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Flying Home

If you did not file a flight plan for your return trip before leaving home, you will now be faced with planning the flight while feeling tired and frazzled. The passengers will stand around feeling impatient as you frig with a wizzy wheel.

Once you have completed the flight plan form you will have to file it and wait half and hour for French ATC to type it in. Waiting in a hot aeroplane while an intransigent Gallic ATC officer files your flight plan is not the ideal end to the day. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

If you are really stuck you can call London Flight Clearance from France and dictate your flight plan. Write it down first though or you will be very unpopular.

Click here for the "Dodgy Guide" to filing a return flight plan.

Getting the Met

At airfields such as Calais, Caen and Ostend, the tower or met office will get the met for you, but at other airfields you will be faced with a bewildering array of technology. 

My preference is to use the mobile phone to get a TAFF and actual from one of the UK free ATIS services (Southampton is a good one although not available on Sunday afternoon). Alternatively ring your home base or another UK airfield which is close to the coast. (Get the phone numbers from Pooleys).

It is on a Sunday afternoon that met information is most difficult to obtain, and it is then that you will be glad of the outbound preparation including getting those long range (Brize) TAFFs.

If all else fails then get airborne and listen to Volmet South as soon as possible and don't hesitate to turn back if there is poor weather, low cloud or worse Fog.

Fuel

You did fill up with fuel on arrival didn't you? If Le Pompier (The Fireman who usually looks after the fuel) has cleared off home on a Sunday evening you will be stuck, remember his wrist watch will read one hour later than your watch still set to UK!

If you have any doubt about your ability to fly home with at least one hours fuel reserves stay the night.