Parked next to me on the N2 apron was a TB20 with 4X (Israel) registration
I think the 4X TB20 was the one next to me! We did wonder what 4X was…
I guess he has “contacts”. I am sure you need them if you are operating a touring aircraft in Israel. Israel had loads of TB20s as their air force bought many for initial training. These have appeared with a US dealer in recent years.
Had they not “found one” I would have been absolutely stuck there, no question about it. Or did a VFR departure, with various stupid restrictions about how soon one is allowed to elevate it to an IFR clearance. One old-timer suggested I just fly VFR, adding that there was no weather all the way back to the UK and that one could probably fly a DCT all the way back to Dover. My Plan B, if ATC had forced a VFR departure and there was trouble collecting the IFR clearance, was something involving a 7700 and a climb…
You keep making these statements about problems with flight rule changes and I never understood where you get this from. First of all, E goes up to FL100 or FL130 in the southern area and second, an IFR pickup is no problem, it’s daily business. I hardly ever fly IFR without a pickup somewhere. In Germany, the pickup can happen at any time and any place, provided you’re above the MRVA. You can collect the clearance as soon as you have radio contact. ATC will always accommodate you. A very popular alternative when departing from a busy IFR airport is a visual departure. This basically means you depart on an I flight plan but right after takeoff you make a turn away from the runway so it’s not blocked for minutes due to your slow aircraft on the SID and once you are far enough that the separation minima are met, ATC take over separation. Until they do, you are responsible for separation but not for airspaces etc. I’ve done dozens of these departures and I even request them unless the SID takes me right where I want to go.
I think you’re making something sound difficult which really isn’t. Mixing IFR with VFR and visual segments is a very powerful tool.
+1 on visual departures. Love them!
Where is that AIP page detailing the nearest place, out of EDNY, that one is allowed to ask for an IFR clearance, at AERO 2014?
Mixing IFR with VFR and visual segments is a very powerful tool.
Yes; I do that all the time.
Where is that AIP page detailing the nearest place, out of EDNY, that one is allowed to ask for an IFR clearance, at AERO 2014?
There is none. File whatever you get accepted, the pickup point is irrelevant to ATC. Just ask local pilots, that is a better source of information than the AIP. If the sector is capacity limited, ATC will tell you and work out a plan that accommodates you best. That would be something like “can you continue 10NM to the west under VFR?”. It certainly will not be “Peter, get lost and die, we don’t care about you”.
ATC in Germany is a full service luxury treatment, they will take care of your needs. In addition, Germany has very little airspace C/D below FL100 which makes the VFR segment very simple. Don’t be afraid.
There is none
I saw it yesterday morning.
For example, departing to the east of EDNY, the nearest you were allowed to ask for IFR was KPT – a distance of some 30nm.
Why would that be a problem? You talk to ATC the moment you’re airborne. They probably wanted to do the pickup outside of Swiss ATC’s sector because Skyguide tends to be over capacity when more than one aircraft is in the sky…
I was at the Aero on Friday – unfortunately late for the rendez-vous at Sebastian’s booth. I had hoped to meet some of you either at the fair or afterwards, at dinner, but failed to meet (or recognise) anyone.
This was my first visit so I cannot compare, but I observed
-) I quite liked the building and organisation. Food and drink were at very reasonable prices, toilets were clean and at no extra cost – all much better than at the Heyzel grounds near Brussels. Still I could have wished for free WiFi access
-) stands must have been on the cheap – there was even one for one single VFR airfield in Italy (Sondrio) but perhaps this was with a municipal or provincial subsidy.
-) even so, the number and size of stands could have been greater, there was a good deal of place unused
-) the builders of my plane had quite a big stand, yet their planes are not certified in Germany; neither was there anyone I could talk to beyond basic civilities, neither in English nor in German. Some companies from Eastern Europe still lack commercial tradition.
-) same language issues at the Bulgarian stand – good idea though of them, though, to have one stand for five or six companies/organisations
-) many many offerers of moving map and/or flight planning software. I had once the idea of creating my own commercial product but obviously came much too late.
Still I could have wished for free WiFi access
https://www.netzclub.net offers 150 MB/month of 3G mobile internet totally free, without any obligations – quite sufficient for checking e-mail and basic browsing on an occasional visit. You can request a SIM card to any German address.
Has this whole mobile internet business not moved on, in Germany too?
Here in the UK, Vodafone UK contract, normally the biggest ripoff network there is, I pay about £10/month, and I get way more call time than I can use, unlimited SMS, 500MB/month of data, and for £3/day I can roam with all this. The £3 is paid on each day that the phone is used on roaming. They call it the Euro Traveller.
This is so cheap that looking for free wifi is a total waste of time. Also there is almost no simple free wifi. Even when it is free, you have to get a password from the cafe counter, etc.
I use the phone as a modem for anything else – a laptop or a tablet – via bluetooth or via wifi (Joikuspot). The backup is a PAYG SIM in the laptop or tablet but they cost more – £2/25MB when roaming. In Greece I do other things…
