Can I get in and out without calling Barcelona 121,150 ?
Don’t you please worry about try to give Barcelona a useless call in such a high workload situation. Thousands of pilots have on numerous occasions not called up FIS for the border crossing – and nothing happens. It’s just one of those rules (and I don’t even remember if it applies in Spain). It would very likely be an exercise in futility in those mountains anyway…
How can I close my FPL after landing ?
By phone, to the Spanish/regional AIS office. Just be sure you have the right number (including the right prefix) in your mobile before you head off. The only gotcha is that there are still some places in Europe where you might not even have GSM coverage. Then you need a landline (which there will be at the airport).
Can French FIS activate an FPL departing in Spain ?
Provided they have the FPL (which they usually do), yes.
If you only fly in G airspace you don’t even need a radio, or transponder, or am I wrong?
Yes in theory. But how do you activate your FPL ?
By phone? The same way you can close it by phone. However, I don’t know how you could do the every-30-minutes-position reporting so that SAR would know you have not crashed.
A VFR flightplan is not required in the US, except for crossing the border. The main purpose of a VFR flightplan in the US is to provide for SAR services in the event the aircraft is overdue. The flow for a VFR flightplan is as follows.
The pilot files the flightplan with FSS via phone, internet, radio, or EFB application. If the flightplan is never activated, it will be deleted from the system two hours past ETD.
The flightplan is activated on or after departure by radio, phone or EFB application. This notifies the destination FSS that the aircraft has departed. The destination FSS is now responsible for alerting and initiating SAR if the flight goes more than 30 minutes over due.
The pilot closes their VFR flightplan with the destination FSS via radio, phone, internet, or EFB application. If ATC is contacted to relay the arrival and flightplan close, they send it on to FSS, but this is not always reliable.
For border crossing inbound to the US across an ADIZ, VFR pilots must file a DVFR flightplan and activate it with FSS at least 15 minutes before crossing the ADIZ. The aircraft is assigned a transponder code for the inbound flight. Aircraft are required to have a functioning two way radio and if equipped with an electrical system must have a transponder that reports pressure altitude. ATC has to authorize any flight without a transponder.
I lokked a bit depper into this.
French AIP says en ENR 1.2 :
That’s why Paris FIS is saturated by A/C crossing the Belgian border in the summer.
But as an ex-student of the French aeroclub system, I never knew it was an obligation (I never learnt that an AIP existed either 
).
NYCYankee, Europe lacks a Flight Service system that could relieve ATC from this stuff like in the US (one of the nice features of your system )
Hope it helps, please ask if you want to know more.
And to those who say that AIP is not law (there are right unless a piece of legislation make a reference to the AIP) here is the law
Code de l’aviation civile – Article R131-5
Tout pilote d’aéronef ne peut effectuer, selon les règles de vol à vue, un vol comportant le franchissement, dans l’un ou l’autre sens, des frontières terrestres ou maritimes de la France métropolitaine que s’il a, au préalable, déposé un plan de vol.
Tout pilote d’aéronef motopropulsé ne peut pénétrer à l’intérieur de l’espace aérien métropolitain en évoluant selon les règles de vol à vue que si son appareil est équipé de moyens de radiocommunications. Lors du franchissement de la frontière il doit se mettre en relation radiotéléphonique avec un organisme français de la circulation aérienne. Si la liaison ne peut être établie au franchissement de la frontière, le pilote doit tenter de l’obtenir pendant la suite du vol. Si pour des raisons indépendantes de sa volonté il n’y parvient pas, il doit, dès l’atterrissage, se mettre en rapport avec les organismes locaux de la circulation aérienne et les services de douane et de police compétents.
Le franchissement de la frontière par un aéronef en dérogation à l’obligation d’équipement en moyens de radiocommunications peut être exceptionnellement autorisé par le ministre chargé de l’aviation civile qui en informe le ministre chargé de la défense dans les cas d’impossibilité technique d’assurer cet équipement.
Les mesures techniques d’application du présent article font l’objet d’un arrêté du ministre chargé de l’aviation civile, pris en accord avec le ministre chargé de la défense et après avis du délégué à l’espace aérien dans la limite de ses attributions.
Dimme wrote:
However, I don’t know how you could do the every-30-minutes-position reporting so that SAR would know you have not crashed.
This is not the point of having waypoints every 30 minutes. The SAR is concerned with your EET starting with your departure. When that time has elapsed by 30 minutes and they have not been able to get in touch with you or anyone who can confirm that you are safe, they will start the SAR-process. But I think this is a bit different between the countries.
Can I get in and out without calling Barcelona 121,150 ? How can I close my FPL after landing ?
Can French FIS activate an FPL departing in Spain ?
Like Bosco said: no sense saturating radio frequenties and indeed you very likely won’t be able to reach any Spanish frequenties anyway unless higher than 8000 ft AMSL. By the way, I used 131.125 for Barcelona there, but could only get in touch once south of the Pyrenees.
Once you get to Puigcerda, at the border, I would say goodbye to the French freq you are on and tell ‘m that you are changing to LECD (air to air only). Pilots there speak english rather well. After landing call Barcelona at 972 168 658. Going back, same thing in reverse, so call by phone to open your flight plan. Outside the office you’ll see a sign with above tel number, you may want to check whether they changed that number..
In case you forget to call, you’re in good company. I once called to close and the Barcelona guy asked me: “Could you do me a favor? Is EC-XXX on the platform? And can you see EC-YYY in the pattern by chance?
This might be a silly question, but why is it necessary to “report mid-Channel” when already under the watchful eye of ATC? Assuming the radars don’t suddenly conk out there (do they?), is it essentially a safeguard against straying across a border unnoticed due to, say, ATC workload, whereupon assistance could not officially be provided?
