There is a thread on the UK LARS setup here. You don’t normally need to be in contact with any of them if OCAS; it is just a useful “belt and braces” for traffic reports, avoiding a CAS bust if you screwed up, etc. The most important thing is to have Mode C turned on so they can provide a traffic service to others, about you.
I’ve just come across the Dutch Gendec requirement, which is probably a big disincentive for pilots based in the Netherlands to leave the Schengen zone.
Doesn’t seem to bother anybody here – dozens of aircraft made the trip to Duxford last weekend
It’s from 2009, but this document from the French ULM federation is interesting: most of Europe has one page per country, mostly summarised as “complies with ICAO”, but the UK has 9 pages. Mauritania sounds easier 
The author flew his microlight from Madagascar to France.
A previous thread on international ultralight privileges is here.
Looking through that French ULM one above, I think the author just enjoyed writing a lot of stuff about the UK Looking at some of the links, it was done more than 10 years ago. And a lot of it is more or less irrelevant e.g. the quad rules… in Class G nobody flies these. Much of the other stuff is not applicable e.g. the stuff about airways… they are just an airspace class (Class A, no VFR). No big deal if you have an aviation chart. In the UK, once you comply with any permissions required for a non G-reg UL, flying around Class G is just like anywhere else, and there is a lot of it. The main difference I see there is that, in the UK, you have to plan a flight OCAS because you can’t rely on getting a CAS transit (but there is a lot of “OCAS”), whereas in France you need to plan to avoid the (extensive) military areas and the CAS part is generally easy to be cleared through (but in much of France there is a lot of “CAS”).
But yes if you create a perception of “great difficulty”, it will spread easily, especially over the internet, and especially when so many French pilots would need to make an extra stop (x2) to clear immigration.
It’s a difficult balance between trying to help by being informative, and giving too much information and scaring people. The boundaries in your head are probably the hardest to break.
Envious of other pilots going to Switzerland for lunch, straight after my PPL I planned a trip France-UK. Good thing I didn’t go, as I hadn’t planned any kind of customs in either country. I was much happier in my ignorance
The 2x Schengen stops are a bit of a pain for my monthly moules marinières
The GAR/Customs regulation can be dealt with in my opinion (people manning the tower at my non-controlled home-airfield are entitled to check the id cards: “oh, you have a valid passport? That’s fine then, have a nice trip!” and Skydemon sends the GAR form). But I had to get used to the PPR rule. After some initial lamenting , I came to terms with that rule.
What might keep some people from bumble around your South ís the VFR airspace structure coming from middle/north Germany: you have to dodge some dutch airspaces and then ask for a direct Costa-Calais, otherwise it is a mess. Then the structure south of London at least needs your attention.
Once you have been there (UK), you most likely come back.
I can’t believe you got 13 pages of “input” on your PPR question The GAR form is incredibly simple nowadays – just email it to the hmrc address, 4hrs before arrival in the UK.
Some UK airports are PPR too but you can just phone them. They speak English
The main barrier IMHO is on the mainland, where you need an airport which has Immigration, and France has dismantled many of theirs, plus put a long PNR on most of the orders. 24hr PNR basically kills all but long-term-planned flights.
I can’t believe you got 13 pages of “input” on your PPR question
..which demonstrates the relevance of this topic for you UK flyers :) . Sure, I can phone (btw: some UK airports are NOT PPR) the airfield. This just adds up to the tasks to do before departure.
Actually, you just picked a particular UK forum which is dominated by a dozen people who whine moan and whinge and call for boycotts of any airport charging more than £10 I used to be on that site for a decade so I know it well.
This ritualised religious negativity is a long-standing problem on the UK scene. Then they wonder why airports close and get sold off for housebuilding, when the owner has got fed up with running a site full of bickering and bitching individuals. Le Touquet at €30???? A TOTAL RIPOFF!
All good stuff for generating large amounts of advert clicks of course… you get way more click-throughs from 13 pages than from 1 page.
I have flown a lot around the UK and PNR/PPR is a non-issue. Just a phone call. The “international aviation language” is freely spoken, so it is very quick. Mostly they just take your reg and say “see you”.
VFR trip route planning takes much longer, with having to get weather, enroute notams and all the other stuff…
