Sirna Airfield, Romania

[flysebi]

My name is Sebastian, and i'm from Romania. I own an aviation online magazine,
I'm learning to fly on an Apollo fox ultralight airplane.

Our airfield is situated near Bucharest. It has 600 meters Lenght, and it's made of grass.

In the hangar we have 2 Apollo Fox and a Magni giro M24 Orion, the only one giro from Romania.
We have also a Blanik sailplane.

I atach some pictures with winter flying at Sirna "international " Airfield

http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/sebipilot/Picture002-1.jpg

http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/sebipilot/Picture047-2.jpg

http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/sebipilot/Picture162.jpg

http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/sebipilot/Picture049-2.jpg

http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/sebipilot/Picture046-1.jpg

http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/sebipilot/Picture173.jpg

[Jan Olieslagers]

Nice photography, thanks for sharing.
Where exactly is the aerodrome? I tried to locate it on Google maps - out of sheer curiosity - to no avail. Could only find a vollage of Sirna just to the south of Ploiesti. Mind to share the coordinates?
Happy flying!

[werewolf]

http://www.edaz.de/pdf/edaz/EU_Dorin_Ivascu.pdf
go to 'Airports and Aeroclubs of Romania'

[byteworks]

Indeed Sirna is a village South of Ploiesti, here is its location in Wikimapia (http://wikimapia.org/#lat=44.783419&lon=25.9860563&z=15&l=0&m=b) .

There are quite a few such airfields developed lately in Romania, and the latest changes allowing aircrafts under 5700 kg to use them without the need of certification, and airspace relaxation with the abdication of the 24/48 hours prior planning and acknowledgment, simple normal FPLs being enough even for border crossing, will hopefully see a GA rise. Unfortunately bigger "normal" airports still have no idea about what GA is, ripping off huge fees, even hundreds of euro for a visit.

[Shorrick Mk2]

Has the G airspace been implemented already? Or is it still "in planning"?

Do these airfields have access to avgas?

[IO540]

The former communist Europe has a huge potential for GA.

I hope they follow the example of Croatia and do it sensibly, with 1 policeman = "international airport and Customs" :) And avgas of course.

Rather than follow e.g. Albania where you get a bill as long as your arm, totalling over 200 euros, including a charge for runway lights (in daytime). Apparently Tirana got a western company to run its operations. The worst thing these "new GA" countries can do is let in officials from the UK, EASA, Eurocontrol to "show" them how to run things because all those people are just cynical job creators.

I am from the Czech Republic, which has gone sort of halfway, having totally brown-nosed JAA and later EASA (the Czech delegates in the EU practically kiss everybody's feet and then vote YES) but having preserved a reasonable freedom for light GA, so long as they don't want to go to Prague (LKPR) :)

[byteworks]

The G space is in place from 2007 I think, but take a good look in NOTAMS for LRRs LRDs etc which are extended almost everywhere, especially in the East, I reckon with much less activity in the latest times; ATC people for controlled spaces are English proficient and for the rest you can get a prior arrangement, part of the pre-flight job. Will work for sure with correct contacts in sight, no worries, no thrills.

Sorry for the late post, I was admiring aviation activity at LOWZ, from a more earthy but nevertheless attractive perspective.

[flysebi]

Hello people,

sorry for the delay...

the coordinates are N44.47.07,58; E25.59.17,55

Thanks for your apreciations

Come to visit us

[jxc]

Just opening a business in Bucharest

Someone told me there is a pilot club in Bucharest somewhere near the Aviator statue do you know it ?

are you allowed sea planes in romania as I have a villa on Lac snagov

[Jan Olieslagers]

http://www.edaz.de/pdf/edaz/EU_Dorin_Ivascu.pdf
go to 'Airports and Aeroclubs of Romania'

That map leaves me a bit confused: there would be 4 a/d's around Suceava, ok good for them, but how can they all share the same ICAO code LRSV?

[jxc]

smoke and daggers this is romania :E

[byteworks]

@Jan Olieslagers: there is only one airport near Suceava town, that is LRSV, the others are small airfields with grass runways, uncertified, mostly ultralights usage. On that specific map:
8 - inexistent, just a field for ocasional ultralight visits
9 - regional state airclub, grass runway laying near LRSV runway - so same location
10 - concrete 600 m runway near Vatra Dornei, a city in the mountains about 90 km W of LRSV
11 - ??? never heard
and is missing a very good 600 m grass field in Fratauti, just N of Radauti, 30 km N of LRSV.

@jxc: maybe is the state airclub (http://aeroclubulromaniei.ro/) headquarters in Lascar Catargi no. 54? I don't think there are problems with seaplanes, but of course you know there are a lot of boats on Snagov during warm season.

[flysebi]

@jxc : this is my email: [email protected]

We can talk more about that on email, can you tell me more about your intentions?

thanks

Wo wants to come this summer at Vatra Dornei for mountain flying?

YouTube - aerodrom-floreni.mpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yal44Hbg8c)

[vanHorck]

I am VERY glad to hear of all this great news coming out of Romania!

In 2006=2007 I had my Seneca IV based at Baneasa Airport, run by the magnificent Dorin Ivascu (the writer of the PDF in a previous post). In those days foreign aircraft were only allowed VFR flights with prior permission of the CAA and no VFR maps were available.

It was based at the Romanian Flight Academy at Baneasa which has since moved to Strejnic, an aerodrome just to the west of Ploiesti, which I see now has the promised hard runway too.

In my days it was amazingly undulating grass only.

Ploiesti has a lot of history in WW2, because of all the oil refineries, it was a target for bombing raids, which explains some of undulations of the old grass strip....

[brunodias]

and the link for the online magazine???

[flysebi]

the link is Revista Pilot Magazin, pentru pasionatii de aviatie (http://www.pilotmagazin.ro)

The magazine is 90% in romanian, but now i'm trying to publish some english articles at "english" section

[vanHorck]

Considering his email I would say: pilotmagazin.ro ......

[Jan Olieslagers]

Some fine detective work, but not perfect, alas. Think I begin to understand the "smoke and daggers" thing. Must be an adventurous country, Romania!

Warning: require_once(/home/piloti10/public_html/wp-content/plugins/contact-form-7/includes/functions.php) [function.require-once (http://www.pilotmagazin.ro/function.require-once)]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/piloti10/public_html/wp-content/plugins/contact-form-7/settings.php on line 55

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[vanHorck]

Jan, I don't quite get it, probably goes beyond my internet skills....

What are you trying to say?

[Jan Olieslagers]

I tried to access http://pilotmagazin.ro (http://pilotmagazin.ro/) , and couldn't: all I got for my efforts was the gibberish I copied. Too bad for me, I gain my daily bread AND flying hours by resolving that kind of stuff. The site seems to be operational now, though. Perhaps we are being monitored even from Romania?

[flysebi]

The error was my fault. I upgraded the version of Akismet ant it wasn't compatible with the rest of the site...eror, but i solved the problem shortly.

Sorry for that

[Jan Olieslagers]

If all webmasters were as quick to redress the unavoidable mistakes, the www would be a much better place to surf. Well done, sir! OTOH, should you see a hope of advantage in the services of a well seasoned free-lance IT consultant, my rates are expressed in hours working vs. hours flying.

[vanHorck]

Furthermore, should you see a hope of advantage (hoop in Dutch means "a lot") in the service of a well seasoned free-lance Entertainment producer, my rates too are expressed in hours working versus hours flying :-)

[flysebi]

Thanks for your apreciations gentlemans.

I think all have the rates expresed like hours working vs hours flying, excepting the comercial pilots.

Who wants to come in Romania a week for mountain flying?

Some images from the last month at Sirna

http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/sebipilot/Picture278.jpg

http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/sebipilot/DSC_0029.jpg

http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/sebipilot/DSC_0009.jpg

[digits_]

Beautiful pictures. Just want to try and convince anybody doubting of going flying in Romania: go for it :)

I went there last summer in a C172, VFR, and the "paperwork" is really no big hassle. You email the people of the aviation authorities and they arrange everything for you. It should take 48 hours, but I received a response after 30 minutes. On a sunday.

Beautiful scenery, but yes, check the prices for the big airports (which you need for customs since they are not -and will not be in the near future- part of the schengen zone).

If you want a more central destination, I can advise to also visit Sibiu Magura airfield. Nice location and very nice owners!

One more thing: they are really strict about the "you need to file your flight plan one hour in advance". So really, file it at least one hour in advance :)

[flysebi]

@digits.

Exactly.

There is also a great airfield at Vatra Dornei. Great owners!


It might be smoke and dust in Romania...but for the pilots..especially the ultralight ones. :ok:

[vanHorck]

How is AOPA Romania doing these days?

There is a good airfield also in Iasi, it might not have avgas though.

Iasi is a student town well worth a visit for some great churches, the tree under which Eminescu wrote beautiful poems in the botanical gardens, the Princes palace and Corso, a great outdoor flowered lawn cafe right in the centre!

Not least from there it s only a 10 minute hop and you ll be able to get a Moldavian stamp in your passport.

Finally I would recommend a trip to the centre of Timisoara... I produced a Shakira show there in the football stadium, but more importantly it has a beautiful city centre and square with lots of Art Deco buildings. A good place to stay there is Hotel La Residenza (http://www.laresidenza.ro/home.html) a gem of a hotel, totally secluded from a most friendly family, a true gem!

Finally Cluj too is a beautiful city, medieval in places, also a university town, so lively.

[byteworks]

... I can advise to also visit Sibiu Magura airfield. Nice location and very nice owners!

The fine people at Sibiu moved to Floreni/Vatra Dornei which became a fine place since then :)

[flysebi]

Spring flying today



http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/sebipilot/DSC_00084.jpg

Ps: The airplane is brand new with 3 hours flyed untill now...

Future plans: vgs and some design stickers

[Sam Rutherford]

I'll be in Romania this summer for some flying (based out of Miercurea Ciuc) if anyone is about? Did it last summer with a couple of microlights - lots of fun and really free...

Cheers, Sam.

[surely not]

Just found this thread and was intrigued to see mention of Dorin Ivascu, a gentleman who I met when I had to go to Bucharest to close down the operations of a UK airline operating from STN on the Bucharest route. He was a true gentleman and I had often wondered if he was still in aviation. The Magni gyrocopter looks good fun, they seem to be at the top end of the new wave gyrocopters. I might have to try to find time to go and explore again.

[Sam Rutherford]

If you do, please ask him the current wherabout of 'Sebi' - who's email address no longer works...!

Thanks, Sam.

[Jan Olieslagers]

@Sam: what field will you be flying from? Not the Sirna one that this thread started about? Perhaps the airstrip near Fazi, to the East-South-East of Miercurea Ciuc?

[Sam Rutherford]

No, planning to be based at Fazi's strip (and on the longer, flatter strip in the valley just to the north of MC) - but also flying around a bunch of small strips (and even some 'side of mountain' stuff) in the area. Want to come along (second half August)? There will be some local planes involved as well...

Cheers, Sam.

[Sam Rutherford]

Still researching the Romania options, anyone know how to get hold of 'FlySebi'...?

[Sam Rutherford]

Well, still trying... Going to be there in August...