This past weekend I took the TB10 from Rotterdam (EHRD) to Stavanger (ENZV) for a quick guys’ trip to see (one of the) fjords. Overall a highly recommended destination. Because the trip involved flying over the sea from Denmark (plus a few other consequential water segments), I arranged to borrow a raft and life vests from a hangar mate. I went with a friend and our two teenage boys, which meant we were at gross weight with 170L of fuel, or just under 5 hours of endurance. At IFR reserves this required one fuel stop in Denmark. For the outbound trip we departed Friday evening for our first stop at Esbjerg (EKEB) in Denmark.
The first leg was largely uneventful, and we departed VFR to avoid the likely vectoring around AMS, and instead flew under the TMA to pick up an IFR clearance just northeast of Lelystad. Esbjerg was reporting around 1500 OVC, so I made use of the RNP 26 to get through the 2000’ or so cloud layer. The airport was deserted except for one guy, and seemed larger than necessary, but I expect it is normally used for helicopter transport to the oil rigs. There were tie-downs available with ropes provided, which was nice, but the 100LL pump was out of service as expected.
Esbjerg itself (€30 taxi ride) was nothing special, though we had a very nice dinner at Plates, which sits at the top of a hotel and has excellent views. Otherwise in retrospect it seems silly to have chosen a field with no avgas, when there are plenty of alternatives nearby. The next morning we departed VFR with low ceilings (around 1200’) for the very short trip to Herning (EKHG) for fuel, which proved quick and easy, though I could not figure out how to pay my landing fee.
After a quick refueling we departed and immediately picked up a joining clearance from Karup (EKKA) which sits just north of Herning. I should mention I specifically chose a field in the middle of Denmark for refueling so I would have sufficient time to climb to altitude before the sea crossing. We flew an uneventful crossing IFR in OCAS at 7000’. I noted as we arrived over land that the coastline in southern Norway is just as inhospitable as the sea, so there wasn’t much safety improvement at that point! Having said that, the flight along the coast to Stavanger was beautiful, and we didn’t get much cloud until the approach. There’s a very indirect inland arrival route to the active runway 36 (with a FL100 minimum altitude), but I requested and received a direct routing to the TUXAS IAP, and we broke out of an isolated cloud deck at about 2000’. Half an hour later it was blue skies.
The runway is a massive 2700m, and there’s a fair amount of airline traffic. After landing we were directed to apron 13 at the far north end, which is home to the Sola Flyklubb. There were a few other GA aircraft on the ramp, but overall the area felt quiet. The avgas pump accepts only the Shell card (which I don’t have), but the club has an arrangement where they will pay with their card and let you pay them back. However we had to wait for someone to help us with this, which added quite some time. A police officer greeted us on landing and called customs for us, which took only a couple minutes to answer our questions. I had read the VFR Norway guide, which indicated calling ahead at ENZV was unnecessary, but the officer said they like to get a call in advance. In any case it was no problem.
We had arranged a rental car from Avis for our stay, and this added quite a lot of overhead as apron 13 is about a 20 min walk from the main terminal building—once we figured out where we were going. Customs + waiting for fuel + the rental car all resulted in about 1.5 hrs overhead in total. I’ve flown into many large airline-serving airports in my time, and I’m pretty sure this was the most overhead of any place I’ve flown. Everyone was quite accommodating and friendly though.
We stayed at the Radisson Blu in Stavanger, which I would definitely recommend. Nice accommodation, great breakfast, beautiful views, and an excellent location. The town itself is a great place to spend a couple days. We were able to take a speed boat ride through one of the fjords out of the Stavanger harbor, and there are loads of nice restaurants within walking distance. It feels decidedly Norwegian in the best way possible, and I would definitely return. After the boat trip we drove 45 min or so to do the famous hike to Pulpit Rock, which was a surprisingly strenuous 4km (each way) climb up to the top. Definitely not for anyone with any fear of heights, but otherwise completely worth the stunning views at the top.
For the trip back, we planned to depart Monday morning and fly the entire trip, stopping at Flensburg (EDXF) for fuel and lunch. You may have noticed there was a large low pressure system in the North Sea on Monday, and our route would essentially circumnavigate the entire eastern side—in the wrong direction from a wind perspective. I originally planned for an IFR departure, but switched to VFR at the last minute (again to avoid a lot of overhead from the SID), joining IFR over the sea. I also got a chance to try out my GoPro wing mount pointed backwards to capture the departure over the sea and beautiful coastline.
I received a clearance which included a climb to 1000’ departing 36, but while taxiing was switched to an intersection departure on 29. This change created a bit of a distraction, and I forgot to complete my departure checklist and briefing. I didn’t have the 1000’ limit in my mind, but was just thinking about my planned initial climb to 5000’. Unfortunately in my haste to switch to VFR I also failed to notice the 1500’ floor of the class C TMA around the field. Sola tower didn’t mention anything as I climbed past 1500’, and it wasn’t until they switched me to approach (where I dutifully announced my altitude and intention to climb) that I realised my mistake—and only then after the controller admonished me. He also informed me he’d have to file a report. I filed my own report, so fingers crossed my first ever airspace bust won’t result in any action.
As expected, I encountered IMC over the sea shortly after getting my IFR clearance, and remained in the soup for the remainder of the flight. However the winds were stronger than expected, and I was getting between 75 and 90 knots over the ground. It was also extremely turbulent with lots of precipitation, and I was hand flying due to my autopilot still acting up after returning from Termikas. Flensburg was VFR only, so I had filed Sylt (EDXW) as an IFR alternate. With my reduced fuel load it was clear I was unable to fly to Flensburg, then to Sylt with sufficient IFR reserve. It would have been tempting to try, but I called Korup approach and asked for the ceiling at Herning, which was 700 OVC. He offered an ILS to 09 at Korup and a break-off to Herning, which I accepted. In retrospect I would have done this on the way out as well rather than land at Esbjerg. He also offered to clear me for an IFR departure directly from Herning when I was ready.
Herning was completely deserted, so we refuelled and pondered what to do next. At this point we were very hungry at a field with no food options, so we elected just to continue to Flensburg as planned. I got the clearance over the phone, then we departed for an uneventful one hour flight. We added 35L of fuel, had a nice curry wurst at the restaurant, and began the final leg to Rotterdam. It was VMC at Flensburg, so we departed VFR, then again picked up an IFR clearance en route. This last leg took a painfully long 3.5 hrs (headwinds exceeding 40kt at times!), at least two of which were in solid, turbulent IMC. Let’s just say I got a lot of hand-flying IFR time this trip! My inexperienced passengers were troopers, but it was pretty intense for them.
After another RNP approach at Rotterdam, we finally landed after nearly 7 hours of hard flying. Overall a great destination and experience, and three happy passengers. I will be happy to return again in the future!
Reaching “land” after the sea crossing:
Refueling at the Sola Flyklubb:
On our way up to Pulpit Rock:
Pulpit Rock:
Departure from ENZV:
Very cool, thanks for writing that one up and nice pictures too. Hope it works out with the infringement.
Hi dutch_flyer, we´ve met at ENZV. You came in and we were already at the pump. I was not aware how difficult refuelling in norway really is nowadays. Luckily the members of the Sola Flying club helped us out, as the terminal refuses any card except of Air BP and Total. We ´ve made the application for the AIR BP card, but we had not in our mind that this process last 2 month.
From Sola we proceeded to ENBR, and stayed there for the weekend. We´ve met a friend and took him along for some fjord flying. Great impressions. At ENBR refuelling was even worse. None of the flying club showed up and the guy from avionor told us the refulling procedure is discribed with a Notam…okay. We flew back on monday and refuelled at ENZV again.
On our flight back to germany we were heading from soouth norway to EKTS. Again the wheather in the south of norway was perfect. The wind was within the calculated limits arround 20kts NO.
During the crossing of the skagerrak we experienced deteriorating sights, low clouds and the wind turned into a strom. With passing the small system our engine showed drops of 200 rpm. First we tought this was just a small imballance of the governor. The last 10min to EKTS the engine ran rough. We did a technical landing at EKTS. When switching the mags to left the engine stopped. The Mags where overhauled 20h ago. We advise the local shop to send the mags to the german shop for inspection. Hopefully we will be able to fly her home next weekend.
Fuel prices enroute EDXO 2,4 Eur / lit ENBR between 3,06 – 3,17 Eur/ lit.
Interesting that you saw us there. Which aircraft were you flying? Good luck with the mag issue. The Norwegian landscape is not the best place to run into issues!
Interesting trip report, thanks! I’m pretty amazed that Esbjerg (EKEB) has lost it’s Avgas availability. I refueled there last year in August on my way back from Norway to Germany. It had a fixed Avgas pump with payment terminal for creditcards. Avgas availability seems to get more and more of an issue in Scandinavia. At least I’ve organized BP and Total cards, but especially BP needs indeed quite some time to process your application.
I’m also sorry for your infringement. It shows how fast such a mistake everyone can make. Personally, I think that Norwegian ATC is one of the best in Europe, but they need to know your intentions of course. If you’ve said “request direct climb 5.000 ft VFR”, they would have handed you over shortly after take-off to approach. But it’s always easy to talk about it afterwards, while beeing in the situation, you don’t “see” or “feel” the error.
And yes, the ways in Stavangar are very long. We were lucky last year to get in and out from the aeroclub side, but we also didn’t need any rental car. Other Norwegian airports might be less time consuming. Especially the smaller ones.
At least I’ve organized BP and Total cards, but especially BP needs indeed quite some time to process your application.
Is this the same Total card we use in France, that works in Scandinavia as well? As far as I know in Germany the French Total cards are not working for self refueling.
For Total you need a card for each fuel type. And if you don’t have the right card the pump won’t work. Same for BP I suspect- they sent me one for each – 100LL and UL91.
No idea why these guys don’t just accept regular credit cards.
eurogaguest1980 wrote:
Same for BP I suspect- they sent me one for each – 100LL and UL91.
Yes, same for BP. To confuse things even more, BP only refers to 100LL as “AVGAS”. Or BP cards for 100LL actually says just “AVGAS”.
Thanks for the Norway pirep, hoping to visit this summer (up to Lofotens) but I will likely kick it down the road for next year !
I received a clearance which included a climb to 1000’ departing 36, but while taxiing was switched to an intersection departure on 29. This change created a bit of a distraction, and I forgot to complete my departure checklist and briefing. I didn’t have the 1000’ limit in my mind, but was just thinking about my planned initial climb to 5000’. Unfortunately in my haste to switch to VFR I also failed to notice the 1500’ floor of the class C TMA around the field. Sola tower didn’t mention anything as I climbed past 1500’, and it wasn’t until they switched me to approach (where I dutifully announced my altitude and intention to climb) that I realised my mistake—and only then after the controller admonished me. He also informed me he’d have to file a report. I filed my own report, so fingers crossed my first ever airspace bust won’t result in any action
It’s likely tower CTR controller don’t have radar while TMA Charlie approach have radars? one of the quirks when bimbling VFR where you get locked around circuit heights (unlike IFR where would you tend to get a higher initial altitudes and quick handovers to approach right before radar altitude)
Ibra wrote:
It’s likely tower CTR controller don’t have radar while TMA Charlie approach have radars? one of the quirks when bimbling VFR where you get locked around circuit heights (unlike IFR where would you tend to get a higher initial altitudes and quick handovers to approach right before radar altitude)
One thing I didn’t mention that certainly factored into the bust is that it’s not really possible to maintain 1000’ unless you head for the coastline. The terrain is higher than that, and my planned route was not direct to the coast. So part of it is that instinct to climb probably helped me forget my assigned altitude.
