Advice needed on flying from the States to Europe
 

I was hoping to get some information here if anyone has flown from the U.S. to Europe (Italy) coorporately. Reason I ask is because I possibly might be flying an older JetCommander 1121B as an SIC from Los Angeles all the way there along Greenland and into Europe. What difference should I expect when compared to flying in the States? Anything I should be aware of or any cool spots to land? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks,

-Nick

For starters I think you need an FCC License. I have one, because a lot the airlines even commuters, require it to apply if they fly to international. Oh and I would recommend cold weather survival gear in case you have to take a swim in the North Atlantic. Water is kinda cold this time of year (or anytime of year).

I already have the FCC. Looking for info on radio type transmissions or anything else that is important and different scenarios than flying in the U.S. I've flown through Mexico and Canada, but nothin as extreme as this.

I flew several years ago trans atlantic. I found the hardest controllers to understand were the Brits. Had to have them repeat clearances several times[write it down!]. Also be aware of accepting ANY shortcut clearances that take you back out to international airspace once you are in the national airspace of a country. If you don't have an ICAO clearance and proceed internationally, you used to get in big trouble. Milan is nice, but be warned that the central train station has the highest theft rate in all Europe. Lost a jacket and back pack there.

I've taken a King Air and a Citation over the northern route. St. Johns, Keflavik, Edinburgh, Germany, Italy. Both St. Johns and Edinburgh were a lot of fun. Joel Payne is right about being careful of ATC shortcuts. You can do the northern route across without HF radio. Transition altitudes vary from region to region. "Line up and wait" instead of "position and hold" and other verbage that might be new to you. Routing seems to "as filed" more often that in the states. It should be fun!

Thanks for the info cw4chuck. My captain asked me to find out if they still required HF radios because if so we need to rent one and have it installed before the trip. Do you know if they still require them?

I'm saying that "they" don't require them based on my experience as an Army Citation guy. I flew an Encore over in May 03 and back in May 04. our a/c had a HF radio. but it didn't work. I did have a position report relayed by a friendly airline crew during the leg from Newfoundland to Iceland. We were military, so you might want to verify whether or not it is required for a civilian aircraft to have HF commo. On a trip from DC to San Juan, our functional HF quit on us and Miami Center was definately looking for us when we finally got close enough to Puerto Rico for VHF commo. I suspect that that it wouldn't be all that critical for the Newfoundland Iceland leg. We only used VHF on the Iceland/Germany leg. Bottom line, see if ICAO rules require the HF.

ALT Route
 

Not sure about your plane's range but, St John's, NFL to the Azores was easily doable in a King Air. Would cut quite a bit off the trip if thats a factor. Winds this time of year may make it even faster. Of course, always take the scenic route if it ain't your dime!!
Not sure about the UHF requirements either. Mine was down both times but was able to get PTAPTP reports relayed by Big Guys fairly regularly. But it gets aweful quiet n lonely out there when no one's around! So get ahold of one if you can.
Unfortunately, I cant find my route of flight gouge right now but, check out www.baseops.net. They have great stopover gouge and maybe even some ROF suggestions.
As for the rest of it, I did my last trip just over a year ago and everything everyone else has said is on the mark as of then!
Have fun, fly casual! :cool:

Man I would love to be a scenic traveler (especialy in Europe) but since this plane burns 450 gallons/hour I have a feeeling we will be right on our centerline. Thanks for that link.

I'd say if your "Captain" doesn't know the HF requirements, then he may not be up to par with the rest of the requirements either...

No HF required for the "Blue Spruce" route, but then neither is a GPS...but would you go without one?

Flying the North Atlantic is not for the uninitiated...I would suggest your Captain consider employing one of the many flight planning outfits to assist with the trip...(Universal, Basops, Air Routing)

They will cost, but it is well worth it...they arrange everything from fuel, to accomodations, to overflight permits...("what are overflight permits?" your Captain asks?)...exactly why you guys need someone's help...

Other than that...good luck with your trip...it sounds like fun...