Travel Story: Operation Alps (Barcelona–Milan)

From Barcelona to France

The first crew had flown the aircraft to Sabadell (LELL), a busy GA airport near Barcelona, where I took over alone, climbed into the sky and turned with a full sense of freedom towards heading 068.

Southern French airspace is full of restricted this and dangerous that, so the foolproof VFR route involved quite a bit of weaving. To save time, I decided to head inland from the coast before Beziers.

In the embrace of the Alps

Reichenbach (LSGR) was one of the most magnificent airfields. A private, PPR airfield at 3,800 ft altitude. Amazing approaches between the mountains!

St. Stephan (LSTS) was another absolutely fantastic airfield. Private, factory-owned, PPR 1 hour by phone. No other aircraft. This is what all airfields should look like!

Through the gray stone

In Switzerland and Austria, the main valley routes have their own GAFOR weather forecasts. Really handy! The Simplon Pass was one of the most challenging passes, with a recommended minimum of 8,300 ft.

Locarno (LSZL) was the last stop before Milan. Palm trees, there are palm trees in Switzerland! 🌴

Milan

I arrived as planned at Milan Bresso (LIMB) and welcomed another MIK pilot to the STL crew!

Blue skies!