Lesce-Bled Airport

( _sl. Letališče Lesce) is located in Lesce, in the northwest part of Slovenia, only a few "air" kilometers between airports in Slovenia and Austria. Road connections with Austria and Italy are possible via the A2 motorway.

The operator of the airport is the Public Commercial Institution ALC Lesce-Bled, established by the nearby municipality of Radovljica. Permanent users of the airport include Aero Club ALC Lesce-Bled, Flycom, and others.

The Bled area is a popular tourist location, in large part due to scenic lake Bled.

Flying

Just north of the airport lies the Karavanke Alps mountain chain, which eases difficult flightpaths during bad weather. To the west of lake Bled, one can see the highest Slovenian mountain range, the Julian Alps, which include Slovenia's highest peak, Triglav (altitude 2864 m).

For experienced and ambitious glider pilots, Lesce-Bled can be an ideal start point for long distance flights in the direction of Italy, Austria and even further to Germany, France and Switzerland. Ridges and mountains close to Lesce allow early take-off. Pilots can then follow the Alps in a north-westerly direction. High speeds are attainable due to the ridges.

World Records Attained at Lesce-Bled Airport

The Aero Club ALC Lesce-Bled has more than 300 member pilots. It is the only European airport with two world records to its name, flown by Mihael Thaler and Boštjan Pristavec.

Mihael Thaler broke the world speed record in the FAI 15 m class when he, on 6 July 1999, flew the 100 km triangle with an average speed of 181.4 km/h.

In 2004, Boštjan Pristavec broke the world record in the ultra-light sailplane class. His average speed flown with the Slovenian sailplane Apis was 118.44 km/h. The record still holds to this day.

Many club pilots fly cross-country flights. They are very active on the [http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/segelflugszene/index.html OLC Online contest] , where the best results from the club can be found. One of the best flights were the 750 km FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) triangle from Miha Thaler, 1000 km flight by Miha Thaler and a 1000 km flight flown by Boštjan Pristavec.

Recreational Facilities

The airfield has a separate area with sanitary facilities and all necessary conditions for camping. There is also restaurant with terrace offering a view on the airfield.

External Links

* [http://www.alc-lesce.si/?page=main&lang=en Lesce-Bled Airport] (official site)
*Map from [http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?scale=200000&lon=14.178056&lat=46.358333 MultiMap]
* Satellite image from [http://www.terraserver.com/imagery/image_gx.asp?provider_id=340&res=15&cpx=14.178056&cpy=46.358333 TerraServer]