FL250 - nobody is there.
You are just showing off 
Actually, UK, almost nobody is at 3000ft or above. This is partly due to a lot of low level CAS and a legacy of PPL training which is done mostly c. 2000ft.
There is also almost nobody above a cloud layer, regardless of height.
Flying Eurocontrol IFR, say FL070-FL200, I can barely recall getting visual with another GA plane, since I started doing that in 2005. Very occasionally one sees a big jet, 5-10nm away. Now, TCAS (~10-15nm range) confirms this. The often touted "busy airspace" is nonsense is the lower airways.
It's low down you have to watch it...
FL250 - nobody is there. Midair collisions: there was one in Canada this winter, but still rare.
I prefer FL280 - too many Cirri at 250 ;)
In Germany make sure you're above the transponder free altitude, that is 3500ft AGL / 5000ft MSL, whichever is higher. Up there you get very good traffic information from FIS and there is a lot less traffic to begin with. Most of the reckless pilots prefer to go without transponder.
For added safety and comfort, climb above FL100 which is airspace C in Germany. In 95% of the cases, the radar controller will accept you, just not always in TMAs (EDDF and EDDM).
As a side note, few people in Germany seem to care about semicircular altitudes (that includes myself). Most readouts I hear on FIS are not according to the rules and I have never heard FIS complain to a pilot that his altitude does not correspond to the semicircular rules. I have gotten very sloppy to the point of completely ignoring them.
I agree with you on the semicircular. The same is true for vfr altitudes.. Only once in a while will a controller put me on a xx5 altitude.
In Germany however they do not seem to like vfr traffic above FL100 .. If they do ..then they will start rerouting you all over the place.
Coming out of Rotterdam to Pula I can almost fly a straightline via Lowi Breno minding the Frankfurt Area. However above FL100 they send me more westerly , basically on airways.
Having said that .. Langen info is extremely good. I only had a lot of problems with Bremen on a very busy sunny sundaymorning. On my way to Denmark I could not get through. Only when I was almost in Denmark did I manage to be heard. So on the way back I went IFR which was absolutely no problem at all.
JasonC: I will have to get that Meridian or TBM850 to beat that :-)
Same for me. I don't use the semi-circular system other than when flying IFR I tend to fly and request flightlevels in the 100s, like FL80 or 90 or 160 or 170. When flying VFR I file VFR as flightlevel and just request what I feel like is best, either e.g. FL80 or FL85. Nobody cares over here on the mainland. Do they care in the UK?
How about the UK?
In the UK, there is no compulsory rule for VFR. My experience is that most people flying VFR ignore it in the UK. IFR, I've no idea.
The Semi Circular rule is compulsory in Ireland above three thousand feet, however it's totally ignored. I suspect most pilots here aren't even aware of it.
My experience is that most people flying VFR ignore it in the UK. IFR, I've no idea.
Most people flying VFR ignore it, and anyway the base of CAS is so low in many places (1500ft or 2500ft) that you can't follow it and be above the MSA.
IFR in Class G is basically the same as VFR, and you can do it non-radio. When you can get a radar service, ATC don't really care what your actual conditions (VMC or IMC) are.
In IFR in CAS you will get ATC directions on the altitude, etc.
In Germany however they do not seem to like vfr traffic above FL100 .. If they do ..then they will start rerouting you all over the place.
I think that is only true for the Frankfurt area which most of the time you cannot cross below FL140 nowadays (since they opened the new runway). The rest of Germany is easy, I do most of my VFR flying above FL100 because since I got my IR I've become a lazy pilot that likes to offload work to ATC. Never been refused in airspace C above FL100. Just ask and if they're not convinced mention the weather.
