"Interesting" approaches in Europe...

[greg1]

In your experience, which would you consider to be the most challenging instrument approach procedure in Europe (due to terrain morphology, procedure complexity or indeed any other reason you fancy...)

Hey, no, I am no journo ;)

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(Th)ink Rate! Don't (Th)ink! Don't (Th)ink!

[Jet A1]

The usual names will crop up such as Funchal, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Bergamo etc just due to the high terrain unusual approach procedures and the get out of jail emergency and compulsory turns.........Anywhere can be difficult to get into if ATC are not playing the game though !!!

[fly4fud]

My vote goes to SJJ with the ILS out (as was the case last year during a few months, let's fly the erratic NDB app) and a few CBs around. This is what I call havin'fun :)

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... cut my wings and I'll die ...

[145qrh]

You should try a night approach into Sumburgh (LSI) on a wet, windy night with severe turbulence (typical ) caused by Fitful Head ,
ps. Try it with a 509 boy with 200 hours who is ever so slightly petrified.

[Sick Squid]

I'll second Sumburgh (any runway, they all have little foibles of their own) and add in Naples (particularly on dark stormy nights) Bilbao and Skopje. All very terrain sensitive and really concentrate the mind.

£6

Edited 'cos I suddenly realised I used to be one of those terrified boys in the RHS back in the early 90's! Good one145!



[This message has been edited by Sick Squid (edited 15 March 2001).]

[greg1]

6QUID,

Skopje, eh? Interesting you should say that. Having j/s many times into Skopje on company Citation and Falcon (well, not jumpseated exactly in these, but you know what I mean) I thought that, apart from the fairly steep ILS and close terrain coming for the northerly rwy (is it 36?) and the frequent foggy patches, it was fairly ok. ATC sound fairly decent too.

How about Samos (LGSM) Greece, especially rwy09? Anyone done that? Or Corfu, circle-to-land on rwy17, using KRK VORDME for rwy35? (These two in Greece are not what I was looking for when I posted, just curious...)

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(Th)ink Rate! Don't (Th)ink! Don't (Th)ink!

[Redline]

Have a look at Sion near Geneva. I agree Sumburgh is a slag as well.

[Sick Squid]

Greg1,

Every time I've been into Skopje it's been maxed-out tailwind steep ILS, to low-level circling keeping clear of low scud, with military traffic lobbing around, and somebody up our tail on the ILS, making the go-around plan off the visual interesting, particularly if we lost an engine.

All this with lumps in the vicinity, and a lovely little escape route up a valley... possibly a bad guy or 2 with a Stinger looking for a headline as well.

Personal I know, but I'd rather not, thanks! ;)

All the best,

£6

[Voodoo 3]

Samos gets my vote. Short runway and always blowing a gale from the north when landing on 09. To compound the problem you approach the runway from the south and have to fly a 30 +degree turn when slow and low to line up with the runway. Makes the Kai Tak approach to 13 look like a cinch!!!!!!!

[tech...again]

I'm not a pilot (so please don't shoot me down in flames), but regularly do j/seat trips around our network and I can certainly say that, from that perspective, Sion (SIR - I see that's already been mentioned) is pretty 'mad'. We operate to some odd airfields and others worthy of a mention are definitely Chambery (CMF - especially the approach to rwy 36), Geilo in Norway (DLD - compacted snow rwy with a 'hot sand blast' 10 mins before touchdown!), Fagernes (VDB - similar to DLD)and, as mentioned, INN (all with the RJ100). Certainly makes a nice change for our pilots from the usual Monday-Friday AMS,DUS,DUB's etc...!

T.A.

[prez]

Lugano, Switzerland in blowing snow, low visibility and a stiff crosswind. But then, I've never been to Sion, Bergamo, Innsbruck, etc...

[Teenyweeny ATC Cdt Cpl]

If we're speaking little VFR light a/c approaches - Southend's 24 at the moment...

...foot & mouth exclusion zone to within about 100m of the threshold!!

(or so I'm told..!)

[This message has been edited by Teenyweeny ATC Cdt Cpl (edited 19 March 2001).]

[swissaviator]

This are my best places:
London City - steep appch. + short RWY,
Lugano - mountains + CB`s + short RWY,
Innsbruck - mountains + difficult appch.procedures (circling) + mountains,
Sarajevo - difficult appch. procedures, CB`s + mountains + french controllers (Nato),
Nice - french controllers + difficult approach procedure..
sorry, generally nothing against the french!