Do you mean they disregard the VFR ban in Class A?
I did once get into Class A to the west of Italy, where one is normally otherwise facing a very long flight at 1000-2000ft above the water, out of VHF contact, but on subsequent flights they didn’t let me 
I did however get this stunning pic – famous courtesy of A Dumas 
Hi Alexis,
LDLO, Mali Losinj, was my FIRST flight abroad afetr I got my licence in 1995, I think i flew there early 1996. When it’s VMC over the Alps the flight is very easy to do, and I (or Peter, I guess) would help you plan it.
As tempting as it sounds, I don’t think I’m there yet. If I lived in CH, I’d sit and wait for a day with extreme CAVOK on both sides and do it. ;-)
Either way, you can be sure to find myself posting tons of questions on here when I start investigating such an adventure! I think next year’s challenge, or the beginning of the year anyway, will be about getting some crosswind landings on the Frisian islands done…
When it’s blue skies it’s an easy flight do do, and if it’s not perfect you can cross the Alps up to FL 130 VFR on top. I did that a couple of times even on top a solid overcast, but of course I would recommend broken clouds maximum.,
Hier liegt der Hund begraben. On any trip, I’d like to see a reasonable chance of being able to return the chartered A/C to its owner. I read far too many reports on low dispatch rates for VFR Alps crossings – besides I don’t think I have enough weather experience yet to be able to safely judge “things” out there en route.
I guess the HARDEST part ist to fly through France VFR, but once you’re in Germany it’s really simple (i hope that’s not my biased view only). It really depends on the weather.
I’d probably not cross France on this trip. ;-)
I know this is stating the obvious but to plan any route you
Keep the two routes close to each other, so if ATC denies some CAS transit you can just fall back onto the other one.
If you are VFR and start off at a high altitude, say FL085 (above the clouds being the general idea in that case) then ATC almost never force you back down. Such a thing has never happened to me. So this is a good strategy – known as a fait accompli and well known to dodgy British builders
The worst I have ever had was one event in Italy in 2004/5 where one ATCO cleared me (in CAS) on a route X-Y-Z and then around Y handed me to the next one who immediately told me to get out of CAS, and could not speak English so my protest did not get far. I just turned out over the Adriatic and continued halfway down the sea. But this is very rare (more likely to happen in Spain, I think, where some of the ATCO competence is legendary) and anyway I was flying at low level – a few k. If you do low level VFR then there is a much bigger chance of being denied a transit.
For France you have a choice of several charts
I don’t know if they “disregard” the VFR ban – it probably depends on the situation and traffic. I was flying along an IFR route as well, probably it’s what kept them happy too :). It certainly wasn’t an issue to cross Venice CAS.
If you want real “horror” stories try landing at Isla Grande in San Juan, Puerto Rico – I got a severe bollocking for not being familiar with the mandatory VFR reporting points that do not appear on any map… and after a 4.5hr crossing from Turks & Caïcos I really wasn’t in the mood :D
As tempting as it sounds, I don’t think I’m there yet. If I lived in CH, I’d sit and wait for a day with extreme CAVOK on both sides and do it. ;-)
Hi Rhino, the learning curve after passing the PPL can be quite challenging. You get trained to pass the exam, which is not the same as flying Europe cross country.
During my PPL training I did not file a Flightplan once, never had to set a different squawk code, never went to a controlled airport, etc.
It takes a lot of confidence to start discover these things on your own.
What really helps is to do some flying trips with a more experienced pilot who flies abroad regularly.
After passing my PPL I did not know you could fly VFR when it is raining. Sounds stupid, but I never experienced the situation :-)
During my PPL training I did not file a Flightplan once, never had to set a different squawk code, never went to a controlled airport, etc.
Coincidentally, I covered most of that on my first border-crossing flight during the late summer – to EHLE. Obviously no controlled airport, though.
It takes a lot of confidence to start discover these things on your own.
Absolutely. It took a bit of courage and the right moment to cross EDDL CTA mid-field for the first time. It paid off though by granting spectacular views of the airport and the neighborhood I live in.
What really helps is to do some flying trips with a more experienced pilot who flies abroad regularly.
Which is why I’m looking forward to Fly-Ins such as this one…
After passing my PPL I did not know you could fly VFR when it is raining. Sounds stupid, but I never experienced the situation :-)
Hehe. Mind you, it doesn’t sound so stupid to me. I haven’t flown in rain yet…. Not really needed to, so far. No idea about vis in rain and how the windscreen copes with that..
I didn’t fly in rain for YEARS after i got my licnece, for the same reasons… only to discover that it is really a non-event …
Flight Schools really don’t prepare you for much. I got my IFR without ever learning how to use the autopilot, becasue it was always broken in the trainer. I mean it’s ridiculous, you have to learn all this law stuff, electronics (i am not into soldering anyway :-) … but nobody ever tells you how an AUTOPILOT is used :-) I think that’s a typcial example for the problems in flight training. In GERMANY the amount of theory necessary for the IR rating is ridiculous, while many practical aspects are completely neglected
Weird. We used the AP of our Seneca from day one. My instructor very much insisted on “best us of equipment” throughout the whole process. And I got actually reprimanded during the Checkride for NOT using it in one situation.
If you are VFR and start off at a high altitude, say FL085 (above the clouds being the general idea in that case) then ATC almost never force you back down. Such a thing has never happened to me.
I would not consider FL85 high, but this happened to me from FL160 down to FL 95 and 20 miles later up again.
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Where and when?
