This was a quick overnight trip to meet up with a group of pilots from Sweden who also flew in to LFBH via Jersey EGJJ.
The outbound and return routes were quite similar; this is the outbound one:
This is the same thing with CAS and mil airspace shown:
The route was filed for FL100 in both cases.
I had a bit of “fun” with working out a return route which didn’t have a huge dogleg at the UK end. This is partly due to there not being any published ATS routes (“airways” in UK-speak) entering the UK in the northerly direction i.e. from France, in the required area. Traditionally this would be dealt with by a DCT from say DVL to Shoreham but France has blocked that by setting a MAX DCT distance of 10nm. The successful hack is described here and the route actually flown is and always has been exactly what is desired so whatever the “regs” are, ATC in both UK and France totally disregard them.
Then, after startup, I could not get the normal IFR departure clearance because, apparently, the first waypoint being SITET which is on the UK-French boundary, causes London Control to not get (or perhaps discard!) the validated flight plan. This was another new one! So I did the only practical option and cancelled IFR on the ground and “just flew to France” OCAS and with no flight plan. London Info 124.60 knew about me and I pressed them for a handover to somebody in France who could give me an IFR clearance. I didn’t have VFR charts for France (except 2013 Jepp ones on the Lenovo tablet) and didn’t get enroute notams as one would for a VFR flight, so an IFR clearance was pretty important. I got something resembling “half of it” from Deauville and then a proper one from Paris Control, for FL100.
Climbing out of 02 and a left turn after departure at Shoreham
There was a bit of cloud over the sea
which later cleared up
French coast
Most of the route was over scattered cloud, bases maybe 4000ft and tops about 8000ft
Descent into La Rochelle, to intercept the ILS for runway 27
On the ILS, on autopilot… damn I must keep the ball in the middle if I am going to take pictures of the instrument panel 
Runway in sight, with Ile de Re in the distance, with the bridge leading to it
I asked for hard parking but they reserve the tarmac for the thousands of bizjets There appears to be a way to get it by going through a handling agent (€€€)
so one gets grass
The grass was actually OK, with no rocks or potholes. This is a massive improvement over past years when they got you to park on a field of rocks behind the bizjet apron. But there is no way for one person to move aircraft on it with a towbar so you have to park as best as you can.
La Rochelle is a hugely scenic city. This is a little cafe next to the excellent San Nicholas hotel where I stayed
It was Bastille day – a national holiday – and lots of stuff was going on
But on any weekend day when it’s warm, there is a lot going on there…
More pics of the city:
This is Wellington
(only kidding!!!)
It’s hard to find bad food in France
but of course nothing is cheap.
The Swedes were staying a bit longer so this is me just before departing, with their 3 planes parked next to mine
Departure from runway 27 is the one to go for; this is just before the right turn at 1500ft
A fortress on Ile de Re
Turning back inland, and flying above some cloud
which became pretty solid all the way to the Channel, with tops around 8000ft
Flight times were about 2hrs each way, with almost no wind and a ground speed of about 150kt, at 10.5 USG/hr and +8C at FL100. The weather was superb there and back and on the ground. No fuel was required at La Rochelle and I landed back at Shoreham with 35.1 USG in the tanks – about enough to ditch somewhere around Aberdeen!
I got some great shortcuts; two of them about 120nm. A few times ATC offered a shortcut which went in Class G and asked me if that was OK. Sure it was; there is no apparent traffic in France at these levels. I saw one fast jet 1500ft under me (also on TCAS) and a paradropping plane (TCAS only) and no other contacts of any sort on the entire 600nm+ trip. However it would be almost the same in the UK at FL100; the private IFR community is really small.
Oxygen was used all the way because one remains well awake, yet the gas flow rate is tiny and the gauge on the cylinder didn’t even move.
La Rochelle has a great GA exit: a coded gate where on the way off airside you enter a code (displayed on a little screen) into a keypad and it opens. The code is claimed to change daily but actually the same code (I noted it down) worked the following day to get back out airside! A superb system which avoids the previous lengthy queing with Ryanair etc passengers. The “main terminal” has a couple of vending machines and a stall selling some very basic food so you don’t want to hang around there either. All fees including any fuel are very conveniently paid in a hut which is located airside (it’s not always open; it was closed till 1400 local when I arrived) so La Rochelle would be very handy as a pure Customs stop too. The total cost for landing and 1 night’s parking was €22. The taxi from the airport to the city was €18.
La Rochelle is a super trip and is very accessible from the UK. Even a C152 can probably make it from say Shoreham – if you set up the mixture correctly. It is also at about the latitude where in France the weather starts to get a lot better than the UK!
All pics were taken with the Nokia 808 
I did the error once of passing the 14th of July in France… and resolved never to do that again. How did you ever get that hotel room?
That hotel was fine for availability, but at €140 including breakfast was not as cheap as some would expect.
I had no idea about 14th July
All fees including any fuel are very conveniently paid in a hut which is located airside (it’s not always open; it was closed till 1400 local when I arrived).
Opps. We were there two weeks ago and I couldn’t find anywhere to pay the fees so we just departed!
As an update, my club just received the invoice from my 1 night stay (less than 24hrs) in May in a 172. I filled a form with my details on site so no surcharge.
It was 18€.
