> I've already made one trip into France in my Europa, routing via Le Touquet
> for customs clearance, directly to/from my home farmstrip (which is also
> cleared for customs purposes)
>
> All I was required to do on that occasion was to file two Flight Plans,
> register and activate them by cellphone, then make a call to the Customs
> and Excise in Ipswich to inform them of my planned date/time of return.
>
> I also obtained a copy of David Wise's excellent pamphlet 'Crossing The
> Channel' (supplied by the PFA)
Where can I get a copy?
>
> As part of the planning towards a forthcoming weekend trip to France and
> Switzerland, I was wondering if anyone in the group knows the answers to some
> of the following questions:
>
> 1/ Can I overfly France/other EU countries without landing, en-route between
> the UK and my destination country (in this case, Switzerland) ? Wise's book
> appears to imply that I can.
Why not?
You may fly from coutry A to coutry D and overflying B and C without landing.
People fly from Holland to the UK and overfly Belgium. But it can be usefull
to land at Oostende to get tax-free avgas, which is not possible in Holland
>
> 2/ Are there any good guides to flying abroad that I haven't seen? Any that
> are
> comprehensible by someone who only speaks Engish ? (Small unlicenced strips
> would definately by prefered)
If you don't speak french flying in france could be difficult since the most
general aviators don't speak english. So you need the bigger international
fields or small non-radio strips.
>
> 3/ Is 'Thun' in Swizerland a decent and reasonably cheap destination which has
> customs facilities and access to the Alps ?
>
> 4/ Any recomendations would be appreciated. John Tye's Dordogne based strip,
> mentioned in the last quarters 'Europa Flyer' has to be a strong contender.
>
> I suspect that I'm not the only person thinking about this.
> Pulling together details such as these will assist a great number of pilots
> who,
> like myself lack the experience, but are keen to venture further afield.
>
> As far as I know, there's no quicker means of access into the heart of
> mainland
> Europe.
>
> Alan (BWFX)
>
> PS. As daylight hours lengthen in the coming months, I'm determined to have a
> plan of action ready for the first long weekend accompanied by a large stable
> anti-cyclone !
If you like to fly in the Netherlands I can recomand you:
- Midden-Zeeland EHMZ grass, customs
- Texel EHTX grass, customs, nice people, renting bikes
- Ameland EHAL grass, non-customs, small, scenic
Not special recommended but give it a try:
- Rotterdam EHRD concreate, customs, controlled, expensive
All radio communications in the Netherlands are always in english.
If you plan to visit the Netherlands please send me a mail, I can give you some
more information and like to see your Europa.
>
>
Bart Jan Kelter
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