🇨🇭 932nd fly-in: Locarno, Switzerland (LSZL)

[Kumiankka]

link to fly-in index thread

Quote

It's already been a few years since our last visit to mountainous Switzerland, so this Sunday, November 20th let's fix that by heading for the small airfield of Locarno Airport (LSZL/LSMO), near the shores of Lake Maggiore in the canton of Ticino. Also known as Locarno-Magadino Airport, the airfield has three parallel runways but only one of them is paved, and all of them too short for airliners or fighter jets: although Locarno is an important training center for the Swiss Air Force, their operations here are limited to smaller turboprops and helicopters. Local flight school Aero Locarno, Rega air rescue and general aviation are also among major users of the airfield, and the presence of the famous skydive center Para Centro is reflected in the linked custom scenery as well.

buon viaggio / bon voyage / gueti reis!

 

 

 

 

 

New pilots are always welcome, just read the guide on how to get started!

Remember to listen in on Teamspeak, new channel assignments listed here:
121.00 - fly-in main channel
123.00 - fly-in pre-flight
124.00 - small talk (in German)
125.00 - general comms (non-fly-in)

 

[ostkamp]

Hello armchair pilots 😄

My today´s flight originated at Oberpfaffenhofen (EDMO) the closes airport from where I currently live. We have been already there, so without further ado here is a total, weather conditions have been a little bit rainy since a cold front arrived in Germany within the last days.

Since the distance was only some 200 nm I thought I could take the Aerobask Pipistrel Panthera for it, no FSE this time.

Departing runway 22 with @Big-IN aka Dino5 still visible on the ground.

As said, there was some rain and the cockpit windows became foggy, so I had to invoke the climate control on right bottom of the image to get rid off it.

Passing Lake Ammer with the 2 other small Lake Wörth and Lake Pilsen (left to right) in the close background and Lake Starnberg in the far background.

Soon went into overcast conditions as we were climbing to 12000 ft.

Arriving at the Alps.

At about the Swiss village Giumaglio I descended into some valley which at Ascona ended at Lake Maggiore short of our destination Locarno. @F5Chaser was on approach at this time to runway 08L.

I had originally planned to land on 08R but could not see the runway, most likely due to a bit foggy conditions and the fact that it turned out to be a grass runway. I declared a go around, overflew the airport, turned around and landed on 26R instead (as most of the others).

The taxi to terminal brought me super close to some fence around the area since the taxiways were very narrow. Finally reached the apron and got parked with a lot of others already around, like @MerlinEng, @Big-IN, @CHASMAN2014, @Kumiankka, @Quintao, @Vega66, @F5Chaser and @rajo.

After cake break, I switched aircraft to Aerobask Eclipse 550 NG (which will most likely not be usable in XP12). Taxied to runway 26R again, waiting for @Big-IN while @Kumiankka and @CHASMAN2014 got lined up and departed.

Shortly thereafter we departed for Milano Linate (LIML). The runway was barely long enough to get airborne.

I went straight over the mountains - certainly a bad choice and not allowed, I should have climbed while over the lake before turning South.

I bypassed some airport were some of us had landed - @rajo, @CHASMAN2014 and @ghun1 , it could have been Lugano.

Flying into Milano area.

When  I spotted the runway, I was already close, but still made it down.

Landing took place on the 2nd half of the runway but got it to a halt in time.

Got parked with @Big-IN near the main tower I guess. There have been some other tower like buildings which I had passed while taxiing back from end of runway.

There we logged off.

Have a nice week and happy landings. 🙂

Edited November 20, 2022 by ostkamp

[rajo]

Payments for pilot rajo

Date	From	To	Amount	Reason	Airport	Aircraft	FBO	Comments
2022/11/15 23:27:54	rajo	FS Economy	-$362,011.00	Aircraft sale	EGKA	D-RAJ62

Last week I wanted to fly in with the Diamond DA62, but had to make the experience that this plane is not made for the cold. So Locarno. In the south of England I discovered the cheapest DA62 and struck!

All flights for pilot rajo

Date	From	To	Aircraft	Type	Duration	Distance	Earnings	Action
2022/11/20 14:04:55	LSME	LSZL	D-RAJ62	Diamond DA62	00:38	61	-$208.84	View
2022/11/18 00:04:27	LSZT	LSME	D-RAJ62	Diamond DA62	00:22	39	$2,262.75	View
2022/11/17 22:43:30	LSZH	LSZT	D-RAJ62	Diamond DA62	00:24	18	-$129.67	View
2022/11/17 03:15:10	LFPK	LSZH	D-RAJ62	Diamond DA62	01:30	237	$2,012.59	View
2022/11/17 01:33:08	LFOK	LFPK	D-RAJ62	Diamond DA62	00:26	47	$3,341.34	View
2022/11/16 03:35:17	LFPL	LFOK	D-RAJ62	Diamond DA62	00:36	62	$1,847.80	View
2022/11/16 01:51:48	LFQD	LFPL	D-RAJ62	Diamond DA62	00:44	91	$965.24	View
2022/11/16 00:46:07	EGKA	LFQD	D-RAJ62	Diamond DA62	00:52	122	$491.22	View

Only on 2 flights I had to do without paying passengers

here I already made it to the Rhone valley, from here on I "wallpapered" everything with otho4xp

on Thursday I had already made it to Lommis, Switzerland with 3 flights

Emmen, Switzerland, taxiing today, first flight

Yesterday I had created a complicated flight plan that would allow me to cross the Alps at 9000 feet

climb

crossing Vierwaldstätter See (Lake Lucerne)

cruise

at 9000 ft

just before the pass

shortly after the pass

the pass

approach

final

coffee break

@ghun1 also decided next airport Lugano LSZA, departed from grass rwy, I believe the paved runway is reserved for military use.

VFR at 2500 ft

happily arrived Lugano

the XP11 freeware looks even better in XP12

Visiting with the Robinson R22 Beta II_mariner Lugano 

at the marina. Then back to Locarno

the end of an attempt to water in the lake

on this tiny island the landing worked then

that was an exceptionally beautiful flight day, best weather, great scenery! cu soon, happy landings!

Edited November 20, 2022 by rajo

[CHASMAN2014]

Hello fellow sim pilots thanks for another fun Sunday of flying!

Started at Rivanazzano (LILH) gate 2 in the EV55.

Departed North flying over the city of Voghera.

Entering the Cannero River Valley for the approach to RWY 8L

Parked at Locarno Airport.

@Quintao in the SR22 showed up a few minutes later.

@Vega66 in the C172 parking at Locarno.

@rajoin the nicely modeled DA62.

@F5Chaser taxing to the gate.

Overhead view with @MerlinEng parked in the back.

@Big-IN Dino5 in the Zero.

@ghun1 on final, Locarno.

@Kumiankka landing at Locarno.

@ostkamp taxing at Locarno

Have a nice week everyone, hope to see you all next Sunday.

Chas

 

Edited November 21, 2022 by CHASMAN2014

[Quintao]

I've said it too many times before, but I'll say it again: I enjoy flying in this part of the world. My flight was from Innsbruck LOWI to Locarno LSZL on the Cirrus SR 22 default on X-plane 12. I was using the default x-plane 12, out-of-the-box ortho and Innsbruck scenery, the only custom scenery was the fly-in destination.

Backtracked on LOWI RWY 26.

Took off RWY 26 and flew East.

 

 

Got caught in some weather while flying from Austria into Switzerland.

 

 

I started to get concerned, @CHASMAN2014 said on the radio it was al cleared at the Locarno location, luckily it was by the time I started descending into the valley from the Northeast .

 

 

Landed on 26 R.

 

Parked by Chas inside the fenced ramp.

In a few minutes @ghun1 and @Kumiankka landed on 08 L (taxing at the end of the runway).

 

It didn't take long for the ramp to fill with the usual suspects from the weekend fly-ins.

 

Panoramic picture of the airfield before logging off to watch the first match of the Fifa World cup!

 

May the best team playing this year win with fair matches!

[Kumiankka]

@rajo - if that asphalt runway was reserved for the military training flights, that certainly would explain a lot about the wingspan issues with the fence near that taxiway leading there!

My flights this week all followed something of a "helicopters and Pilatus turboprops" theme, still enough options for one afternoon!
 

Started from Zurich Kloten in the Carenado PC-12, after a false start and sim restart to disable the sloped terrain that was causing some glitches around the GA ramp.

 

Climbing to 15000 feet to get above the mountains

 

At Locarno the descent into the valley was a bit tricky, even with the clouds gone. On my first try I had way too much excess altitude and airspeed left, and had to go around.

 

Better luck on the second try, #2 behind @ghun1

 

We both made the mistake of going for the paved runway, and had to improvise to avoid that annoying fence close to the taxiway

 

Dino, myself, Chas, Quintao, ghun and Vega on the ground, rajo landing in the background

 

Next up, the venerable PC-7 of the Swiss Air Force. On the first try climbing out of the valley, I got more than a little careless with the camera and flew into a mountainside while I wasn't looking ahead, having to start over almost immediately!

 

Arriving in Lugano and entering the circuit

 

Short final to LSZA

 

Taking off again in a similar-looking but more modern aircraft, the PC-21

 

Rolling inverted above Locarno, for a flyby of @ManofMac and @Vega66 down on the ramp (the lights down below are those of @CHASMAN2014 who just finished another flyby)

 

Next, I had planned on heading west for Matterhorn…

 

…but some issue with the scenery caused repeated sim crashes, and by the time I had managed to get the sim back up and running the daylight was already running low.

 

Returning to LSZL, just in time to see the sun set above Lake Maggiore

 

That aforementioned taxiway fence just happened to be spaced perfectly for the wingspans of the PC-7 and PC-21! Coincidence?

 

The time was just right for some short hops in helicopters, such as this EC120 by @JohnBray. @Vega66 is visible in the background, starting up in another helo.

 

Circling above the airport…

 

…and heading across the lake

 

Arriving in the Locarno town center

 

We found an older (abandoned?) airport at Ascona, and landed our helos nearby.

 

Back online in another helo, the tiny Schweizer S300, with Vega parked near the abandoned runway in the background.

 

Heading back across the lake…

 

…and returning to LSZL

 

The JRX Bo 105 also had a local livery available, that of Swiss air ambulance service Rega.

 

With so little daylight remaining, I didn't want to get too far away from the airport anymore, and instead buzzed around at low altitude looking for all kinds of cool little scenery details.

 

At one point I went into VRS while hovering, and managed to recover just a few feet before hitting the ground (and that taxiway fence)

 

The stubborn skydivers, still busy despite nightfall, were another hazard to consider!

 

Last flight out, no longer with real time settings: an old converted PC-6 Turbo Porter model

 

Climbing out of the valley and setting course for Geneva

 

The route to Geneva required some course adjustments due to high mountaintops and icy cloud banks

 

Eventually I made it above Lake Geneva and was able to descend for the VOR approach to runway 23. Note the open passenger door, stuck open all the way from Locarno!

 

Landing at LSGG before finally logging off for the night

[Vega66]

Awesome destination for some VFR flights.

This week I stood with the default C712 and the Cowasim AS350 with a Swiss Air Ambulance.

Started early from LSGG - Geneve, planning to perform a VFR tour around a few airports before getting to Locrano. Cold weather, but good visibility and wind conditions for the task.

 

 

One of the challenges was to keep the number of snapshots manageable, as the scenes are breathtaking. Here following lake Geneve eastbound.

First stop at Payenne AB (LSMP)

Next, Bern-Belp (LSZB)

Then, the first real challenge of the day, a steep climb to FL120, to pass over the Drattehorn and reach Sion (LSGS)

Next, landing on a Grass strip at Bex (LSGB), right on the limit of the SkyHawks specs.

 

Then, another eastbound leg to reach for Buochs, (LSZC). Nice to land on a large runway, for a change...

Then, a short and narrow strip at Bad Ragaz (LSZE). Here the approach was tricky, as the terrain forms an elevation near the edge of the runway. It took me three attempts to get the right altitude and speed to safely land.

And finally enetring deeper into the Alps, to reach this week's destination, Locarno.

This last leg was the most challenging for the Skyhawk, as it started to get some ice just before reaching TOC at FL125. The new XP12 engine is very demanding regarding ICE conditions, the slightest error costs dearly. With difficult managed to find an alternate path with a slightly lower prpofile, and descend to recover speed and avoid excessive ice. Finally, spotted the already crowded destination.

Landed and parked next to @ghun1 , after a couple of turns on the tiny taxiways, avoinding the surrounding fences. @CHASMAN2014, @Quintao, @Kumiankka and @Big-IN Dino5 also parked nearby.

 

For the second part, a change to the AS350 with the Swiss air Ambulance service, for a couple of services.

First stop at Ascona (LSZD), a few minutes after Kumi tha also was flying a Heli.

Then, a jump to Lugano (LSZA)

Great landscapes. I could easely fill up an entire gallery with awesome snaps.

 

Last Heli flight towards Samedan (LSZS). Here the simrated a "Great Landing", but I don'tthinkit fits on the category, as the Heli rotated uncontrolled and crashed.

Well, overall it was technically a good day, despite this final incident. And to finish, a final flight to Zurich (LSZH) on a Dash8.

 

Great fun over very nice sceneries.

Wish you all a great week ahead.

[F5Chaser]

Nice PIREPs all! This is a very pretty part of the world.

My Piper Arrow was waiting for me on the ramp in Albenga, Italy for the scenic flight to Locarno. The departure from Albenga requires a little attention to avoid the terrain. It is nicely tucked away in the hills.

After reaching a safe altitude, I continued on course northward, passing Milan on the way. Carefully winding into Locarno following Lake Maggiore for a landing on runway 8L. The landing was a little rough due to a late flare but the plane is still flyable.

The Arrow is small enough I didn't have to worry about the fence along the taxiway, fortunately haha!

See you next week!

 

[Skylark2992]

Thanks everybody, great PIREPs! Many beautiful vistas, trees, and sunrises and sunsets - it looked like fun.