VFR France for Dummies (me in this case)

johnh wrote:

I’ll leave it to an experienced French pilot (by birth!) to suggest the actual words to use.

https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/manuel_phras%C3%A9ologie.pdf
and if that link disappears, it should “always” be indirectly linked from
https://www.sia.aviation-civile.gouv.fr/reglementation

Ibra wrote:

Fine, ATC can’t speak English on radio and the partner can’t speak French even she is fluent, jeez Fernando is doomed

FIR ATC (INFO frequencies) can speak a very rudimentary english with a lovely strong french accent, sometimes annoying but “functional” unless you have very specific demands, but logically it should go well (asking for restricted zone activity or weather in case of any doubt) if not a bit slow.
For Fr-Only airfields, I wouldn’t be optimistic, there are some strong local habits. Sometimes it speaks german in Fayence Frequency although it’s fr-only speaks, and no no-one answer either french or english. Another story, arriving at Saint Crepin (LFNC), gliders were on another fields frequency. but locals knows that these gliders were coming from by checking on which freq they were talking on…

My 2 cents: what will the judge say? :D

John, just double checking, are you saying that it’s better to learn french radiotelephony and if I don’t, better stick to bigger airfields?

If you have a native French speaker things should go OK, but they probably aren’t used to aviation French. The quality is terrible (technically I mean) but we’ve all got used to that. And the phraseology is pretty specific.

You don’t need to learn the WHOLE phraseology (just as well). Anything complicated can be done in English. All you really need is the formula for self announce:

Bonjour de G-XXXX. Nous sommes un en provenance de a nnnn pieds au <nord/sud/whatever> du terrain pour un aterissage piste .

If you can add to that the usual progress reports, even better:

De G-XXXX vent arriere [downwind] main gauche/droite piste .
base = base
turning final = dernier virage
final = final

If you never hear anyone else on freq, that’s good. In any case keep your eyes WIDE open.

All this subject to correction by someone who knows better than me (i.e. most French pilots).

You will need to have and read VERY carefully the VAC for anywhere you’re going. They’re online (just google LFXX VAC), and they’re bilingual. But read every single line – I’ve been caught several times by some obscure note on page 17. There’s also a phone/pad app called IVAC which is very good.

greg_mp wrote:

FIR ATC (INFO frequencies) can speak a very rudimentary english with a lovely strong french accent,

SIV, FIS, AFIS and A/A are different that is not ATC?

ATC is a very specific term and better reserved to controllers, they are rated to speak ICAO English up to ELP4, they may suck at English in France, Germany or Scotland due to accents but that is a different problem

Why would one need to speak French to ATC?

Next Tue is Valentines.
If I’m expecting continued support from, and regular flying with the wife, I’ll not be available that evening.
Would be good if the zoom it could be recorded.

Fernando wrote:

John, just double checking, are you saying that it’s better to learn french radiotelephony and if I don’t, better stick to bigger airfields?

Knowing and getting used to FR radiotelephony will certainly help to understand what is going on around you. Your partner knowing French can help you there, just get the materials linked above and maybe try to listen to French RT on LiveATC or elsewhere a bit.

There are conflicting opinions if getting French RT and LP is required or desirable, the primary thing is, that you should understand what is going on around you. For your partner, who is fluent in French, it won’t be a big deal once she get’s used to the terminology. Talking on the radio needs practice but again, it looks like you got a “teacher” handy who can do that.

If you feel uncomfortable talking, then stay with airports which have English RT, at least to start out with. A Cirrus might anyway suggest larger airfields with concrete runways e.t.c so probably not the worst to do that. There are many great airports and airfields which offer this. My favorites were Colmar, Montpellier, Avignon, Perpignan, Valence and Grenoble St. Geoirs at the time (don’t know about the latter in terms of cost now). Also Clermont Ferrand used to be ok, as well as Reims, Troyes and some others. But there are enough pilots who fly in France here who are much better qualified to recommend airports.

As for military airspace controllers being restrictive, my own experiences at the time in the Orange Sector was the opposite. They were extremely friendly and forthcoming (in English).

Ibra wrote:

ATC is a very specific term and better reserved to controllers,

The correct term in this case would be ATS (“Air Traffic Services”) which includes both ATC and (A)FIS.

Next Tue is Vaentines.

Valentine’s day was officially terminated, by the EuroGA “old fart council”, 9 years ago

Would be good if the zoom it could be recorded.

Participation would be zero, and IMHO rightly so… It’s been hard enough to ask people to have their webcam switched on; actually this is a requirement, and after we did that, most dropped out immediately.