Iceland Archives - Golf Hotel Whiskey

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.

Eyjafjallajokull déjà vu: Satellite photos of Iceland’s Grimvotn Volcano erupting

A volcano in Iceland is once again in the news and from the looks of the recent satellite image below taken by NASA, it could end up being Eyjafjallajokull déjà vu all over again in a worst case scenario:

Iceland’s Grimvotn volcano is already shooting a plum of ash 15 kilometers into the sky – higher than the Eyjafjallajokull eruption. The volcano is also creating spectacular lightning storms and has spawned 1,000 times more lightning strikes per hour than the Eyjafjallajokull eruption.

However, experts say that the effects on air transportation should not be as severe because the ash cloud is forecasted by the Icelandic Meteorological Office to move towards the northeast.

Nevertheless, the Wall Street Journal has reported that options traders are already placing bets that American Airlines (AMR), the largest American air carrier by traffic on services to the UK, could be impacted by the eruption of Grimvotn. Specifically, options traders were abandoning bullish positions in favor of bearish AMR positions heading into June.

If you are concerned though that the volcanic eruption can some how impact your flying or flight plans, check out the the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre’s website for further information and news. Likewise, the Icelandic Meteorological Office is continuously providing up-to-date information about the eruption.

Cool aviation videos of Iceland

FlightSchoolList.com has posted this really cool aviation video compilation put together by Dabbfilms of some of the videos or films they made in 2010. All of the videos in the compilation were taken in Iceland and on a Gopro Hero camera.

Moreover and as you can see from the video and from the Dabbfilms Youtube channel, Iceland is a really spectacular place to fly. Other videos worth checking out include these slightly longer videos of flying over the highlands and volcanoes of Iceland (Both were taken from a Jodel D-140 TF-ULF).