Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Varese-Venegono Airport, officially Aeroporto Arturo Ferrarin, is a mixed military-civil field near Venegono Superiore in Lombardy, about 10 kilometres south-east of Varese. It is home to Aeroclub Varese's flying school, the Leonardo aircraft division's test and production facility, and a Guardia di Finanza helicopter unit, giving it a distinctive character for visiting VFR pilots as a working general-aviation and industrial test airfield.
Varese-Venegono is an uncontrolled Italian aerodrome shared by civil and military operators. It is used simultaneously by Aeroclub Varese, which runs flying training and maintains a fleet of light aircraft, by Leonardo's Aircraft division, which produces and test-flies the Aermacchi M345 and M346 trainers from a large plant on the western side of the field, and by the air section of the Guardia di Finanza, which operates helicopters from the north-eastern part of the airport. Most day-to-day light traffic is generated by the Aeroclub, making the field a good example of a small Italian club airfield operating alongside serious military-industrial flying.
The airport lies in Venegono Inferiore/Superiore, roughly 10 kilometres south-east of the city of Varese, in Lombardy. It is uncontrolled and has its own Class G Air Traffic Zone (ATZ), which sits within regulatory zone LI-R81. Pilots planning to fly to Venegono must coordinate their arrival: with Varese Aeroclub for civil aircraft, or with Leonardo for military aircraft and civil aircraft of interest to that company. Local activity is only permitted after a briefing on local procedures has been completed, and prior agreement with the operator is required for any external traffic.
The airport has a single physical runway, 17/35, 4,830 feet long with a hard surface. There is no ILS.
An AFIS service is provided on 128.55 MHz. Aircraft bound for Venegono are required to listen and speak to Venegono radio, or, in the absence of the service, to transmit blind, before entering LI-R81 and the ATZ. Navigation in the area also references a VOR/DME/NDB grouped under the identifier MMP; the airport operator will suspend activity if the DME MMP is unavailable, or if the VOR MMP and NDB MMP are both unavailable simultaneously.
Arriving traffic must coordinate in advance, civil aircraft with Varese Aeroclub and military or Leonardo-related civil traffic with Leonardo Company, and pilots are only permitted to operate locally after receiving a briefing on local procedures. Radio contact with Venegono radio, or blind transmissions if the service is unavailable, is mandatory before penetrating the LI-R81 regulatory zone and the Venegono ATZ.
The field lies close to Venegono Inferiore and Venegono Superiore, about 10 kilometres south-east of Varese, and can be identified from the air by the large Leonardo aircraft production and test facility occupying the western side of the airport alongside the single runway.
The airport originated in the 1930s under a royal decree as a makeshift military airfield, initially comprising a single runway and a hangar. Its infrastructure was expanded during the Second World War, when it served as the headquarters of the 79th Squadriglia night-fighter squadron, equipped with Fiat CR42s and Reggiane Re.2001s tasked with defending the industrial triangle of Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria; parachute and military pilot training also took place there. After the 1943 armistice the field was occupied by German and Italian Social Republic forces and became the base of the Aerosiluranti Buscaglia Group, flying eight Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79 Sparviero torpedo bombers. Military flying ceased at the end of the war, after which the airfield was used for gliding. In the early 1940s the Macchi aircraft company began transferring production from Malpensa to Venegono, and the airport was renamed Arturo Ferrarin in honour of the Italian test pilot and air-race competitor, who died in 1941 testing a prototype at Guidonia. Aeroclub Varese was founded in 1948 and trained numerous commercial pilots for Alitalia as well as private pilots. During the 1950s Aermacchi began production of the MB326 trainer at Venegono, with all test flying carried out from the airfield, prompting improvements to the runway and facilities; the full transfer of Macchi production to the site was completed by the 1990s. In 1988 the air section of the Guardia di Finanza of Varese moved to the airport, and in 2016 Aermacchi was renamed Leonardo.
The airport is classified as a military field open to non-commercial civil traffic, and any external traffic operation must be agreed with the operator, meaning prior permission is required. It operates according to local ephemeris, from sunrise to sunset. Aeroclub Varese occupies the south-eastern part of the airfield and bases a fleet of around fifteen aircraft, including Piper and Cessna types, together with two certified flight simulators, for training and maintenance. Leonardo's Aircraft division occupies a large area to the west of the runway, producing and test-flying the Aermacchi M345 and M346, while the Guardia di Finanza's air section, based north-east of the field, operates helicopters for aerial reconnaissance, transport and search-and-rescue duties across Lombardy, Piedmont and the Aosta Valley.