Going Foreign

What they don't teach you at flying school

This page is a transcription of an article published in Today's Pilote magazin issue November 2010.

After many years of attending international meetings I've developed the Rathbone Law of Latitude, which states that: delegates to an international meeting will arrive in descending order of latitude. The Scandinavians turn up 20 minutes early, find power points for their laptops and are settled and ready well before the start time. Then the Anglo-Saxon Brits and Germans arrive, looking at their watches obsessively with the intention of readiness 'on the dot'. The Gallic element arrives after 20 minutes; this being a social requirement to ensure that you do not embarrass a host who is not ready on time. Finally, 40 minutes late, the Latin contingent roll noisily in, then spend a further 20 minutes shouting into their mobile phones. The meeting finally gets under way one hour late. People may be the same the world over, but foreigners do things differently. Now, strictly speaking - at least as far as aviation is concerned - they shouldn't. In order to make international air travel a commercial practicality the International Civil Aviation Organisation (lCAO), has set 'standards' and 'recommended practices' for its ,1ember States, covering most of the world, since 1946.

Final approach to Milford Sound, New Zealand : go-arounds are tricky

However, sovereign nations are able to file differences to the 'recommended practices'. An example is cruising levels. ICAO says that Eastbound IFR traffic flies at odd flight levels while Westbound fly even. This helps to avoid head-on collisions. VFR traffic, which tends to be slower, adds 500ft to these levels, to avoid being rammed from behind. This East-West choice is probably US-influenced, as their cruising is mostly between East coast and West coast. However; in some tall countries like the UK traffic is predominantly North-South, so would mostly be flying 'on the join'. We thus devised the UK-specific 'Quadrantal Rule', which simply divides the compass into four quadrants at 500ft intervals. On the continent you will be expected to fly to the ICAO rules unless the country has their own system. The good news is that any such differences have to be published in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) of the ICAO Member State. The bad news is that each AIP has a Body Mass Index of 50. However, they all follow an identical structure and naming convention, and these days they are all available on-line, so once you understand what is where, it's not 00 bad. It's worth noting that a master list of national AIP web addresses is at : http://www.eurocontrol.int/aim/public/related_links/links.html#rl1 .

From each national AIP you can also down load the official airport plates, which is really useful as European coverage flight manuals are expensive and time-consuming to maintain.

Each country also publishes its official ICAO maps. Unfortunately, they all use different colours and legends, making it impossible to learn and remember them if you visit several countries. It is more logical to go for the Jeppesen series. They are different than UK ICAO, but they cover all of Western Europe with a consistent format.

Airport plates can be downloaded from each country's AIP

Some of our licences and ratings, such as the NPPL and IMC, are UK-only, although we recently heard the excellent news that NPPLs can now fly in France. Our four shiny new ATSOCAS services (Basic, Traffic, Deconfliction, Procedural) are also UK-only. Johnny Foreigner still uses 'Flight Information' and 'Radar Information'. Smaller differences in practice are less important, but can be worth understanding. Airport VRPs, for example, in the UK tend to be named from the ground features they reference, whereas on the continent, they simply use November Sierra Echo and Whiskey to identify the direction from the airfield. So if ATC says 'enter the zone via Sierra ' you know they want you to arrive from the South.

A grandstand view of the Bay of Biscay from calm air above the Cu.

Most of us are VFR pilots, so it's important to understand any differences in the VFR rules. France follows ICAO and allows 'VFR on top', whereas the UK has the added requirement to be in visual contact with the ground. All UK airways are Class A, which means they are 'verboten' to VFR traffic. However, our continental cousins are more relaxed about mixing IFR with VFR in airways, so they will sometimes use classes that permit VFR for lower airways, similar to the US system. An example that you can check on the Southern UK half-million map is flying from Seaford (SFD) to Dieppe (DPE). Starting out, your maximum level is FL54 or below to avoid the Worthing TMA, but you can soon climb to a maximum FL74 for better glide range and radio reception. Note that these are not correct cruising levels, but cruising levels are not compulsory and you need to be clear of airspace, not have your fin in it. Once you cross the French FIR boundary at XIDIL you can enter the M605 airway as it is Class E up to FL115. Look up the Class E rules, which are a universal and inviolate ICAO 'standard', and you will see that for VFR flight the requirements are extremely relaxed. On the French side an 'odd plus 500' flight level is appropriate, so depending on your aircraft, FL75 or FL55 might suit. Take note that the handover may not always occur at the FIR boundary. In practice, due to climbers and descenders to and from the London airports, UK ATC tends to handle traffic a little way on the French side, and has been known to forget that there is a change of class that permits VFR in airways.

Remember that airways are still controlled airspace, so you will be expected to fly a consistent height and heading. This is a good thing to practice until you can do it accurately (+/-100ft) without needing one of those super-active sports antiperspirants. While you're enjoying the under-arm protection, practice flying accurately a different set speeds, including maintaining a high speed in the descent. If you want to be vectored to a final approach then ATC may request a specific speed in order to keep you sufficiently ahead of bigger, faster traffic. If your aircraft is not capable you can simply say 'negative, unable', but if you accept the instruction you will look silly if you can't in fact do it.

Each country has its own style of 'ICAO' maps : The Jeppesen series (illustrated) provides consistency.

Another Gallic 'gotcha' is that since 9/11 France has made all its nuclear power stations restricted airspace - up to an unlimited height with penalties only a smidgeon short of the guillotine. Finding out about such differences can be done by reading all of the AIPs for all of the countries you will cross. Or you can phone a friend (if you are inclined to do the first option you probably won't have any friends). Getting advice from others, or going along with them for your first trip is undoubtedly the best way to understand the key differences and build your confidence from someone else's experience. I was lucky in that the ink on my PPL was hardly dry when I was able to join a 'going foreign' trip from my flying school. It meant that the FIR boundary never became a barrier in my mind. Later, before more adventurous trips, I would call Bill, a corporate pilot friend and ask his advice. I once answered a phone call for him at my gliding club, only to find it was a B767 pilot calling him for the same purpose. He explained that he was going to Sweden for the first time and wanted to find out if Bill had any tips. I told him to head North and turn right at Norway.

The ramp at places like La Rochelle can get crowded.

If you are looking for your first foreign adventure, lots of UK GA pilots do the 'milk run' to Le Touquet, so you will find yourself in G-registered company most days. It has a typically French restaurant if you just want to do 'Le Tooks for Lunch', or bicycle hire if you want to visit the town for a day trip. The Channel crossing is not long, especially if you route from Dover to Cap Gris Nez, which can just about be crossed while remaining within gliding distance of land.

Crossing water means thinking what to do 'in the unlikely event'. I take this pretty seriously as I'm single engined and a coward. The first line of defence is an after-market electronic engine monitoring system that shows CHT and EGT for every cylinder. When a piston engine goes wrong there are likely to be indications well beforehand with an associated cylinder. The second line is to be talking to ATC. In the North Sea, services like Anglia Radar, who deal with all the oil industry helicopters, are superb and even have repeater stations on oil rigs so that they can follow you a long way out. Even on my longest sea trip from Gamston to Aalborg (Denmark) I was never out of radio contact.

The next line of defence is to assume the worst and be prepared. I was never able to be a Scout as I didn't have good enough knees to wear those shorts, but I've always been a believer in their motto 'be prepared'. In fact I have an entire collection of Swiss army knives detained in airport security checkpoints throughout the world. To start with, try to do a ditching course. It's amazing what you will learn: life rafts often inflate upside down, it's difficult to swim forwards or climb into a life raft wearing a 36 DD chest, and more people die from the cold than the actual ditching. If you doubt this, pour a bath using only the cold tap and lie in it for an hour.

On a short Channel hop there is so much shipping below that you are not likely to be long in the water before being run over. A life-jacket is probably sufficient, but you must be actually wearing it during the crossing. You just don't know what might go wrong, and being a good swimmer is no use if you are unconscious and face down. For longer crossings I always wear an immersion suit to protect me from hypothermia. Not the rubber ones that North Sea oil workers use because donning those requires a close friend and lots of talcum. Instead I use a 'Fladen' fisherman's suit, which is more wearable and has build-in buoyancy. True it feels daft climbing into it on a sweltering summer's day, but I've timed myself getting into it in an aircraft in flight and it takes just over 3 minutes, which is too long. I've discovered that if I put the bottom half on, the top half can be arranged over the back of the seat, which means that it is not uncomfortably hot, and it takes less than 20 seconds to don, plus my life jacket is arranged underneath ready to slip over the top, in the same way that fireman leave their suits arranged over their wellies so they can just step in. The aircraft has a dinghy and I carry a 406Mhz PLB with GPS positioning in a bum bag along with whistle, flares etc. ... and a Swiss army knife. One point, when taking passengers is to brief them on what will happen 'in the unlikely event' and appoint a 'Dinghy Captain' who will put the dinghy on their knee and bring it with them on exiting the aircraft. You might also think about, and indeed tryout, the logistics of getting out of each door or window and climbing on the wing/fuselage to deploy the dinghy. Also, think about what you would do if it inflated accidentally in ' light. This has been known to happen, with the consequence that pilots and controls have been pinned to the firewall, plus you are now IMC due to the cloud of talcum powder that they are packed with.

It's not only ditching you need to be prepared for. Think about what you would do if you were robbed while away - how would you recover the situation? It happened to me in Brussels when I had stupidly put my phone, wallet, even the aircraft keys into my briefcase as I also had my clothes bag to carry. Some low-life stole my briefcase, leaving me standing in the airport with nothing but three days of dirty washing. With no phone you can't call for assistance or organise anything, and with no money you can't pay for a phone call or transport to the consulate. In an instant you go from respectable professional to a penniless hungry scrounging vagrant. Later, I discovered that even with pockets bulging with cash, which was wired to me after two people eventually took pity and risked their jobs to break the rules, you are still a second-class citizen who is not allowed to use the hotel's phone or the Internet "as you don't have a credit card". I now keep some local money separate from my sterling, plus my phone and one credit card separate about my person. Another good tip is to discreetly wire spare aircraft keys to an engine bearer so that if you find yourself keyless a Swiss army knife is all you need. This is what I always tell security.

On a lighter note, I have talked before about carrying a 'land-side file'. Different countries will ask for random bits of documentation. In France it is always your pilot's licence : not to enter the country, oh no, but to get back to your aircraft. In Germany it is your aircraft's noise certificate. My first time in Spain I was given a half-mile lift to the terminal through the pouring rain by the 'follow me' truck driver, where security asked to see a copy of my flight plan, which I'd left in the aircraft. Of course the truck driver had by now disappeared. The people I was going to meet thought it cool to arrive in your own private aircraft. Not that time. Best to carry all the compulsory documents plus any paperwork to do with your flight in an Air-side file: a waterproof plastic one.

If you cross a national airspace boundary the law says you must file a flight plan (FPL). Although the London/Scottish FIR boundary does not count (though some would beg to differ) I would recommend filing for big airports (see article two in this series), any long trip, and any trip that takes you over inhospitable terrain, such as Murrayfield.

One of the main purposes of a flight plan is to be able to alert Search and Rescue (SAR) if you set out but fail to turn up. In the UK the plan is sent to departure and arrival airfields and the departure field will send a message as you leave. Your destination will then 'close' the plan by sending an arrival message. If you fail to arrive the destination should alert SAR. On the continent VFR flight plans go to the flight plan 'cell' at the Centre and are not passed on to the airfields. This means that you may arrive unannounced: bad news if you thought your FPL would alert Customs. If there is an airfield controller then they close it. If not then you must do it or you may even be charged the cost of an abortive SAR operation. The benefit of this is that one person knows they are responsible should you go missing. A good plan is to anyway appoint a 'responsible person' back home who you will contact when you arrive and who is briefed how to check your progress and alert SAR. There are now even GPS plus Iridium satellite-based tracker systems, so that your responsible person can see exactly where you are. It's like being tagged.

The author dresses for the cold of the North Sea, even on a hot Summer's day.

Flight plans were originally filed and sent by an old-fashioned telex system, with a name that is a gift to aero examiners: the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network (AFTN). This is still in use today, but our interface to it has changed. Until recently flight plans were completed on a paper form and sent by fax to an Air Traffic Services Unit (ATSU) for entering onto the AFTN. Now, you can, after security clearance, be granted online access to the AFTN and file your plans direct. This 'AFPEX' system is a bit cumbersome but really useful as you can do it from home or a hotel rather than wait at the airport briefing room while it gets into the system. Although you can file flight plans before the day by putting a note in the remarks field , I have found that they are like taxis, order one now and it will turn up, but order one a week on Tuesday and your request is likely to be lost. The system works a few hours ahead and you have to fit into it, or you end up with the prop turning and ATC saying " .. but I do not 'ave your flight plan ."

A laminated passenger briefing card adds a touch of professionalism.

The other obligation when 'going foreign' is to always clear customs and immigration, plus for some destinations UK Special Branch. Don't mess with these guys unless you like porridge. They have powers and they are watching you, but provided you follow the rules and don't have a beard they will leave you alone. What they are really looking for is the bad guys trying to sneak in or out unnoticed through the 'back door' of a GA airfield. It really does happen, sometimes with high-profile offenders, and I for one would be quick to report any suspicious activity as I don't want my freedoms curtailed because the bad guys are getting away with using GA. Some recent stories from the UK and US have shown that it is very easy to spot unusual activity at a GA field, one of which turned out to be undercover reporters trying to prove how insecure GA airfields are. They were arrested. Result!

The Pyrenees: inhospitable terrain and an international boundary.

I have read some horror stories, such as US-registered aircraft owners based in the EU being asked for VAT receipts for their aircraft, but these are rare, probably of dubious legality, and I suspect are triggered by some overzealous political or policing crackdown. Personally, in more than a decade of going foreign, apart from being asked for bizarrely unimportant but easily available documents, and one visit by a very polite and dapper Special Branch officer to check passports, I have experienced no hassle at all, and often make multi-country trips without once getting my passport out.

When f lying out the easy option is to always arrive in a country at a big airport with customs and immigration, and then fly on to your final destination if that is different. The directory of airfields in the AIP and in commercial airfield manuals will show if there are customs facilities and what their hours are. For smaller non-passenger airports customs may be available 'on request ' with a set minimum number of hours notice.

For UK customs, you need to down load the General Aviation Report (GAR) form and advice page from the Internet and decide how to proceed. If in doubt, better to do too much notification than too little - the more that you are open and visible to the authorities the less likely they are to take an interest in you. The one GAR form can be used for all the notifications. The form comes with instructions, though I warn you that the authors were not seeking prizes for plain English.

Many GA airfields have individual agreements with the authorities, which means that you can fly directly from and to them providing you follow a notification procedure and are available at the estimated time for an inspection. The easements and timing varies by airfield, but the basis is that you submit a GAR for your flights with a certain number of hours notice.

Guernsey: note that the Channel Islands are outside the EU.

Special Branch is a part of the police mostly concerned with terrorism and money laundering and you only have to notify them for certain destinations such as Channel Islands, Northern Ireland and Isle of Man. However, you have to fi le a GAR both on the way out and on the way back. Customs and Excise need not be notified for outbound flights to the EU. Just in case your EU politics are rusty, the Channel Islands are not part of the EU. For return flights there is a set notice period depending on your country of origin. The most important point to remember is that going foreign sounds more daunting than it is. My advice is to be responsible and do all the preparation, but then relax, be flexible, go with the flow, and enjoy the pleasure of flying yourself abroad. Remember that foreigners coming to this country have exactly the same anxieties about the UK flying system that you take for granted. They find exactly the same differences in reverse. So don't expect them to turn up on time.

Finals for Limoges, a handy half-way stop en route to Spain.