All I can add is on my trips to Ireland I cant fault ATC and their willingness to accomodate just about anything half reasonable.
Dave_Phillips wrote:
Irish ATC really is a relative delight.
I agree. They seem relaxed and professional at the same time, and more interested in providing a service than being rule bound.
No, my route is over Wexford, so it keeps me well out of the complexities of Dublin.
You should have no problems with that.
Yep. I once got a clearance from Cork “DCT NEVRI climbing FL090 VFR”. That’s basically a diagonal across the length of the country.
A cleared level through Dublin CTA/CTR is also possible although it starts to get a bit tricky if you need/want to change level, as per Colm’s example.
Irish ATC really is a relative delight.
I’m then going to Glasgow, but I assume that I just file VFR and ask to climb to 110 or 115.
No, my route is over Wexford, so it keeps me well out of the complexities of Dublin.
Timothy,
Do you plan on coming over Dublin itself? I ask because those altitudes might cause a difficulty for Dublin if you are VFR (ie potentially need to descend to remain VFR). They operate a point merge system, where they basically bring all traffic down to 8000ft and fly them around an arc in the CTA. They break them off for arrival as space is available.
I once asked Dublin ATC (during a tower visit ) about arriving into Weston from the UK, at an altitude above the 8000ft, to avoid being pushed really low over the Irish Sea. They didn’t seem very keen on the idea.
I suspect you might be expected to remain well north or well south of Dublin if you want to arrive VFR at those altitudes.
But I’ve never done that (always arriving or departing Weston, so being so high makes little sense), so I can’t say for sure.
As for the always needing a flight plan, those are the rules. But many people ignore it seemingly without consequence.
Bosco, you also need to file a FPL for any flight within Class C CTR (basically all the airports)
I faintly did remember this. But it’s still a bit crazy. Almost like the Netherlands…
Why not just accept an abbreviated fligtplan filed via radio? I think it (requiring an FPL for every such flight in Ireland) only works because GA traffic volumes are so low. Germany would collpase if every flight in or through a CTR required a full-blown flightplan…
Bosco, you also need to file a FPL for any flight within Class C CTR (basically all the airports) so the reality is that most people file FPLs most of the time. The upshot is that there is a very slick integrated system, far better than UK LARS/ATSOCAS/FIS.
But then you would be with FIS below 75, and get a clearance from them. The potential problem is crossing from outside the FIR, but Dave has sorted that for me.
