First time flying into London Airspace

Fly310 wrote:

I’ve been trying to find some more info but didn’t really find it.

Is it a very busy airspace on Thursday afternoons?
Are there any special clearances to be aware of?

I am a bit concerned with the airspace complexity, especially if the weather is nasty as well. Do you have any hints?
I am also considering going to Southend to avoid the worst airspace but it will take me further from my destination in London.

It is always busy (compared to most other airspace in Europe) but sometimes more busy than at other times. What aircraft and altitude will you be arriving at? If you are flying IFR in controlled airspace then it is the same as flying IFR anywhere else if you are in controlled airspace. Biggin is fine, if that is where you need to go then go there.

You will prob be kept in CTA then handed over to Biggin on the descent. Won’t be as bad as it looks. Locals may have more specific knowledge they can impart.

I have been to Biggin Hill and Southend. There is no real difference in ATC procedures etc. so go to the airport which is closest to your destination. One special procedure is to assign arrival routes which do not match your destination airport. So if you can’t find the STAR look up the other airports especially London City as the other satellite airports like Biggin and Southend seem to use part of their IFR procedures.

As usual for a foreigner flying IFR be prepared for the leaving controlled airspace thing. UK pilots will know the details but for foreigners this one is special. As far as I understand your IFR clearance is basically terminated and you have to take care of any new clearances for any A,B,C,D airspace ahead. So always make sure to have situational awareness of the airspace situation even when flying IFR. Last time I visited Southend and Biggin Hill had a full ILS but both are situated outside controlled airspace so at some point last time it was shortly before intercepting the ILS we got dumped out of the system and had to watch out for airspace. The same applies for the departure. Make sure you have an explicit clearance to enter controlled airspace after departure.

on a related topic: which airports would people see as the right choices for flying GA into London? I am also planning a trip later this spring and after checking the “after-landing-options” (transport from the airport to London), I have added Shoreham (Brighton) to the list, because (a) it seems to be a nice place; (b) cheaper than Biggin Hill; (c) IFR; (d) fast and regular train link to London. Plus I can pick-up some heavier supplies from Transair directly there :)

As stated, IFR will be straightforward.

Southend EGMC is now in CAS. Class D.

Biggin EGKB uses Thames Radar for IFR arrivals, and you get handed to tower when established. Class G.

Both easy airports.

Biggin is my usual diversion for Shoreham – 100 quid taxi back home because it has no public transport to anywhere useful AFAICT

Shoreham is fine for London except the direct train runs only morning up and evening back down. A cynical way to extract money from commuters to London while shafting normal people So you usually have to change trains in Brighton.

Biggin has poor transport (the bizjet clients get picked up in limousines) so is likely to take as long to get into London as shoreham, but it has an ILS. And if there are say 3 of you then a taxi to London is not expensive.

I live and work 20 minutes from Shoreham so may be able to meet you and drive you to Brighton station. I have only a small car however.

Biggin is a bus ride fro Bromley South and then a quick train journey to central London.

Last time I was in biggin hill, it took me max 30 min and I was in the middle of London ( Victoria station) 10 min with taxi to bromley South and about 15 min train direct to London, frequent shedule.

Fly310 wrote:

Okay, so it seems it is fairly straight forward except for the uncontrolled, own airspace responsibility thing. I hope that the weather is good enough.

Compared to Sweden, there is no uniform way of getting traffic information in class G in the UK. There is a confusing (to non-brits at least) mix of various services, sometimes in the same airspace – but if you’re only entering class G to land at Biggin, there should be no problem. And of course on departure, you won’t get a proper clearance until after you have been handed off from Biggin Tower.

Thanks for the info on Biggin transport. I think many London based pilots are unaware of it

How often does the bus run? I wonder if there is some catch…

But for sure there is no train or other transport to the Brighton area.

Flying VFR in the UK, the way to avoid most traffic is to fly above 2000ft. Above 3000ft is almost nobody.

Traffic info has limited value, due to many non TXP pilots. Fortunately most of that community flies below 2000ft. Traffic info is also often not provided if eg the controller is busy. Its value is largely emotional imho.