Slovenia. Castles and the Adriatic

[MM 426]

Slovenia – Castles and the Adriatic
For Saturday, August 12, 2023

We return to Slovenia to enjoy its castles. This is a small country with a rich heritage. We begin at Portorož on the Adriatic and fly inland to enjoy the many historic sites. At the end of the day, we return to the Adriatic to finish on the nearby Croatian coastal islands

We leave from Portorož [LIPZ], a spa and seaside resort city. We skirt by the grand old hotels to fly over the peninsular town Piran [PIRAN] to glance at its harbor, medieval architecture, public square, and St. George’s Church. This had been an Italian town until the midcentury foibe massacres and the Istrian exodus. It is now one of Slovenia’s main tourist attractions. We turn eastward over Koper, Slovenia’s main commercial port – important for both cruise ships and container cargos. Then, running along the border with Italy and Trieste to the north, we see the ruins of Socerb Castle which stood as a clifftop fortress to command the Gulf of Trieste below. We land on the grass trip at Postojna [LJPO]. 


A close look at Predjama Castle in its spectacular setting

Just north lies Predjama Castle. This Renaissance structure was built within a 400 ft cave mouth –making it the largest cave castle in the world. Originally of Gothic style, it was sited under the rocky stone arch to make access difficult. Its most famous occupant was Erasmus Lueger of the 15^th century  who, in Vienna, managed to displease the Emperor Frederick III on a matter of personal honor. He returned home, aligned with legendary Hungarian King Matthias, and began attacking Imperial estates and towns. He used the family castle as his base. Eventually, the Empire struck back and eliminated Erasmus. (During the year-long siege, Erasmus built a secret tunnel through the cave to the surface above to bring in supplies.) After the castle was destroyed, it was rebuilt and served as a residence for four hundred years.

We continue on to the national capital Ljubljana to circle over the hilltop Ljubljana Castle. Originally a medieval fortress, it has since seen service as a arsenal, barracks, and prison – and now it is a museum and site for civic events. Clustered near the castle are the old streets of the city, within which are the cathedral, public market, and Congress Square. We continue northward over Ljubljana University and the Storzice Stadium sports complex before we land at Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport [LJLJ], the nation’s primary international airport.

Next we head southwest to Skofja Loka Castle. The medieval town and castle are well-preserved and are now seen as monuments to Slovenian culture. We turn north, passing over Brdo Castle – an estate that is now used for governmental diplomatic functions. A few minutes later, we circle over Lake Bled with its iconic island-sited Church of the Assumption and cliffside Bled Castle. This is Slovenia’s oldest castle – it is over a thousand years-old. And from the nineteenth century, this beautiful setting has been a very popular tourist attraction and remains at the top of most visitors’ lists. We land at nearby Lesce-Bled [LJBL]. (From here, experienced glider pilots can use the proximate mountain ridges for early morning thermals that allow them to fly as far away as Germany, France and Switzerland.)

Climbing, we fly east over the Kamnik–Savinja Alps and the Karawanks to the easternmost peak Mount St. Ursula [URSULA] on which we can see St. Ursula Church and a mountaintop inn, not to mention the TV Tower. Great views in every direction for miles around. A quick descent brings us to Sostanj Airport [LJSO] – whose terrain mandates landing on Rwy 33 and departure on Rwy 15. We takeoff to the south, passing over the Sostanj power plant whose two new-coal-fired and two gas-turbine plants supply about one third of Slovenia’s energy.

We cross over the Savinja and Šalek Valley and land at the hillside grass strip at Zagorie Ob Savi [LJZA], operated by the local aeroclub. This is a short field surrounded by high terrain – it asks for attention on landing and departure. Sensible pilots may prefer to execute a touch-and-go.

Next we head east along the Sava River Valley. (Flying the gorge can be entertaining, but take care of the power lines.) The first historic site is the hilltop Sevnica Castle which was owned for centuries by the Archdiocese of Salzburg and then by many families. It fell into disrepair after WWII but has recently been resurrected as a museum. Continuing on the Sava, next is Rajhenburg Castle which has roots from the 9th century although most of the current structure dates to around 1600. It was plundered and burned by the Ottomans in 1476 and then survived peasant attacks in 1515, 1573 and 1583. To the west, along the Krka River is Otočec Castle, Slovenia’s only “island-castle.” The walls date from the 13^th century and the river forms a sort of moat. Otočec Castle has been converted into a successful highly-rated luxury hotel and restaurant. Following the river, we land at Novo Mesto [LJNM], home of the local aeroclub. Note that the long wide grass runway is some distance from the hangars and clubhouse.

We turn south to visit a newly-established aeroclub Metlika Airfield [LJCR], this with a shorter runway. Heading southwest, we pick up the steep valley of the Kolpa/Kupa River [KUPA] which defines the Slovenia-Croatia border in this region. We see Kostel Castle perched on top of a steep hill above the river. In the fifteenth century, a smaller castle was expanded into a formidable fortress, with thick high walls and five defensive towers. Located on a central access route, it became an important bastion against repeated Ottoman invasions. It resisted until 1578 when the garrison accepted from the Ottomans supposed refugees – who then betrayed Kostel by opening the gates that night. The Ottoman forces captured and killed the inhabitants of the castle and depopulated the surrounding region.

We enter Croatia, cross over the mountains of Gorski Kotar, and descend into Grobnicko Polje Airport [LDRG]. The airfield is located next to the Autodrom Grobnik which has hosted a number of international motorcycle and auto races over the years. LDRG had been the main Rijeka airport but by the 1960s it became apparent that the local terrain made it unsuitable for large airliners and the commercial operation was moved down the coast. Currently, there are plans to enhance the facility to accommodate mid-sized charter flights into the region.

A quick flight takes us down the Rjecina River Gorge past the impressive newish Rjecina Bridge to visit Trsat Castle. The castle is built on a Roman fortress and for centuries it controlled access to the town and river. Then, after being abandoned, it was rebuilt in the nineteenth century as a family residence. A minute further along is the old city of Rijeka and its busy harbor. At the turn into the 20^th century, Hapsburg-governed Rijeka was a bustling multi-ethnic city of Italians, Croatians, and other nationalities. However, two world wars and decades of ethnic violence led to a loss of half its population. As Croatia’s deep-water port, it regained success in maritime transport, shipbuilding, and manufacturing. However, since the 1990s the local industry has struggled to remain competitive and the economy is in a stage of transition. We continue past the container port, a power plant and a refinery, to the double-span Krk Bridge (inspectable) and land at Rijeka Airport [LDRI] on Krk Island. This is an international airport that mainly serves seasonal charter flights connecting with northern Europe. Just to the west of the airport is a petro-chemical facility and a new Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) port and pipeline terminal. The latter started operations in 2021 and has since doubled in size – to supply Croatia and southern Central Europe with a more dependable supply of natural gas.

Finally, we fly south over Krk Island (the largest and most populated Adriatic island) and past the ancient pre-Roman town of Krk. We continue over Cres Island and then on to the next island Lošinj which is a popular tourist destination for Italian, Slovenian, and German visitors – and increasingly for those from former Eastern Bloc countries. (Recently, powerful Russian oligarchs have invested in properties on the island – to the concern of locals.) We land at Lošinj [LDLO] which is a comfortable general aviation airport built in 1985 for recreational flying and now accommodates fly-in tourism including business jets. Lošinj is known for its mild climate, natural beauty, crystal-clear waters, and a low-key atmosphere ideal for unwinding after a long flight.

Documentation
The flightplan can be found here.

Aircraft
We need to cover about 300nm so require something that will “fast cruise” at about 150kts. Four of the landings are on grass “aeroclub” airfields, but only LJZA will pose a challenge (and a touch-and-go would be appropriate). All of our favorite "quick" General Aviation aircraft will handle the task. A Bonanza, C182 Skylane, C208 Caravan, Kodiak, P.149 or Piper Arrow will be just fine. (Even the light twins will do the job – but you probably do not need the extra speed.) I'll fly the A2A Piper Comanche in the N7510P livery by Tim Scharnhop.

Additional Scenery
Portoroz [LJPZ]. Troglodytus
Postojna [LIPO]. Neptune
Ljubljana [LJLJ]. Spiki
Lesce Bled [LJBL]. Neptune
Sostanj [LJSO] and thermal power plant. Neptune
Slovenj Gradec [LJSG] and Mt. St. Ursula. Neptune
Novo Mesto [LJNM]. Neptune
Metlika [LJCR]. Neptune
Losinj [LDLO]. Filip13CRO

Temporarily, you can download a scenery package here. 987 MB

Two of our airports (LJZA and LDRI) are good quality additions from World Update 14. While most of our POIs are provided by WU 14, a few POIs stem from the freeware projects. And the details of Ljubljana are a product of the new photogrammetry of World Update 14. In addition, there is a highly-acclaimed payware version of Ljubljana [LJLJ] from a small Slovenian developer Scenic Routes. The quality is excellent but under-appreciated in our event. [Simmarket & MSFS Marketplace at about $17.]

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 2:00 pm local for August 12, 2023.
We prefer real weather.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Saturday, August 12, 2023. 1800 UTC
AVSIM Discord Server: https://discord.gg/K5Vy6UxWNm  - AVSIM GROUP EVENTS-SAT. COM3
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). Please be kind enough to enter the title exactly as it stands in the title=”xxx” line of the aircraft.cfg file. Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!

[Bert Pieke 7,586]

@MMFlight plan download gives me a "file deleted" message..

Edited August 10, 2023 by Bert Pieke

[MM 426]

Thanks Bert. The file had disappeared.
It is now there and the link works properly.