Fjellfly

Last updated
Fjellfly
Founded1954
Ceased operations1972
Operating bases Skien Airport, Geiteryggen
Fleet size14 (1965)
Destinations4
Headquarters Skien, Norway
Key peopleSnorre and Reidun Kjetilsson (owners)

Fjellfly (literally "Mountain Fly") was a Norwegian airline which operated between 1954 and 1972. The airline was based at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen and served a diverse range of general aviation activities and a limited scheduled services. Major undertakings included distribution of the newspaper Dagbladet , flying tourists into mountainous areas such as Hardangervidda and crop dusted forest areas. A scheduled service was introduced from Skien to Oslo Airport, Fornebu in 1963, and was extended to Sandefjord Airport, Torp and Hamar Airport, Stafsberg four years later. At its peak in 1965, the airline had a fleet of fourteen aircraft.

Contents

Owned by Snorre and Reidun Kjetilson, the airline was established in 1954 in Drammen. Operations started out of Skien the following year. In addition to a range of Cessna, Piper, Fairchild and other smaller aircraft, Fjellfly operated the 10-passenger Noorduyn Norseman for most of its existence. From the mid-1960s it introduced the 16-passenger Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer on the scheduled flights, at the time the only aircraft of such a size that could land at Geiteryggen. From 1967, the airline started flying out of Vest-Telemark Airport, Fyresdal and established a pilot school at Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik. With the runway at Geiteryggen extended in 1970, the airline went over the de Havilland Heron on the scheduled services. Fjellfly filed for bankruptcy in 1972.

History

The airline was established by Snorre Sturla Kjetilson and his wife Reidun. Originally from Rjukan, Snorre lived in Drammen when he decided to take his pilots' license. [1] Along with an investor, Kjetilson bought a Cessna 180 from Thor Solberg in 1954 and established Drammen Flyselskap. The investor quickly lost faith in the airline and sold his share to Kjetilson. [2] To secure sufficient business, he contacted several newspapers, and agreed to fly Dagbladet from Oslo to the Grenland area daily. From 1955 the airline flew from the seaplane aerodrome at Oslo Airport, Fornebu to Herøya in Porsgrunn and onwards to Hjellevatnet in Skien. Later in the year, wheels were mounted on the aircraft, and it started flying to Geiteryggen. [3] Geiteryggen became the airline's base, and the Kjetilsons moved to Skien in 1957. [4]

A Twin Pioneer at Groningen Airport Fjellfly Twin Pioneer.jpg
A Twin Pioneer at Groningen Airport

The airline took delivery of a used Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer on 3 September 1963. [5] The remainder of the year the aircraft was grounded at Geiteryggen for an overhaul. Among the planned uses of the aircraft had originally been crop dusting, but this was never carried out. The aircraft's test flight took place on 24 April 1964 [6] and the aircraft entered service on 2 May, flying FC Odd to Bergen to play a football match. In addition to charter, the 16-passenger aircraft was sometimes used on the round trips to Oslo. [7] Fjellfly was the only Norwegian operator of the Twin Pioneer. [8]

Fjellfly received permission to operate a scheduled "line taxi" service from Skien to Fornebu. This implied that the route was flown with less administrative work, but limited the size of the aircraft. The services started on 1 March 1963 using the Twin Pioneer. At the time, only a single pilot in the country had the necessary type rating for the aircraft. The Twin Pioneer was expensive, having high fuel consumption, high maintenance costs and slow speed. In addition, it had too high capacity for the Fornebu route. Kjetilson considered purchasing the de Havilland Dove, but no deal was struck. [9] A scheduled service from Skien via Sandefjord Airport, Torp and Oslo Airport, Fornebu to Hamar Airport, Stafsberg was established from 2 May 1967. [10]

Kjetilson was one of the driving forces behind Vest-Telemark Airport, Fyresdal. He had faith in that the area was superb for tourism and told Telemark Arbeiderblad on 16 September 1967 that he would donate the airline to the municipality if Fyresdal did not have continental traffic within two years. [11] The airport opened on 23 September. [12] Fjellfly established a pilot school at Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik the same year. [13] With the upgrading of Geiteryggen to a longer, paved runway, the airline started looking for a more economical aircraft. In 1969, Fjellfly bought a de Havilland Heron from Tokyo, Japan, and flew it home, arriving in February 1970. After a minor renovation, which included a renewal of the interior, the aircraft was put into service in the scheduled traffic. [14]

A second Heron was bought in 1971 and registered on 10 February 1972. However, it would never enter service. [15] By March Fjellfly was bankrupt. As Geiteryggen was operated by the airline, the airfield also closed, but was soon reopened. [16] After the bankruptcy the aviation authorities were criticized for giving the schedule concession in 1967 to Fjellfly, as the privilege was granted based on rural politics concessions while the company did not have sufficient financial security to operate the route. [17]

Operations

Newspaper flying was one of the airline's main contracts. Dagbladet and Verdens Gang , the two main non-subscription newspapers, had a fierce competition to bring their newspapers first to the market. Fjellfly had a contract to distribute Dagbladet from Oslo to Hamar, Tønsberg, Sandefjord, Skien, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim. If weather conditions did not allow visual flight rules, the latter four would be transported by scheduled services instead. In extreme cases where the weather did not allow flights to the airports in Eastern Norway, Fjellfly was responsible for distributing the newspaper by road. [18]

To supplement the newspaper flights, Kjetilson started a systematic campaign to fly tourist into the mountain areas of Hardangervidda and Setesdalsheiene. The airline established a summer base at Møsvatn. The Cessna 180 was equipped with hydraulic skis, allowing the aircraft to land both on runways and frozen lakes. The peak period was during the hunting season in September. [19] The airline also flew a route with Dagbladet which it dropped at about 65 hotels and resorts in a six- to seven-hour trip. [20] By the 1960s, the airline flew a regular service Skien–Oslo–Sandefjord–Larvik–Skien. [7]

From 1963 Fjellfly started crop dusting forests with fertilizer on a contract with Felleskjøpet. A Cessna 185 seaplane was bought for the job, which allowed it to be used for crop dusting in May and June, and for passenger flights the rest of the year. The first such flight took place on 3 May 1963. [21] Although some of these operations took place from airstrips, most of the work was carried out using seaplanes. [22] At the peak, four aircraft were used for crop dusting: two 185s, a Piper Super Cub and a Pilatus Porter. [23] During the 1960s, Fjellfly had two domesticated bears which were held at the airport. [24]

Fleet

List of aircraft operated by Fjellfly
AircraftNo.SeatsPeriodRef
Cessna 150 251967–72 [25] [26]
Cessna 172A241965–72 [27] [28]
Cessna 180 241955–65 [29] [30]
Cessna 185 Skywagon 361963–72 [25] [31] [32]
Cessna 195 151957–68 [33]
de Havilland Heron 2171969–72 [34]
Fairchild PT-19-FA Cornell 321957–66 [35]
Fairchild PT-26B-FE Cornell 521956–66 [35]
Noorduyn Norseman IV4111957–72 [25] [36]
North American Harvard IIB221961–72 [37]
Fieseler Fi 156 Storch 121959–62 [31]
Piper J-3 Cub 121961–72 [38]
Piper PA-18 Super Cub 121965–66 [39]
Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer 241959–68 [40] [41]
Piper PA-23 Apache 361962–71 [29] [42] [43]
Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee Cruiser 321967–71 [38] [44]
Piper PA-31 Navajo 181972 [45]
Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six 161968–72 [32]
Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer 2161964–72 [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandefjord Airport, Torp</span> Airport in Norway

Sandefjord Airport, Torp is a minor international airport located 4 nautical miles northeast of Sandefjord and 110 kilometers (68 mi) south of Oslo in Norway. The airport features a 2,989-meter (9,806 ft) runway aligned 18/36. Torp partially serves as a regional airport for Vestfold and in part as a low-cost airport for Eastern Norway and the capital, Oslo. Widerøe have a base at Torp, serving both domestic and shorter International flights. It also sees scheduled flights by airBaltic, Ryanair, Wizz Air, Norwegian and KLM Cityhopper. As of 2021, it is the second-largest airport in eastern Norway in terms of flights after Rygge shut down in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Busy Bee</span> Former Norwegian charter airline

Busy Bee was an airline which operated in Norway between 1966 and 1992. Entirely based around wet lease, it conducted a mix of regional services for larger airlines and the military, as well as corporate, ad hoc and inclusive tour charters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oslo Airport, Fornebu</span> Former airport that served Oslo, Norway (1939–1998)

Oslo Airport, Fornebu(IATA: FBU, ICAO: ENFB) was the primary international airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum, 8 km (5.0 mi) from the city center. Fornebu had two runways, one 2,370 m (7,780 ft) 06/24 and one 1,800 m (5,900 ft) 01/19, and a capacity of 20 aircraft. In 1996, the airport had 170,823 aircraft movements and 10,072,054 passengers. The airport served as a hub for Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), Braathens SAFE and Widerøe. In 1996, they and 21 other airlines served 28 international destinations. Due to limited terminal and runway capacity, intercontinental and charter airlines used Gardermoen. The Royal Norwegian Air Force retained offices at Fornebu.

Partnair A/S was a Norwegian charter airline which operated from 1971 to 1989. During the later 1980s it was Norway's fifth-largest airline by revenue, operating a fleet of three Convair CV-580 and six Beechcraft Super King Air. The airline was based at Oslo Airport, Fornebu, as well as operating a base at Stavanger Airport, Sola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skien Airport, Geiteryggen</span> Airport in Geiteryggen, Skien

Skien Airport, Geiteryggen is a regional airport located at Geiteryggen, 5.5 kilometers (3.4 mi) southwest of the city center of Skien, Norway. Owned by Skien Municipality, it was last served by Widerøe with daily flights to Bergen. The runway is 1,416-by-30-meter and numbered 01–19. The airport had 33,080 passengers in 2014 and has Grenland and the southern part of Telemark as its catchment area.

Vildanden AS was a virtual, regional airline based at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen in Norway, where it was the only airline. With operations starting in 2005, it flew to Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger using a Jetstream 32 and an ATR 42, which is wet leased from Danish Air Transport (DAT) and Helitrans. Previously, the airline has also served Stockholm and Molde, and has also operated Saab 340 aircraft, operated by Coast Air, Air Aurora and Avitrans. The airline had been in conflict with Coast Air about terminating the wet lease agreement. The company has had to be bailed out several times, including by the municipality, until it managed to make its first profit in 2009. It ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in January 2011.

Norsk Air was a Norwegian airline based at Sandefjord Airport, Torp. At its height from the mid-1980s and onwards it operated scheduled flights to Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Copenhagen, and for shorter periods also other Norwegian and international destinations. The airline had 156 employees and 150,000 annual passengers in 1989. The company was established as a sole proprietorship by Øyvind Skaunfelt as Vestfoldfly in 1961, after purchasing Thor Solberg's aviation school at Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg. In addition to an aviation college, the company operated various charter services using mostly Cessna aircraft. The company split into a flying school and an airline in 1972, with the latter taking the name Norsk Flytjeneste. Three 50-passenger Douglas DC-6 were subsequently bought and were among other places flown with aid charters to Bangladesh. Both the DC-6 and later charter flights with business jets proved unprofitable and were quickly terminated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Notodden Airport</span> Airport in Telemark, Norway

Notodden Airport is a municipal regional airport at Heddal in Notodden, a municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The airport is mostly used for general aviation, and has extensive sailplane activity. In 2011, the airport had 5,078 aircraft movements and 3,423 passengers. The airport has a single 1,393-by-40-meter runway with flight information service and instrument landing system. In connection with the airport is a water aerodrome, which uses the lake of Heddalsvatnet for take-off and landing.

Vest-Telemark Airport, Fyresdal is an airport in Fyresdal municipality in Vestfold og Telemark, Norway. It does not service commercial aircraft. Was until 2008 operated by Airparc Fyresdal and in a joint venture with a local hotel. From 2009 operated by the local aeroclub and Fyresdal kommune. It has a declared runway length of 800 meters (2,600 ft), although the physical length is 1,400 meters (4,600 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred. Olsen Airtransport</span>

A/S Fred. Olsens Flyselskap (FOF), trading internationally as Fred. Olsen Airtransport, was a Norwegian charter airline which operated between 1946 and 1997, largely operating cargo aircraft. Based at Oslo Airport, Fornebu, it was created as a spin-off of Norwegian Air Lines and was part of Fred. Olsen & Co., which owned it through its subsidiaries Ganger Rolf and Bonheur.

Coast Aero Center A/S was a regional airline based Haugesund Airport, Karmøy in Karmøy, Norway. It had only small-plane operations and mechanical services until 1984, when it acquired concessions to operate at the new Stord Airport, Sørstokken, Geilo Airport, Dagali, and eventually from Haugesund to Aberdeen. It soon turned out that the company was not profitable and it filed for bankruptcy in 1988. The estate continued on as Coast Air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norving</span>

Norving A/S was a regional airline that operated in Norway between 1971 and 1993. It had roots back to the establishment of Varangfly in 1959. At its peak, the company had eight bases and 27 aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddy Air</span> Former regional airline in Geiteryggen, Norway, 1989–2004

Teddy Air AS was a regional airline, based at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen, in Norway. Operating between 1989 and 2004, the company operated Britten-Norman Islander, Embraer 110 and Saab 340 aircraft. The company started by providing a scheduled service between Skien and Oslo in 1990, followed by services to Stavanger in 1993 and Bergen in 1994. In 1996, it won a contract with the Ministry of Transport from Oslo to Fagernes. It was involved in intense competition with other regional airlines, notably Coast Air and Guard Air, following the deregulation of the aviation market. It also had a single international service to Gothenburg, and from 1999 it served Stord Airport, Sørstokken. From 1999, the company was transformed to a virtual airline, which wet leased aircraft from Golden Air. The company ceased operations in 2004.

GuardAir AS was a Norwegian airline which operated between 1992 and 2001. Based at Sandefjord Airport, Torp, it operated four Dornier 228s and served eight scheduled destinations in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Widerøe</span>

Widerøe's Flyveselskap ASA, is a regional airline based in Bodø Norway, established by

Mey-Air Transport A/S, trading as Mey-Air, was a Norwegian charter airline which operated from 1970 to 1974. Owned by shipping owner Hans Otto Meyer, the company flew both smaller ad hoc charter as well as inclusive tour (IT). Initially operating a varied fleet of ten Cessna, Beechcraft, Convair CV-240 and NAMC YS-11, these were largely sold in 1972 to make way for two Boeing 737-200. The company filed for bankruptcy following the demise of the charter market after the 1973 oil crisis.

A/S Bergen Aviation was a Norwegian airline that never operated any scheduled flights. Based in Bergen and established in 1981, it operated 2 Piper Cheyenne 2 turboprop for charter. It was originally established by the Bird Technology Group and was acquired by As Nevi in the Vestagroup in 1983. This was a time when SAS did not service Bergen well except Oslo and Copenhagen further adding to Flesland's decline as an important airport.

Sørfly A/S was a general aviation airline based in Kristiansand, Norway. It operated from 1946 to 1962 with a base at Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik. Sørfly operated a fleet of three Auster Autocrats, a Republic Seabee and a Miles Gemini.

Nordsjøfly A/S was an airline which operated from 1977 to 1983 out of Haugesund Airport, Karmøy. Based in Avaldsnes in Karmøy, Norway, the airline used a mix of aircraft to operate scheduled and charter flights. It was started at the time of Haugesund Airport opening and commenced a taxi route service to Bergen and Stavanger, at first using the Piper PA-31 Chieftain and a Beechcraft 99 Queenliner.

Air Stord A/S was an airline which operated between 1990 and 1999. Based at Stord Airport, Sørstokken, it operated a fleet of Beechcraft Super King Air and later Dornier 328 aircraft.

References

  1. ↑ Olsen: 162
  2. ↑ Olsen: 163
  3. ↑ Olsen: 166
  4. ↑ Olsen: 167
  5. ↑ Olsen: 197
  6. ↑ Olsen: 199
  7. 1 2 Olsen: 201
  8. 1 2 Hagby: 75
  9. ↑ Olsen: 202
  10. ↑ Olsen: 226
  11. ↑ Olsen: 204
  12. ↑ Olsen: 205
  13. ↑ Olsen: 208
  14. ↑ Olsen: 279
  15. ↑ Olsen: 280
  16. ↑ Helskog, Svenn (23 March 1972). "Mey Air oppgir Geitryggen". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). p. 8.
  17. ↑ Helskog, Svenn (7 April 1972). "Fjellfly-konsesjon får konsekvenser". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). p. 11.
  18. ↑ Olsen: 224
  19. ↑ Olsen: 169
  20. ↑ Olsen: 171
  21. ↑ Olsen: 173
  22. ↑ Olsen: 175
  23. ↑ Olsen: 176
  24. ↑ Olsen: 186
  25. 1 2 3 Hagby: 116
  26. ↑ Hagby: 314
  27. ↑ Hagby: 123
  28. ↑ Hagby: 304
  29. 1 2 Hagby: 201
  30. ↑ Hagby: 305
  31. 1 2 Hagby: 113
  32. 1 2 Hagby: 194
  33. ↑ Hagby: 117
  34. ↑ Hagby: 36
  35. 1 2 Hagby: 122–124
  36. ↑ Hagby: 301
  37. ↑ Hagby: 134
  38. 1 2 Hagby: 191
  39. ↑ Hagby: 303
  40. ↑ Hagby: 96
  41. ↑ Hagby: 136
  42. ↑ Hagby: 150
  43. ↑ Hagby: 204
  44. ↑ Hagby: 308
  45. ↑ Hagby: 286
Bibliography
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.