VFR in France
Struggling to work out how the french charts work.... The 1:500000 charts (IGN) have a warning on them saying that they are only for use for flights below 5000 feet. The 1:1000000 charts (SIA) show airspace from SFC-FL195. On there there are airways coming as low as FL45. On the IGN chart where there is an airway down to FL45 there is nothing marked on the chart. This is probably academic but that seems to mean I can be bumbling along with my IGN chart at 5000 feet and go straight through an airway. Admittedly there are not many airways on the chart that start at that level, but the fact there is more than one yet they are not mentioned on charts covering SFC-5000 has me wondering. Maybe I have misunderstood something here!
Can anybody explain?
I came back VFR from Geneva to Goodwood today and at various points we were told by ATC that the maximum flight level we could fly at was FL85. I can't see where on any charts I am supposed to know this! From what I understood french class A starts at FL115 unless otherwise indicated, so what is to stop me flying on an airway (Class E) at FL95 or FL105? Several controllers when told we were at FL85 today informed us that that was as high as we could go. Why could I not go to FL105, apart from the fact that we did not have oxygen... but they didn't know that.
Today was my first cross-country flight across the french interior and I have been poring over these charts this evening trying to work out how I am supposed to know these things!
Any help greatly appreciated!
GRP