flying to Inverness?
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From: Yorkshire
flying to Inverness, VFR?
Not found many threads or posts about people flying right up north to Inverness. Who learned to fly up there? and whats it like flying there from England, anyone any interesting stories/routes etc?
Last edited by liam548; 6th February 2010 at 05:55.
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From: Jockistan
Liam,
Grew up in Inverness and went back there to do my IMC. Inverness has (had?) its own micro climate which I think is thanks to the jet stream. As such weather is not as much of an issue as you might imagine.
The airport itself is about 15 miles from the City Centre. Easyjet and several other commercials operate to from Inverness. There are 2 runways plus ILS, DME and VOR. They also have radar.
The flying school scene has undergone quite a bit of change since I was last there but overall it was very GA friendly compared to other airfields of similar size.
Assuming you are going VFR you have 3 basic options to get there from the south;
1. Direct via Perth. If you have good cloudbase then you can route pretty much direct over Cairngorm. With a lower cloudbase you might prefer to track the A9. The highest point is Drummochter Pass where the road is 1500' amsl and the hills either side rise to 3000'. I have done this with a 2800' cloud base but you need to be careful with turbulence off the hills.
2. Up the east coast and then keep west of the Aberdeen CTR routing via Bancory/Inch. This stays clear of the higher aspects of the Cairngorms and you can cut the corner depending upon the cloud. This takes you quite close to RAF Kinloss and Lossiemouth. Lots of Tornado traffic so LARs service is a good idea.
3. Up the west coast past Prestwick to Oban and up the Great Glen to Inverness. The Great Glen only gets to about 100' amsl but its quite narrow in places with 2000'+ hills on either side. This is probably the most scenic route and adds the possibility of visiting many of the west coast gems on your way north. Oban, Glenforsa, Coll, Colonsay and Plockton are my favourites.
If you are planning touring the Highlands then get in touch with HIAL in advance and get an out of hours indemnity which lets you use many of the HIAL airports outside operating hours.
Grew up in Inverness and went back there to do my IMC. Inverness has (had?) its own micro climate which I think is thanks to the jet stream. As such weather is not as much of an issue as you might imagine.
The airport itself is about 15 miles from the City Centre. Easyjet and several other commercials operate to from Inverness. There are 2 runways plus ILS, DME and VOR. They also have radar.
The flying school scene has undergone quite a bit of change since I was last there but overall it was very GA friendly compared to other airfields of similar size.
Assuming you are going VFR you have 3 basic options to get there from the south;
1. Direct via Perth. If you have good cloudbase then you can route pretty much direct over Cairngorm. With a lower cloudbase you might prefer to track the A9. The highest point is Drummochter Pass where the road is 1500' amsl and the hills either side rise to 3000'. I have done this with a 2800' cloud base but you need to be careful with turbulence off the hills.
2. Up the east coast and then keep west of the Aberdeen CTR routing via Bancory/Inch. This stays clear of the higher aspects of the Cairngorms and you can cut the corner depending upon the cloud. This takes you quite close to RAF Kinloss and Lossiemouth. Lots of Tornado traffic so LARs service is a good idea.
3. Up the west coast past Prestwick to Oban and up the Great Glen to Inverness. The Great Glen only gets to about 100' amsl but its quite narrow in places with 2000'+ hills on either side. This is probably the most scenic route and adds the possibility of visiting many of the west coast gems on your way north. Oban, Glenforsa, Coll, Colonsay and Plockton are my favourites.
If you are planning touring the Highlands then get in touch with HIAL in advance and get an out of hours indemnity which lets you use many of the HIAL airports outside operating hours.
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From: Canada
Inverness
Hi Liam.
I fly in that area; if you can give me an idea of when you're coming, where your used to flying and an experience level then I can probably offer some advice on routing.
There is another thread from back a few months ago where someone was off to Wick (I think) and there's lots of good advice on there too.
Scots
I fly in that area; if you can give me an idea of when you're coming, where your used to flying and an experience level then I can probably offer some advice on routing.
There is another thread from back a few months ago where someone was off to Wick (I think) and there's lots of good advice on there too.
Scots
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From: An ATC centre this side of the moon.
And dont forget to use the friendly service of Scottish Information on 119.875 We will keep you updated on current weather, sigmets and any airspace restrictions etc........
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From: Aberdeen, UK
2. Up the east coast and then keep west of the Aberdeen CTR routing via Bancory/Inch. This stays clear of the higher aspects of the Cairngorms and you can cut the corner depending upon the cloud. This takes you quite close to RAF Kinloss and Lossiemouth. Lots of Tornado traffic so LARs service is a good idea.
Thread Starter
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From: Yorkshire
thank you for the replies. It is not an imminent trip I was planning but something I'd like to do later this year. I'll have to get the charts out and have a look.
and Mr fisbangwollop I'll give you a call
and Mr fisbangwollop I'll give you a call
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Canada
Look forward to seeing you then!
Liam.
Get the thread going again when you're ready to plan then.
Top tip meantime; don't stop at Inverness. For an extra 70 minutes you can get to Kirkwall and the scenery in between and over the Pentland Firth is well worth the extra effort. You'll be glad you did.
Scots
Get the thread going again when you're ready to plan then.
Top tip meantime; don't stop at Inverness. For an extra 70 minutes you can get to Kirkwall and the scenery in between and over the Pentland Firth is well worth the extra effort. You'll be glad you did.
Scots
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From: Suffolk
I was given some very useful advice when I posted a similar query to yours. This can be found at:
http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...-kirkwall.html
So far due to weather and other constraints I have only made it as far as Perth but have high hopes for the coming summer of getting further north.
I would certainly recommend Perth as a stopping off point. There is a handy hotel on the airfield itself and friendly people around familiar with flying in the local area. For tourism the Palace of Scone is not that far away and there is bus into town that goes past the main gate to the airfield.
Stephen
http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...-kirkwall.html
So far due to weather and other constraints I have only made it as far as Perth but have high hopes for the coming summer of getting further north.
I would certainly recommend Perth as a stopping off point. There is a handy hotel on the airfield itself and friendly people around familiar with flying in the local area. For tourism the Palace of Scone is not that far away and there is bus into town that goes past the main gate to the airfield.
Stephen
