The Mission
Nuremberg is a beautiful city, the second largest in Bavaria and one that is full of very Bavarian sights, sounds and smells. We traveled down in a Cirrus SR22T in Jan 2025 to assist a client attend a meeting in nearby Erlangen. Here is a quick overview of our trip for anyone looking to fly into this cultural and historical gem.
The flight out
We took off from Farioaks on an IFR flight plan and were instantly passed off to Farnbough who cleared us to OCK remaining below London’s controlled airspace. Soon after we were on vectors and climbing into the class A. We were vectored around the houses as is typical when heading East from Fairoaks. It would have been faster to have flown outside of controlled airspace through the Biggin gap then activate our flight plan once clear of Gatwick but we wanted to practise the “standard” Fairoaks IFR departure.
Transition
Once on route we were switched to the Belgium controllers and it was all nice and smooth from there. The usual efficient European controllers were just that, we even got a couple of shortcuts!
As we got closer we briefed the most likely arrival (which is the “German sausage” arrival below) and got everything ready. We thought we’d probably end up being vectored in by Munich and in the end we did just that. A simple vectored ILS that cut about 10 minutes off the estimated time on route, Lovely stuff! It’s worth noting the airport sits in a well lit area and the ILS intercept is 10 miles out so we didn’t actually make out the runway until a good way down the ILS.
The Cirrus progression
After landing it was taxi instructions to a follow-me car and then that took us to the GAT (general aviation terminal). We had prebooked fuel and it was waiting for us on arrival, German efficiency!
The GAT terminal was actually closed but the team ran us to passport control and then dropped us at the main terminal to continue our journey.
Hotels, food and drink
The next day I travelled to Nuremberg via the €6 train and explored the Altstadt (old town). Loads of beautiful buildings, bridges and cobbled streets to explore. I had lunch in Trodelstuben which was tiny and quirky. The traditional Schäufele comes highly recommended!
Flight back
I got to the FBO (GAT) nice and early. They were happy for me to chill out in their lounge area which has free refreshments and plenty of space to relax. The SID outbound mentions contacting Munich Radar “IMMEDITALY” after take off. Once we were with Munich they took us straight off the SID on vectors and from there we were once again in the hands of the efficient IFR system in Europe. On the way back in we did descend out of controlled airspace to miss out the vectors around Gatwick. We routed overhead Biggin and straight back into Fairoaks.
Nice and simple.
Stats:
Aircraft: SR22T G6
Flight Distance: 460nm return
Time airborne: 3.8 hours
IFR/VFR: IFR
Looking to fly to Nuremberg?
Wanting to get more out of your aircraft but unsure where to fly to next?
Would you feel more comfortable with an experienced safety pilot in the right seat?
Reach out to the team at Echelon Air! We not only help plan and execute any mission you might have but we regularly run scheduled trips to help owners do more flying, learn new locations and meet like minded aviators.
Author: Robbie Connington