Mountain Flying in Switzerland Part 2: Sanetsch Pass

Welcome back to your Mountain Flight in Switzerland. This second leg takes you up and over the Sanetsch pass, which is at 8,500 feet AMSL. Once over the pass, it is a quick descent into a beautiful valley where you will overfly the town of Gstaad as you setup for your base leg to land on the short runway at Saanen. Your instructor has returned with the new flight plan and will once again handle all the communications and help you navigate. As before, it’s up to you to safely arrive at your destination. You are the Pilot in Command!

Aircraft

• Cessna Skyhawk SP Model 172

Objectives

• Make it over the Sanetsch mountain pass (9500 ASL)
• Land safely at Saanen Airport (LSGK)

Flight Planner

Sample Dialog

OK, this is good. We want to fly straight at a heading of about 070 and climb all the way up to 9,500 feet. The Sanetsch Pass is at 8,500 feet, but we need to be 1,000 feet above that, so we need to climb in this valley before heading to the pass. So fly 070 degrees and continue climbing.

Congratulations. Your second Swiss mountain pass in one day. Now for the fun part. Start a descent down to 5,000 feet, but stay above the terrain. We need to get setup for the landing in Saanen, which is only 8 miles away. A good setting is to pull your power back so that you’re descending about 1,500 feet per minute without exceeding 100 knots.

It’s hard to see, but we’re almost over the town of Gstaad. It’s known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world and actually is one of the largest in the Swiss Alps. Gstaad was named ‘The Place’ by Time Magazine in the 1960s. Famous residents of Gstaad included actresses Julie Andrews and Elizabeth Taylor as well as Formula One owner Bernie Ecclestone.