From Le Touquet to Cambridge - IFR Pilot VLOG 019

[@danharrodian]

Enjoyed this short Le 2K mini series. Thanks for sharing.

[@N101DW]

Toffy B Thanks Toffy!

[@BOLIPILOT1]

Loved watching both outbound and return and seeing the differences VFR/IFR make. Good production as always. Looking forward to the next one!

[@N101DW]

BOLIPILOT1 Thanks very much for your kind comments. They are much appreciated!

[@KPL400]

Good stuff......gives me a little bit more confidence to go for VFR Le Touquet next week from a private strip near Leatherhead....

[@paulsengupta971]

What's the strip near Leatherhead? Maldon Rushett?

[@ukv1290]

Amazing!!!

[@rainbowdash7194]

Hi Nigel. Not sure if you're still monitoring the comment section but if you are I do have a very quick question if I may. My understanding of IFR flight was that your SSR code wouldn't change. You would get the squawk code on the ground from LFAT and then keep it all the way until you land, but I noticed that Lille asked you to change your squawk before contacting London Control. Any idea why that is?

[@N101DW]

Hi. I suspect that the first squawk was tactically allocated by Lille to get me out of the French FIR. The second squawk will have been the ‘real’ squawk for the flight. You’re right though that normally IFR flights across Europe tend to keep one squawk throughout.

[@rainbowdash7194]

@@N101DW Ah I see. thank you so much!

[@paulsengupta971]

One question, when changing frequency from Essex to Cambridge for self announcing, I would have expected them to change you onto a 7000 squawk. Is this different when flying IFR as it would be when flying VFR?

[@N101DW]

It's a good question. IFR (airways) squawks across Europe are essentially issued by a single centralised system and kept from take-off to touchdown. To the extent that Essex Controller displays have my flight details mapped against the squawk, it seems to be more helpful for them to keep those details to hand by leaving my squawk alone. The same is true if arriving on a weekday to a working Cambridge Radar frequency. The request to squawk 7000 only happens if I actively ask to cancel IFR.

[@paulsengupta971]

Ah, so even though you're effectively landing at an uncontrolled aerodrome, entering the visual circuit, you remain IFR until landing?

[@N101DW]

@@paulsengupta971 You certainly remain IFR until you cancel IFR. The Squawk is retained in part because of this, and in part because the Swanwick-based controllers' view of your flight details is mapped through your squawk. Practically, I do 'in effect' cancel IFR by landing visually at an uncontrolled aerodrome, but for the sake of a minute or two's flight, I don't change to 7000, and it doesn't seem to be an issue.

[@Chiefcheeseofcheddington]

Hey Nigel. Did you need oxygen for the crossing at FL100?

[@N101DW]

@@Chiefcheeseofcheddington No. The requirement for oxygen kicks in from FL110 and above.

[@Chiefcheeseofcheddington]

@@N101DW thanks for your response Nigel. ok interesting. So I learned in human perf that above FL080 you can get hypoxia.

[@TJB923]

Thanks for the two L2K videos. As a regular G/A flyer in the airways, can I pick your brain? Do you have any idea as to what routing ATC would prefer going into either Duxford or Fowlmere from the south (from Lydd or Le Touquet, for example)? Is the only feasible way by filing DCT ABBOT or do you think Essex could vector overhead Stansted and drop me out of CAS on track to BKY?

[@N101DW]

Hi. I have never tried airways into Duxford, but I would guess that you'd file for ABBOT or LOREL (depending on arrival direction) and what happens next would be a feature of the traffic situation at the time. In many years of flying IFR into Cambridge, I have never yet had an arrival that was via the Stansted overhead. I would imagine that a routing taking you towards BKY would be particularly unlikely because BKY is used by primarily by departures.