I'm a bit puzzled by these two different units in the Netherlands. Could someone explain the difference?
On departing Texel last week, I couldn't make contact with Dutch MIL but got though to Amsterdam. Does one have better radio coverage than the other, especially in that region?
Lastly, in good time before I reached Dutch airspace flying out from the UK, London Information told me that Amsterdam wouldn't accept me above FL55. This was a bit of a surprise - is this documented anywhere?
Yes. I think it also strange that we have several units in the Netherlands. There are actually four units... :S
Dutch mil is mainly covering the north, south and the easterly side of the Netherlands and is controlled by the military. Since a few years they campaign for vfr pilots not talking to them (Awkward: yes, I know). Their logic is that they can identify you on their (secondary) radar, since Mode-S is obligatory.
In general their service is quite poor. I never ever received a traffic warning from these guys.
Amsterdam Info covers around the Amsterdam TMA and Rotterdam and give a descent flight information service.
I know that radio coverage is bad in the Texel region for both AMS info and Dutch Mil. I believe there is even an NOTAM on that.
Did you fly IFR? If so, I don't think it is documented for you not to fly in A airspace with GA. I think they don't want you there together with the airliners. The Netherlands is not the most GA friendly. Texel is alright though ;-)
On the North Sea class A starts at FL 55. if you have a dutch chart this should not have been a surprise to you.
Actually closer to Amsterdam It starts at 1500ft.
The radiozones are also well documented on the chart. Actually .. Personally I found this more clear than the uk were you have low altitude radio regions and higher regions which cover a larger area. Allthough the reasoning is clear I always ask the local field what is the best frequency for after departure. From there on they all advise you on the next frequency.
Basically west and north west is Amsterdam The southeast tip is Beek,the North East tip is Eelde And Dutchmill covers the rest.
Did you enjoy Texel?
Being pedantic it is Dutch Mil (as in Military) and not Dutchmill as in windmills :)
Everybody knows how proud these Dutch are about their wooden shoes, tulip bulbs, and windmills!
You forgot the red light districts, dope and cheese. I would rather have Belgian chocolates though :)
Did you enjoy Texel?
I visited Texel last week, great service and (for an airport) great food. We will definately go back next summer and visit the cities and beaches.
Flew IFR from Hamburg and Dutch Mil gave me great service, filed IFR to EEL and then VFR to Texel on a Y-flightplan but we stayed IFR until 2000ft descending or so before we cancelled IFR.
We departed in marginal VFR and had to stay VMC for 5-10 minutes before we received our clearance on our way home. Came to think about the other thread here at EuroGA regarding VFR->IFR transition.
Thanks for the clarifications. Since I was VFR, then a Class A transit would be unlikely and wasn't really needed.
Definitely my mistake/oversight about Class A dropping from FL175 on the English side of the North Sea "border" immediately down to FL55 on the Dutch side. My excuse is that I'd planned for FL50 which would be OK at the border, and not double-checked the chart, but hopefully I would have spotted this with SkyDemon if the controller hadn't alerted me. This Dutch airspace chart is quite clear.
Texel is strongly recommended (especially on a nice sunny day). Very friendly controllers, great restaurant, lots of activity to see and do at the site and elsewhere on the island. You can easily hire bicycles to tour the island. My only slight difficulty was actually spotting the grass runway in amongst all the other green fields. Seems like its better to go at the weekend when those surrounding danger areas are inactive. For us, it was a great lunchstop en-route from UK to North Germany, clearing "customs" into the Schengen area.
Thought I’d revive this thread as I’m planning to fly from EDKB to EHDR then on to EHTX and back to EHDR. My main concern is the minefield of danger and restricted zones in this north western corner of the country. I’ll be flying on Monday so presumably these zones will be active. Does anybody have any recent experience with Dutch Mil Info and the chances of getting cleared through these zones?
Are they still as unfriendly and unhelpful as they were back in 2013?
Finally, I was given a useful website to check for flying in these areas but I can’t seem to find it any more. Any tips would be welcome.
