Hello guys,

My name is Laurens, student on a BE58 in Holland at the KLM Flight Academy. Since i allready found some of the awnsers I needed it couldn't do any harm to register and introduce myself.

23 years old, born and raised in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Just back on this side of the ocean after being in Phoenix AZ for the last half year. Now starting the final part of the education on the Beechcraft Baron where we fly with 4 planes.

If there are any other things you guys wanna know, just shoot!

Cya,
Laurens

Hi Laurens,
Welcome to BeechTalk.

Are you planning a career in aviation?

Have you had the opportunity to fly in the US and/or Canada? If so how does that compare with flying in The Netherlands? Do you have GPS approaches there? What's gas costing these days. It's around $3.50-5.00 per gallon (3.8L) here. Has the EU community effort improved things when flying to other countries in Europe?

Welcome!

Wilkommen, Laurens!

I'll bet Phoenix was quite different from your climate in the Netherlands!

Paul

Texas

Oh man, what a welcome!

To start off with the beginning, yes i am planning to start a career in aviation, and with a bit of luck and a better economy hopefully that doesn't take to long. First choice is a bit obvious, KLM, but well, i would be happy to fly on any aircraft when i'm done with my school in late december. So on that side we will have to wait and see

Second, I have had the opportunity to fly in the States for 5 months. I have flown on piper archer/arrow at Falcon Field, Phoenix. I haven't actually started flying here in Holland yet, but what the main impression is about the big diffrences is the communications. The Dutch instructors are not really happy with our "cowboy radiocommunications", besides that it's alot stricter. Annother diffrence between Phoenix (don't think that goes for total USA) and the Netherlands is that there are so much more airfields (big and small) in America. Further we do have GPS approaches, allthough i never have flown any, so can't give you the big picture over here. I don't have a clue what gasprices are here, my guess it's alot more than the States. Flying around Europe ain't giving much trouble, all borders are open, just file the right stuff and you should be fine. We got a couple of nav-trips where we travel through Europe without any problems, you can almost cross any border you like (without a fighter behind you ).

Last, but not the least, "Wilkommen" is German, i'm Dutch ^^ ("Welkom" would do a better job). The Climate is a BIG diffrence indeed, i never heard of icing in the States and here it is a comman part of your briefings and flying. Just to give you a good impression of the weather at the moment:

SA200825 EHGG GRONINGEN/EELDE NLD 4 m.
METAR EHGG 200825Z AUTO 21012KT 180V240 4200NDV DZ SCT005 BKN006
OVC008 13/12 Q1011 TEMPO 6000=

Well that should cover evrything, thanks again for this welcome!

Looks like an IR would be quite beneficial there. As to your lack of icing encounters in the US, I'd attribute that to your location in the SW desert country. Up here in MN, there's a potential for ice anytime between mid-September and late May. I fly a Baron with deice and for six months of the year I'd likely cancel half my trips for icing concerns if I didn't have the boots. Down south, Barons are more likely to have air conditioning (which I don't have) than deice.

Welcome, Laurens from an American Dutchman - my ancestors are from Groningen, and my wife's from Vriesland.

If you trained in Phoenix, you had an abnormal weather environment for most of the U.S. Weather around Chicago frequently resembles what you have there. Phoenix does offer an excellent climate for year-round primary training, though.

However, the U.S. does have many airfields - often every 10-20 miles in the midwest if you count private ones.

Welcome !

Hope to see you at a event in the area.

I really enjoyed my Time in the Netherlands, for a exchange program at Erasmus U.

Great places and very friendly folks. The Hague was a great experience , but the Heineken "Business" Tour was more fun ! Is orangabom still made ?

Well there are alot of events in Groningen! So if you are ever around ^^
Have you been in the exchange in Rotterdam or in The Hague?

Hmmmz.... the Heineken "business" tour huh, I'm sure alot of "business" has been done there. Besides all those business, Oranjeboom beer is still made, sadly... Cause i'm not a real fan of that beer, just give me Hertog Jan

wilkommen

......shows you how fluent I am in Dutch!!

PMC

Lance,

Sorry to jump in, but I'll give you my French point of view.

I've been flying in Texas in 1991 or so, then California in 2005.
In Europe, we like to make everything more complicated ( and more expensive too ! )

First example, we have to re-certify all the STC's from the FAA with EASA ( as if we were better than the FAA and the maker/builder of most of the planes that are from USA ).

Second, we have to pay IFR airways fees ( about 50 USD per hour, depending of the gross weight/Speed )

Then the fuel is about 1,4 to 2.0 Euros per liter ( 6,8 to almost 10 USD/Gallon ! )

I'm no even talking about VFR, wich is almost impossible to fly at night ( no light on most GA runways , and strict regulations ), or need a flight plan ( even for a local day flight ) in some countries ( France being quite good, spain and Italy being a pain )

Most of the airports have landing / Handling fees. ( up to 400 euros for big european cities )
My home Airport wants me to pay 300 Euros per month to park my plane outside, on the apron.

The IR rating in most countries are done by EASA certificated schools only that charge 300 euros per hour for a single engine IFR trainer. ( about 15 000 euros to get the IR rating )

On the good side, the EC ( european community ) has simplified the flight to and from any countries within EC. No need to depart from a customs airport anymore.

Regarding the GPS approaches, we are getting there slowly. A few non-precision approaches are being developped in France.

Except than that, you are welcome to fly in anytime

Oh, a pretty international thread about general flying experiences, I'll chime in too.

We in Lithuania (approximately as big as West Virginia) currently have 27 registered airfields (GA airports as we call them) with 1500-3300 feet runways (absolute majority of them being grass and, in winter, only cleaned of snow occasionally) and another ~30 private strips with 700-2000 feet runways. We do consider the airfield network as "good" or "very good", though. There is an airfield every 30 miles approximately. If you want/need a runway longer than ~3300 feet near the major cities, you have to land in one of the four international airports which have been rather GA-unfriendly so far, but they claim to be getting better now. For GA airfields, it's always best to call before arrival, especially outside of the June-September season. Gas is appr. 1,5 EUR per litre. Typical flights are local, day VFR, in 1000-1600 feet altitude, just for the fun of it, or "100$-hamburger" flights. No VFR flight plans are required for uncontrolled (G) airspace, except for international flights. Various gatherings of the pilot community are common, like "Annual Flight around Lithuania by home-mades". It is common for groups of airplanes, consisting of, e.g., 3-10 airplanes, to make international trips together, so that only the leader of the group has to speak on the radios in English, then transmitting ATC info to colleagues, some of them English-uncapable, in their mother tongue). Typical fleet is 172s, 150/152s, Pipers, Robins, various LSAs, (CT, Sting, Faeta, Zephyr etc.). One Baron and one Bonanza in the country so far, I'll write more about those particular airplanes if/when I meet the owners. In the community, generally, "everyone knows everyone"-rule is common. All GA flying pretty much stops in October-March, when there are low overcasts, high gusty winds (LSAs do not like them) and wet, sometimes slimy, runways.

In recent years, Lithuania has enjoyed massive invasion of LSAs (several dozens of new owners in 5 years are a lot to us), most people getting into recreational flying these days don't see the reason to buy certified aircraft anymore. Other very popular types of flying are gliding and flying hang-gliders (motorized or not), and, on nice summer weekends, this kind of aircraft dominate the skies.

That is some spontaneous info, any questions welcome.

Darius

Is there an equivalent to the US "Sport Pilot" certificate or to LSA pilots need the same level of training and testing as someone flying a 172?

In France, we have a french "base" licence which is restricted to local flights.
I've heard about a European sport licence, but this is not yet out in France ( and I believe in most Europe)