Activating VFR flight plan when airborne

Vref wrote:

I would not go that far, the routing is not tracked but will help in case for SAR, it’s the first they will look at when things don’t go as planned.

You rarely stick to FPL route while VFR? there is airspace & clouds that deviate you from the route even if you are the most wise sunny days VFR pilot out there

Being on FIS/ATC watch and carrying ELT/PLB offer better chances for SAR than filing an FPL route? especially an FPL with VRP & Lat/Lon…

?

Peter wrote:

On a VFR flight, nobody really cares what the flight plan says

Well, that depends on the country and where you’re flying.

Ibra wrote:

Being on FIS/ATC watch and carrying ELT/PLB offer better chances for SAR than filing an FPL route? especially an FPL with VRP & Lat/Lon…

I am not saying that :-)…i agree with airborne ;-). See Belgian AIP
1.1 Requirement to Submit a Flight Plan (SERA.4001)
Information relative to an intended flight or portion of a flight, to be provided to ATS units, shall be in the form of a flight plan.
A flight plan shall be submitted prior to operating:
a. any IFR flight;
b. any flight or portion thereof to be provided with ATC service;
c. any flight above FL660;
d. any flight at night, if leaving the vicinity of an aerodrome;
e. any flight across international borders. VFR flights remaining within the Schengen Area do not need a flight plan as
far as the Belgian part of the Brussels FIR is concerned (for requirements applicable in other Schengen States, please
consult the relevant AIP)
It is advisable to file a flight plan:
a. when flying over sparsely populated areas, where SAR operations would be difficult;
b. if the aircraft is not equipped with radio.
A flight plan may be filed for any flight in order to facilitate the provision of SAR services.
Note: A pilot who has submitted a flight plan for a flight departing from a private aerodrome is responsible for the forwarding
of the associated messages either by TEL or by radio to the ATS unit to which the flight plan was sent.

Peter wrote:

I don’t think there was ever such a concession Germany-France

There was, I had it printed out in my cockpit bag just for the case that someone wanted to question this. And I also flew with contact to FIS without FP to France and back, say some 15 years ago. But I don’t have that printout any more and am unable to find anything related again.

Edit: I found the old one from 2001: NFL I 209/01

https://www.daec.de/fileadmin/user_upload/files/2012/fachbereiche/luftraum/12092001.pdf local copy

It was revised in 2008 as NfL-I 129/08. But I don’t know the actual state, the German AIP VFR is not directly accessible.

But there also was another paper, because e.g. in Austria it is explicitely accepted that you can fly both directions Germany <→ Austria without flight plan, see SERA.4001 in the Austrian AIP:

1.2.5. any flight across international borders.
Exempted from this requirement are:
• Flights with civil aircraft according visual flight rules and overflying the state boundary directly into/from the Federal Republic of Germany, whereas no third country shall be
overflown

A flight plan may be filed for any flight in order to facilitate the provision of SAR services

Yes Sir :)

The NfL from 2001 only describes for which country Germany renouced to a flightplan.

Obviously, for such thing to be effective, both involved countries have to renounce. In fact, the NfL mentions that only Austria reciprocated.

In the last 20 years at least, France has never renounced to VFR flightplans for international flights.

But never mind, those flights are way past prescription now… :-)

boscomantico wrote:

France has never renounced to VFR flightplans for international flights.

I really thought so, but it’s many years since then. Anyhow @Seba that just emphasizes that you just fly. (of course with a flight plan then..)