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Foreign Planning

Planning your first trip abroad can be a little daunting with all the official proceedures needed. Those who've done it already will know that the whole process is actually not that difficult and after you've made you first trip you'll wonder what all the worry was about. Below are some details which should be helpful for the first timer and should be a useful source of reference for the seasoned veteran too. Of course this information is offered in good faith and without any guarantees. As usual it is the responsibility of the pilot in command to ensure the accuracy of all the information before use.

The proceedure for flying accross a national border has changed in recent times so to ensure the information presented is up to date please visit this site as the information is kept up to date.


If you plan on flying into a French airfield where they do not have full ATC you may want to have a look at the excellent French radio calls crib sheet here.

Both of these documents may be downloaded and saved for your future reference.


My thanks to Dave White of the Flyer forum for his permission to use these links.


Make sure you have your Licences, Passports, and Medical certificate. You also need to have the Aircraft Airworthiness and Registration documents, Radio Licence, Insurance Certificate and Interception procedures which should all be in the aircraft folder. Please check before departure as without these you may grounded abroad in the event of a ramp check. On arrival at your foreign destination don't forget to close your flight plan, the ATC operator may do this for you, or in France you can call 0810 437 837 (“0810 IFR VFR”) Don't forget you will also need a PLB for all flights to and in France, please check what the situation is for elsewhere, and of course you will want lifejackets for the channel crossing. Please note we now have available 4 lifejackets for use of hirers. If you need these for your trip please contact us in advance of your flight and they will be left in the aircraft for you. There will be an additional charge for these items of £5 per lifejacket . Finally don't forget that Central European Time in the summer is GMT+2 hours and winter is GMT+1 hour.

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Bon-Voyage!

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