Norway – Water and Ice
For Saturday, September 6, 2025

Today we revisit an old favorite...the Fjordland of Western Norway. We begin offshore at Ålesund 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.


Gjegnalundsbreen

We depart from Ålesund Vigro [ENAL] to fly over the old island town famous first for its fishing fleet and now more for shipbuilding and servicing the offshore oil industry. Much of the old center was rebuilt after fire in a striking Art Nouveau style. Nowadays, Ålesund is a tourist attraction. A low circle-to-view is recommended. Afterwards, we cross to the mainland and dart down the Hjørundfjord, perhaps the most beautiful of the naturally serene not-yet-packed-with-tourists fjords. We land at Hovden Ørsta–Volda [ENOV], a fairly busy and successful regional airport. In the 1970s, the government’s move to building and subsidizing regional STOL airfields was extended to a Western Norway set of airports – which we now visit. We continue out to the rugged coast to Florø [ENFL] which has grown this century as both a passenger airport and a helicopter port for North Sea oil. With petroleum industry traffic to Bergen and Oslo and the operational helicopter fleet, Florø is now the busiest of the country’s regional airports.

We turn east over the high Ålfotbreen and Gjegnalundsbreen glaciers to Sandane Anda [ENSD], some six miles north of Sandane town, a small commercial and administrative center. Straddling the Anda Peninsula, the airport lies between sharp hillsides and high terrain to the west which requires a sharp turn onto finals. Further, the site is plagued by severe winds. All this makes for a mildly dangerous airport for passenger aircraft during the testing weather of the Norwegian winter. Our summertime landing will be a piece of cake.

We climb up over the massive Jostedal Glacier 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, a small 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. Then a quick 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 and then the spectacular Naeroyfjord. 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 attractive mix of mountains, lakes, and river valleys south and west to Voss and land at Voss-Bømoen [ENBM]. The old military airfield now hosts sport-flying, gliding, and sky-diving clubs. Voss 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 his hometown. We can enjoy that view by climbing up to and circling over the (only vaguely-depicted) ski resort and gondola site Voss Gondol.

Then south 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 see the Hardanger Bridge, 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. We fly along the fjord to enjoy the views and then turn off to visit the small private field at Vakinsen Ulven [ENUL]. The site, inserted between two hillsides, makes for a delightful touch-and-go or low-pass. (Time permitting, we might consider a full-stop landing at the tiny strip. This might prove interesting or even fascinating.)

Finally, we fly up to Bergen to gain a sense of how the mountain-encircled city is spread over islands and slender coastal lands. This is Norway’s second city. It has long been a fishing and commercial port and it now is a focal point for the North Sea oil and gas industry. As a gateway city to Norway’s fjords, it has also become one of Europe’s largest cruise ship ports. Approaching Bergen from the south, we climb up to the top of Ulriken, the highest of the surrounding mountains, where we see the cable car system and Skyskraperen Restaurant as well as a grand view of the city below. We then drop precititously down over the historic old town to get a close look at the Bryggen right on the east side of Vågen Harbour. This small 14th century commercial district 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 Askøy Bridge (the country’s third longest), before turning to land at Bergen Flesland [ENBR]. This is a very busy commercial airport. And it 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 near the helicopter gate H54.

Documentation
The flightplan can be found here.

Aircraft
We want to fly fairly low to appreciate the scale of the fjords and glaciers. We need to cover about 320nm 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 default Asobo/Working Title Cirrus SR22T.

Additional Scenery
All airports are in the default FS2024. The following provide additional scenery details and are recommended. Our thanks go to the talented authors.
Alesund Vigra [ENAL]. Artogsta
Hovden Orsta-Volda [ENOV]. frkristi
Floro [ENFL]. Jantorre
Sandane Anda [ENSD]. AugustinWinther. [Video]
Sogndal Haukasan [ENSG]. AugustinWinther. [Longer Video with Instructions]
Voss Bomoen [ENBM]. Ehindur. [FS2024]. [Large file. Seems fine.]
Bergen Flesland [ENBR]. WombiiActual
You can download a scenery package here.

In addition, you want Wombiiactual ENxx Asset pack. You probably already have this frequently used package.
And further, Orbx has good payware renditions of Alesund Vigra, Sogndal and Sadane. (If you use these, take care to avoid duplications.)
[If you have an old 2020 version of Ulven [ENUL] then disable it as the terrain has been changed in 2024.]

Finally, you might like the excellent photogrammetry addon for picturesque Alesund City by KenMo. This recommended but it is 2.6 GB and so is not for everyone. In any case, the default scenery in FS2024 is really good.

Time and Weather
For takeoff, set the simulator at 3:00 pm local for September 6, 2025.
We typically prefer real weather. A few clouds are to be expected and given the variability of Norway’s coastal weather we may have to work through some heavier-cloud sections. In practice, however, we may choose to use appropriate weather presets.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Saturday, September 6, 2025. 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!
 

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