edymonster,
Glad to see you want to give Switzerland a shot; not sure what a/c you'll be using but I'd want to be in an Archer or greater and preferably with a turbo to get the most out of flying the VFR routes in CHF. The Alpine VFR routes are given numeric id's. They are graded in terms of difficulty due to current weather conditions - this info can be found free of charge using the touch-screen Skyguide pc terminals at just about 98% of Switzerland a/ds. You'll wonder why you ever bothered to fly in the likes of UK once you've experienced the general facilities on offer there. UK GA has a lot to learn in my humble opinion. Skyguide produce the VFR/IFR Manuals & AIPs.
http://www.skyguide.ch/en/AIMServices/Shop/
Weather: Live spot mountain wind speeds can also be found using the Skyguide terminal & all the Met print offs you will need. Secondly, Flight Plan all your routes in the Alps; just let everybody know where you'll be and check the weather en route as well as your alternates. (Sounds obvious I know but what may seem average weather for flatland flying can be a different ball game over high terrain). Try to fly as early in the mornings as possible to enjoy a smoother ride, before the sunshine takes its toll and the winds/mountain waves kick in. Read up on mountain flying; great source is the “Flying Mountain Bible” by Sparky Imeson (
http://www.mountainflying.com/) also produced a DVD to highlight what the book can’t. There are specific techniques used in the mountains unless you’re just cruising over top above it all – which quite frankly is plain dull versus canyon flying below - but probably safer! [And you may not have the oxygen to do it]. Rough rule of thumb I learnt was just double the speed component of the surface wind vector for the venturi effect; Surface winds greater than 30-35 kts will probably be a no-go unless you know the terrain well and have sufficient ground clearance. (Expect wind speeds of 60-70kts on that previous example). I recently flew a Turbo arrow around Zurich using RWY 28 METAR was 260/25/G40; we rodeo-ed beautifully being chucked around with bums off the seats many times at 4000ft (Zurich elevation 1416ft); estimated wind speeds for the VFR route to Samedan were in the region of 120-140km/h from about 1000-2000ft AGL. (i.e.10,000ft) (I don’t think it exactly reached those figures but the buffeting in the lowlands was sufficient to rule out a safe flight there). VFR in the canyons/mountains: keep the Alt set to QNH even at 10,500ft+ FL’s aren’t much help passing/gauging high terrain. Have a good understanding about crossing ridges in a single/twin and appropriate get out clauses in mind. If you fancy going up with an experienced mountain instructor (i.e flying out commercially to Switzerland and obtaining some tuition for an hour or so before your trip PM me).
Whilst, you’ll probably get the Brit reader suggesting going via Geneva I’d suggest having a look at a couple of routes: via Bern or North-West overhead Interlaken to see the Jungfrau with a possible south- westerly routing towards Geneva or Sion. From Sion you could pop southwards to see the Matterhorn at Zermatt (Heliport) before routing via Brig and Domodossola towards Lago Maggiore; Locarno/Ascona are pretty with Locarno being a much more pleasant choice than Lugarno. [Ascona has a disused a/d]. Or route to the North-East say Zurich or St. Gallen joining up at Bad Ragz (near Liechtenstein) and routing via Chur to Samedan (Europe’s highest standard type aerodrome (Approx 5700ft elevation))
http://www.engadin-airport.ch/ and to see what it’s really like:
http://193.135.144.21/; From Samedan you would typically route via the Maloja Pass (very dramatic scenery) to Chiavenna and then southwards down Lago di Como towards Milan. (BTW, you’d be talking to Milan just before the FIR boundary just before Chiavenna/Castasegna). Don’t try and land at Como airport unless you have floats but the combination of mountains with enormous lake is difficult to beat!
You might want to consider a trial flight at Como to combine floats with mountains;
http://www.aeroclubcomo.com/.
VFR Route numbers to consider:
51-52-53 [Basel-Grenchen Spiez (N. of Bern) -Sion]
21-42-43-44-45 [Bern-Montreux (East end of lake from Geneva)-Sion-Brig-Domodossola –Lugano…]
81-82-92 [Zurich-Weesen-Bad Ragaz-Chur-Julier Pass-Samedan]
93-Como/Milan [Samedan to Lake Como/Milan].
BTW, March 16th the VFR ICAO map for Switzerland changes (2006 version kicks in).
That’s my 2 cents worth; Some pics as to why it’s so worthwhile!
http://www.navex.aero/LSZS-LSZL.htm
All the best whatever route you take – please let us know how you get on.
EG
