This is the kind of video I was looking for but didn't find when I was preparing this Alpine crossing. So I decided to make one for all of you who want to get a feel of flying VFR along the Simplon GAFOR route S44 north to south.
I started in EBAV, my home base in Belgium. My original plan was for GAFOR routes S71, S72 (Gotthard pass) and S73 (Locarno, Lugano). But come early morning on flying day those routes proved not feasible.
So I changed the flight plan to S52 out of Grenchen, S53 (Gemmi pass), S43, S44 (Simplon pass) and S45.
While approaching Grenchen, S53 status changed to 'Difficult'. I would not be able to pass Gemmi safely. In flight ATC approved my request to redirect to S21 inbound Montreux, S42, S43 to pick up S44 (Simplon pass). That turned out to be only a half hour detour, to my pleasant surprise.
I included SkyDemon shots of my planned and actual track so you can follow along the way.
The video compresses 3h58' of flight in 12 minutes showing most of the route. That way you can follow the entire crossing.
F-JTRW
Check out other videos that show the Brenner crossing in both direction.