This excellent freeware is a bit different then other planes. Light and fast, but absolutely deadly on stalls, it needs a steady hand and if treated right it rewards with great views out of the cockpit.
Bolzano – Sondrio Caiolo
We started out of Bolzano airport to the North and already after a few minutes we overflew Meran and turned west along the Ötztal alps (yes, that is where they found the Iceman in 1991). Before running into Switzerland we turned south towards the Stilfser Joch, a pass at over 9000ft, that connects Switzerland, South Tyrol and Lombardy.
After just making it over with truly great views, we wound down again to Bormio, the famous ski resort. Right next to it lies Lago di Cancano, an artificial lake with two dams. Following the Adda river we passed Tirano and caught a glimpse into Switzerland again. A small bulge formed like a finger points right at Tirano here. Only the valley and the slopes off the mountains left and right belong to Switzerland, everything else is already Italy.
We descended further down to 4500 feet as we were already on the final stretch. Jörg only needed one pattern, I had to do a few to get the Bronco low and slow enough to land. Unfamiliar with the tilted ground stance of the Bronco I slammed the nose gear hard as I touched the brakes before it had actually come down to the pavement. It really is a different plane this, but so much fun.
Memmingen – Vogtareuth
This was the last leg of our German Bushtrip right before Christmas 2023. We took off from Memmingen airport and took a brief look at Memmingen itself before turning south sorting ourselves along the A7 down to Kempten. As we had 3 vastly different airplanes (Jörg in the Comanche, Chergo in the TBM and myself in the Bronco), keeping speeds close was vital for keeping together. Which we managed brilliantly along the whole flight.
Making a small detour to the Grosser Alpsee, the biggest lake in Allgäu, we flew over Immenstadt into the Allgäuer Hochalpen. Climbing to 10000 feet and back down again, we crossed in and out of Austria and reached Füssen (close to Neuschwanstein castle). We found the Festspielhaus and Chergo and I landed at the nearby glider airport.
After overflying Forggen lake for the last time we continued East into the Alps again, going for the highest mountain in Germany, the Zugspitze (2962m). As we flew past we were already in Austria again and the Griesspitze massif (2741m) right behind us.
The clouds drifted in and out and we maneuvered accordingly, now to the North along the A95 towards Munich. The airport Ohlstadt was one of our navigation points, Ammersee (lake) was another. We crossed the city right at the central station. Taking in the sights we overflew the Olympic Stadion, the Allianz Arena, Daglfing racetrack, the city center and the Theresienwiese. Here is where the Oktoberfest (Munich beer festival) happens.
Leaving Munich south along the A8 we passed the old air base of Neubiberg, now a natural park. We also encountered a gem of agricultural yesteryear. In Hohenbrunn the fields are arranged like pie pieces spreading out from the towns back yards.
Reaching the Simsee (the smaller lake next to Chiemsee) we started to search for our landing spot. The original airport, Bad Endorf, seemed to small to land, so we continued to Vogtareuth, which had an asphalt runway with quite a slope to it. Sorting in as number 3 to land I slammed the nose gear of the Bronco (again) and made it just before the I ran out of runway. I need to train this more …
Copenhagen – Helsingborg – Malmö
We started out of Roskilde to the North towards the city center. After overflying the cathedral we turned east and followed the road and the railway into Copenhagen.
We continued into the heart of the city to the Tivoli, Copenhagen’s amusement park. After that along the river we saw the major sights of Copenhagen: Christiansborg Palace, the old Stock Exchange, Nyhavn and Amalienborg Palace. On the south side of the river we could see Our Saviors Church and the opera. Sadly, the little mermaid could not be seen from our height.
We flew north along the coast before we turned in for one very peculiar building in Horsholm. The Internation School there is shaped like a crossed out circle. We stopped in Gronholt for a short checkup, before we continued East and overflew Fredensborg palace.
Next stop was Kronborg castle, positioned right on the edge of the channel over to Sweden. Once we reached Helsingborg we turned South and followed the coast again down to Enoch Thulins airport. Chergo parked his aircraft there for the day and Jörg and I wished him farewell and took off.
The fortress of Landskrona was our next way-point, with its star-shaped fortifications still recognizable. And then the Öresund bridge connecting Malmö and Copenhagen already came into view. We visited the Turning Torso skyscraper and the city center at Malmö before crossing over into Denmark again and landing at Kastrup airport.
