The Cirrus 3D Apt tour of Europe tracker

The Cirrus SR22 GTS has quickly become my favourite GA frame & I’ve been keen to set myself some challenges this year. So here goes…

Flown as part of my membership in the: IFGAC - Infinte Flight General Aviation Club | Join the Adventure! [Official Thread]](https://community.infiniteflight.com/t/ifgac-infinte-flight-general-aviation-club-join-the-adventure-official-thread/594253) - Join up 🫡

The idea is to set off from my home airport of EGBG Leicester & make my way South, performing short VFR flights from airport to airport across Europe, to visit lesser used/smaller 3D airports crafted by our awesome community.

I will post when I’m flying each of the days & pictures of the days events, though I don’t expect anyone to join.

That said, please take any inspiration from this & try it/follow along yourself 🫡

A few desirables for trip:

  • Flying VFR only using only VORs etc for navigation
  • Visual approaches only
  • Cockpit view/No HUD(other than to check nav occasionally)
  • Refuelling only at airports with facilities
  • In real time, with live weather(cloud height/coverage)
  • These are mostly short flights, so the idea is to enjoy VFR flying(follow rivers/roads/borders/around terrain etc/abide by airspace restrictions particularly around airbases)
  • Fly over each airport & enjoy the design. If possible perform touch & go/pattern work

We actually flew the first 2 legs before deciding on the tour, so these were conducted before day 1 itself.

EGBG Leicester - EGLF Farnborough
EGLF Farnborough - EGMD Lydd Ashford
Check out photos from that flight here

DAY 1

We set off from Lydd Ashford across the channel to visit some smaller airports along the northern coast of France, refuelling at Calais for our onward journey.

We then crossed into Belgium & followed the border south firstly to visit Saint-Ghislain near Mons & then onto our stopover destination of Charleroi, just as the light & visibility really began to drop.

EGMD Lydd Ashford - LFIS Saint Inglevert
LFIS Saint Inglevert - LFAC Calais
LFAC Calais - LDAK Dunkerque
LFAK Dunkerque - EGSG Saint-Ghislain
EBSG Saint-Ghislain - EBCI Charleroi

Cruise speed: 105-110kts
Cruise Alt: 2000-3000ft/
2hrs 26mins Flight Time - 9 Landings

Setting off on a cold morning from EGMD

The low visibility made it hard to pick out the little airport at LFIS. The first fly over was a little lower to the ground than expected as it’s situated on a ledge, but we got down okay for a quick break to let the weather clear up a little.

We then followed the northern coast of France to our next destination of LFAC, with the weather clearing nicely due to the crisp cold conditions. We then performed some touch & go landings, before having a cup of coffee & a spot of lunch whilst they refuelled our bird.

Next we flew onto the little grass strip at LFAK & performed a quick touch & go/landing. Enjoying the 3D airport for a while, before we were off again on our way into Belgium.

Into the afternoon, the weather got more grey & overcast by the time we made it to EBSG, where we did a brief pattern/touch & go before landing & taking one last quick break.

The daylight was fading & visibility dropping dramatically by the time we reached our final destination at EBCI for our stopover. We flew a quick pattern around the airport to get a good view of it, before performing a short tight base final landing.


DAY 2

Continuing our tour across Belgium, over the border & south into Germany. Firstly enjoying a nice cross country flight with a flyover at Liege, then looping south to Büllingen at the border with Germany.

On the way, we spotted some scenic looking valleys around Spa, so we diverted up & down those for a while before heading to our destination.

From there, we visited Trier Fohren, firstly flying around the boundary of Spangdahlem airbase. Situated within a valley, EDRT made for a scenic approach & a fun location for some short & tight pattern work within the bowl.

We then flew around & between terrain to our stopover destination in Frankfurt. Although the daylight was fading, we got there with just enough time to shoot the approach for the little grass strip RWY 8G at EDFE.

EBCI Charleroi - EBBN Büllingen
EBBN Büllingen - EDRT Trier Fohren
EDRT Trier Fohren - EDFE Frankfurt-Egelsbach

Cruise speed: 105-110kts
Cruise Alt: 2000-3000ft
2hrs 37mins Flight Time - 4 Landings

Due to 0 visibility & freezing fog, we didn’t set off from EBCI till gone midday with conditions fairing only slightly better.

Flying around the Spa area of Belgium sightseeing now we are in clearer conditions.

Approaching the grass strip at EBBN & enjoying a nice break at the little 3D airport.

Into Germany, we fly over terrain & over EDRT ready for some tight pattern work.

Daylight is fading fast as we prepare for our final leg of the day to Frankfurt.

Frankfurt’s main airport lit up on approach into Egelsbach.

Still enough daylight to pick out the grass strip at EDFE RWY 8G & clear the fence.

At the tie-down for our stopover in Frankfurt after another fun days flying.


DAY 3

Today saw us go back on ourselves & zigzag North to our next destination of Bonn-Hangelar, flying passed Frankfurt’s main airport & over terrain as we departed.

At our cruise altitude of 3000ft, we were lucky to be high enough to avoid some 0.18km soup beneath us close to Limburg an der Lahn, which would not be present around EDKB. We performed a touch & go/landing, opting to take the grass strip RWY 11L, before enjoying what was planned to be a short break.

Our next destination was to be Maastricht Aachen across the border into the Netherlands, where it is squeezed between Belgium & Germany. Due to fog however, we ended up being stuck in Bonn for a few hours waiting for it to clear. The weather at EHBK was an auto read, meaning it was only updated every hour or so. We set off to arrive at the time it was forecasted to be around 2sm visibility & it was just that as we reached Maastricht Aachen that afternoon, avoiding the nearby Geilenkirchen Airbase on approach. The visibility was marginally suitable enough for a touch & go before landing, but we weren’t able to stay long because much of the remaining daylight had been lost waiting for the weather to clear.

Before long we were on our way to our final stopover destination of Mönchengladbach. The runway lights were on when we arrived, but with enough daylight to perform a flyover to get a good view of the airport & a touch & go to end the day with.

EDFE Frankfurt-Egelsbach - EDKB Bonn-Hangelar
EDKB Bonn-Hangelar - EHBK Maastricht Aachen
EHBK Maastricht Aachen - EDLN Mönchengladbach

Cruise speed: 105-110kts
Cruise Alt: 2000-3000ft
2hours 26mins Flight Time - 6 Landings

Setting off from EDFE & passing the North side of EDDF

Passing over the soup en-route to EDKB

Shooting the grass strip RWY 11L at EDKB

Waiting patiently in pleasant conditions for poor weather to clear at our next destination

Passing close to Köln/Bonn’s main airport EDDK

Marginal conditions for a visual approach upon arrival at EHBK

A short break in the Netherlands before crossing back into Germany

Daylight fading & runway lights on for our first approach into EDLN for a touch & go

A flyover to view the airport before a tight short base entry in to land for our stopover at EDLN

DAY 4

The next stage of our tour was more like a Cirrus tour of CrazyBee’s airports, since all but one of the ten I visited today(yes 10!) were exclusively crafted by this awesome member of our community. This leg of the tour would see us heading East, across the North Rhine area of Germany.

Today was very much about some fun low level, low visibility flying, as we flew largely between 1200-1500ft with no more than 4sm visibility all day. We had a lot to get through, so there was not going to be long spent at each destination.

We first visited a couple of grass strips at uncontrolled airports along the way to Essen, which is an airport I’ve wanted to visit for a while now. After refuelling there, we then visited EDLW, but taxied straight back to take off again, quickly arriving at the tiny airport at Kamen-Haaren shortly after, inadvertently shooting the approach for the smaller of the two grass strips at under 900ft. I also had a stark reminder of why you should not get too distracted looking out of the window finding that base turn. I got a stall warning & at around only 800ft AGL, there would have been little chance of recovery at that low attitude. Phew…

Visits to Hamm Lippewiesen & Arnsberg followed well into the afternoon, though with not many daylight hours remaining & two uncontrolled, unlit airports still to visit, we didn’t stop much at all except taking a little fuel onboard in Hamm.

It was getting difficult to see the grass strip by the time we made it to EDLZ, but so much more challenging was the narrow, unlit, upward slanting, one-way only asphalt runway at Brilon-Thülen. Made even harder by the reduced daylight, we attempted to land twice, having to perform hair-raising go-arounds with terrain elevated all around us. We almost considered giving up & flying onto our final destination, but at the third attempt we made it with a bounce. From there it was a short flight to our last destination at the well lit airport in Paderborn to end another days flying.

EDLN Mönchengladbach - EDLF Grefrath-Niershorst
EDLF Grefrath-Niershorst - EDLK Krefeld-Egelsberg
EDLK Krefeld-Egelsberg - EDLE Essen Mulheim
EDLE Essen Mulheim - EDLW Dortmund-Wickede
EDLW Dortmund-Wickede - ED11 Kamen-Haaren
ED11 Kamen-Haaren - EDLH Hamm Lippewiesen
EDLH Hamm Lippewiesen - EDLA Arnsberg Menden
EDLA Arnsberg Menden - EDLZ Soest Bad
EDLZ Soest Bad - EDKO Brilon-Thülen
EDKO Brilon-Thülen - EDLP Paderborn Lippstadt

Cruise speed: 90-108kts
Cruise Alt: 1100-2500ft
2hrs 58mins Flight Time - 12 Landings

Passing back over EDLN after flying in the wrong direction…

Next we visit some grass strips at uncontrolled airports at EDLF & EDLK


Arriving in Essen EDLE


Making the most of the facilities & topping up with some fuel before departing

No time to stop at EDLW

Making a plane spotter’s day at the tiny ED11 airport

Low pass at EDLH

Before taking a quick break & using more facilities

Quick landing at EDLA & it’s taxiing straight back to take off again

Aiming between the markers on the grass strip at EDLZ. Made even more difficult by the fading daylight, so we can’t stay long

One of a few attempts at landing at the challenging airport at EDKO in poor light, with nerve-wracking go-arounds

Glad to say we made it down. Time to appreciate the scenery

Flying over our final destination of EDLP

Runway & terminal lights on by the time we end our days flying

DAY 5

The plan for today was to head back West towards the border with the Netherlands, visiting the remaining 3D airports in the North Rhine region of Germany, all solely crafted by CrazyBee. That said, we did cut through some low level terrain & entered the Lower Saxony region, momentarily visiting Melle before making our way back South to Münster, with the plan to pass through that region next time.

We left EDLP early in the morning today, to ensure we had plenty of time to perform a touch & go before each landing & to stop a short while at each location. It was a rainy day all across the region & visibility was between 2-4sm below 800ft in most places, but enough for us to perform plenty of low-level, short base to final touch and go/landings.

We first visited Oerlinghausen & the uncontrolled airport at Bielefeld Windelsbleiche, which actually had one of the longest runways of the day at over 4000ft. We then headed North, cutting through terrain at low-level to visit Melle, one of the first airports I’ve ever seen with open hangars you can actually park in properly!!!

We soon headed back South, deciding to visit only the smaller of the two 3D airports situated in Münster, choosing to use the facilities here to refuel(since we hadn’t actually refuelled since the last leg of the tour).

Into the afternoon & our next stop was the uncontrolled airport at EDLB Borkenberge, with a good portion of our flying time being spent there. After performing a touch & go/landing on the very wide grass strip, I soon realised the narrow asphalt runway was significantly more challenging. After a quick stop, we got back in the air & did some tight, short base to final pattern work until we got the landing as smooth as we could, before moving on to our next location.

We continued at low-level to our next destination at Marl Loemuehle, before moving pretty much in a straight ahead direction to EDLD, enjoying some very low VFR flying along the way at 800ft just above the drizzly visibility beneath. We ended the day by following the river for a while on the way to our final stop in Weeze for our layover.

EDLP Paderborn - EDLO Oerlinghausen
EDLO Oerlinghausen - EDLI Bielefeld Windelsbleiche
EDLI Bielefeld Windelsbleiche - EDXG Melle Groengau
EDXG Melle Groengau - EDLT Münster Telgte
EDLT Münster Telgte - EDLB Borkenberge
EDLB Borkenberge - EDLM Marl Loemuehle
EDLM Marl Loemuehle - EDLD Dinslaken Schwarze
EDLD Dinslaken Schwarze - EDLV Weeze-Niederrhein

Cruise speed: 90-108kts
Cruise Alt: 800-2000ft
2hrs 29mins Flight Time - 19 Landings

Taking to the runway at EDLP to begin our day

Landing shorter than expected for that one-wheel touch & go at EDLO

On the ground at EDLO with the best of the day’s visibility

Nice & smooth into EDLI on the 29

An uncontrolled airport with a long runway at EDLI

On the right downwind at EDXG about to enter a ‘Dan Gryder disapproved’ teardrop into a left-hand traffic pattern

Into a tight short left base & final landing

The open hangars at EDXG

Asphalt or grass as we approach EDLT

Of course, we opt for the grass strip where possible

Taking a break & refuelling at EDLT

The huge grass strip at Borkenberge EDLB wasn’t too much of a challenge

So it’s back in the air & more pattern work on the narrower asphalt runway instead

Leaving it late to touch & go at EDLM

Only hangars at EDLM, so we have to take the refuelling spot

A little low-level VFR flying en-route to EDLD

A very short & tight left crosswind turn at EDLD

Clearing the fence on approach & a smooth landing at EDLD

One last break before it’s on to our final destination

Following the river on our way to Weeze

Views of the approach, Eastside of the airport & passenger terminal/car park whilst flying into EDLV



We even got our own hangar for our stopover

DAY 6

Taking a break from the IF World Tour, today we continued our tour visiting the last few airports in the North Rhine region of Germany, before leapfrogging across the border into the Netherlands & back on our way to our layover destination in Meppen.

It was rainy when we set off, but visibility would remain pretty clear throughout the day. As always, we planned to perform a touch & go at each location, followed by a low & tight short base to final pattern into land.

We first visited Stadtlohn Vreden, leapfrogging the border with the Netherlands, before performing yet another ‘Dan Gryder disapproved’ teardrop entry into the pattern to land in the opposite direction after the initial touch & go. We had to use the facilities to refuel here, as I’d clearly not done my pre-flight & forgotten to top up after the last flight. Another location where I’ve seen open hangars you can actually park in.

Next we headed North, crossing over the border back into the Netherlands to visit the uncontrolled airport in Twente with its long runway at over 9000ft. We then hopped back into Germany to Rheine, where we would visit both of the airports. We got a great view of the airport at ETHE with all its open hangars & containers, both on the way & when we came back on ourselves to head to the next destination. The uncontrolled airport at EDXE Rheine-Eschendorf in particular, is a perfect place for GA aircraft & to have lots of fun doing pattern work. The runway is challenging at only 29ft wide, but has plenty of grass either side. The grass apron itself is situated right beside the runway, allowing for quick rolls on/off. Perhaps a new location to bring the General Aviation Club in the future.

We were almost at the main airport in Münster by the time we realised we were headed in the wrong direction, before turning around & heading back North West into Lower Saxony & on to Nordhorn-Lingen. Here we parked up next to the car park after an enjoyable scenic taxi navigating our way through the hangars, before taking a nice break for a while since we had plenty of daylight left before reaching our layover destination.

Our final airport of the day was to be ETWM in Meppen. The airport was smaller than expected & we had not realised the runway was a grass strip, so locating it on the initial approach was a little challenging. The focal point of the scenery is the large helipad, the first we’ve seen, so we tied-down on the grass apron next to it to end our days flying.

EDLV Weeze-Niederrhein - EDLS Stadtohn Vreden
EDLS Stadtlohn Vreden - EHTW ENSCHEDE/Twente
EHTW ENSCHEDE/Twente - ETHE Rheine Bentlage
ETHE Rheine Bentlage - EDXE Rheine-Eschendorf
EDXE Rheine-Eschendorf - EDWN Nordhorn-Lingen
EDWN Nordhorn-Lingen - ETWM Meppen

Cruise speed: 90-108kts
Cruise Alt: 1100-1500ft
1hrs 51mins Flight Time - 13 Landings

Leaving our rented hangar for the long taxi to RWY 09 at EDLV

A little high, so we’re landing long at EDLS

More open hangars at EDLS & using the facilities to refuel

Left crosswind & a very tight base into final at EHTW

Parking at EHTW was some distance from most of the airport itself

The short runway at ETHE is somewhat dwarfed by the surrounding airport

More open hangars!

More views of the beautifully crafted ETHE on the downwind into land

A runway barely as wide as the SR22 at EDXE

The most insanely late decision to go-around ever!

EDXE is fast becoming my favourite GA airport visited so far

Dipping a wing for another view of ETHE on the way back up to Lingen

Initial approach, touch/go & crossing the numbers at EDWN

Navigating our way through the hangars to our grassy tie-down at EDWN

A little sightseeing on the way to Meppen

The unexpected grass strip at ETWM & flying low after a touch/go to view the airport closely from above

Settling at the tie-down next to the helipad at ETWM

6 Likes

Nice photos, and a nice idea!

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Saint-Ghislain (EBSG). That was the first 3D airport I made.

1 Like

Amazing 🫡. I really love visiting lesser used 3D apts. I didn’t want to tag and annoy the creators. But I’m glad you saw one of yours being used 🫡

1 Like

Totally!

I honestly never expected anyone to use it, really, so it’s nice to see it in a topic.

I might need to revisit it at some point.

2 Likes

Day 2 pics up 🫡

Hi all 👋🏻

Post now updated to include DAY 3!!! 🫡

I needs a Rework badly

1 Like

Day 4 & an epic days flying completed with post/photos now updated 🫡

All 10 airports were made by @CrazyBee(sorry for the ping) Amazing work 🫡👍🏻

2 Likes

Post now updated to include Day 5 🫡

All amazingly crafted solely by CrazyBee once again!!!

Now updated to included a very enjoyable Day 6!!! 🫡

Over 30 small/little used 3D airports visited already!

I’ve yet to see one other soul at any of these airports during my travels 🤞🏻

Day 7 soon…