turbine power plants. The former rely on a nearby coal mine for millions of tons of (soft) coal burned each year.

We climb to the top of Mount St. Ursula [URSLA] which, at 5,574 ft is the easternmost peak of the Karawank Alps. The mountain offers a panoramic view of all of Carinthia, the Kozjak Mountains and the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. Below the peak stands the Gothic St Ursula’s Church, a TV tower, a mountain lodge, and a monument to soldiers fallen in World War I. We come down the mountain to land at Slovenj Gradec Airport LJSG]. The local management team does aviation training, aviation maintenance, and aircraft sales. And it has recently constructed a new hangar, a new hotel and a new aviation fuel station.

We continue southeastward for a quick stop at Slovenske Konjice Airport [LJSK] to appreciate its rustic charm. We then turn southwest to fly over Celje and then execute a touch-and-go at Celje Airfield [LJCL], a busy sport airport. Celje is Slovenia’s fourth largest urban area (38,000) and has a long distinguished history. It was a prosperous walled city with marbled palaces under the Roman Empire from 15 BC. After being razed by Slavic tribes, it later grew back to become a notable market town and then an administrative center from the fourteenth century. We proceed through the mountainous terrain to the Zagorje ob Savi in the old industrial Sava Valley and land at the sloped grass field maintained by the Zagorje Aeroklub [LJZA]. The nearby hills make for a visually entertaining approach.

Then west to Ljubljana, the national capital and largest city at 295,500. Much of the city has grown since the mid-nineteenth century and, especially, in the last forty years. The central city has a number buildings constructed in a classic nineteenth century Viennese architectural style. That said, it is a fairly small sized national capital. The most notable sight is Ljubljana Castle [LJUB] on Castle Hill above downtown Ljubljana. (This is depicted in the default scenery but much better rendered in the optional Ljubljana city scenery.)

We execute a quick touch-and-go at the small grass strip Podpeč Feld [LJNO] before landing at Postojna Airfield [LJPO], a popular glider field and home to the Aeroklub Postojna. Then on to Divača Airport [LJDI], built in 1916 which makes it the oldest active airport in Slovenia. After use by the Italian Air Force in WWII, it was abandoned until the 1990s when the Carsian Aero Club built a hanger complex and a paved runway. Currently Divača hosts the club as well as a privately-owned section with its own taxiway.

In our final segment, we depart westward to fly over Lipica [LIPCA] which is famous for its being the original home of the Lipizzan horse breed and now the largest Lipizzan stud farm in the world. (The breed is most closely associated with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria – whose horses are now raised near Graz, Austria.) Lipizzan horses mature slowly, and they live and are active longer than many other breeds – horses of the Spanish Riding School perform their difficult exercises well into their 20s and live into their 30s. (The Lipizzans are recognized in Slovenia as the national animal.)

A couple of miles further on, we cross into Italy and fly over Trieste – at one time the urban center of the region when governed by the Hapsburg dynasty until 1918. After decades of stagnation, the city is now thriving. Italy and Slovenia are members of the EU and people, goods, and services cross the border seamlessly. Trieste has become an important deep-water port for all of southern Central Europe. The city itself lies on a narrow flat shelf on the Gulf of Trieste. The city’s landscape thus lies at the foot of an imposing escarpment that comes down abruptly from the Karst Plateau towards the sea. A dramatic sight for our flight.

Flying along the Adriatic coast of Italy and then Slovenia, we turn at the old city of Piran [PIRAN], known for its narrow streets and medieval architecture. This is one of Slovenia’s main tourist attractions. After a leisurely look at the historic church and the classic old harbor, we turn back southeast about 4nm to land at Portoroz (LJPZ). This is now a tourist airport with turboprop service. And it handles a flock of business jets and many other general aviation aircraft. Further expansion for medium-jet service is in the plans.

Documentation
The flightplan can be found here.

Aircraft
This is a route of 242nm. We want a “fast cruise” of 120-130ktas and an ability to climb to 7,000 ft. Plenty of aircraft will do the job. The Cessna 172, Piper Warrior and (normally-aspirated) Arrow III, the Cubcrafters XCub and NXCub, The Diamond DA-40, the JMB VL-3,and the Robin DR400 are all excellent choices. I shall fly the featured aircraft of this event – the Asobo default Pipistrel Virus. (Pronounced “veer us”.) In this case “The Scarlet Pipistrel” pictured above. As ever, fly what you like.

Pilots who choose the Pipistrel (or would like to see those who do) might download:
Pipistrel Virus SW121 Basic Colour Pack. (Standard factory liveries expansion pack.) Rockview101. 10mb
Pipistrel Virus SW121 Ultra Colour Pack. (More colorful liveries, including the “scarlet” paint.) Rockview101. 30mb

Additional Scenery
All the airports except one* are in the default simulator. I highly recommend these attractive airport packages but they are not necessary. Many of these are superb.

Recommended:
Ajdovscina [LJAJ] and Pipistrel factory*. Neptune. Video here. 89mb
Lesce Bled [LJBL] and Castle. Neptune. Video here. 29mb
Ljubljana [LJLJ]. Spiki. 96mb
Sostanj [LJSO] and thermal power plant. Neptune. Video here. 34mb
Slovenj Gradec [LJSG]. Neptune. Video here. 36mb
Slovenske Konjice [LJSK]. Neptune. Video here. 32mb
Celje [LJCL]. Neptune. Video here. 31mb
Zagorje [LJZA]. giovist. 51kb
Postojna [LIPO]. Neptune. Video here. 28mb
Divaca [LJDI] and rebuilt town and landscape. Neptune. Video here. 398mb
Portoroz [LJPZ]. Troglodytus. 363mb

* You do need to download Ajdovscina [LJAJ] because this is not in the default simulator.

Temporarily, you can download a package that includes all the airports here. (1.1gb). This does not include Ljubljana City photogrammetry.

I also recommend as a separate download (despite its 941mb size):
Ljubljana City Photogrammetry. Thalixte. (This is surprisingly efficient.) Optional eye-candy for those who like this sort of thing.

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 4:00 pm local for July 20, 2022.
We typically prefer real weather. A few clouds are to be expected but we need mostly VFR conditions because some of our light aircraft feature only rudimentary IFR capabilities. The forecast looks good.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Wednesday, July 20, 2022. 1800 UTC
Where: AVSIM RTWR Teamspeak - Casual Flights Channel
Teamspeak Server Address: ts.teamavsim.com
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!

We shall fly them here, we shall fly them there, we shall fly them everywhere...😉
 

[Ron Attwood 3,499]

Be he in heaven or be he in hell, that damned elusive Pipistrel

[nbrich1 116]

"Pipistrel" is kinda hard to pronounce!!
 

[MM 426]

Note the updated details and flight description above.

[Ron Attwood 3,499]

On 7/6/2022 at 6:11 PM, nbrich1 said:

"Pipistrel" is kinda hard to pronounce!!
 

Just praptis Norm, it'll come.

[nbrich1 116]

lol.. ok will work on it!

[MM 426]

Here is a screenshot of Lake Bled and the island church. (It is considered “good luck” to be married here.) Sometimes, when the circumstances are just right, MFS can look good enough. 😉

 

[Ron Attwood 3,499]

2 minutes ago, MM said:

Sometimes, when the circumstances are just right, MFS can look good enough. 😉

I saw what you did there. 😄

[Ron Attwood 3,499]

Great flight and even greater camaraderie. Thank you gentlemen. I had my 2c HERE