How much is a enroute IFR charge for example from a small airport near London, to say somewhere in Germany? Just wondering because if it was EUR100, and it was a 2 or 3 hour flight, the lack of VFR OCAS hassle would make it kind of worth it. But if it was EUR200+ then I guess one can see why its less palatable.
How much is a enroute IFR charge for example from a small airport near London, to say somewhere in Germany?
That’s too difficult to calculate for me right now 
But here is an example calculation from Eurocontrol for a flight from Stockholm to Amsterdam with a 60 ton aircraft: https://www.eurocontrol.int/sites/default/files/faq/content/documents/route-charges/reference-documents/example-of-charge-calculation.pdf
Factoring out the 60 ton aircraft and applying the weight factor (https://www.eurocontrol.int/articles/establishing-route-charges) for a 1000kg single, the result is an 80 Euro fee for that distance.
I imagine in the dim and distant past, the 2 ton limit was representative of perceived pleasure versus business utility GA aircraft at that time, no doubt predating single engine turboprops .
We are burdened with many such arbitrary decisions; tax thresholds, death duties, geopolitical map boundaries .
No doubt aviation also took a leaf out of the marine world which has similar penalties based on length, that are exponential in quantum.Overtime they become the playthings of economists and politicians. Either side of the line are winners and losers.
E
PS. My POH has my Jetprop at 1,976Kg – which given that I fly alone about 50% of the time, keeps me well within the limits, full fuel at least 50% of the time. 
The 2 tons limit and safety
In Eurocontrol land, aircrafts over 2 tons get charged en route when IFR.
Reading the news about the Baron which crashed in France Saturday, killing a family of 3, it notes that the pilot (very experienced, managing two aviation businesses at Toussus) chose to go VFR because of “benign weather”.
When he took off, it had improved from the time I crossed the region south-north and which wasn’t VFR at all, but there were still lowish clouds.
Ogimet.
Trying to put myself in his shoes, I can’t help but wonder why he decided to go VFR, and wonder if the charge might have been one of the factors in his decision.
I find myself flying IFR 99% of the time when I travel, because in my sub 2t aircraft there is simply no downside. Do twin pilots have a different experience of their decision process?
Yes. I go VFR when feasible, partly to avoid charges, partly to be able to fly in straight lines and partly so I can pick my own altitude.
In much of Europe, though not in the UK, the experience of being VFR is very similar to being IFR. Same person on the radio, same radar, handovers, automatic clearances and so on.
Also, quite a lot of the time I am departing and/or arriving VFR anyway. Fairoaks – Hangelar is a typical sector. It is in the departure and approach where IFR brings the greatest safety benefits, so if that is lost to you, it sways the balance.
But having said that, if I am flying someone else’s aircraft and they are not cost sensitive, I tend to fly IFR, so the cost is a major factor.
Just so people get an idea, you could take a light single in formation with you (DOC only) for the cost of route charges; they are significant.
But I would not take a specific risk to avoid charges. I agree that there is a notional general risk of being VFR rather than IFR, which I am prepared to take, but there is no way on earth that I would scud run, or weave along valleys. As soon as there is any hint of clouds and terrain getting close, I am going up and calling for an IFR approach.
Having said all that, the logic of the 2T cut-off is completely lost on me. If they made it AOC vs non-commercial there would be much more sense in it.
But PPL/IR have taken a policy decision not to rock the boat, as we fear that if we asked Eurocontrol to look into it in detail they are as likely to remove the 2T concession as to move to a preferable position, so we, as a community, have more to lose than gain by waking the the sleeping dog.
A few times, I observed >2t aircraft (a TBM in one case) that were on the same frequency declaring themselves VFR on flights when they very clearly were in cloud.
Various NATS people posting on UK sites under nicknames have said they would like to remove the 2T threshold and make everybody pay for the service. Also a fair % of >2T pilots think the same. So there are various pressures around, but for some good reason whenever this comes up for review (CAAs and/or Eurocontrol?) the decision is made to leave it, reportedly on the grounds that collection would cost more than the revenue, and avoidance of paying by flying IFR OCAS is trivially easy.
There is a lot of >2T VFR flying in IMC, confirmed by countless forum posts by the pilots Nothing can be done about it. It seems obvious that making everybody pay would greatly increase this element and would degrade safety. The reason for SEP pilots to do the full IR would be greatly diminished. Already there have been numerous fatal crashes which were probably caused by the “2T = charges” regime e.g. N2195B and that’s just one formerly based at Shoreham… he could have had the 1999kg STC but didn’t. I am sure it’s a long list once you start digging into > 2T twins crashing on VFR flights.
In the confidence that this mature forum does not entertain armchair judges, I will admit here that in the past I’ve flown VFR in IMC for extended periods, when I’m confident I can break in to VMC before the initial approach phase at destination. My sole motive was to avoid Eurocharges. This was both in a private piston twin and in AOC governed twin turboprops, the Operator of which was understandably thrifty in a difficult market.
The “waking the sleeping dog” analogy is a good one. I’d wager that levying IFR charges to everyone would drive the quantity of VFR cheating up, and lead to more CFITs.
Should we call the “VFR in IMC” UIFR (Uncontrolled IFR)?
Edit: I guess one still files V for VFR on the flightplan, so maybe not after all
