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EDKB-EGKA flight planning help

I’m planning on flying from Bonn Hangelar EDKB to Shoreham EGKA and back in the middle of August. I have around 115 hours total and have flown in more countries than the average 100 hour-ish PPL so my questions aren’t related so much to flying in other countries, but to the customs procedures (it will be my first time flying out of Schengen) and all the controlled airspace in Belgium.

I have searched the forum for as many answers as I can which leaves me with the following.

Customs procedures: I’m familiar with the GAR form I will have to fill out and send to the UK 24 hours before departure, and that once this form is submitted there is no need to fly to a customs airport specifically (A farm strip is also an option for me instead of EGKA). Does the same apply on departure? Can I leave a non-customs airport in the UK as long as I arrive at one back in the Schengen area? Is there some sort of departure form I need to fill out and file before leaving the UK? I have read the useful CAA Skyway code info booklet but these answers weren’t obvious to me, unless I missed them. On the subject of customs airports, which would you recommend back in mainland Europe between EGKA and EDKB? When landing at the customs airport, I assume I just request taxi to the customs area, then what? I thought EDKB used to have customs itself but my instructor told me that it’s not possible (they stopped in Belgium somewhere on the way to the UK last weekend). I suspect this is one of those things that seems complicated in the planning but is actually very simple and stress free in the execution.

The next topic is VFR flying in Belgium. Along my chosen route everything above 1000-2000ft in most of Belgium is class C. My personal preference is to fly as high as possible, which puts me well inside this airspace. Can I plan on, and rely on getting clearance into this airspace? Because the alternative of flying underneath it also takes me through several restricted areas. My provisional route through Belgium is PODAT – Liege VRP N – FLO VOR – DUFFY – Gent City – TURUT – KOK VOR and then down the coast to France. If I am granted access to the class C airspace I suppose I can simplify this route to take me over the CTRs of Liege, Beauvechain, Brussels and Koksijde.

I have tried to find some of the customs related information in the relevant AIP’s but they are so full of irrelevant information it’s difficult to weed out the useful stuff.

I’ll be totally VFR in a PA28.

Thanks in advance!

EDLN/EDLF, Germany

This should help. For going from Belgium to the UK, the GAR only needs to be sent 4 hours prior to the arrival in the UK.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

To arrive in the UK, the GAR form needs to arrive 4hrs before you land in the UK.

For the departure out of the UK, the notice period is zero. It has been argued that no GAR form is necessary at all and that’s probably true.

The 24hrs is only for non EU airports e.g. Switzerland, or if anyone on board does not hold an EU passport.

The UK has no customs airports as such; it is all done via the GAR form.

My distant experience of VFR in Belgium was entirely at ~ FL085, and was done by arriving at the border at FL085 and presenting ATC with a fait accompli ATC can easily stop you climbing up into CAS but they almost never (in civilised parts of Europe) force you down.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

EBOS / Oostende is pretty much directly on your route. The town is also a nice lunch stop.

I have flown exactly that route through Belgium VFR several times but that was quite a while ago – at the time it was hit and miss where they let you go, in general though, it was low-level around the Brussels airspace. Again, these flights were more than 10 years ago, may well be different now.

Last Edited by 172driver at 19 Jul 16:40

9EP,
I’d be happy to help you along as I fly to the UK quite a bit. You are quite lucky with EDKB as the fuel guys do the border control. As was stated above the GAR is the ticket outbound. If you are comfortable climbing to FL100+ the most direct route is LNO or there abouts and call Brussels East (or Brussels information first) when you close in on Belgian airspace. Langen information is next to useless in this procedure as they botch the handover regularly. You will be in controlled airspace but the reward is that they will clear you overhead Brussels (you’ll see the Atomium and Berlaymont from above) straight to the coast (Koksy) and from there it is easy: Oostende, descent to 2000ft overhead Dover and Shoreham next.
Coming back may require customs – if you want you can talk to the Zoll at Köln/Bonn for which EDKB people can give you the contact details. If you need customs you may be better off stopping at EDDK first instead of ordering the posse to Hangelar.

EDLN and EDKB

descent to 2000ft overhead Dover and Shoreham next.

You don’t need to descend that fast

and I definitely would stay at 5300ft (get a local QNH from Lydd EGMD’s ATIS, etc) until some 20nm before EGKA, because it keeps you well away from local traffic, most of which is in the 1500-2000ft band

Drop me a line when you are heading this way and we can meet at EGKA. There are some decent places to eat in the town, 10 mins’ walk

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Thanks for the replies so far. mrfacts I’ll send you a PM.

Peter, on second look EGKA may not be on my destination list. One landing and four nights parking is somewhere in the region of 130GBP. It was the most obvious choice as I’ll be staying in Storrington but now Goodwood seems to now be the more attractive option!

EDLN/EDLF, Germany

I checked:

For an aircraft weighing 1400kg, the landing fee is £33.00 inc and parking is £16.00 inc per night which adds up to £97.00.

Please follow the link for confirmation http://flybrighton.com/fly-with-us/airport-charges-and-information/

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

At FL80 or above you’ll get pretty much any route you want in the Brussels FIR, EXCEPT through military airspace. Some tactical rerouting around EBBR might be possible, depending on traffic and rwy in use. Just don’t put any VRPs in your flightplan, they are next to useless. Use RNAV waypoints and VOR. Or even better; file airways.

EBST, Belgium
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