There are just a few such services (which help with routings over the phone) around Europe now. Most people are totally on their own and this has been the case for many years. The Autorouter is the best tool right now, with Foreflight looking like it will be as good at some point (as well as being a good tablet app for VFR+IFR flying).
I’ve been using routing tools since 2005 and they have been good since 2008. It is the only practical way when you are on the move.
Aviathor, I am an old tech sort of a person but I am trying to learn as much as possible which is one of the reasons I am such an avid follower of euroga. But on many occasions the posts go well beyond what my tiny brain can take in.
The reason I tend to use BRIA is that I can chat through my flight plan, where there might be a bottleneck and also he will chat direct with Eurocontrol to find the best plan for me, all done whilst I am on the phone and with a great deal of empathy on their behalf.
But you are right I will have to learn autorouter, especially if that is what Peter used to produce those screenshots, excellent.
gallois wrote:
To fly IR I simply file a zulu flight plan over the phone to the local BRIA
That’s very old tech. As is Olivia. You should consider the autorouter. See the screen captures posted by Peter.
Dinard to Exeter could not be simpler, IFR or VFR. Here is one IFR version, filed at FL070:
and here is Dinard to Southend which is FL100, probably because there are some predefined crossing routes at FL090-100 through the Gatwick and Heatrow traffic. I read somewhere that there are such London TMA (LTMA) crossing routes, reserved for GA.
It used to be that on such a flight you would be dropped out of CAS around the UK south coast and would have to proceed to Southend at various levels down to 2400ft, but the above looks like a standard route. I don’t know what exact route will be used to finally descend from FL100; maybe somebody who flies IFR into EGMC can report…
IMHO it is best to not plan VFR and expect a popup clearance into Class A. I have tried it many times and most of the time it didn’t work. OTOH I was not on a flight plan of any sort at the time. But this is the same problem anywhere; in France it could take a long time to get an IFR clearance too (look up N2195B – this has been a factor in many crashes where a flight was planned for VFR but had to get an IFR clearance quick due to bad wx) and same anywhere else, depending on ATC coordination etc.
Thank you all for your advice it has made the planned trip a little less daunting.
At the moment my thinking is that I file IFR with Eurocontrol from Dinard to Exeter, I have not yet looked at an alternate.
From Exeter to Sywell, correct me if I am wrong, I can:-
1) Fly VFR with no flight plan at FL 055, (I am looking at an old CAA 1::)500000 vfr chart whilst I wait for the new one to arrive) the only airspace I would need to request transit clearance or divert around would then be Brize Norton.If the weather becomes marginal I just continue in IMC.
2) I fly IFR without flight plan as I am OCAS at say FL090 (I am trying not to go above FL 100 because of the need to carry oxygen) but then I would need to negotiate a clearance through the Cotswold class A airspace.
3) I could file a yankee eurocontrol flight plan with RNAV waypoints and try to get a clearance through all airspace or clearances as I go along.
@ Stampe thanks for the information on airfields in Sout East of England, I was particularly interested in your experience of Southend. That would allow me to ditch plans to go to North Weald or Stapleford which look very difficult without local help and still visit family in North London. It also looks like an ideal choice to exit back to France I could clear immigration much further south, Poitiers or La Rochelle.
Thanks Peter for the advice on how to file a free GAR, I am not a member of French AOPA I am a member of the FFA and the only time I filled in a GAR form online was for a trip to Aldernay and the form never got there.
Incidentally Peter, the answer to one of the questions in the old IR theory exam was that in France you didn’t need to file a flight plan to fly IFR in class G airspace, now to a similar question the correct response is you need to file a flight plan to fly IFR outside the boundary of your departure airfield. Make of that what you will :)
I hope to be able to reciprocate for all the advice given in future threads, although there is a lot more experience on this forum than I have,
Welcome to EuroGA, gallois 
As in all of Europe, there are two approaches to flying: VFR and (Eurocontrol filed) IFR. Both are different tools in the flying toolbox, to be used at different times as appropriate.
VFR in the UK is just like VFR anywhere else. You have no implied clearance and have to obtain any needed, explicitly. Mostly it is done OCAS and the UK has extensive Class G where you can do it non-radio if you want, and if you have an IR you can even change to IFR (entirely inside your head) and continue in IMC, still non-radio. This is a great freedom. There are differences in terminology and in the way ATC clears you between UK and France – e.g. here but the principle is the same, and in VFR flying in the UK you are unlikely to be in CAS for more than minutes at a time (usually crossing a bit of Class D) because most of the airspace is Class G, and the Class A parts you can’t go into as VFR anyway.
IFR in the UK is just like IFR anywhere else. The main difference between UK and France is the way in which VFR endings are implemented. In the UK you are on your own once you exit CAS, and you cannot re-enter it, mostly, although you can get a service from one of the radar units like Farnborough (if you want it; it isn’t necessary). The stuff about the FP being dropped (specifically what happens is that London Control refuses to run with it) is not an issue in practice because you can file and fly at say FL090 and above, which is a problem only if you want to it in a Cessna 150 Similarly, you would not file an IFR FP in France which is wholly OCAS (in Class G, or below the ~FL065 Class E bases) so e.g. at 2000ft because it would serve no useful purpose, and ATC would be constantly reminding you that you are leaving CAS. Low level IFR is often touted as wonderful in some countries where ATC supports it but actually it has a limited value anywhere because it carries the trap of getting caught in convective wx and icing which you would have avoided (possibly by asking for a climb much higher) if you were higher to start with.
The GAR form can be filed by email – just send it to
The other services such as (especially) OnlineGAR are nice if you do it a lot and want to set up a database of regular passengers etc.
dublinpilot wrote:
Anyone can get a free account. You don’t have to me a member of any AOPA.
I got the impression that the non-AOPA accounts required purchasing credits (3 GPB in small quantities, cheaper in bulk) to actually file GARs. Anything more than a piston single or 4 POB actually requires multiple credits per GAR report; the AOPA Free account handles piston & turboprop, singles and twins and up to 6 POB. And filing the GARs is free.
The free AOPA account also does not permit saving people and aircraft data. You have to retype them every time.
lionel wrote:
If you are a member of AOPA France, then AOPA UK finances for you a free account on onlinegar.com, that is restricted to only UK GARs (no Channel Islands, no Isle of Man, no Netherlands).
Anyone can get a free account. You don’t have to me a member of any AOPA.
If you are a member of AOPA France, then AOPA UK finances for you a free account on onlinegar.com, that is restricted to only UK GARs (no Channel Islands, no Isle of Man, no Netherlands).
Be aware that you will need to file a GAR form as well as an FPL inbound to UK. The service that I use Onlinegar.com is very slick, affordable and reliable.Apologies if you know this already!
