Date and time: Saturday, August 18th 2012, from 1800z to 2100z
Place: Sarajevo International Airport (LQSA)
It is mid-summer once again and following the established tradition vACCBiH members are holding the annual memorial Sarajevo fly-in event in honour of Irhad Rizvo Durakovic, vACCBiH founder and first director.
Irhad was an aviation and flight simulation enthusiast, active VATSIM member and contributor, an inspired and inspirational young man. By his untimely death in 2011 he was loved and respected as a pilot, ATC, mentor and friend by many in our community and he is still remembered and missed internationally.
Each year we gather in the virtual airspace of Sarajevo and call all pilots, friends and people of good heart not to plunge into reminiscences of sorrow, but rather to celebrate Irhad's life and achievements, to keep alive the values that were dear to him: genuine passion, openness, friendliness and professionalism.
The main airport of his hometown: Sarajevo International Airport (LQSA) will be fully staffed and ready to welcome you on Saturday, August 18th 2012, from 1800z to 2100z and our CTRs from the East (Belgrade) and West (Zagreb) will provide enroute coverage. And it will be Sarajevo the way he liked it: with busy flows, holdings and contra-flow operations and with picturesque approaches overflying the beautiful maze of mountains, hills and rivers which is the typical Bosnia-Herzegovina scenery.
To add to the challenge, the glideslope of ILS 12 is unserviceable by notam until Aug 23rd, which means only non-precision approaches will be available (LOC, NDB or visual). Brief accordingly and make sure to have your charts at hand.
For your convenience we have put together a website on memorial.vaccbih.info, where you can find all the relevant event information: briefings, current notams, scenery and charts links and also read more about Irhad and his life and passion. We strongly recommend that you visit and familiarize yourself with the provided materials as part of your preflight preparation. In the RW Sarajevo airport is classified as cat B, which requires a specific briefing to crews prior to operation into it. But of course, all pilots are welcome!
And finally, it can be regarded as a tribute to Irhad's gift of promoting unity, respect and peace, that 5 controllers from 5 different countries will be providing ATC services for your flight into Sarajevo!
We're looking forward to seeing you on the 18th and we wish you smooth flights and soft landings under the hot Bosnia-Herzegovina sun.
vACCBiH Team