Edinburgh (PG City)

The Flight Experience Edinburgh is visually one of the most dramatic cities in the UK to fly over, largely because the city is built upon ancient volcanoes and craggy ridges. Unlike flat grid cities, Edinburgh offers genuine verticality right in the urban center. The contrast is stark: you have the chaotic, medieval spiderweb of the Old Town perched high on ridges, sitting directly next to the disciplined, neoclassical grid of the New Town.

Edinburgh Airport (EGPH) is the primary hub. It can be a handful due to the notoriously changeable Scottish weather. The approach, particularly when coming in from the east, offers a brooding, cinematic view of the city skyline silhouetted against the Pentland Hills.

Visual Highlights

• The Three Bridges: A few miles west of the city, crossing the Firth of Forth, lie three centuries of engineering: the red cantilever Forth Rail Bridge (1890), the suspension Forth Road Bridge (1964), and the cable-stayed Queensferry Crossing (2017). They are massive, detailed, and the absolute highlight of any VFR arrival.

• Edinburgh Castle: Perched on Castle Rock, an extinct volcanic plug, this fortress dominates the city center. In photogrammetry, the rock face looks incredibly steep, making it a spectacular point to orbit.

• Arthur’s Seat: A massive grassy hill/volcano right in the city. It provides a rare opportunity for terrain flying inside a city limit. Glider pilots in sims often use the ridge lift generated here on windy days.

• Murrayfield Stadium: The home of Scottish Rugby is a colossal oval structure that stands out clearly among the western suburbs.

Pilot’s Note: Fly the "Royal Mile Run." Depart from the Firth of Forth and head inland at 1,500ft. Line up with Holyrood Palace at the bottom of the slope and follow the distinct spine of the Royal Mile uphill toward the Castle. Be ready to power up—the terrain rises sharply beneath you as you approach the fortress walls!