Stefan Langer flies with Jo Inge Bjørø from Sandane in Norway and asks how glider pilots plan outlandings between fjords and glaciers.
What the video covers
Written in our own words. It only describes what the video shows and says.A team flight from Sandane
Five days after an aborted take-off at Sandane in western Norway, glider pilot Stefan Langer is back in the air in his AS 33 Me. This time he flies a team flight with Jo Inge Bjørø, who has been flying gliders in the area for about 20 years and runs Fjord Soaring. Jo Inge flies his two-seat Arcus M with a guest on board. The airfield lies right at the edge of the fjord. Stefan says he thinks there is no other airfield like it in the world, and Jo Inge compares landing there with landing on an aircraft carrier. Jo Inge explains that his mother comes from a village in the area. When conditions are very good, he says, the soaring is brilliant, almost like Namibia. Both pilots compare the scenery with the Alps and New Zealand, with more glaciers and more water.
Glaciers, Hornindalsvatnet and outlandings
The two gliders fly from the fjord up to the glaciers and over Hornindalsvatnet, which the video describes as Europe's deepest lake at 514 metres. During the flight Jo Inge explains that the bottom of the lake lies far below sea level and that the valley was shaped by the thick ice that covered the area during the last ice age. From the air, Stefan says, it looks as if there is nowhere to land. Jo Inge sees it differently: the outlanding options are very good, with a landable field roughly every 5 to 10 kilometres. As with all mountain flying, he says, pilots need to know where they will land before they take off. Stefan mentions the outlanding catalogue and waypoint file for the area, which make it much easier than arriving and seeing nothing but water below. He also points out that the glaciers and high mountains are only a few kilometres from an airfield that is almost at sea level.
Gliders for hire and a timber house above the fjord
Back on the ground, Jo Inge describes what Fjord Soaring offers visiting pilots. Guest flights are flown in the Arcus M. Bookings start around Christmas, and the summer is almost fully booked every year. Mountain pilots can also rent single-seaters: an LS4, an ASW 15 and an ASW 28 with a turbo. A tow plane is available for aerotows, while Stefan's AS 33 Me can launch itself. Stefan says that with the ridges and the scenery here, a high-performance glider is not needed to enjoy the flying. After the landing Jo Inge shows Stefan a new place on the other side of the fjord from the airfield. A ferry crosses every 20 minutes, and Jo Inge also has a small boat. The house will be accommodation for small and larger groups, with hiking and camping in the mountains and cruise ships coming into the fjord. Its timber walls are 200 to 300 years old and come from an older farm house that was rebuilt on this site. The work is not finished yet; Jo Inge hopes the house will be ready next season.
