PIREP comments
 

Interesting PIREP comments submitted by various pilots. Names and IDs aren't disclosed for privacy, unless the author specifically requested it. If you consider certain comments offensive, please contact us and we'll remove it from here.

Note: PIREP comments are stored only from 1st June 2003; the database doesn't contain the full comments of the pireps submitted before this date.

Rare to see Poland online; but this evening both Warsaw APP and CTR were manned so I did a short flight. Well it was not so short as ATC was a beginner and there was a newbie KLM pilot at EPWA who blocked the runway. After 25 minutes the KLM decided to vacate the rwy and I finally departed and did ARDAG1G SID. Soon the KLM also took off and began to chase me, he was at my 6 o clock no matter what heading I did fly, and approaching (he didn't contact ATC). The ATC panicked, instructed me to fly as fast as I can and gave me all kinds of vectors to lose the other plane, but he was keeping after me and we were chasing each other until JED VOR (about halfway). Then the other plane disappeared (possibly a SUP throw him out) but the problems weren't over as soon the engines started to act strange, with throttles moving occasionally up to 120 then down (maybe a bad flight dynamics setting, I need to review it). Instead of giving me vectors for ILS app at EPKK, the newbie ATC required me to do a 20-minute sightseeing tour of southern Poland, meanwhile I was anxious if the engines and fuel would last until landing. I was the happiest man on IVAO when I finally touched down at Krakow. 90 minute flight time instead of 30, I wonder how will I explain it to the passengers... =)
 

EuroBusiness Special Mission 5.2.2 Leg 2 of 2
Finally, back to Romania from London. There is a lot ATC online tonight. Well, I was lucky enough to get CTR ATC all the way from Belgium (so called) to the Czech Republic, which was cool.
Just passed my descent point, so it's downhill into Otopeni. Otopeni Approach turned up and gave me a right fright; he told me that Concorde isn't allowed to operate into or out of LROP. LROP_APP was kind enough to let me complete the flight as filed, so at least I have done the flight as specified.
 

FIRST TIME IN GENEVA. CHAMBERY APPROACH PUT ME ON FINAL BEFORE HANDING ME OFF TO GENEVA TOWER. NICE NIGHT FLIGHT.
...
NO DELAYS AT GENEVA. TAKEOFF ON TIME. NIGHT FLIGHT NICE AGAIN. TOMORROW I GO TO LUXEMBURG IN THE EARLY MORNING.
...
DELAY IN TAKEOFF FROM ZURICH. NUMBER 4 IN TAKEOFF SEQUENCE. FIRST TIME IN LUXEMBOURG. SENDING YOU THIS PIREP FROM MUNICH AS I HAD TO DO THE MUNICH FLIGHT IMMEDIATELY AFTER LANDING FROM LUXEMBOURG. OTHER PILOT CALLED IN SICK ON THE LAST MINUTE. 
...
ELLX NICE AIRPORT. NO DELAYS. EVEN ON ARRIVAL IN ZURICH. TODAY IS 19TH I'M IN MUNICH. I WILL WRITE PIREP OF LSZH EDDM LSZH WHEN I AM BACK IN ZURICH.
...
MUNICH MORNINGS ARE BEAUTIFUL. BACK IN ZURICH TODAY. NEED A LONGGGGG SLEEP.. HAVE BEEN FLYING ALOT...
 

One of the most traumatical flights: In EHAM there were gnd, twr, apr and crtl online. My flightplan was changed three times(!!) and i was given a sid that was not correct to rwy 36c. That's not enough.. i was wondering why my route was heading so much south.. the friendly EDDF radar-man Mr. M.Georg told me that i was having a perfect fp to LOWI (Innsbruck)... he kindly redirected me and made a new plan with which after having a good laugh I landed in EPWA.
 

Greek online evening. Used callsign EHM636. Takeoff was delayed at LGTS, I departed after 30 minutes. There was more delay at LGAV - I didn't receive any instruction from APP and thus I got off course; meanwhile the APP was yelling angrily at someone 'ex tria ex (and some instructions in Greek)'. Finally I realized the instructions were meant for me and I politely replied in English. :)))) Long taxi after landing to gate A13.
 

Cloudy skies departing Ibiza. Smooth flight though to 32,000 feet. System build up over Lisbon visible on descent. Large storm system swept through the area. Caught in moderate turbulence and heavy rain, the ILS approach for runway 21 was required for and otherwise mild morning in Portugal.
...
Thunderstorms still lurking around Lisbon but, ceiling was high and visibility good for a downwind right visual approach to runway 21. No turbulence and no precipitation at the field.
...
Cloudy skies over Zurich but a smooth departure. Despite an unscenic cruise at 10,000 feet the ride was smooth all the way. Mists surrounded the approach to Geneva forcing an ILS for Runway 5 in 2 miles and mist, ceiling 500 overcast.

The sun is slowly setting in Zurich and I am off to another part of the world I've never been with EHM..... The wind is blowing in my back so far, so I have some extra airspeed.....
Much later............ not a single airport in 200nm radius, that could be dangerous...

First flight for EuroHarmony. Departed from EGLL, RW27 with full thanks under a light rain. Outside, everything is dark and cold... I head north, climbing to FL130 and cruised at 210 kts. There was some sidewind so course corrections were needed. The landing at EGNJ was done visual, because the OBS and other setting knobs only work by increments of 10 (alt. 1000), so I'm not really happy with the panel. The flight itself was pretty smooth, the landing a bit rough and off-center, due to sidewind.

Afternoon the UK. A little flight as part of the IVAO-GB and EuroHarmony combined event. Since this is such a short flight, I'll not bother listing times. Weather in Glasgow is rather good. Clear skies and great visibilty. After a short delay, airborne and en-route. About to enter London FIR, and there is ATC there... Just been handed off to Heathrow App.
Well, I'm on the ground now. I see Manu, Dejan, Gunnar and Gergely, and a couple of EHM pilots I don't know. Chris is up to his eyeballs in pilots and his RW has gone down, so he's having to do everything by text (NOT FUN!) He could really have used an EGLL_GND (Ian if he'd been available, I'm sure) Had plenty of fuel, so the half an hour taxi from rwy, park and await shutdown clearance didn't bother me in the least. I'm away on the weeking shopping expedition. If there's still ATC about when we've finished that chore, I'll put in another flight, this time from EGLL.

I did this flight online on VATSIM, I had Berlin "center?" its the red thing that comes around the area that it controls on Servinfo, well, I start out and the runway he gives me is the one that I didnt want, and then when ive already taken off he says something like: proceed via BORGO2L or something like that, I say that I dont have plans for the airport and he gives me vectors after a few moments of saying how I should have said that before, so there I am on departure having no damn clue of where to go when he gives me the STAR, or the SID, I dont know, the rest is fine, and after leaving Germany Im alone the rest of the flight to Prague, weather was fair.
 

All set for the flight to Heathrow. Our passengers today are a Swiss banker and his family, who are traveling to London for an urgent business meeting followed by a little holiday time. Our route today will be a HOC departure from rwy 10, Engines started and cleared to taxi to rwy 10. Taxiing to runway. The route is now fully programmed into the FMS, just a case of getting the lady into the air and hitting the button. Lined up on the numbers. Spooling up the engines. Airborne. Following a HOC3G SID. Passing HOC. Thru FL245 for FL300 cruise altitude. Seatbelt light extinguished. 35nm inbound LUL on UG42, at cruise alt and speed. Over LUL, leaving UG42 and joining UL613. Over RLP, leaving UL613 and joining UB4. Over DIDOR, leaving UB4 and joining UT420. Over DIMAL on UT420. Seatbelt light activated. Beginning descent procedures for FL80 by BIG for entry into BIG.OCK1G STAR. Over BIG, entering OCK1G STAR. Over OCK. Established on rwy 09R localizer. Parked at 48 on the EuroTerminal. Shutdown.
 

At last! I get to fly over my hometown of Mesa! I flew the plane all the way to Phoenix just next door! I've been waiting for this for a long time. Only problem is that the flight wasn't perfect, as I'm not very familiar with the 777. It took me a few tries to nail the landing, but I got it. This will most likely be the last flight for EHM that I'll do in a while. I make a push to get my ATP. It's been fun flying for EHM this Summer!

IVAO Flight. This flight was flown to represent EHM for the "Heavy Weather Award" hosted by Moncton ACC in Eastern Canada. Zurich Hub Captain flies private company jet the TU-154M to Boston to fly the route required to acquire this award. The departure was uncontrolled in mild weather conditions. There were several heavies that departed Boston earlier enroute to Halifax representing many other VAs on this flight. Strong winds prevailed at all altitudes for the entire duration of the flight. Groundspeed topped out at 570 knots! For a late evening session, Moncton Centre was busy with a 747 holding short in the fog soup at Halifax (CYHZ), a 747 on final approach, an Airbus A330 joining the localizer and my TU-154 descending to join the pattern. Weather in Halifax was moderate winds favouring Runway 15 with 1/8SM visibility and ceiling obscured by fog measured at 100 feet AGL. This was a minimum CATegory II (two) approach. While on an 8 mile final, everything happened quickly. The A330 was just touching down, Centre cleared the 747 holding short to take position while I was cleared to land. Within just 3 miles of the airport the A330 vacates the runway the 747 rolls and I'm descending through 1,000 feet AGL searching for runway lights. As I cross the threshold at 120 feet I begin to see some faint lights ahead. The strong headwinds allowed for a slower approach speed and I was able to set the plane down approx. 1/3 down the runway applying lift dumpers/roll spoilers reverse thrust (on engines 1 and 3 only) and braking to coast to a stop at the end of the runway. There was a long taxi as I limited my speed to between 5-7 knots due to extremely poor visibility. The flight lasted over an hour, the approach just 10 minutes but the real palm sweating excitement lasted only the few seconds prior to decision height. So much to monitor, speed - altitude - course, traffic and weather conditions. It was a rush for sure! Special thanks to the controller for an enjoyable online event. And I am assured that EHM was well represented for this session.

A201
This should be an interesting flight. See my post in the forums for further information... I thought I'd start the Tour of Greece, and do as much as I can while I've got daylight.
The weather over the Aegean is very good, great for VFR flying; very light, consistent winds, light cumulus, and excellent visibility. Myself and my mate Dave thought we'd take a jaunt round Greece. We've chosen to fill up our chosen steed, a VFA Beechcraft Baron 58, at Athens to try and avoid having to refuel at any of the smaller airfields en-route.
The FSNav moving map tells us we're just about to pass over Skiros. We're about half way through this first leg.
Just about to pass over the wee island in front of Limnos (on our routing). We'll begin descending into Limnos Airport in a few minutes.
Just begun our descent into Limnos, and the island itself has come into view at almost the same time.
And now the runway is in sight.
Down and parked just outside the control tower. Dave has nipped out to take the photo (to prove we've been here!) I'll be shutting the old girl down to plan the next leg.

A202
Second leg. Dave's back in the plane and we're just about to start her up. The approach to Mitilini should be interesting, quite a strong crosswind.
Airborne. We short fielded Limnos 04, since we are in a teeny, tiny plane.
And that's our departure done, now we head direct to Mitilini. We've decided to procedure turn for our approach, as we'll get some great views of the airfield that way.
Well, from our vantage point of 5000 feet, we can see mainland Turkey. We will be straying into Turkish airspace for a wee while, but that's not a problem.
And now Lesvos hoves into view. We should be out of the way of Turkish ATC in a few minutes and back in the arms of Greek ATC.
Huzzah! Some more traffic at last. There's a plane at LGMT preparing to depart. It seems from SI that he's doing circles around the airport, so I'll do my best not to get in his way.
Done and parked. Another photo opportunity then on with the tour.

A203
Dave's back and I've got the next leg planned. Another procedure turn approach is called for given prevailing wind conditions.
Local traffic is on long final, so Dave and I are going to sit tight at the short field holding point, given that he did the same for me
Airborne. It's another short hop to our next port of call, Chios. Still got plenty of fuel on-board, so we'll just keep going like this.
A great little plane this Beech. Has just enough AP to make flying bearable, and it handles OK in medium windshear conditions.
Have the airfield in sight. Dave thinks it might be fun to try doing the procedure turn manually, so I've decided to let him have a go once were turned at the VOR on the approach (with careful supervision of course).
Well, he did all right considering it's the first time he's tried that particular maneouvre. Didn't quite follow the map as I had intended but his way worked for him once I had worked it out myself.
Landed, parked and photo taken. Dave has grabbed all our local currency and nipped into the terminal buiding to grab some food.

A204
Dave's back, and with foodstuffs and liquid refreshments.
Chios is small enough that we'll be backtracking the runway for takeoff.
Just had a look at the map for our tour, and this will be our last short hop for a wee while, so we've decided to hold off eating our vittles until after we've taken off from Ikaria.
Which has just come into view. There's some pretty fierce windsheer about, so Dave has been warned to keep well away from all the controls.
Well, Ikaria ain't much more that a spit in the sand. Dave's taken the photo and as soon as I've programmed the GPS for the next leg we'll be off. I'm glad Dave got the urge to buy the food at Chios.

A205
And we're off again. Looks like I got a little confused by the map, as this leg to Samos is one of our shortest; so much so, I'll be surprised if you can see Samos' island in Dave's picture at Ikaria. Food during the next leg then.
Made cruise alt 5000ft, but only just, as we're minutes away from descent.
And just as the airfield comes into view, we begin our descent.
Very windsheery landing. All parked up and Dave's done the photo honours.

A206
The GPS informs me that our next leg takes us surprisingly close to Turkish airspace, so I have chucked in a quick FP that avoids it all together. Means a much longer flight than going direct, but we don't have to be pushed between Greek and Turkish ATC as a result. At least we get a decent amount of time to eat...
Have had Rhodes in sight for a while now. Will be beginning our long left hand sweep into Diagoras airport pretty soon.
And finally, we have the airfield itself, along with Maritsa airfield, in sight.
I have warned Dave that the approach may be a little rough, given Diagoras' famous windsheers.
Wee, what a surprise. Landing was a dream. No windsheer at all. Dave's getting our photo now and is gonna grab some more refreshments from the terminal.

A207
Dave's back with a few bottles of kaltes, klares wasser, so it's on with the lads tour of Greece.
We have the island that Karpathos is on in sight, and our destination is the other side of said island. Visibility has gone a bit pants, very hazy all of a sudden. This island we have to fly over to get to Kasos looks to be quite high.
Wasn't as tall as it looked from a ways away. Kasos' island is just visible to us in the haze.
Think I can see our destination. Parallaxing is making it difficult. Yes, that's it.
Yikes, that was a difficult landing. Windsheer over the top of the island was challenging. Dave's nipped out to take the photo, but we won't be staying long.

A208
Given that LGKS is just a strip in the middle of nowhere, we are pushing on as quickly as we can.
Another moderately long leg, this one, at just over 70 nm point-to-point.
Iraklion's island in sight. We've just realised that the light is fading fast in Greece, but Dave's of the opinion we should keep going. If we're lucky, we'll get the smallest destinations out of the way while there's still a little light.
Airfield in sight. It's getting quite cloudy in Greece.
Dave's put getting the photo, I'm programming the GPS, we're gonna try to get the next leg done while we have a little light.

A209
Well, we're going for it. The wee flight aid doohicky rekons it's a half hour to Paros in this Beech, so we'll see. Thankfully, the approach into Paros will be pretty much straight it from Iraklion.
We have visual for the island Paros is a part of. And visual on the airfield. Plenty enough light to finish this leg.
Lots of windsheer.
Down. Another strip on the edge of an island. Dave's got the photo. We're going to try for the next leg.

A210
No hanging about, we're fighting against inevitability at this point. Flight computer says 11 minutes, and we figure we have that much light left, easy.
Runway in sight, and it's got PAPI. This approach should be straight forward.
Good approach. Landed easily. Will try for the next leg, there's still sun in the sky.

A211
And with the sun fading fast, we're off. It's madness to attempt this leg with the light we've got, but no-one every accused me or Dave of being entirely sane. The one thing that's working in our favour is that we're going west mostly, so towards the sun.
And just to add to the excitement, the weather report for Milos indicates a pretty fierce crosswind, ever so slightly to the front.
Milos' island dead ahead. Eep, it's getting dark. This will definitely be the last leg we can fly in anything like light.
Thanks to some weird parallaxing, I'm pretty sure I can see the runway. Definitely have the runway in sight.
Down, but only just. Almost couldn't tell the runway from the surroundings. We'll be tying up here for the night. Dave's taking the photo and is breaking out the tent as I report.

A212
Dave's back in the plane, so it's off we go to what promises to be our most spectacular airfield on this tour, Kithira.
Lots of traffic in the air over Greece tonight. Took a while to get VFR clearance from Athens Ctr.
Eek! New mesh worries! The hill in front of you on an LGML rwy 26 departure is taller!
Wee, the hill that's in front of you when you take off from Milos is deceptively tall. Dave got quite worried.
Have the island in sight, we'll be procedure turn approaching rwy 02.
Got a little low on the procedure turn, but we didn't touch down until the runway, so that's all right. We're parked and Dave has taken the photo of us parked up outside the Tower.

A213
Airborne again. Dave has just said to me that I was right to stop us going on when I did last night. I'm glad he sees it my way now.
Just passing Kalamata, home of the very nice olives. Now, if only that had been a stop on the tour...
And down. Dave's got the photo (and it's nice to be at an airport with some concrete again).

A214
Right then, away we go again.
Wee, ever so windy today passing Aktion AFB.
We are hoping to get down in one piece on rwy 32 at Ioannina, but since the wind is currently perpendicular to the rwy, that may make for some fun on the approach. Also, given the mountainous terrain around Ioannina, this will most definitely be a visual approach.
On the gound and parked up. Dave's got the photo. Time to plan the next leg.

A215
Nearly back at Athens. Dave's just closing the door and I'm obtaining clearance from ATC.
And we're airborne. Our departure from Ioannina is a little strange to say the least. We leave on rwy 32, then turn back on rwy hdg to the left, all the while climbing. Once we clear the threshold of 32 coming from the other direction, we should have sufficient height gained to turn straight to Skiathos. The terrain around Ioannina is spectacular.
We've cleared over a vast escarpment, and a flat plain is stretched out before us. To all the Greek pilots out there, you have a truly beautiful country.

A216
We're away, and fixed on the prize of finishing this lads tour of Greece.
We're airborne and heading in the right direction. And it's 18:10 local time, so the light is fading quite rapidly. Thankfully, we know that our destination has full night lighting, unlike most of our stops on this tour, so landing in dusk/night conditions will not be a cause for concern.
Have the runway in sight, and thank the lord and the stars that they have lights.
Finally, we are parked up at the parking spot we departed from (really, it doesn't feel like two days ago). Dave's gotten one last photo, just for the occasion of the thing. We're off to have a beer or five to celebrate.

A801
I'm flying the start of this tour on VATSIM to avoid ATC (which will sound a bit strange...) Trouble is, I'm on call today and will potentially just have to cancel a leg mid flight with little or no warning. By flying on VATSIM, I am less likely to see EU ATC.
Wayhay! The lads are back. Dave and I thought we'd go for a bimble around the Alps, so we jumped in the EHMB Lear45 and got ourselves to Zurich to do the Autumn in the Alps tour.
Airborne. This first leg we're gonna take easy. Runway heading until we reach our cruise alt (4000ft), then we'll turn and head GPS direct to St Gallen.

A802
And we're off to our second country on this tour, Austria. Our destination for this leg is Innsbruck. We've filled up the Baron 58 at St Gallen.
Airborne. Will initially be flying runway heading whilst climbing to 3000ft, then we'll turn on a direct heading and continue the climb to 6000ft. It should be noted that this altitude will not be high enough to clear all the en route terrain; we will fly terrain avoidance as required.
Wee... That was fun. Following valleys and climbing over ridges. On the ground and parked. We're going to stop here for lunch.

A803
And what a lovely lunch it was. We're back in the Baron and on our way to Zell Am See.
Airborne. We'll be flying at a nominal 8000ft, using terrain avoidance measures.
On the ground, but only just. LOWZ became a grass field for me. Had a go around, but still the hardest visual approach I've ever done.

A804
And rather than hang about here, we're going straight on to Bolzano.
Airborne and climbing out steadily, until we reach the nominal cruise altitude of 9000ft, we'll be following valleys, and even then we won't always be following the little grey line on the GPS; there are a lot of scenery at or above 9000ft around this part of the world.
On the ground, but again, another little (practically) grass strip. Won't be staying long here either.

A805
And away again. There will be a lot of terrain avoidance on this leg.
Airborne, and I was so right. This will be a really wiggly straight line course I'm taking.
Thanks to some bad clipping, I've seen the airport. One plane on the apron, but I've not heard a peep from him.
On the ground, following a winged brick descent. The other pilot is in a baby Gulfstream and is off the Frankfurt.

A806
Well, we've had a short rest break and decided to crack on.
Airborne. We've decided to try following the valleys (as best we can) to get us to Lugano without having to fly over anything too high. We reckon we can get there by flying over a single mountain ridge, but obviously, we'll see...
It would seem that our choice of route has worked in our favour. It's added a quarter of an hour or so to the direct flight, but we've not been close to a terrain incident.
The light is fading fast in the mountains. This will likely be our last leg for today.
On the ground. Given how pretty this place is, we aren't the least bit sad that we are having to stop here for the night.

A807
Had a while off from flying. Back on IVAO, the atmosphere is better.
The weather at Lugano is all right, I suppose. It's dry, there's quite a light, low cloud base. The visibility could be loads better. Not too windy though. We can fly VFR in safety.
Airborne. This valley following lark is great fun.
Just crossed the ridge between the river valley out from Locarno and the one that leads to Sion.
Passing LSMN, beginning descent from 9000 to land at LSGS.
Landed, parked and shut down. Time to plan the next leg.

A808
Can't get any METAR for my destination, so I'm working with the notion that the METAR at my departure can't be all that different from the METAR at my destination, given how close they are to each other.
Made a right pigs ear of that flight. Forgot to start the logger before take off, had all sorts of SB connection problems. Best forget that one and move on.

A809
Next leg LIMW to LFNC (across the Italian/French border).
Been airborne for a wee while (thru 8000ft for 120000ft) Trying to trim for this terrain is nigh on impossible.
On the ground and shutdown. Fun approach that one.

A810
Gergely is doing this same leg at the same time, but I forgot to start the logger and so am having to restart it.
Wee, Lyon Approach is covering Chambery. Makes the whole thing worthwhile, although he did make me contact him the moment I left the ground at Mont Dauphin.

A811
Having some big stability problems with my FS PC today. Will have to find a way of getting more cooling into it without spending any money...
Next leg - Aix-Les-Bains to Lausanne. Will be flying at a nominal cruise height of 9000ft, using terrain following as required.
All flight preparations completed.
Airborne, and only 6 minutes after I submitted in my flight plan. There was an A320 doing landing practice, that bumped my departure.
Landed. Didn't need to terrain follow at all, it was all pretty flat.
Parked and shut down.

A812
Note to self - trying to cook dinner and fly at the same time is a bad idea...

A813
Next leg - St Stephan to Interlaken
This leg should be interesting from a terrain following standpoint.
Landed and shutdown. Beautiful scenery they have in Switzerland.

A814
Another interesting leg from a terrain following standpoint. At least I'll get the chance to follow river valleys most of the way. Looks like there are two ridges I'll need to cross.
Well, the first ridge line wasn't at all difficult. Next one is a bit taller though.
And that's the second ridge line crossed. We're descending from this point on.
Crossed a rather steep ridge line and there was the airfield in sight. Dropped out of the sky and made it onto the runway. That's a hairy approach.
Finally, and when I'm practically on top of it, I can see the airfield. I would not recommend attempting to land on the rwy I will be landing on (now I've made my choice). Glad we're in something small and light.

A815
I suspect this will be one of the more tough legs; there doesn't appear to be a nice route following terrain, so to start we'll be trying to get altitude quickly.
Grabbing altitude helped no end. No, I just need to pray that the route I've planned will let me get into Mollis without hitting the side of a mountain. Thankfully, being a VFR flight, I'll have plenty of notice if it does look like I'm going to land it in a rock face.
Eek! Another monstrous descent (not helped by my PC switching back to the desktop just as I'm pulling out of my dive to the glideslope!)

A816
A gentle flight back to Zurich. We've decided to follow the line of lakes from Mollis to Zurich, just to make it easier for us.
Have Zurich in sight, but we need to fly round to runway 10.
On the ground and shut down.

 

Back