I am planning to fly from Le Havre to Melun and am getting either of the following routings around and through the Paris TMA:
and
What do I need to expect in terms of actual routing for a full IFR flight? Do I need to expect that Paris Control will route me all around the Paris TMA, similar to the first routing, or will there be any tactical routing through the Paris TMA? The FPL routes have massive overheads!
Depending on weather, a VFR route or a mixed IFR-VFR route with transition to VFR around CDN would be significantly shorter.
The Paris TMA needs FL200+ to overfly. It is pretty strictly enforced laterally too. I have almost never got a shortcut through even a corner of it, even at weekends.
I would file into Pontoise LFPT first and then a “POGO” to LFPM. The IFR POGO from Pontoise to Melun is usually radar vectors all the way so it is easy to do the two legs back to back without having to make a full stop landing in Pontoise (but you need to ask early enough, probably when still with CDG approach, because the POGO goes through CDG and Orly TMAs). And it can be quite scenic if the wind is from the west and Orly doesn’t have too much traffic to deal with.
How do you file for a POGO via Autorouter ?
For me you can only file via phone or Olivia and it is processed manually. Then tower gives a kind-of CTOT.
A little bit like the TEC routes in the LA area.
So maybe you would have to file normally to LFPT and then manually on the phone for the POGO.
But it’s worth it !
What does “POGO” even mean. I assume it is some kind of acronym? (I know what it is.)
AlexG wrote:
I would file into Pontoise LFPT first and then a “POGO” to LFPM. The IFR POGO from Pontoise to Melun is usually radar vectors all the way so it is easy to do the two legs back to back without having to make a full stop landing in Pontoise (but you need to ask early enough, probably when still with CDG approach, because the POGO goes through CDG and Orly TMAs). And it can be quite scenic if the wind is from the west and Orly doesn’t have too much traffic to deal with.
Great idea so you would basically file two flight plans, one LFOH-LFPT and then LFPT-LFPM and then tell ATC you don’t actually intend to land at LFPT? Has anyone tried that before?
Jujupilote wrote:
How do you file for a POGO via Autorouter ?
The Jeppesen chart and the AIP say “Write ‘DCT’ in field 15 and ‘POGO’ in field 18 of FLP”. Unfortunately it wouldn’t pass the IFPS validation but I managed to get LFPT PTV LFPM validated as the RAD allows a DCT to PTV and PTV is required as the final RP before the PTV4A STAR into LFPM. So you are saying in Olivia you would simply file LFPT DCT LFPM with the POGO remark in field 18?
So you are saying in Olivia you would simply file LFPT DCT LFPM with the POGO remark in field 18?
Yep, that’s how it’s done. But I have to admit, I can’t find any POGO in the LFPM AIP 
They only seem to link LFPT and LFPN.
@Piotr_Szut might know more
So, pray, tell: what is this marvelous POGO ??
I think it stands both for Paris Orly de Gaule (prounonced GOLE), but also got the type of movement – an IFR route that pops up and down – it’s meant for IFR between Paris airports, you pretty much go up then down
