Thanks. I didn’t notice the little pickup link. Entering SLL autorouter now finds:
LELL N0175VFR SLL/N0175F150 IFR Z308 GIR H110 BGR A27 MOU …
Very good.
Yes but the Spanish will make you fly a corkscrew up to FL150 which kind of sucks 
… and they did initially:-)
I will experiment with the feature now that I know about it.
Another observation. In Germany there is this magic phrase “IFR starts at / now”. I have never heard that in Spain but instead was instructed to climb into their class A airspace. German ATC probably has to use that phrase because of class E.
That’s this strange German system of ATC deciding when IFR starts and ends. Originally it was the pilot that was supposed to determine if IFR or VFR because all it means is that you fly the aircraft according to instrument rules. In the UK you usually can’t even tell if VFR or IFR.
I would consider myself IFR once I have established contact with ATC. However, IFR does not mean you do not have to care about airspaces and traffic, that again is a very German way of thinking.
achimha wrote:
That’s this strange German system of ATC deciding when IFR starts and ends. Originally it was the pilot that was supposed to determine if IFR or VFR because all it means is that you fly the aircraft according to instrument rules.
I don’t agree. It is a question of responsibility – if ATC considers you are VFR and you think you are IFR and something happens, who is to blame? That’s why German (and Swiss) ATC will tell you when IFR starts and ends exactly, just like they will legally require you to confirm latest ATIS designator – that’s the way they make sure everyone knows the situation and what he/she has to do.
Again Vladimir, you have 100% that skewed German/Swiss understanding of IFR… IFR does not mean ATC is responsible, not at all. In the UK you fly IFR and ATC won’t even talk to you.
Not really true… the UK allows IFR in Class G and non-radio, but you can get a radar service a lot of the time.
achimha wrote:
IFR does not mean ATC is responsible
Not in G or E but surely in A-D airspaces. In A they are responsible to keep you away from everything, in the others according to separation rules. So once I am in D and IFR, they are at least partly responsible.
Vladimir wrote:
o once I am in D and IFR, they are at least partly responsible.
D is not a good example, C is better. Once you are in C and IFR, they are responsible to keep other traffic (VFR) away from you. If you are in the same aircraft, the same airspace C but as VFR, they are not responsible for keeping you away from other VFR traffic.
In a real life, ATC doesn´t like aircraft bouncing into each other in their area so they´ll take care of you anyway – even you are VFR.
