We don’t have a lot of Snow in Belgium, but January 2021 brought more snow than usual. Unfortunately I was not to see much of it as my neighbourhood is not only close to the warmer city but very low on elevation. Unless I went flying…
Sunday 24th of January was a great day to do just that and see the snowy Belgian landscapes.
Grimbergen grass runway is usually very well maintained and this day was no exception. Although we do have the usual winter NOTAM asking pilots to avoid centreline and land a bit longer than usual, this is mainly to avoid stressing the runway conditions more than it should and that allows us to keep the runway in good conditions as long as possible during the wet winter.
Today’s flight was planned with PA-28 OO-SAG. The old lady started immediately as usual and after a quick fill to the tabs we were ready for departure. RWY 19 was active and after the usual checks we were airborne to the South with a quick left turn to downwind to avoid EBBR CTR.
Once out of the EBGB area contact was established with Brussels information where a charming lady provided very gentle flight information services to the General aviation pilots who probably had the same goal as me. The frequency was not too crowded and you can quickly get a feeling for how many pilots are in the air.
It didn’t take long for the Snow to appear for my greatest pleasure. Flying to the West I only saw a thin coat covering the landscapes but the air was so smooth at low level and the seeing the Snow filled me up with a warm feeling.
Coming back to Grimbergen was too quick. The club Diamond Da-20 was in the pattern as I was overhead and we landed in sequence on RWY 19.
I surprised myself with a smooth landing (right and long as per NOTAM) although it was almost two months I didn’t fly the Piper. There is no better way to conclude a wonderful short January flight.
Winter is not usually the best time for us GA pilots but this flight will be fondly remembered.
