Flying in Iceland

The Eric Gideon blog has a two part post (see part 1 and part 2) about flying in Iceland – something that might interest UK or Europe based pilots. Eric noted in his first post that he could not find a “ton of information” about flying in Iceland on an FAA certificate, but the good news is that there was no need for a lengthy and costly process of validation for him while the Icelandic Civil Aviation Authority is very responsive along with the Flugskóli Íslands and Iceland Airclub – the two flight schools in the Reykjavik area with English language websites where pilots can rent aircraft.

In part 2 of his post, Eric gave some tips or noted these quirks about flying in Iceland:

• Airspace, airways and other Icelandic chart data can be found online at SkyVector while airport information can be found at Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) and weather information is available via the Icelandic Met Office.
• All flights in Iceland must be on a flight plan and when operating at Reykjavik, you must file with the control tower of the airport where you are based.
• Most airports in Iceland lack any sort of facilities or amenities for pilots and aircraft.
• Flying in Iceland costs more than flying in the US, but much less than flying in Europe as Eric noted he rented a Cessna 172S for around $188 an hour while an instructor rate was around $45.

Eric also mentioned a few places worth flying to in Iceland.

With that in mind, we would love to hear from any readers who have visited and flown to or around Iceland. Feel free to post a few tips in the comments section.