The End

Five years of flying fun is documented. I will continue flying, but this blog is no longer being updated. Follow me on Wingly.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

First day of winter, last day on floats

14 October is the Winter day, according to the ancient Norse calendar. This marked the end of the summer season of commerce and travel and the beginning of the winter season of hunting for the Northern folk. Traditionally the ceremony was much like the Carnival season in the Mediterranean countries.


Vis større kart
For me this winter day was the last day on floats for the season. My pilot friend Anita and I waited an hour for the sun to melt the frost of the wings, before flying to Hankø Fjordhotell & Spa for lunch.

Hankø is known as a venue for the sport of sailing, having hosted several world championships in different yacht classes. The island is connected to the mainland by a ferry operating on demand.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The sudden urge to buy power company shares

Flying over a major city at night always gives me the urge to invest in the local power company. Last night I attended an AOPA Norway board meeting at Sundt Air, Gardermoen, and I took the opportunity to get current night while visiting a 24/7 airport. CAVOK and smooth air over Oslo made this chore pretty pleasant.

Monday, October 12, 2009

BYO splash-in lunch at Tjøme

Last season at sea ended by a fly-in dinner at Rica Havna Hotel in the summer paradise Tjøme at the end of the Oslofjord. Today the kitchen was closed due to refurnishing, and we had to bring our own lunch bag.


My UiO colleague Elin and I was offered coffee, tea and a table with a view at the restaurant built into the rock.

Nice being back, but I missed the lobster soup...

Friday, October 09, 2009

Glassy water landing at Vermundsjøen

Finnskog church at Vermundsjøen lake by the Swedish border (604150N 1223E) is the host of Norway's largest winter fly-in. I decided to test the waters on floats before arrival of the ice this year, and was met by a beautiful day of fall - and quite challenging glassy water conditions.

Calm conditions known as glassy water are the most deceptive phenomenon known to the float pilot. The height above the water surface is impossible to estimate correctly, making it difficult to judge the final few feet. The glassy water landing is always a power-on landing, and the rate of descent is controlled to around 50-100 feet per minute, with a fixed attitude. A glassy water take-off can also be quite unnerving as the surface of the water is very hard to discern. (Source: fortlangleyair.com)

I'll be back for the MAF sponsored winter fly-in mid March, only worrying about white out...


Friday, October 02, 2009

$100 Bomber Burger at Half Moon Bay


A few minutes after departing Palo Alto (PAO) 31, we were on final 30 at Half Moon Bay (HAF). Lunch at the 3-Zero Cafe was our first destination, and the B17 Bomber Burger stood out as the obvious $100 hamburger choice de jure.

Before returning to work and the ONA09 conference, I had to give Anders an opportunity to view the Golden Gate Bridge from above. Flying low level with his pilot brother some years ago, the landmark was completely covered in the San Francisco fog.

We had sky clear for our sight seeing venture, and made a detour to the wine district, landing on the narrow runway of Sonoma Valley Airport (0Q3). I was happy to add this as the 105th destination in my logbook.



Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Flight on first day of frost

After driving my motorcycle to winter storage on this first day of frost in Oslo this fall, I still got a taste of summer, flying to Langesund for lunch.

Nowhere to dock and a power issue with the plane led to a short five minutes taxing visit on the water before returning to Kilen and Seaplane Burger at Sjøflyhavna Kro.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Flying high and low

My students at the University of Southern Denmark god a short lunch break, for me to leave a few minutes early in order to reach Oslo/Kjeller (ENKJ) before dark.

While flying to Odense (EKOD) on FL75, the return started in 2500 ft. due to a low sky base. For 20 of the 35 minutes of ocean crossing from Denmark (NOA) to Sweden (RANAV) I had to fly on instruments, as the light drizzle took away most visual references. North of Gothenburg (NOL) the sky base came down to 1000 ft., and I revisited Lysekil for a hole in the sky to climb on top.

Then it was smooth sailing back to CAVOK in Oslo.

Route: EKOD-ODN-TNO-NOA-MOLUD-RANAV-NOL-SABAK-REGMA-ENKJ.
Time: 3:15.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Reaching Odense before dark in 30 kts crosswind

I left the Norwegian Radio Days at Oslo Plaza hotel at 2:45 p.m., and planned landing at Odense (EKOD) before dark (7:45 pm). Driving to Kjeller (ENKJ) outside Oslo during rush hours were our first obstacle. Then 30 kts. crosswind during cruise at the Swedish coastline and even a stronger wind component as we crossed over to Denmark became our second worry. Flying on top over the ocean we had to spiral through a hole as we reached the Aalborg area. Then the sun went down as we passed Aarhus, and it was pretty close to dark as my friend Einar landed at Odense 20 minutes later than planned.

A few extra challenges, but a smooth flight without any of the announced turbulence.

Route: ENKJ-REGMA-SABAK-NOL-EKLS-ML-BOGENSE-EKOD.
Time: 3:20.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

News on floats in Lysekil

Taxiing to the dock after landing at the picturesque coastal town of Lysekil, Sweden, we were met by quite a few locals wanting to take a closer look at the C172 on floats.

The town is a major tourist destination during summer, but yesterday Tore and I was the news of the day. Even the local paper sent a reporter taking our picture.

The seaplane dinner destination Baldersnas was closed, hence we had pizza at Charlies, Arvika, and arrived Kilen a few minutes before dark.

Monday, September 07, 2009

Too little fuel, too little time

Tore and I had a great plan for touring South-Western Sweden yesterday, but the Kilen Seaplane Base was out of fuel. I have a dozen hours left on my seaplane lease for this season, and only a month left to fly this far north. After upcoming business trips to Cardiff, Odense, and San Francisco I just have to give fun on floats full priority...

Yesterday we had just enough fuel to fly 20 minutes to the Holmsbu Spa Resort for lunch, and return safe to Kilen.

Friday, September 04, 2009

Virtual plane spotting live

This service shows air traffic over Scandinavia in real time. You can also get information on aircraft, airlines and routes. The map receives current positions of aircrafts that are equipped with a Mode-S/ADS-B-transponder. This information is presented on a Google-map without delay. When you click on a plane, the path that this particular plane has taken is printed on the map.

Flygradar.nu is great fun for flying geeks on a rainy day.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Flying priest in crosswind

Thomas the Flying Priest at Starmoen MAF Fly-in, the summer version of Vermundsjøen. A great weekend for fellowship and flying. Landings in 15 kts crosswind and flying Aerostar from the right seat were some of my highlights.

Friday, August 28, 2009

$100 Seaplane Burger

The chic new restaurant at Sjøflyhavna Kro is not the typical $100 hamburger destination for pilots. They are however true to their proud history of being the terminal building for Oslo's commercial seaplane base, hence serving Seaplane Burgers. Einar and me arriving direct from landing at nearby Kilen Seaplane Base, our choice for lunch was obvious.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Working on the new AOPA.no

AOPA Norway president Santi and I flew to Sandefjord, meeting AOPA's Norwegian tech guru Torkel and initiating the process of redesigning the looks and contents of AOPA.no. Feel free to submit ideas for the new site!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Happy B-day

Jostein gave Lara a flight for her birthday several months ago. Today it was time to open the present, flying over Oslo on a beautiful Saturday morning. Being seven in seventh heaven is not bad at all.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Lightning in vicinity

Bad weather on the move from the North Sea has been a repeating story this summer.

Today Emil and Jostein got half an hour in the air before Emil spotted the first lightning south of Oslo, and we returned to Kjeller.

See current SIGWX chart published by FPC Sweden. More flight planning tools on Arne's Flying Page.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Landed just in time

Professor Høyer and I flew to the Nordmedia09 research conference in Karlstad, and managed to return a few minutes before the bad weather hit Kjeller. I was prepared to divert for Arvika in case we did not succeed in our rain shower slalom.

The 50 minutes flight was our definitive preferred choice for traveling to Karlstad, and my former professor at the Norwegian School of Management did a great job flying LN-NAG.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Flying Fun in FAG

Ten flights in two days among beautiful mountains, fjords, and islands of Western Norway from my holiday base at ENOV: The C172 LN-FAG of the local flying club are back from major refinishing in Balitcum, and I colud take family and friends for great trips to Kristiansund (top right), Runde, Stadt (bottom right), and Hakallestranda.


Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Summer morning splash-and-go

My brother Erlend joined me for an early summer morning splash-and-go in LN-AEG, touching down at Håøya, Drammens-fjorden, and Holsfjorden, before returning to Kilen. Then it was time for coffee.