Well after 4 aborted attempts through delays from injury, weather and Covid spaced over the last 2 years I have at last spread my wings and left UK airspace for the first time, heading yesterday to Jersey from the South Coast of England. What an amazing experience ( made better by it being a lovely day). To anyone lurking here like me who has not yet done the “Euro” part of GA ( and I know this was just a little toe dip) my advice is to do it, the feeling of accomplishment was very high and a lovely day was had in Jersey.
A few notes that may be of interest:
Landing & handling including ILS approach at EGJJ was under £40
The reporting point KATHY at St Catherine’s point was at a different location in the IFD430 to that in SkyDemon ….I need to investigate if it’s a database issue or pilot error but I’d be interested if anyone else has had similar issues ( they were close but not the same)
It was absolutely no problem requesting an ILS approach as a VFR flight, possibly helped by the fact they were very quiet
Outbound routing was KATHY ORTAC, then cleared into the CI CTR direct Fremont TV mast not above 4000ft, followed by vectors to the ILS. Return was initially right turn out not above 1000ft, quickly upped to 3000ft and then Northeast out the zone towards Cap De la Hague.
I will return.
Congrats. The first trip abroad is a big step. I hope you enjoy pushing yourself futher over the summer.
Jersey is lovely. But France is just a little tiny bit further, but the different language and culture makes it seem like you’ve travelled much futher! So hopefully you go just the little extra bit in the summer. You won’t regret it!
Jash2009 wrote:
The reporting point KATHY at St Catherine’s point was at a different location in the IFD430 to that in SkyDemon ….I need to investigate if it’s a database issue or pilot error but I’d be interested if anyone else has had similar issues ( they were close but not the same)
KATHY is actually about 3.6 NM from St Catherine’s point VRP. SkyDemon has KATHY at the same coordinates as AIP-UK (except that they’ve rounded to even seconds of a degree or at most 16 m error.)
Congratulations, Jash2009 
There are a number of really high value and very accessible places e.g. Le Touquet LFAT.
Alderney EGJA is also a wonderful laid-back back-of-beyond place
Many thanks for all the comments, I’ll update after I do another trip….I feel France calling.
Congratulation. I remember the heady days of my first “real” travel “alone” after my PPL, visiting in a small aerodrome in France. Enjoy!
Excellent
Looking forward to reading about your trip to France
