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The complete charade of Eurocontrol IFR routings

“Official” route LFBH-EGKA

(or similar)

“Optimised” route

LFBH LUSON A53 RONAX J55 LGL H20 DPE DCT DPE320009 DCT DPE320018 DCT DPE320027 DCT DPE320036 DCT DPE320045 DCT DPE320054 DCT EGKA

You can always fly the second one because nobody cares how you cross the Channel back to the UK – especially if you are landing on the UK coast, or continuing VFR further up.

Of course one can do better still…

LFBH LUSON A53 RONAX J55 LGL DCT DVL DCT DVL340009 DCT DVL340018 DCT DVL340027 DCT DVL340036 DCT DVL340045 DCT DVL340054 DCT EGKA

All above at FL100.

This hack which uses 9nm long sections is necessary because France has a MAX DCT limit of 10nm (in that scenario, anyway – not sure about generally)

Last Edited by Peter at 13 Jul 21:41
Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

In my experience, it doesn’t matter much which one of the routes you file, because the actual flown route will be the same.
I’ve had several times that I couldn’t fly my optimized route but got a: “Are you ready to copy your routing?”, and got a list of waypoints spelled out, totally off the planned route.

The points where you cross the international borders seem to be important, as it is harder for ATC to arrange cross-border shortcuts.

It is quite important if you pay Eurocontrol IFR charges. These are based on filed GC distances within FIRs.

Last Edited by JasonC at 13 Jul 21:59
EGTK Oxford

Jason,

What do you mean by “filed GC distances”? Surely it’s filed distance or GC distance?

EGKB Biggin Hill

Surely it’s filed distance or GC distance?

Eurocontrol seems to determine FIR crossing points of the filed route. They then charge great circle distance between those FIR crossing points.
See here

LSZK, Switzerland

customer details are here it looks like the FIR x-border points are taken to calculate (see image page 27):
http://www.eurocontrol.int/sites/default/files/publication/files/customer-guide-2014-version-8-0-with-coversheet.pdf

EBST

…because France has a MAX DCT limit of 10nm…

As you say, it’s a French thing. Not Euro control. If our dispatcher will grow grey hair early, then because of IFR routings in France. Everywhere else you can fly an almost straight line.

Last Edited by what_next at 14 Jul 08:45
EDDS - Stuttgart

Of course, in France you can generally fly in a straight line, it’s IFPS that’s the problem, stopping you plan in a straight line.

EGKB Biggin Hill

Of course, in France you can generally fly in a straight line, it’s IFPS that’s the problem, stopping you plan in a straight line.

Yes, but IFPS can do miracles, if the airspace structure is straight-line-friendly. If it is not, IFPS is as helpless as anybody else.

This is a low-level (FL230) IFR routing across Germany. Almost a straight line, so it can be done…

This is a low level chart of France (GND to FL245). Some of the restricted airspaces reach all the way up. There is no way one can fit a straight line in there that is longer than 100NM or so:

EDDS - Stuttgart

I am sitting at La Rochelle so this is a brief post only but I have never been able to fly in a straight line in France, beyond ATC-cleared IFR shortcuts of say 100-150nm. I got a 110nm one today. But as WN says, much of the mil airspace goes a long way up, and even at FL190 I have been moved around.

Maybe VFR, on a weekend, some things may be possible due to luck. I am not saying one cannot draw a line right through France without hitting some “impossible” airspace, but it would be a fairly contrived case.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
74 Posts
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