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Obtaining IFR clearance while in the air

What is the correct procedure/terminology/frequency to achieve this? For example, I take off from Coventry (EGBE) on a local VFR bimble, head out over North Wales and climb to FL100. How can I now achieve an IFR return back to Coventry?

EGBE (COVENTRY, UK)

“request IFR clearance to XXX” is the wording I had used few times on the Czech Republic and Austria and it did work.

LKKU, LKTB

I only have a handful IR flights in the UK and I was amazed how easy it is to pickup IFR. You can just fly IFR whenever you like in class G airspace in the UK. If you report yourself to London or Farnbourough (in their area) that you are flying IFR, they’ll provide you a squawk and request which type of service you’d like. That’s all there is to it.

Phraseology would be something like this:
You: London Info, GXXXX
London Info: GXXXX, London info pass your message
You: [type of aircraft] [position] [altitude] IFR Coventry Coventry, GXXXX
London Info: GXXXX, Roger, basic service, squawk XXXX, request routing
You: basic service, squawk XXXX [routing], GXXXX
London Info: GXXXX, roger (report point X in routing/report leaving)
You: wilco, GXXXX

This I found quite useful when flying around: Frequency Reference Cards

A clearance is not needed in uncontrolled airspace and I assume you’ll only fly in class G so even a radio call is not needed, although I think its always nice to have someone to talk to while flying.

Bushpilot C208/C182
FMMI/EHRD, Madagascar

I like to make every flight count. Most of my flights are for travelling somewhere, however, I like to do one flight midweek just to keep the plane in use etc. So with this type of flight I like it to be meaningful and practice approaches etc. Flying VFR out of Coventry means ducking under Birmingham CTA then Daventry CTA before climbing in class G and then doing the same on the return. It would be nice while in class G at say FL100 over mid Wales to get an IFR return to Coventry which would then take me back through the controlled airspace of Daventry and Birmingham CTA’s to a procedural approach at Coventry. The only reference that I could find from my Comms book was to call the local FIS, ie, London information and “request file flight plan”

EGBE (COVENTRY, UK)

I only have a handful IR flights in the UK and I was amazed how easy it is to pickup IFR. You can just fly IFR whenever you like in class G airspace in the UK. If you report yourself to London or Farnbourough (in their area) that you are flying IFR, they’ll provide you a squawk and request which type of service you’d like. That’s all there is to it.

That is not a real IFR clearance. Try it for CAS which is mostly Class A. Almost impossible to get.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Rob2701 wrote:

It would be nice while in class G at say FL100 over mid Wales to get an IFR return to Coventry which would then take me back through the controlled airspace of Daventry and Birmingham CTA’s to a procedural approach at Coventry.

If you know in advance that you want to be flying this, wouldn’t it be the easiest to file a Z flight plan ahead of the flight? I think that we should keep the possibility of filing in the air for situations where it’s operationally required, in order to minimize frequency congestion and keep ATC’s goodwill.

Rwy20 wrote:

If you know in advance that you want to be flying this, wouldn’t it be the easiest to file a Z flight plan ahead of the flight?

This raises the question of how to file IFR EGBE to EGBE?

Rwy20 wrote:

I think that we should keep the possibility of filing in the air for situations where it’s operationally required, in order to minimize frequency congestion and keep ATC’s goodwill.

That’s why the Comms manual suggests contacting a Flight Information Service.

EGBE (COVENTRY, UK)

Rob2701 wrote:

This raises the question of how to file IFR EGBE to EGBE?

Just enter EGBE as departure and destination in autorouter, and add some fly-by waypoints, and select “VFR departure”. This yields for example such a routing:

Then you can just ask to “activate my IFR flight plan” instead of reading all the details to them over the frequency.

Rob2701 wrote:

That’s why the Comms manual suggests contacting a Flight Information Service.

OK, then let’s say: I think that we should keep the possibility of filing in the air for situations where it’s operationally required, in order to minimize frequency congestion and keep FIS’s goodwill.

Last Edited by Rwy20 at 09 Aug 12:30

This raises the question of how to file IFR EGBE to EGBE

VFR, or IFR OCAS, just fly. It is Class G.

Eurocontrol IFR, this is tricky. You need to work out a CAS join, and a return. There will be some standard routes. I would ask some based FTO.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Rwy20 wrote:

Just enter EGBE as departure and destination in autorouter, and add some fly-by waypoints, and select “VFR departure”. This yields for example such a routing

Thanks for showing me that…..very interesting. Looking at the image from Autorouter, IFR is picked up at NILGI ? Is one able to specify when IFR is picked up?

EGBE (COVENTRY, UK)
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