Aavahelukka

Visiting aavahelukka

Chances to fly VFR in Finnish Lappland get worse at the end of september and especially after October. Days get shorter ,

ceilings will be lower and fog is common in the morning . Usually , if sun is forecasted to appear , it will warm the air and fog

will evaporate before noon . This is exactly what happened in Tuesday 30:th of September this Year . When I left my Recidence

to drive 120 kilometers to my Plane in Ranua , the weather was still foggy . To my luck the fog cleared off just as predicted .

Temperature was below zero when I arrived to the airfield , but the Weather was just fine . While doing Check-up

for the plane I had my electronic heater warming the Engine . By the time I had phoned my flight plan the engine had warmed up

and ready for starting .

I departed Ranua at 10 am and headed for Rovaniemi VOR (ROI) at 3000 ft.

The weather was getting better and by this time I was quite sure to reach Aavahelukka Airfield near mountain Ylläs .

My route followed River Ounas heading North-West . Mountain Ylläs could be seen far away . My EET was 1 hour 20 minutes and I could keep it

being only 5 minutes late when landing .

When I taxied to the Platform for parking just before noon , the temperature was still below freezing point . The sun was shining magnificiently

however , the temperature rising fast being a few grades above Zero in an Hour.

To my suprise , there was nobody at the Airfield in spite of the fine weather . There was a Quest - Logbook at the Cabin with last entry

written 12.09. - more than two weeks before My arrival !

Being alone I changed my mind about staying overnight and made a Flightplan back to Ranua ( EET 1 h 15 min) . When taxing I could see

M. Ylläs beside me at the left. The weather was superfine.

The trip back was uneventful , the scenery being stunningly beautiful . I felt I joined the Downwind RW 33 at Ranua all too soon . Of course there

was a 120 km drive ahead with my car back to the Residence . So I landed right away and pulled my 172 back into the Hangar.

The point of this story is that if You are able to wait for the VFR Weather , You can do some tremendous flying even above the Arctic Circle

and even in the late Autumn . If You need Help in organizing your own flying there I will be glad to help You.

Tero