Question for the Scots boys
 

I'm off up t'top end Scotland for a week's flying at the end of May. Regarding the restricted area over most of Scotland during the week; what's it like getting a transit of said area or do you just sail over it at 5,000+? I'm going to be based on the Moray Firth and will probably have a look at the Islands over to the west while I'm there. I think there's a general consensus that landing on the sand at Barra has to be done.

Also are there any hidden gems that we need to see while there? We'll be looking at 600m minimum being as it will be summer (he said jokingly) and we will be probably be two or three up.

Incidentally already done Oban, Glenforsa and flown up the Great Glen to Inverness.

You can fly over the top or get permission from Tain range to fly through. This is usually granted. I don't have the info at hand but the activity is limited to a few hours in the middle of the day.

Try Plockton and walk into the town for lunch. Fabulous sea food at the Plockton Hotel.

Kirkwall on Orkney is a must for an overnight. I would recommend the Highland Park distillery tour then spend the night at the Ayres Hotel at the harbour.

So many places to visit there's not enough room here. Finally just a personal view. Don't bother with Cambeltown or Broadford.<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/66461/7322503698"

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D.O.

I was planning on Kirkwall anyway but it looks like a must do now! Thanks for the heads up on Plockton.

Edit: Just looked at your photos and thought, 'Crikey it looks almost tropical...'...

Comment about seafood at Plockton hotel is endorsed.

Don't sail over Scotland at 5000' You'll miss the all good bits in the highlands!

(Stay above the RAF's level though! That's normally 300 feet or less agl)

Quote:
Kirkwall on Orkney is a must for an overnight. I would recommend the Highland Park distillery tour
I was planning on Kirkwall anyway but it looks like a must do now! Thanks for the heads up on Plockton.

Edit: Just looked at your photos and thought, 'Crikey it looks almost tropical...'...
Ah! Some are. I was trying to post the sunset shot over the Peedie Sea from the hotel. Looks like you have a few extras!
D.O.

Just a few nuggets of info, hope they help!

The Highland Restricted Area is only active 1500-2300 local Mon-Thu.

Tain Range may be able to give you crossing of R610 C or D - but they are only outlying parts and not the main, enormous chunk of it covering pretty much the whole of Northern Scotland. The only way to get access to that is to phone the low flying booking cell and any time I've tried I've normally been told to naff off.

Cruising over at 5000 feet will, thanks to our unique climate :E, often be IMC and on a day with any wind, rough as guts! It's a very mountainous area, generally speaking. Icing may be an issue apart from a couple of days in July as well.

Hope you get good weather for it, it's the most spectacular part of the UK and can be stunningly beautiful if the met plays ball!

Thanks all. I was flying up there last May, although it was only an overnight stop. The weather was perfect, hoping for the same this time!

Cockpit view videos of flying in the Highlands, and landing at a few airfields.

Mull is "Usually the last May Bank Holiday."

https://www.youtube.com/user/Uisgebeathamadadhrua

remember. 119.875 for a great basic service;)

Apologies for 'slight' thread hijack - but another question for our northern neighbours.

What happens to their airspace after independence?

Perhaps there's an easy answer, or is that another unknown at the moment?

Fly safe, Sam.

I,m sure our very own Hitler of the Highlands, Air Reichmarshal Eck has a cunning plan.

Just to add to Sam's slight thread drift, as well as airspace, there are questions of licencing, aircraft registration, ATC etc, etc.

Slippery Eck, The Sainted Nicola and their separist pals don't seem to have many answers to this one either! No surprise there then!

I'll probably get a call now - not Scottish enough!


Plockton for the nosh, Mull, because it's Mull, or Dornoch if you fancy a game of golf, are all worth a visit, while you still can!

Anybody ever done Fair Isle? Anything there worth seeing? Just popped it up on Gogglerth and there doesn't seem to be much there.

On independence - what they said was that initially nothing would change. NATs would still be contracted to continue the service they provide and admin would still be handled by the CAA down South.
I suspect that Scottish registrations would eventually appear, and airport designations would change from EG-

Most things are EASA controlled anyway so not a huge amount would be able to be changed anyway.

Bigger question would be about organisations which operate both sides of the border, like the LAA. Would it cease to exist north of the boarder? Would there need to be an LAA (Scotland) created, with higher fees for all of us up North?

Of course - we could stop all this speculation by putting an X in the correct box :ok:

But this has been discussed on here in other threads.

Birds. Seabirds mainly.

Ta, will probably give it a miss then.

I can second that, I had the whole frequency to myself about a month ago at 8am on a Sunday morning en route from Perth to DTV!! Pretty much 1 to 1 service!!! :E

Still had to ask me my type 3 times though.......!!

Unusual Attitude.....
Looks like I will have to pin up a photo of the wee bomb on the sector so some of our recent recruits can understand what your machine looks like :cool::cool::cool:

You're obviously not a twitcher then. ;)

Seriously though, how can you miss out on landing on Fair Isle, when you are passing by?

I'm not passing by...just wondered whether it was worth heading up there from Kirkwall bearing in mind I've a few other places to visit and not a bottomless pocket!:)