IFR to VFR and back to IFR - possible?
 

Hi All,

This is in context of Eurocontrol flight plans.

Let's say I fly from LSZS to EGHH and the route happens to be

SOPER Z51 KELIP Z651 MANEG L613 HOC G4 RLP B3 BILGO H20 XORBI H40 ABB T27 GURLU DCT

It appears legit to transfer to VFR and back to IFR within this route, say

SOPER Z51 KELIP Z651 MANEG/N0150F150 VFR L613 HOC G4 RLP B3 BILGO/N0150F150 IFR H20 XORBI H40 ABB T27 GURLU DCT

(i am not 100% sure of the syntax but you get the idea)

so the part

MANEG L613 HOC G4 RLP B3 BILGO

would be flown under VFR. I havent checked if this part of the route would be outside Controlled Airspace at FL150 but lets say it is.

Is this kind of construction acceptable to ATC in Europe?

Why would one do it? To fly over some really nice scenery for example, in the mountains. And there are places where there are no airways but one can fly through as VFR but below C.A.

How would one go about getting one back into C.A. (ifr clearance and so on) after the VFR flight?

Thank you for any replies.

I'm pretty sure that the answer is no outside UK CAS, and most certainly no in UK CAS, you'd simply be causing so many problems you wouldn't be worth dealing with.
Unless you've already filed a flight plan which entails you flying IFR then VFR, to refile IFR after changing from IFR to VFR requires you to cancel the original plan and refile your flight plan enroute.

A considerable inconvenience to enroute agencies and a very high workload for you.

I think IFPS will accept a IFR/VFR/IFR plan if the flight rules are Y
(Try the IFPS test system here via the CFMU Network Operations Portal)
. I doubt that en-route will be chuffed though as it seems a lot of hassle. However it may be ok with a non airways flight, but I don't really see the benefit.

"Unless you've already filed a flight plan which entails you flying IFR then VFR, to refile IFR after changing from IFR to VFR requires you to cancel the original plan and refile your flight plan enroute."

Do you mean that because you never landed (yet) the original flight plan will be open, so somebody will have to cancel it (is this possible without landing?) and then somebody else (a friend on the ground) will have to file a new one for you, sometime during the VFR section of the flight, which you activate with a radio call, a bit like UK pilots flying from farms get london info to activate their IFR flight plans.

I would not be doing this in the UK, no point. But there are interesting places away in Europe.

Maybe the biggest thing I didnt realise is than as soon as one changes from IFR to VFR the flight plan is terminated as far as the IFR clearance is concerned, and dumped out of the system. But it can't be completely dumped can it because you could fly a Y plan whose VFR portion crosses a frontier (say going to an airport very close to the frontier) and a flight plan is certainly needed to do that.