Z or Y in Germany

Z

- Know the radar frequency. Ask the tower, look it up on the chart – or ask FIS
- take off and fly inbound the first waypoint
- be aware of the Minimum Radar Vectoring altitude
- You have to stay VMC before reaching the minumum ifr altitude (more experienced ifr pilots know that there’s always a magic VMC bubble where you are :-)
- call radar: “xyz just airborne at xyz inbound (waypoint), altitude, standing by for IFR pickup”
- they will now give you xpdr code and a little while after they will ask “are you ready to copy ifr clearance”

Y

- if ATC does not offer a descent, ask for it: “standing by for descent”
- in the descent they will ask if you are “ready to cancel ifr”
- if you are VMC you can accept that or ask them to guide you closer to your destination
- you have to cancel at the minimum ifr altitude, you can ask how low that is
- you cannot cancel in IMC and I’d really only do that close to my homefield
- if am not in VMC i use the next IAP for cloud breaking – or land at the alternate
- if the conditions are very hazy and visibility is bad they occasionally have vectored me to rhe final course of my destination
- if you cancel inside the C airspace that means that you are cleared to descend below quickly
- if you cancel outside the C airspace you have to ask for a clearance if you cross it in the descent

Know the radar frequency. Ask the tower, look it up on the chart – or ask FIS

On some fields (I know it from EDLE for sure), you will get the frequency, squawk an initial fix from the local AFIS. This is done by courtesy, so the Info guy is calling radar via phone beforehand. Nevertheless this is no IFR clearance yet, you will get that from Radar as soon as you contact them as Flyer59 pointed out.

@Flyer59, great description, thank you!

One more thing that i have not made so clear ;-):

You can call Radar anytime after takeoff, you don’t have to first climb to the minimum radar altitude. They will even give you a xpdr code but the clearance will contain something like “IFR starts passing xyz feet”