Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2016 13:11:43 GMT -5
Well, the skinny on this is, I LOVE flying in Norway. I'm only now discovering just how much there actually is here. It looks like it was fate that yanked me out of the FMC/High/Fast airplanes and got me back in the low/slow guys because this is turning into a gold mine. And so it is that "Tundra Aviation" has evolved and is now my main ops (and it's not even Tuesday <LOL>). Tundra is a charter outfit that carries people and freight, and goes into most/all of the in-between stations that operators like Wideroe and SAS don't/can't get into. A lot of our stuff that we carry is high priority, such as the mail and medical equipment (and even the odd doctor or nurse) as if it's not a priority, then it's probably going by ground or water. That said, even runs like Narvik to Evenes can be an hour or so in a car, but 10 minutes by air, so it is a convenience thing as well.
What I didn't know when I started all this is just how many little airports there are in the country that Skyvector has no clue about. I was thinking Norway was really cool because while there weren't that many airports (of course, there are lots for the size of the country), they most all have IFR approaches into them. Well, turns out there are a LOT more airports than show on the map, as I said, and are these ever a hoot to go into. I think of all the Orbx regional sceneries, this has to be the best IMO. Anyway, Tundra has tailored their fleet to be able to handle virtually any airport in the country, and even some not-airports, such as the many lakes in the southern region, and of course the non-stop fjords in the rest of the country. We have a pretty eclectic fleet, but there is still fleet commonality in that we own all Cessna's and Piper's, with only a couple of exceptions. In order to keep our prices 'do-able' for the smaller strips, we will use very economical aircraft such as the 172 and 182 where possible. When the loads get a little bigger or heavier though, then we can go with the 206 and turbo 206. For longer trips to smaller airfields we'll make use of our 210's. Most of the aforementioned aircraft are RG's so we can get to more distant destinations a little more quickly and efficiently but still get into 1200 to 1500 ft strips when necessary. That said, if the field is extremely rough, as I encountered today (see below) then we'll use the 206. We even have lakes covered with our 185 on floats in the summer and wheel/skis in winter, although ski flying is a tad tenuous in the south. We still don't have enough ice to land on any lakes yet. Still in the summer, our 206 on amphibs can take a reasonable load to remote locations. Now if the loads are heavier than what we can take in the singles, but we still have short/rough strips, our Aztecs will do the job for us very nicely. A bigger load of either people or cargo going to a longer runway (i.e. 2500' and up), then we can use the Navajo, or the Seneca in a pinch. Up in the far north at Alta, we keep an Islander for use getting out to the outports with heavy loads or 9 people going into short strips with steep approaches like Hammerfest. Finally, we have two what I call 'exotic' aircraft - a Reims Cessna 406 for long distance trips where you need some speed, and our pride and joy, a restored DC 3, which is still a working machine, although it will do mostly specialty charters where people want the experience of having flown on a DC 3.
Sounds like a lot of aircraft, but we have quite a few bases and not all aircraft are at all bases. We tend to position them strategically where their particular strengths can be utilized locally. For example, we keep a 206 at Nottoden to handle the many grass strips in Southern Norway with heavy loads and short field capability. We also keep our 172 and a 182 there as well, which can also go to the grass strips (where loads normally are lighter) or up the valleys where there are numerous airports but which often don't have long runways; or we just need to keep costs down and the loads fit in those aircraft.
I looked at building something back out in Western Canada again and considered picking up some more North American airports, but I just can't tear myself away from Norway for any length of time. We will be making the odd excursion to the UK and Germany so that will give me some variety, but those trips will have relatively short stays overall.
So there you have it. Everything you never wanted to know about Tundra Aviation but were afraid to ask (for good reason!!
).
For my first (of MANY, I suspect) PIREP's today, I'll be showing pics on a 206 trip to deliver some construction equipment to Silling from Nottoden. Silling's strip is... well, interesting, to say the least. It helps to have spent some RW time looking for grass strips because this one would be very easy to miss. From there we'll head back to Hokksund (ENHS, but don't look for that in Skyvector
) where they have a very nice little grass strip and a lunch room. Following lunch we'll start heading up the valley again to Jevnaker (ENEG). I have a load that has to go north from there but that won't happen until later today or sometime tomorrow so we'll plan on a short stay there. Believe me, from what I can see of Jevnaker, that won't be a hardship! On to the pics then.
Loading up at Nottoden
Climbing out as we head SE
Enroute. It's been fairly mild so far this winter and while the snow is in the highlands, it's not in the valleys that much yet. Most of the lakes are now frozen, but only just.
OK, see the 'airport'?? Yep, it's there. No, it's not the brown dirt you see in the foreground 
See it now? We're on final for it, albeit a little to the right on the approach. I would be very glad of the rugged gear of the 206 on this airstrip!
It was a VERY rough rollout but everything survived and we spent the better part of a half hour unloading gear. From here, it's back to Hokkesund. Stay tuned.
What I didn't know when I started all this is just how many little airports there are in the country that Skyvector has no clue about. I was thinking Norway was really cool because while there weren't that many airports (of course, there are lots for the size of the country), they most all have IFR approaches into them. Well, turns out there are a LOT more airports than show on the map, as I said, and are these ever a hoot to go into. I think of all the Orbx regional sceneries, this has to be the best IMO. Anyway, Tundra has tailored their fleet to be able to handle virtually any airport in the country, and even some not-airports, such as the many lakes in the southern region, and of course the non-stop fjords in the rest of the country. We have a pretty eclectic fleet, but there is still fleet commonality in that we own all Cessna's and Piper's, with only a couple of exceptions. In order to keep our prices 'do-able' for the smaller strips, we will use very economical aircraft such as the 172 and 182 where possible. When the loads get a little bigger or heavier though, then we can go with the 206 and turbo 206. For longer trips to smaller airfields we'll make use of our 210's. Most of the aforementioned aircraft are RG's so we can get to more distant destinations a little more quickly and efficiently but still get into 1200 to 1500 ft strips when necessary. That said, if the field is extremely rough, as I encountered today (see below) then we'll use the 206. We even have lakes covered with our 185 on floats in the summer and wheel/skis in winter, although ski flying is a tad tenuous in the south. We still don't have enough ice to land on any lakes yet. Still in the summer, our 206 on amphibs can take a reasonable load to remote locations. Now if the loads are heavier than what we can take in the singles, but we still have short/rough strips, our Aztecs will do the job for us very nicely. A bigger load of either people or cargo going to a longer runway (i.e. 2500' and up), then we can use the Navajo, or the Seneca in a pinch. Up in the far north at Alta, we keep an Islander for use getting out to the outports with heavy loads or 9 people going into short strips with steep approaches like Hammerfest. Finally, we have two what I call 'exotic' aircraft - a Reims Cessna 406 for long distance trips where you need some speed, and our pride and joy, a restored DC 3, which is still a working machine, although it will do mostly specialty charters where people want the experience of having flown on a DC 3.
Sounds like a lot of aircraft, but we have quite a few bases and not all aircraft are at all bases. We tend to position them strategically where their particular strengths can be utilized locally. For example, we keep a 206 at Nottoden to handle the many grass strips in Southern Norway with heavy loads and short field capability. We also keep our 172 and a 182 there as well, which can also go to the grass strips (where loads normally are lighter) or up the valleys where there are numerous airports but which often don't have long runways; or we just need to keep costs down and the loads fit in those aircraft.
I looked at building something back out in Western Canada again and considered picking up some more North American airports, but I just can't tear myself away from Norway for any length of time. We will be making the odd excursion to the UK and Germany so that will give me some variety, but those trips will have relatively short stays overall.
So there you have it. Everything you never wanted to know about Tundra Aviation but were afraid to ask (for good reason!!
).For my first (of MANY, I suspect) PIREP's today, I'll be showing pics on a 206 trip to deliver some construction equipment to Silling from Nottoden. Silling's strip is... well, interesting, to say the least. It helps to have spent some RW time looking for grass strips because this one would be very easy to miss. From there we'll head back to Hokksund (ENHS, but don't look for that in Skyvector
) where they have a very nice little grass strip and a lunch room. Following lunch we'll start heading up the valley again to Jevnaker (ENEG). I have a load that has to go north from there but that won't happen until later today or sometime tomorrow so we'll plan on a short stay there. Believe me, from what I can see of Jevnaker, that won't be a hardship! On to the pics then.Loading up at Nottoden
Climbing out as we head SE
Enroute. It's been fairly mild so far this winter and while the snow is in the highlands, it's not in the valleys that much yet. Most of the lakes are now frozen, but only just.
OK, see the 'airport'??
Yep, it's there. No, it's not the brown dirt you see in the foreground 
See it now? We're on final for it, albeit a little to the right on the approach. I would be very glad of the rugged gear of the 206 on this airstrip!
It was a VERY rough rollout but everything survived and we spent the better part of a half hour unloading gear. From here, it's back to Hokkesund. Stay tuned.
.
