Jersey Flying
 

Hiya folks,

A mate of mine who has been temporarily locked out of PPRuNe is going to Jersey for a few days in July. He was wondering if anyone would be so kinda as to give a breif synpsis/insight into what flying i Jersey is like, the club, the aircraft, procedures etc. He just wants to know basic things like how long it takes to fly round the island etc.

Many thanks for any information!
Regards,
Rusty.

It's fabulous on a good day, and impossible on a foggy one (they get quite a lot of those).

All Class A airspace, so you need excellent VMC to fly there at all - 10nm vis if you don't have an IMC rating.

I'm not sure I'd be planning to fly round the Island. I'd land, hire a car, and drive around. Save your "fly-round" for departure.

And be VERY careful of the big new French TRAs and TPAs round the nuclear sites. They'll shoot you down or lock you up (or both) if you bust those.

Your friend needs to get the Bottlang plate (or equivalent) for the Channel Islands Zone and for Jersey, and to talk to ATC before flying there.

I found the clubs immensely friendly and helpful. Fuel is CHEAP, aircraft hire reasonable, but if you hire there, expect a thorough checkout (including procedures for flying in Class A).

Flying to and from Jersey is pretty straightforward and I wouldn't be put off by the Class A airspace/special VFR requirements. Occasional radar vectors are about as complex as it gets! It's a small island, so navigating your way around shouldn't be a problem.

Though I've always flown there in my own aicraft, I've found the Flying Club staff to be very, very friendly and helpful. I know they often conduct sightseeing tours for punters around the island, so I'm sure taking the controls with one of the instructors on board isn't going to be a problem if that's what you're after. Should take less than 15 minutes to circumnavigate the island.

As mentioned by Keef, fog can be a problem. Even when there's blue skies all around, a layer of low cloud can sometimes sit over the island all day.

Stay WELL CLEAR of the Cherbourg peninsula!

Don't forget your PPR

Here is a question thats been annoying me, I know if you plan to land at a airport in class D airspace you must take the met vis as the flight vis, but if you are just transiting the zone you can use your own flight vis. So since all the channel island airports are in class D zones but surround by Class A, does this mean since you are transiting the class A zone you can use your own out of the cockpit flight vis and not the met vis?

I regained my PPL in Jersey last year.

When flying in the Channel Islands Control Zone (class A), you will get a special VFR clearance - Not above xxx ft (clear of cloud and in sight of the surface).

Technically the Jersey Control zone is class D - but in practice it didn't seem to make much difference, as you'll only be in that zone if you're doing circuits, landing or take-off.

Groundbound:
I'm no expert, but I think the difference between special VFR in the Class A control areas and VFR in the class D control zones is important. In the first case, ATC is responsible for providing separation, in the second case you (the VFR pilot) are and you'll only get traffic information from ATC.

That said, the few times I've been to the Channel Islands, I've found ATC to be very helpful.

Do read the AIC about Cap de la Hague, though.

Regards

Happy memories
 

I did all my training (except CPL) in Jersey and worked as an instructor in Jersey and Alderney before coming to the wide brown land ten years ago...it's wonderful place to live and fly, and the beer is cheap when you get back. The "round the island" is actually about half an hour all up, and was the normal route for the half-hour trial lesson. On a day with good vis the Channel Islands are spectacular to fly around, but beware of the sea fogs! A trip to Dinard for lunch is worthwhile, (especially when the student pays ;) ) or along the Normandy landing beaches.
As already mentioned, you need good vis to be able to steer well clear of prohibited areas on the Cherbourg peninsula if you are a bit unfamiliar with the area. Be ready for enormous circuits and getting held over Corbiere lighthouse for a while (my record was 35 minutes) or Noirmont Point.
The folks at the club will look after you, the aeroplanes were in good nick when I was there, and they'd have been well looked after since. G-BOXB was my baby.

*getting homesick*
:(

BTW, you'll find info on the prohibited airspace here...

http://www.sia.dgac.fr/asp/frameset_uk.asp?m=1