Goteborg to Hoganas
Route: ESGP COAST BAK COAST ESMT DCT ESMH
Capacity: P1 (Pilot)
Logged time: 1.3 hours
Route from Goteborg to Hoganas
Well, we were back on the original plan now and today headed out of Goteborg with a flight virtually due south to a small grass airfield in Sweden called Hoganas. Hoganas is located on the west coast of Sweden, about 10 miles north of Helsingborg on the Oresund, the narrow stretch of water that separates mainland Sweden from the Danish island of Sjaelland (the big island with Copenhagen on it). From Hoganas, the Danish coast is a only 7nm away, but from Helsingborg, it is a mere 3nm. Hoganas is well known in aviation circles and a lively GA airfield with many European events, including the European RV Rally. As an airfield, it punches well above it’s weight and we were strongly advised to visit this airfield on our trip.
Rather than make taxi drivers rich (and us poor by a similar amount), we decided to get the excellent public transport busses to the airport. However, this involved going in to Goteborg city centre first, then getting an airport bus back out to Save. We arrived at Save at about 11:00 and presented ourselves to the security gate we came out from. They asked for our pilots licences and photo id, then put us and our stuff through the security scanners. It was all very relaxed and good natured and didn’t feel terribly officious.
Once airside we asked about refuelling. We were advised simply to pull the plane across to the pumps and someone would come out and fuel for us. This is indeed what happened. A very cheerful and inquisitive pompier came out and filled the tanks to our specification, as it was only going to be a short run of just over one hour. We checked the plane out and loaded up and while I wandered over to the flying club to get weather actuals from the internet (there being no internet in the pilot reporting room), my fellow group member wandered off to pay the fuel bill. I filed a formal flight plan, as I don’t fancy flying over those forests and coast without some ‘insurance’.
Airborne out of Goteborg at 1500'
I got the METARs for all relevant airfields and alternates from the clubhouse using the Orbifly website (an excellent site). Happy days, CAVOK all the way! Back at the plane, my fellow group member told me that there was no landing or parking to pay and that all we paid for was the fuel. Now I cannot believe that Goteborg Save thought that these heroic aviators who flew from Britain should be rewarded with such financial largesse, and I suspect that Peter Andersson had something to do with this!!! Anyway, thanks again Peter, a book by one of our other group member about his around the world flight in our plane will be on it’s way to you shortly!
We clambered in as I ran through the checklist, leaving the buttoning of the canopy until the last moment as we would cook! Sure enough we did as we trundled to an intermediate holding point for runway 19 (still stacks of runway left for the RV6). The wind was modest, with a slight crosswind component from the left IIRC. We were quickly cleared for take off and we powered down the runway, with the RV soon hopping about excitedly like a kid waiting for his turn on the roller-coaster! We climbed to the 1500’ we were cleared to by Goteborg Tower and were advised to remain west of the city for transit heading south just inland from the coast, initially for Varberg, then Falkenberg, then Halmstad, then across the Skalderviken to Hoganas.
We held at 1500’ until I was clear of the Goteborg Save zone. They advised us to contact Sweden Control, which we did. I requested a climb to 2000’ where we sat for the rest of the trip, there really being no need to climb any higher, and hey, the view and scenery were great.
The countryside was far more cleared and farmed than I had expected, with plenty of places for a forced landing if it came to it (yes, that is what private pilots think about a fair bit as they fly along, also always trying to keep track of the wind so they know what direction the land into). We kinda flew slightly inland and parallel to the coast until I realised that I was flying generally to the right of the main road that seems to change from the E6 to the E20 and back again as it heads south to Malmo, then across the bridge into and across all of Denmark to Esbjerg. So I basically flew between the coast and this main road.
We contacted Halmstad Tower to get clearance to fly through their zone, which they were fine about. WE could clearly see the huge runway of what looks like yet another deserted regional airport. We flew across the bay at Halmstad rather than route around the coast, then contact Angelholm Tower to get clearance to go through their zone. They were also quite happy and we routed across the Skalderviken bay on track to Hoganas.
Hoganas sort of sits at the south western base of a peninsula with a prominent range of hills at the tip of the peninsula, called the Kullabergs Naturreservat. It is quite unmistakeable as there ain’t many hills in these here parts stranger!!
Hoganas Airfield
As we got within glide range of the land again, I switched from Angelholm to Hoganas Radio. I listened in for a bit to build up a picture as we approached, but it was silent. OK, so I called them – nothing. In line with the convention, I called them a total of three times, each time with no response. OK, check the frequency, no it is definitely correct. As it is only a ‘Radio’ service, they may well not be manning it. OK, no bother. I sort of know the wind as I have been tracking it during the flight and it is coming from the south or the south west. I start giving ‘blind calls’ for my position to ‘Hoganas Traffic’ and drop to 1500’ as we approach the town of Hoganas.
Then it is the ever popular game of ‘spot the airfield’, made all the more entertaining when it is a grass airfield. We know pretty much where it must be, it is just a case of actually seeing it. It is made harder here as many of the farmers fields are ‘strip-shaped’ – i.e. long and thin, unlike British fields. They don’t like overhead joins, so I start to set up for a wide orbit at above circuit height, then I spot it. We both look hard for a windsock, but can we see it? Can we buffalo! I am pretty confident about the wind which seems to favour runway 14, the longer of the two runways (runways 14 / 32 is 800m and runway 06 / 24 is 560m).
Hoganas clubhouse
I decide to do a left base join for 14 and start a descent to 1000’. This puts us out over the town of Hoganas and takes us a little out to sea before I turn final for 14. I try to feel for the wind, but there is very little crosswind, so I line up on 14. I am high, so I side-slip some of this off. I take a bit too much off and end up putting some power back in. Approach now good and airspeed OK, if a bit fast. Over the threshold, height good, power off and flare and hold off and off. She touches before I want her to so we hop a bit (not much) and she lands off the second touch. The runway is smooth and I let her run to slow to a taxi speed by herself, plenty of runway left. We slow to taxi speed by the runway intersection (about halfway along) and turn into runway 06 to trundle straight to the fuel pumps.
Hoganas clubhouse
We are greeted by Lasse, the airfields only employee who does everything. We load with a modest amount of fuel, as out next planned trip is a relatively short hop of about one hour to Samso island in Denmark. He is a very helpful guy and speaks reasonable English. There is no landing fee and bikes are provided free, but donations are accepted. So I pay up for the fuel. We are met briefly by the airfield owner, Olle (who is also an RV6 owner). He has to head off but may see us tomorrow.
We advise Lasse that we want to stay the night in one of the clubhouse bunkrooms, so after we park up and ties down, he shows us around the clubhouse. What a great clubhouse! It is a converted accommodation prefab they got from one of the local companies ten years ago, so it came with loads of bedrooms each with an en-suite toilet and sink and communal shower room. They took some of the room partitions down to create the club lounge, kitchen and flight planning room. They still have six bedroom available to rent for a modest GBP20 pppn. Many of the rooms have bunkbeds and you can rent sheets etc. It is nothing fancy, but is a huge step up from camping (which they are also quite happy for you to do by your aircraft.
The clubhouse operates an ‘honesty box’ and has a soda / beer fridge and an ice cream freezer that you can serve yourself from. The flight planning room has all the facilities you need, including an internet PC and a non-password WiFi that you can get from anywhere in the clubhouse.
He sorted us out two bikes and gave us a map of the town. It is about 2 miles so maybe a bit far to walk so we were happy with the bikes. The town isn’t up to much though, there is a beach and a marina, but very little in the way of bars or restaurants. But the airfield is fantastic, this is probably the best, most welcoming and relaxed airfield I have ever been to – a bit like the Carlbergs adverts – ‘If Carlsberg made airfields……’ – well, this is pretty close to what a Carlsberg airport would be!
G-GDRV tucked up for the night at Hoganas
A really nice flight to an excellent airfield. However, we watched the slow progress of a weather front on the synoptics. It was due to pass slowly through maybe midday tomorrow coming from the west, so there might be time to get to Samso if we got up early enough – this being the only fly in the ointment.
