Gunter’s Sunday World Flights

Join us every Sunday for about 2 hours when we fly somewhere in the world. We are using different airplanes for these flights, from small GA planes to jets. No experience is necessary. If you have ever wanted to give multiplayer flying a try and have not known where to start, and enjoy a calm and relaxed environment with like-minded others, this is the place for you.

• Where: DigitalThemePark Discord
• When: Every Sunday at 10:00a PT / 13:00p ET / 1600 UTC
• Requirements: Your simulator and aircraft of choice

Sunday, September 27 Flight

Hi everyone,

Today’s flight takes us almost the entire length of Provence, from the Rhône valley up into the Hautes-Alpes near the Italian border.

We depart from Orange-Caritat (LFMO), a military airfield.  Orange itself is worth a glance down — it has one of the best-preserved Roman theatres in the world. Our first stop is Avignon-Pujaut (LFNT), a restricted-use grass field (gliding, parachuting, ex-French military parachute school — actually the birthplace of French military parachuting back in the 1930s). From there it’s a short hop to overfly the Palais des Papes in Avignon — the massive Gothic papal palace on the Rhône, one of the largest medieval fortress-palaces in Europe, with the old town walls and the famous half-a-bridge (Pont Saint-Bénézet) right below it.

We continue to Le Mazet-de-Romanin (LFNZ), near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, right at the edge of the Alpilles — the jagged little limestone ridge that Van Gogh painted obsessively while staying nearby. Now we arrive at Salon-de-Provence (LFMY) —  a major French Air Force base and home of the Patrouille de France aerobatic team. Salon itself is a lovely old town, home turf of Nostradamus. We continue to Aix-les-Milles (LFMA), a civil field just outside Aix-en-Provence. We fly over the Rotonde — the big fountain roundabout at the foot of the Cours Mirabeau, the grand tree-lined avenue that’s the heart of Aix. And of course this whole area is Cézanne country — heading east, we overfly the Montagne Sainte-Victoire, his favorite subject.

From Aix, we head up the Durance toward Vinon-sur-Verdon (LFNF), the classic gateway airfield for the Gorges du Verdon — Europe’s deepest canyon. From here, the route basically follows the Durance river valley north into the pre-Alps: Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban (LFMX), then Sisteron-Thèze (LFNS). Sisteron is a fortified citadel town squeezed into a narrow gap where the Durance cuts through a limestone ridge, often called the “Gateway to Provence.” On the way to La Motte (LFUK), we overfly one of the best glider flying areas in France. Continuing north, we pass Serres-La Bâtie-Montsaléon (LFTM) and Aspres-sur-Buëch (LFNJ), both small restricted-use fields. We finish at Mont-Dauphin-Saint-Crépin (LFNC), right by the Fortress of Mont-Dauphin — a Vauban-built citadel (UNESCO World Heritage) perched dramatically on a rocky plateau above the confluence of the Durance and Guil rivers.

The flight is 180 miles long, with 10 landings. We want to be fast, about 180 to 200 knots. Any GA plane – single-engine or twin – is suitable. St Auban (LFMX) is a touch-and-go. I will probably be in the BS Turbine Duke. As ever, fly what you like.

The flight plan is here.

Cheers

Gunter