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VFR Routes (BIKF and BIRK)

Five VFR routes are published within the BIKF & BIRK CTRs for single-engine aircraft. These are pre-defined routes follow designated visual reporting points (VRP) on the ground.

The VFR routes are for single-engine aircraft ONLY. Multi-engine aircraft should NOT be cleared onto the VFR routes!

The routes are defined as follows:

  • Route 1 “Videyhouse”:  Videyhouse - Lundey - Brimnes - Tangi (in Hofsvik)
  • Route 2 “Gufunes”: Gufunes - Tungubakkar (BIMS)

Route 2 is ONLY for aircraft to/from Tungubakkar airfield (BIMS)!

  • Route 3 “Gullinbru": Gullinbru - Langavatn
  • Route 4 “Vifilsstadir”: Vifilsstadir - Vegamot
  • Route 6 “Straumsvik”: Gardachurch - Aluminium Factory - Kuagerdi - Seltjorn - Patterson

While each route has a name, they are typically referred to by their numbers, e.g., "route 6," in radio communications.

All routes are flown at 1500ft, except route 6 which is flown at 1000ft. All routes are bidirectional, and have a maximum speed of 120 KTS.

Preferred Routes (BIRK)

When certain runways are active atAt BIRK, certain routes are preferred for departures and arrivals.arrivals, depending on the runway in use. For all runways except RWY 19, route 4 is preferred for inbound traffic from the East, and route 3 is preferred for outbound traffic to the East.

This is reversed when RWY 19 is in use — i.e., route 3 is preferred for inbounds from the East, and route 4 is preferred for outbounds to the East.

Inbound and Outbound Routes (BIRK)

BIRK also has defined inbound and outbound routes, which single-engine aircraft are to follow when joining the circuit from a VFR route, or leaving the circuit to join a VFR route respectively. These routes are reflected in the diagrams below.

RWY 01
RWY 13

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RWY 19
RWY 31

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VATSIM pilots are often unfamiliar with these inbound and outbound routes. Therefore, while not required, it can often be helpful to explicitly describe the inbound/outbound route to the pilot, for example "from Vifilstadir join base runway 31."