But typically in the UK you can:
Find a traffic service
Be above MSA OCAS, not easy in some low level VFR routes in Europe
Request Class D entry and approaches IFR
Usually no problem in Norway or Sweden. Pretty smooth if you have a VFR flight plan already.
RobertL18C wrote:
But typically in the UK you can:
Find a traffic service
“limited due to controller workload”
Be above MSA OCAS, not easy in some low level VFR routes in Europe
Doesn’t work in some places around London either (east of Biggin, for example).
RobertL18C wrote:
Request Class D entry and approaches IFR
For an approach after the PPR, yes, otherwise – it happens sometimes that the entry is prohibited, so you have to have plan B. Why have plan A in first place then?!
Some say it is rare, but if the zone transit was denied in one the FlyingReporter’s videos, then it happens often enough.
And all of the above might still be considered an off-topic for the thread. :)
In the UK you can in general get a Class D transit, and even a Class A transit in the remote places. You are supposed to file a FCS1522 if a transit is denied.
But none of this is a “pop up clearance”, which is a transition from VFR to IFR and a continuation of the flight under IFR. That is impossible in the UK, except in some extreme cases.
The Q is really: which country’s ATC has the means to create a Eurocontrol IFR flight plan, on an ad hoc basis. This is supposed to work (called AFIL) but in reality ATC dislike it, and AFAIK most countries have not bought the software option for implementing it. France can do it; not sure about anyone else.
In Croatia you can generally get it for Croatian airspace and people usually use it for training purposes when flying VFR towards big airport and suddenly decide to practice approaches. In my experience ATC usually grants it in case of low traffic. But I guess it’s not the real case. In actual situation I asked it only once and got it – cleared to IAF of destination instead of continuing on existing VFR plan (it wasn’t possible due to sudden IMC ahead).
Peter wrote:
But none of this is a “pop up clearance”, which is a transition from VFR to IFR and a continuation of the flight under IFR. That is impossible in the UK, except in some extreme cases.
On Saturday I got a change from VFR to IFR whilst in Class D, no problem. Obviously it only works for that piece of airspace and you can’t charge off into the Class A regardless of your qualifications.
arj1 wrote:
“limited due to controller workload”
Really that only happens on sunny weekends when everyone is flying. If the weather is less than ideal (and thus you need IFR) then there’s probably very few people flying and you won’t have an issue getting a traffic service.
On Saturday I got a change from VFR to IFR whilst in Class D, no problem. Obviously it only works for that piece of airspace and you can’t charge off into the Class A regardless of your qualifications.
Exactly. Also UK ATC might not coordinate ahead. For example if you get an IFR clearance from Bournemouth, going east (i.e. into Southampton Class D) sometimes Southampton refuse to accept the traffic. This is ICAO noncompliant (as well as totally bloody stupid, arrogant and potentially dangerous) and seems to be thus because Southampton is a NATS unit and Bournemouth isn’t, and NATS are by definition superior 
The basic point is that no Eurocontrol flight plan is created. The UK can’t do it. France can, and maybe others can too.
What is super interesting is that out of the hundreds of ATCOs who are on EuroGA, practically none ever comment.
@Peter you can squawk 2000 and operate IFR OCAS to your heart’s content in the UK, you can transition to IFR whenever the mood suits you. In the event you wanted to join airways and file a pop up IFR flight plan, I suspect this can be negotiated with London or Scottish Info while remaining OCAS. @Graham’s example is what I was thinking of, you no longer can maintain VFR and divert to a Class D airspace airport and request an approach. They might send you to the hold but they won’t deny it because you didn’t PPR.
Contrast this with France where technically it would be illegal to enter IMC without an IFR flight plan.
