One of the oldest flying clubs in Europe

Founded in 1918, Aeroklubben i Göteborg is Sweden's oldest, and one of Europe's oldest, flying clubs. A few years ago we celebrated our 90th anniversary, and we are very keen to get in contact with other European flying clubs with a pedigree.

The flying members of Aeroklubben have access to, currently, six aircraft: Three Cessna C172 and three Piper PA28. The club has its own flying school (JAR Registered Facility), and around ten new JAR-FCL PPL(A) pilots are certified each year. As most sports club and social clubs in Sweden, Aeroklubben is a non-profit organisation that is owned by the members jointly. We are also a social lot that together try to keep our aircrafts and club house in order.

For foreign pilots, flying in Sweden should pose no major problem. The ATC speaks excellent English, as do most GA pilots, and the airspace is straightforward to understand. Controlled airfields are all in Class C airspace with, typically, a control zone (CTR) in the shape of a hexagon that goes from GND to 1500 ft. After VFR clearance, one enters the CTR via one of the published entry points. These may not be shown on ICAO maps, so complement with what you can find in the Swedish AIP-AD that you find here:
http://www.lfv.se/sv/FPC/IAIP/AD-0-4/AD-2/.

Above the CTR, there is usually a Terminal Area (TMA) in the shape of a funnel: the floor of the TMA raises in steps from 1500 ft to 2500 ft, to 4500 ft, etc. The TMAs are also Class C, and most often you will be given clearance to pass through them. You should avoid planning to land at any of the three largest airports: ESSA and ESSB in Stockholm and ESGG in Gothenburg. ESSA requires a slot time and ESSB and ESGG are not so keen on GA traffic either.

All take-offs from a controlled airfield require a flight plan: either a complete ATS flight plan or an abbreviated one. As a result of the new European standard Eurocat 2000, you may not always be able to get clearance to pass through a Class C TMA without a proper flight plan. To help our friends in the ESGP tower, our members enter abbreviated flight plans via a web service, but a telephone call can be sufficient for you as a visitor. Our suggestion is to always have an ATS flight plan when flying in Sweden. For flights that cross FIR borders, including a trip across the Baltic Sea to the Swedish island of Gotland, ATS flight plans are mandatory. You can file flight plans to, from and within Sweden over the Internet using this link: https://www.aro.lfv.se/Home/Home.aspx. Here, as elsewhere, a flight plan is not a clearence to enter Class C airspace! Stay in Class G until you have permission to enter.

Most Swedish pilots use a combination of maps: we keep one 1:500,000 map (ICAO or, for southern Sweden, Jeppesen) and one or more detailed 1:250,000 maps. If you cannot find the latter from your usual purveyor of aviation material, KSAB (Swedish shop) can help you out: www.ksab.net. While an ICAO or Jeppesen map will be enough, a more detailed map is helpful for VFR navigation. The most useful geographical feature for navigation in southern Sweden is the lakes: we have a lot of those, and each with its distinctive shape more recognisable in a more detailed map. These also show the entry/exit points into the control zones (mentioned above), a feature also found on the Jeppesen maps.

In addition to the controlled airfields, there are many uncontrolled fields (most if them with grass surface) that welcome visitors. Most of these are not found in AIP-AD, so you need either to find the webpage of the club that operates the field or to get copies of the aerodrome plates in the publication Svenska Flygfält (or equivalent). This continuously updated binder is similar to Pooley's in the UK. If you visit us at EGSP, you can count on someone giving you tips and letting you copy his or her plates.

Göteborg City Airport is one of the larger airports in Sweden, both when counting passengers and movements. Originally a military airfield, it is now 100% civilian and mainly serves low-cost airlines and GA pilots. The ATC is very friendly and used to GA. Expect to be redirected to a ground frequency for parking and fuel after landing. Arrivals from non-Schengen countries must pass through passport control and arrivals from outside the EU should contact customs. Our club house is a small blue one, ask anyone who works at the airport and you will get directions. For transport to town (15-20 km), there is an airport bus timed with regular flights, but it is not unlikely that one of our members can give you a ride.

While in Sweden, you really should visit some of the smaller, uncontrolled, airfields! Landing fees are typically at your discretion and many airfields are in very picturesque environments. The standard procedure is a standard overhead join, the same as is used in, e.g., the U.K. But watch out: other traffic will be sure to speak Swedish, so announce your position early and ask for confirmation (in English) of the location of other aircraft. As many airfields are grass, a call ahead to check the surface condition is also strongly recommended. Phone numbers are found on the plates.

Welcome to Sweden and Aeroklubben in Gothenburg!