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BexLet's start at Bex. Bex is situated in the lower Wallis/Valais region, between Martigny and Montreaux, surrounded by mountains that are up to 3000m high! This airfield has 700m/2100ft grass runway at an elevation of 400m/1200ft MSL. For takeoff and landing, however, only 600m/1800ft or 550m/1650ft can be used into each direction - light airplanes are recommended for this airport. Daniel Gauthier has not just created the airport with all its buildings and facilities but also provided important buildings and features in the airfield's surroundings. It is just a great sight to approach this airfield between while have a great mountain-view. |
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EcuvillensOur next stop will be in Ecuvillens: this airfield is close to Fribourg - the capital of this "Kanton" (county) and its associated VOR Fribourg (FRI 110.85). As this airfield features a 800m/2400ft asphalt runway, you are welcome to go for a landing with planes up to a Cessna Centurion. As it is Daniel's standard, important buildings and landscape features can be found in the surroundings. |
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NeuchatelWe now jump over to Neuchatel. It is situated at the coast of the Neuenburger lake, the largest lake that is completely within Switzerland's bondary. A 700m/2100ft asphalt runway and a 550m/1650ft grass runway are ready for use. |
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La CôteLet's go west! Lets' go to La Côte. This small but nice airfield can be found at the north-coast of the Lake of Geneva (Lac Le mand), close to Nyon and almost at the NDB Gland (GLA 320). This NDB can be found in the scenery, too. Its 560m/1680ft grass runway is not really good for big planes. |
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SionWe make a turn back to the Wallis/Valais. This region's biggest airport is definetely Sion and its 2000m/6000ft asphalt runway can be used by planes to the size of an Airbus A320. For gliders a 660m/1980ft grass runway is always opened as well. The most interesting thing is for sure the steep IGS approach procedure and the fact that you find standard instrument departure routes (SIDs) at this airport. And again, it is not just the airport which was created in detail: have a look at this screenshot and you will find Sion's castles and other eyecatchers of this area! If you dare to shoot the IGS approach to runway 26 you will start your descent from 15,000ft, following the long valley towards Sion, enjoying this area's great mountain scenery (Lago Mesh recommended). |
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GruyèreFollowing the river Saane just a few miles upstream from Ecuvillens, we will reach the nice airport Gruyère. Close to this airfield you will find the castle Gruyère, which is featured on the screenhot on the left side. There's a 810m/2430ft grass runway, so you don't need to fly there with a tiny plane. You will find a couple of well designed buildings and in our opinion the castle is well done! |
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Yverdon Les-BainsLet's go back to the Neuenburger Lake. Close to its north-western shoreline, you will find this idyllic airfield, featuring stuff like a restaurand, many hangars and a playground. The 855m/2565ft grass and asphalt runway are waiting for planes up to the size of a Cessna Centurion. |
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PayerneDo you prefer a fighter-jet for your next tour? Then land at Payerne! You'll find a 2858m/8574ft asphalt runway with a lot of detailed buildings and streets around. |
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BellechasseThis is another small glider-airfield in Daniel Gauthier's Suisse2004 series. Still he looked for best detail and you will find - as in reality - a car of the local bakery "Rebsamen" and the home for mentally ill people :) The 490m/1470ft runway is good for shortfield-training, it's time for the Piper Cub! |
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MôtiersOne more small glider-field in the Jura-area. It has a 566m/1698ft grass runway. |
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MontricherThis well known glider-field is located northwest of Lausanne and the 610m/1830ft grass runway is inviting you to have a look at the special hangars there. Daniel has done a great job making them look like in reality! |
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GrenchenThis is probably one of the best known airports in Switzerland. Some members of SwissFIR do fly here in real-life! The 1000m/3000ft asphalt runway (and 3 parallel grass runways for gliders!) is good for bigger planes, IFR-traffic included (VOR-DME approach procedure). In real-life there is a small round-about close to the airfield with an old Starfighter in the middle. Guess what, you'll find it in this scenery, too! This is a must-have-airport. |
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Fricktal-SchupfartLet's get back to the small airfields. A 520m/1560ft grass runway is waiting for you. |
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CourtelaryCourtelary is a glider-airfield, located northwest of Biel, in the Jura mountains. You'll find a 500m/1500ft grass runway. |
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Biel KappelenBiel-Kappelen is another glider-airfield but its 570m/1710ft runway is good for planes like the Piper Archer as well. |
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ThunThis airfield is situated at the lake of Thun. Approaching its 800m/2400ft grass runway from the south you gonna see the famous Eiger mountain at the other side of the lake. The hangar-door at the airport will open if you do things correctly, have a look at the manual for further information. |
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PorrentruyPorrentruy is in the very northwest of Switzerland and has a 612m/1836ft grass runway. You'll love the approach through the great topography around - missed approaches are quite common here. |
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Wangen-LachenWangen-Lachen is often compared to an "aircraft-carrier" - it is located right at the shoreline of the Lake of Zurich. On the approach to runway 08 you'll fly over the harbor. The aphalt runway is 500m/1500ft long and you shouldn't have any problems flying there with a Piper Archer. |
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MollisThis is a former military airfield, nowadays used by the local aeroclub. They are happy to have 1800m/5400ft asphalt runway. You can depart here for nice flights into the mountaineous area around. |
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BuochsOne more former military airfield. If you are one of the lucky guys owning a Pilatus-aircraft, then you might want to visit the place where it was built: Buochs! Since the year 2000 many members of the www.Flightforum.ch meet here once a year for the so called "Sternflug" - everybody is coming by private plane. There two parallel runways, one has a length of 1500m/4500ft, the other one is even longer with 2000m/6000ft. If you use the correct taxiway after landing a follow-me car will come and pick you up! (have a look at the documentation). But that's not all: another car will come to refuel your plane, when selecting the correct frequency! (have a look at the documentation) |
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TriengenThis airport has the shortest runway of Switzerland (395m/1185ft) and you might want to improve your short-landing technique before flying to Triengen. |
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Speck-FehraltorfIf you wish to fly in the area of Zurich then this might the right thing for you - Speck-Fehraltorf is located 10 NMs southeast of Zurich airport. You will find a 600m/1800ft runway and approaches to runway 30 will be interesting with high tress until very short final! |
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Bad RagazBad Ragaz is an airfield in the wonderful upper Rhine-valley, close to the city of Chur. When approaching runway 30 (495m/1485ft) you will have to fly above some hills, making this approach very interesting, too! Take care and have a close look at the documentation: two versions of this scenery are available due to different versions of terrain-/mesh-data. |
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SchänisAfter taking a break Daniel Gauthier has released a new scenery. This time it is the glider field Schänis in the Linth flat, situated between "Zürich-" and "Walensee". The runway (asphalt) is 520m and thus sufficient for the gliders. The airfiled is for gliders only, however a glider is not very good to cruise around the airfiled for photoshooting. Therefore I for once used a helicopter to take the shots. |
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Les EplaturesLes Eplatures is situated in the Swiss Jura Mountains near the border to France. Compared to the other mostly VFR airfields Les Eplatures is a quite large airport. Equipped with a 1100m concrete runway, LOC/DME Approach as well as IFR Departures this airport is 100% worth a visit! Apart from the airport the surrounding landscape and mostly the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds -well known for the cockoo clock crafts-, will be seen in the scenery. Don´t miss the breathtaking approach to runway 24, flying very low above the roofs of the houses. The approach to the other runway 06 is also very exciting flying the final approach very low over a factory building. |
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SitterdorfSituated in the eastern part of Switzerland near the Lake of Constance. You will find this small but well maintained airport of Daniel Gauthier in the extension of St.Gallen-Altenrhein (LSZR) regional airport. The grass runway is 460m long, not very large but sufficient for all known one engine piston aircraft. The nearby "Säntis" mountain and lots of other airfields in the surrounding area are are near to perfect for VFR flights in eastern Switzerland. |
