Milk run to the RUSSIAN BORDER (Widerøe Dash 8 cockpit!)
Fly the incredible Widerøe northern milk run across Arctic Norway with us, right up to the Russian border. We're on the flight deck recording all the action, including 7 takeoffs and landings in some of the most beautiful scenery on planet earth. The main event is flight WF974, one of Widerøe's famous Dash 8 "milk runs" serving small communities along the remote Arctic coast - and it is simply amazing.
If you enjoy seeing incredible wintery mountainous scenery in remote parts of the world with plenty of short runways, some good gusty winds and tricky terrain on finals, and of course the ever-impressive Dash 8 (not to mention these excellent pilots) taking it all in stride, you’ve come to the right place.
Bonus: the first flight is aboard the very rare Dash 8-300 from Bodø to Tromsø. Then it's six segments eastbound to Kirkenes, just a few kilometers from Russia, all on the same plane, a Dash 8-100.
Full routing today is: Bodø-Tromsø-Sørkjosen-Hammerfest-Mehamn-Berlavag-Vadsø-Kirkenes. Along the way you'll get to see the North Cape, the northernmost point in Europe that you can reach by car.
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Widerøe has some of the best pilots in the world. Experts at short runways and bad weather flying.
Used to fly a lot in the mid 90's and early 2000 with Widerøe up north, and the weather condition these pilots land under some times is insane, had to Land in Sandnessjøen one time and they flew parallel to the runway at a very low altitude and when we passed the end of it they did a 180 degree turn and when the turn was completed the tires were firmly on the ground. The captain told us over the speakers after landing that he understood that it might seem scary, but it was the safest way to land because of frequent and current heavy crosswinds over the runway because of it's location.
@@zize2kSandnessjøen can be scary but fun indeed.
@@zize2k Yeah I remember a pilot once using 3 tries to land at Mehamn, but he did it! Damned if he wasn't going to provide the service because of a little wind!
Yes, they have that reputation. Some of their landings will scare the crap out of most non-norwegians but they are accustomed to it.
totally agree ! I live in the south of Norway and I check FR24 quite often. During bad weather, I have seen many times planes from SAS having to give up and divert but Widerøe never disappoint. Piece of cake landing everytime :)
Retired USAir Captain here. I very much enjoyed this video. Magnificent views. Fun flying. Enjoy gentlemen. Time goes by fast.
Thank you!
Thank you.
I suffer from depression and these videos really help me to forget my mental problems for a short time. I can relax and enjoy the scenery in this beautiful part of the world. Absolutely breathtaking. Thank you so much.
🤗
That’s great!
Hang in there buddy. Best wishes.
❤❤❤
Hope you get better ❤
I live in Hammerfest and have flown on the Dash several times in verry windy weather. And it's always exciting to see the amazing airmanship from the pilots.
Yes!
I was born there, so my parents have flown on Widerøe plenty of times. It's quite cool to see Hammerfest in a video!
I have worked for wideroe at the propeller shop in bodø for 31 years! Thanks for your video's!! I'm now a pensioner, love my work place!
Enjoy your retirement and thank you for your service! :)
FairPlay to the First Officer, he took some challenging crosswind landings (and approaches!) and handled them impeccably.
Yes indeed!
Indeed.
This is mild compared to some of the conditions these pilots land in. I am a local up here and it amazes me the kind of weather they can land it. Heavy winds, low visibility due to snow, frozen runways. combination of incredible pilots and a machine that handles these kind of conditions well. As far as i know, they have been struggling finding a replacement for the aging Dash8 100/200 for years, since they just don't make modern commercial planes that can handle the conditions like the old workhorse.
20:48 "Pour yourself, because if it then goes to hell it is on you" had me rolling xD
Hell is in Trondheim... or south of Stjørdal, this is allooot more north of it.
And here in winter hell freeze! :) @@sveinfarstad3897
Do you understand Norwegian? He did not mean hell the place. Its a saying in the North. If something goes wrong we say "Det gikk til helvette" which translates to "it went to hell". @@sveinfarstad3897
The dash-8 is a really cool bird
Totally agree. Relatively quiet for a turboprop.
Wow. even the small runways in Norway have centerline lighting. That's awesome! Wish we in Canada had that.
Yep Norway tends to have very good infrastructure even in remote areas!
All the Nordic countries invest in their rural areas. You'll find things like cinemas in places like Nuuk in Greenland or Kautokeino in Norway. Gas stations, good runways etc.
@@Flightradar24DotComWell we are small, and filthy rich.
@@Flightradar24DotComэто не так. Инфраструктура а норвегйи отстой
You know, flying in MSFS around the world, I'm starting to recognise the airports! Totally geeked out right now!
Thanks Gabriel, as ever you surpass yourself. That’s what you call a good day’s work, both for the Crew and yourself. Great weather and conditions - visibility excellent. You bagged the best seat in the house, which is testament, surely, to the respect airline crews and operational staff have in your channel and Flight Radar 24 - well done 👏. Interesting insight into the GPS issues with Russia and reliance on more traditional methods of navigating - must be a dream job for a Pilot’s flying skills. Thanks again for a great film 😊
Thank you!
Hi. I would just like to say that you where very lucky with the weather on this trip. It's not that often it is so sunny. The Widerøe pilots are awsome. Thanks for this vid. Love from Norway
Yes it did feel very lucky! Thank you for watching!
Nice to see your visit in my hometown of Berlevåg, where I have been hosting a FR24 receiver for several years 😊👍🏻
Amazing, thanks for hosting!
enat also hosting a fr24 reciver. and i know whos doing it :)
What a stunning flight - the scenery is just breathtaking! But the best is having the privilege of being able to sit in the cockpit jump-seat for this flight and talking to the crew. Great video!
Indeed.
Now THIS has always been my dream job and journey. Nothing fancy, just a flight into somewhere remote.
Brings back memories of my ground days at QXE in Pacific Northwest of the USA working the 100, 200 and 400's in KPDX, KMSO, ,and KLWS. Thanks for doing this series.
I know I always say your videos are AMAZING that's because they are. Thank you so much.
This was a great video 👍It just came up on my youtube feed: youtube must have figured out that I live in Norway, and watch Mentour, so there you go 😉 I was not aware that the first flight up after Tromsø would go over Lyngen Alps, you were lucky with the weather, that was just stunning. Widerøe pilots do have an excellent reputation in Norway, and flying with Widerøe has always been a great experience for me, even with windy conditions. Excellent filming and editing with this one, you got a new subscriber! Cheers from west coast of Norway 😀
Det samme her.😊
Greetings from Southern Southeast Alaska USA, I came across your KZhead account and watched the milk run of northern Norway flight adventure and truly enjoyed the ride. beautiful country especially during the winter season, just imagine what it would look like in spring and summer. all your pilots and people there are very friendly and helpful, I am subscribing to follow your flight adventure and keep up the good work.
Thank you very much!
Love the Dash 8, pretty quiet, and great performance. Beautifly scenery, it's why I love to fly. Flew in the western USA for years, now in the east. It's lovely here but not like out west or in Norway! Just WOW!
Nice cross wind landing there! Great scenery too.
I recall the shortest flight was from one Scottish island to another. I remember the plane landing on the beach! Wild.
The beach runway is on Barra; I’ve camped beside that beach which is amazing for (cold) swimming, sunbathing and plane spotting.
The Loganair beach landing in Barra is a different route to their Kirkwall-Westray-Papa Westray-Kirkwall flight with a two minute middle sector, but both are great. I don't think that short flight has been featured here yet. I was lucky enough to do both that and the Barra beach landing late last year, a fun adventure! 🏴
Norway is SO stunningly beautiful!...and the people are very nice too!
Great video! I flew the exact same fligt in the summer of 2021. Perfect weather, no clouds and 32 degrees Celcius on arrival i Kirkenes. One of the best flight experiences of my life.
Sounds great!
Old stomping grounds. Miss it :) You should have introduced the crew on both flights :) And the weather is "too" nice :) Awesome video
Jump seat travel? Yes please 😍🙌🏾
That was fabulous. Thanks very much.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Amazing Video as always. Love it!!!
Very nice and refreshing the way you make your videos. I'm a fan. Loving every one of them.
Thank you very much!
Such an amazing adventure up there! Thank you for sharing :)
Top review! lovely this kind of flights and real pilots visual all time!!
thanks for the ride. 🙂
Fantastic scenery and flying. Love these "corner of the world" trips. Thanks, as always!
Amazing trip,amazing video!From Hammerfest 💪
What a dream being a pilot up there.... so beautiful.
Magnificent scenery. Magnificent video. Thank you Gabriel!
Magnificent scenery and a superb videos.
Thank you very much for the great Trip Report and for showing us this epic Landscape!❤❤❤👍 Also a great inside view of how to fly in this very remote arctic part of Europe - Great Job by the Pilots!🙂
Nice job. I see the Wideroe birds a lot here at EHBK for maintenance. Nice to see one of them in flight!
I was just about to ask you for a flight over Lofoten because my wife and I are going up there next summer. And then you suddenly told us that you'll be flying over Lofoten next time. Great! This stop-and-go flight to Kirkenes is also great and interesting - especially for me being a prop fan.
Thanks for a great video ! I have often checked these short flights all on top of Norway on Flight Radar but it's the first time I see the landscape. Beautiful.
Great video and nice to have you on the jump seat😉
Nice to see the fantastic landscape Widerøe flies in. And aviation history in Northern Norway dates way back. Vadsø has a zeppeliner mast used by "Norge" and "Italia".
What a great video! Thank you! 39:48 The typical reaction of a foreigner who encounters the harsh northern Norwegian arctic climate for the first time, and 39:59 the typical Norwegian counter-reaction. 😂
I was born at Kola peninsula (Northern Russia) and I want to say this is typical reaction of all southerners (All who live south of the Arctic Circle) :-) And what happens when they see the polar day for the first time...
Hah! Quite right. I’ve been in this climate many times. But yes nothing to compare to a local.
@@Flightradar24DotCom Hehe! I actually suspected that, but how the video was edited it looked like an interaction I've seen so many times. The skeptical look of foreigners and laughing Norwegians. 🙂 PS: I'm not necessary proud of it, but I have to admit that I've been that laughing Norwegian, a couple of times...
@DoRullings BTW Norwegians must have phrase (in Murmansk region we have too) "There is no bad weather, there are bad clothes". Or phrase "Did you see, there is summer In Murmansk? Yep, and at this day I was working at office" :)
@@mike_aviafan Yes, we have both of those sayings in Norway too
Great video and report. I just love the north part of my country. Delighted to hear you are flying back over Lofoten - I guess both Leknes and Svolvær. Looking forward to that report..!✈😄
I LOVE the dash 8!!! I noticed the 300 I believe which was your first trip it seems sits lower to the ground than other dash 8s normally do! Beautiful aircraft!
Very nice!
There is a marvelous TV mini-series about this part of Norway, on national television (NRK). I don't know if it's still available for streaming on NRK Play though... It's called "Kortbaneliv"/Short field life, and the first episode is "Melkeruta" which translates in to what this clip is about, namely, the Milk run.
I love these milk run flights. I covered all these airports in my book „All you need to know about European Airports“. There you get all information about these airports: facts and figures, history, airlines serving and destinations served
Amazing
Spectacular scenery when the weather is great - I hate to imagine what it's like in less benign conditions. Qantas flies Dash 8s to and from here in Port Macquarie, New South Wales. Very different from Norway - they are a truly versatile machine.
I've had a couple of HAIRY trips with Widerøe. Their pilots must be taken from best-in-class at Top Gun or something (I bet half of them when I was young were ex-F16 pilots)
So fun to see my homeairport (SOJ) online! And its true what the tower in Sørkjosen said, we use flightradar often due to weather. Usually fly SOJ-TOS and return couple of times a month👍🏻
Nice, thanks for the comment!
Thank you for cutting out the music. It really is that harmony-chasing drone of the engines that becomes the backdrop to so many romantic memories of flying with this phenomenal aircraft.
I like how supciously overspecific the description of the North Cape is. Since it really is not the northern most point on the island it is located on but that pint is not accessible by car nor has nice cliffs.
It's amazing how short a distance the Dash 8 need to both land and take off. At an airshow held at the local airport in Ørsta (HOV) they did takeoffs with just one engine and didnt even use half of the runway, and it's been extended since even. And with both engines they could take off from the terminal end of the runway and was in the air by the 2nd taxiway to that same terminal. Also quite cool to see the white air because of compression behind the props. :) Thanks for a cool video :)
I agree, and yet its not considered to have STOL performance (short takeoff and landing) like its predecessor Dash-7 had lol
@@torfinnfuglestad2003 we called those for «kråka» when i was little. :-D
That looked like a ton of fun. Almost made me miss the Q400. But only almost 😅
c".) Thanks for sharing From Kirkenes myself Been in all those cities but... First time from the air :o)
I did not love flying up there in the winter, but u become an excellent x-wind landing pilot. Guess u had easterly winds all the time? Bumpy - a lot of bumpy....
Cool flight! You should make a video about the remote ATC systems that is in use on several of those airports, pretty cool tech.
Excellent x wind landing
Yes, indeed.
Nice
Ever going to try out Lufttransport's helicopter service from Bodø to Værøy? They also fly from Bodø to Røst. But that's with Dash-8, comparatively a bit less interesting 🤣
One of the Maltese Universal Air Dash 8-100s ex 9H-ALM got transferred to Wideroe now LN-WIY
Cool
That is amazing remote country flying. Great video. Could you tell me the name of the music on the video please.
Finally! A new video out on youtube of my local airport Sørkjosen (SOJ / ENSR)😃👍
Hope you enjoyed it!
@@Flightradar24DotCom Thank you! I did indeed enjoy it.
Tromsø Airport is situated at Langnes. It literally means Long Ness. So, a long and flat area protruding into the sea perfect for an airport...
Lovely, nice day at home there I see ... at around 35 minutes in the movie, you see my hometown Berlevåg .. Windy as always but we also have the most efficient windmill-park in the world there, so Wind is something we make a living of, also fishing and hopefully one day Hydrogene and stuff.
My dad flew this route many times. Maby not this exact route but to Kirkenes
Must have been Westray to Papa Westray in Scotland for the shortest ✈️
My beautifull country ❤
Some time before, it was millitary pilots racking up flight hours who had these short routes. My dad told me one time they landed about vertically due to strong headwind in Twin Otter. I think most of the passengers are people going to the hospitals and people enroute to ships. My flights have mostly been for hospital trips to Bodø and Tromsø. I'm no guy with aviator knowledge. But I think during takeoff they stand still, spool up the engines with the rotors flat as a board (not pushing wind), and then rotates them to accelerate. Are I'm right? In boat terminology we call it twisting the wings when we rotate the propeller to go forward or backwards, also you can put it in still (blocking).
The angle of the prop blades can be changed but not that much. They often set takeoff power with the brakes on when using short runways, minimizes the takeoff distance; that’s what you’re seeing when power is up but they’re not yet moving.
My last shortest flights as a passenger where from Tallin to Riga and than from Riga to Hamburg with Air Baltic Dash8 - xx? Another short flight was from Gran Canaria to la Palma (Binter atr72). I love both Turbo Props. I am not a real world pilot (I am a merchand Marine ship officer), but like to fly them on msfs2020 and fs2004 flight Simulator.
Awesome video! Great views and flying. Sounds like you had audio issues. Nice work though.
Which audio issues did you notice?
@@Flightradar24DotCom Overall audio level was up and down throughout the program. Sometimes all the audio went to bed level and other times it rose quickly. The mix seemed like it was not put through a broadcast filter which can even out all sources.
"The famous city of Mehamn" 😁😁
🤘
Hi Gabrial Check out Aer Arann on the west coast of Ireland. They fly BN Islanders from mainland Galway to the Arann Islands off west coast.
Oh yeah that sounds great!
I’m sitting in Oslo, Norway right now and I live here
I think i boarded the plane you flew with from Tromsø lol
Nice!
niece dut foetus ❤❤❤❤🎉🎉
I still cant belive that SAS A340 had EVER landed in Tromsø.....
Nice day! Not always like that though. Flying mostly long haul these days but I’ve had some flights in northern Norway. On a day like this, beautiful, but when shit hits the fan…”the most dangerous airports of the world” are nothing like northern Norway.
I can imagine that.
I still think airports like Paro or Lukla Mt Everest are more challenging but yes northern Norway is definitely no joke either
@@Eruma_27 Yes, of course, Paro and Lukla are another level, but nevertheless.
Actually you skipped a few airports on the way: After Sørkjosen (SOJ) and before Hammerfest (HFT) is Hasvik (HAA). After Hammerfest and before Mehamn (MEH) is Honningsvåg(HVG). After Berlevåg (BVG) and before Vadsø (VDS) is both Båtsfjord (BJF) and Vardø (VAW)
Great video! Question...do these Wideroe milkruns serve the similar purpose as Alaska's milkruns in AK...a necessary link between smaller villages with larger cities?
Yes indeed they do!
They do, but the towns at the start and end of the milk runs are not all that large. They are, however, large enough to have A320/B737 flights to cities like Oslo. The milk runs serve as feeder flights for the jet flights to the south. It should also be noted that all the villages on the milk runs are connected by road too. But the distances are vast, you cannot drive from Hammerfest to Tromsø and back the same day.
This Widerøe operation is vital to all the small communities in Finnmark, a county the size of Ireland, with only 80.000 inhabitants. Of course this operation would be financially impossible, but it's being subsidized by the government.
One of the flight coordinators hated me when I was in the army, so he gave me the milk run lol. His replacement loved me tho, so I always got the Coca Cola express (SAS, known for serving mini cans of Coke) when he was on duty. Edit: Today I'd take the milk run for leisure, but back then I wanted to make the most of my leave lol so that extra time wasted was no fun.
Did it not land at Båtsfjord between Berlevåg and Vadsø? I think Berlevåg-Båtsfjord is the shortest jump I have been on.
Skipped Båtsfjord on this run.
@@Flightradar24DotComYeah, when I went there, it was only me and a mailbag that got off the plane in Båtsfjord, and no one got on, so its probably not the most busy airport in the world :P
Do they have any 400s? The 400, also known as the Q400, is the latest version of the Dash 8, developed when Bombardier held the type certificate for that aircraft.
They do, but they don’t work for these more remote routes!
Wideröe operates a fleet of 24 Dash 8-100, 3 Dash 8-200, 3 Dash 8-300 and 16 Dash 8-400, alltogether a fleet of 46 Dash 8 of all four variants - and in addition also 3 Embraer E190-E2, so all-in-all 46 Aircrafts.
Widerøe has two separate divisions, a contract with the Norwegian government using the smaller Dash 8s, and a commercial operation using the Q400 and the E190.
Great video. However, I would have liked a bit more commentary or information overlays.
Does anybody know why the FO holds a thumbs up when taxing in and out?
To indicate that they are clear of obstacles on the right side.
What is the purpose of the 2 white and 1 black balls on the window seen at 2:33 ?
They help the pilots position themself correctly, you line them up so that one ball blocks the other. Then you know you have your head in the correct spot.
🇳🇴👍
Can I know what classical music was used for this video? Thank you!
That's Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, a real classic!
@@Flightradar24DotCom Right! It sounded very familiar but I couldn't remember what it was. Many thanks!
Why does the first officer put his hand on the throttle as well as the captain?
To set take-off power. the 100,200 and 300 do not have FADEC so power has to be manually set. And pilot flying needs to have his attention outside the window so pilot monitoring sets the power.
When in the video exactly? May be control of rudder/trim or flaps, not necessarily throttle
The flight was about 2minutes long
Your shortest flight was in Alaska?
Yes!
Your shortest flight was surely during the Alaska trip, no? I bet t answer is somewhere in these 200+ comments-or in the video. I bet it was to or from the place where the school district was doin go runs of supplies. I’d have to watch the video to remember the name…
You are correct! It was a 3-minute flight 😎
Which side has the best views for regular passengers?
Always right hand on the 974/easterly routes. Except left when heading south to Kirkenes over the Varanger peninsula, where the immense desertlike flatness of white snow occasionally betrays the dark figures of skiing paragliders that flit aimlessly through the emptiness. But really you want to sit far ahead or all the way back, because the engine, on a -103, will obscure virtually everything.
@@SCAJollyThank you for this information!🙂
we use windy and flightradar24
45:17 Not to be a killjoy or anything... But isn't filming across the border or from the sky near it illegal? The first in order to not provoke the Russians. And the later to keep Norwegian defense plans secret? (Not that anyone expects Norway to hold Finmark for long in the case of a Russian attack... Still, local troops sre still intended to slow the Russians down a little before they get overrun...)
Those part's of video where music is playing is annoying. Keep the plane sounds. Nice video.
Hear, hear! No music would really be appreciated!
Seconded. 👍
I don’t mind some music. It wasn’t intrusive this time imo.