If everything goes well, and weather permitting, my next flight will take place in one month. As often, the plans change with time. The Bournemouth Guernsey leg is still on the roadmap, but another promising idea appeared regarding the rest of the plan: making three in a row.

Making all that effor to fly to Guernsey and the not make a quick VFR jump from to Jersey and Alderney seems to be a shame. This is may the an unconscious influence of Sylvia’s idea of flying all the British Islands, combined with my natural attraction to islands. And while I’m there, why not stop on the Isle of Wight on the way back ?

Jersey and Alderney also have IFR approaches, but VFR allows for much flexibility on short notice. No need to file a flight plan one hour in advance, no processing in Brussels, and so on. I did not read all the regulation about flying the Class A airspace around the Islands in VFR, that comes next on my list. Note that flying VFR in Class A airspace is something… special (special VFR… got it ?).

The relatively lower workload of VFR also leaves more time to enjoy the view. After a four months break, I also want to profit from the simple pleasure of flying. I like the systematic and technical aspects of IFR flying, but a VFR promenade in good conditions is also a good fun.

Just after getting my IFR rating, I thought that it was THE way of flying, and I somehow overlooked VFR flying. I later found out that VFR also has many advantadges, particularly when it comes to flexibility. I can now enjoy both, but it’s sometimes hard to choose.

In periods of low flying time like the one I’m going through for the time being, this leads me to what I call SFR: Schizoprenic Flight Rules. What to choose ? IFR ? VFR ? The time and money available are limited, so I have to choose.

Decision making… again. However, the final call will depend on weather. I hope it will not ruin all the plans. Mid August is probably amongst the better times of year, but I’ll be there for three days only. Only time will tell…

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