Over 60 Flying Rotarians and guests came together for the Scandinavian Section Fly-In at Stavanger in August. A great weekend in one of Norway’s fourth largest city, and now its oil and gas capital.
The meeting started Thursday lunchtime with greetings and lunch at the Flying Club at Sola Airport.
The UK Section was well represented, mostly flying in with commercial airlines but a few who had flown themselves in their own aircraft. The Benelux section also came in numbers, with several attending for the first time. PWP George Chaffey flew in specially from California to be with us.
Once we were all there, it was time to be bussed into the city and taken to our hotel, the Hotel Victoria, right on the harbour front. A quick look round the town, then time for our get-together dinner in the hotel.
On Friday morning we visited the Norwegian Oil Museum. This was an interesting visit which concentrated on the human impact (including of some of the big oil disasters) and the consequences for society in Norway as much as the technical side. Norway is a wealthy country as consequence of oil, but now has the highest take up of electric vehicles. We were also able to watch as the price of a barrel of oil changed in real time!
After lunch in the city centre, and a look around the town, we took a cruise to the stunning Lysefjord and viewed the towering Hengjanefossen waterfall. Dinner was then taken beside the water in the Restaurant Helleren.
Saturday saw us initially at the Sola Historic Aircraft museum. On display were a number of military and commercial aircraft crammed into a large hangar.
Then it was on for lunch at the Solastrand hotel and, for the adventurous few, a walk on the beach.
Back at the hotel, the Scandinavian section held their Annual General Meeting (mainly in English). Christer Wretlind could not be present, but after many years of service as IFFR Scandinavia Section Secretary, those present recognised his contribution with a signed certificate of appreciation.
We had a very successful Gala Dinner on the Saturday evening, the highlight of which was the awarding of the Nordic Aviation Trophy, awarded each year to someone who has proved themselves to be a worthy supporter of the Scandinavian Section. This year, the well-deserved winner was PWP George Chaffey.
Special thanks go to Tollef Myrvang Jensen, Svend Anderson and the Scandinavian team for organising a great event.
Based on an article by Dr Tony Flinn which first appeared in The Rotating Beacon (the newsletter of IFFR UK).
