Verona Villafranca Airport

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Revision as of 09:07, 9 August 2014 by Elgaton (talk | contribs) (→‎Operational considerations: Precised GAZ turn distance + CAT III ILS)
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Aeroporto "Valerio Catullo" di Verona Villafranca
LIPX overview beta.png
IATA: VRN ICAO: LIPX
Type Civil
Owner Aeroporto Valerio Catullo di Verona Villafranca S.p.A.
City Villafranca di Verona
website
Runways
Runway Length Material
04/22 3068 m/10066 ft Asphalt
Scenery tile e010n45
TerraSync No
Download


Verona Villafranca Airport is an international airport located 2.7 NM southwest of Verona (northern Italy). It serves a population of about four million people from eastern Lombardy, Trentino Alto Adige and western Veneto.

Up to 2008 it was classified as a military airport open to civil traffic.

Technical characteristics

The airport has only one runway (044°/224°), 3068 m long and 45 m wide.

  • Both directions are used for takeoffs (though runway 04 is preferred).
  • Runway 22 is suitable only for visual approaches by light aircraft (for terrain clearance reasons).
  • Runway 04 is suitable for all landings and is served by a CAT IIIb ILS system (frequency: 110.10 MHz).

The apron is located on the north-east side; three taxiways (W, Y and K) lead directly to the runway. Another taxiway (T) runs parallel to it. The west side features three "rings" once used by military aircraft; nowadays, they are closed.

Operational considerations

High mountainous terrain north of the airport requires pilots to perform steep maneuvers. It is advisable to study available charts carefully.

  • When departing from runway 04 the plane must perform a right turn (not a left one, that's a common error, especially when using the autopilot; the heading is 154 or 245, depending on the SID in use) after passing 750 ft. North- and eastbound SIDs require multiple turns to gain altitude; missed approach procedures are similar.
  • When landing from the North, the STARs have a steep descent profile. It is suggested to:
    1. cross the Alps at or above FL150;
    2. descend to FL120 over Lake Garda, reducing airspeed to 230 kts or less;
    3. follow the STAR and fly at the minimum safe altitudes/flight levels (marked "MEA" or "MEL" on the charts). False glideslope captures may occur during the descent, they are to be ignored;
    4. reduce airspeed to 180 kts before turning final;
    5. make the final left backdrop turn over GAZ when the plane is at most one or two NM away from the VOR.

The area is subject to heavy fog in autumn and winter (visibility often decreases to just a few hundreds of meters); use of a CAT III ILS equipped plane is strongly recommended.

Custom scenery

elgaton is currently redesigning the airport from scratch so that the scenery is as faithful as possible to the real aerodrome. The dedicated forum thread hosts the most recent download, as well as a detailed changelog, and is the preferred way to report bugs.

The airport will be submitted for inclusion as soon as the ground layout is done; further updates (buildings, decorations...) will be released via TerraSync.

Progress

The following table might take into account improvements available only in the current development version and not in the latest publicly available beta.

Task Progress Remarks
Runway, beacon, PAPI Done Done The ILS must still be aligned.
Taxiway layouts 90}% completed Layouts need to be checked against satellite imagery.
Taxiway markings 70}% completed Some markings on the loops and ground signs are missing, center markings on taxiways C and D need to be updated.
Taxi signs 30}% completed The most important signs are present.
Apron 10}% completed Some stands have been hand drawn, they need to be put into place (taking into account the latest layout changes - see the NOTAMs) and ground markings must be added.
Buildings Not done Not done
Parking positions and ground net 10}% completed A provisional ground network has been included; a new one will be generated after the apron is done.

ATC service

ATC service is provided regularly on weekends - check Lenny's website for the exact times and dates.