Eindhoven (EHEH) to Southampton (EGHI) - The Write-up

boscomantico wrote:

I would seriously move away from any airport where I could depart at 10:00 local time only

Our flying club is on the military side of the airfield. That has it’s drawbacks, but also quite a few advantages. It means we get to do our own ‘handling’, and pay minimal landing fees (€10, and that’s per flight, not per landing), among others. Our club’s existence relies for a significant part on it’s heritage, and the position Frits Phillips was able to negotiate for us. Some controllers allow us to depart before 10, but you can never be sure of this permission unless you start pulling strings quite some time ahead, and even then we feel like we should be careful not to stretch the favours from the air force too much. I managed to get it done, once, but due to weather couldn’t fly that day. In a nutshell: the situation is not optimal, but then again, where do you have the perfect situation? There are always going to be disadvantages.

This is all for VFR flights. IFR flights, even from our club, do not have the 10 o’clock restriction as far as I know, but without an IR that is of little use to me. I’m not a touring pilot (yet), these kind of trips are really once or twice a year, so the situation as it is works fine for me. I hope to do more longer flights in the future though!

DavidC wrote:

That’s really quite shocking and doesn’t fit with the remit of ATC to ensure efficient traffic flow

It really depends on the controller. Some will let you happily depart, others won’t. This time, we got one of the latter. Same goes for orbiting on downwind. It really depends on the controller, some will fit you in, others are more ‘risk averse’ (that’s in quotes on purpose).

Aviathor wrote:

Congratulations on your first trip outside the Schengen area! How did it feel?

Let’s say I can relate to the worrying before a flight thread, especially the unnecessary worrying
Aviathor wrote:

I suppose you did file a GAR?
Why did you not stay and enjoy a night out?

Yep, GAR was filed, but no one showed up to check passports (only the Dutch Marechaussee on departure). The plane was pretty much fully booked for the next day, so it had to be a same day trip. Had I had more time, I probably would have gone to Lee-On-Solent. The Southampton bill was OK for a day, but overnight would have been ridiculously expensive (Signature handling).