Useful airfield information and home of the forum's fuel price league tables.

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By Chilli Monster
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#762465
Only a couple of things to add

nadders wrote:1.File flight plan with Doncaster and get it activated once airborne.


If / When you get sorted with an AFPEx account there is nothing to stop you filing both the out and return portions of the plan before departure

Depart, asking Le Touquet ATC to activate flight plan.


No need to ask when departing there - they're an ATC unit, they know you're on a plan, they will activate it automatically.

Have I missed anything out??


GAR form email'd to Customs (ncu@hmrc.gov.uk) and fax'd to immigration (0113-250 5716)

spacon wrote:I was under the impression the AFPEx is a world-wide thing, maybe i am wrong.


No - like I said, it's worldwide providing YOU do the accessing of the internet using a computer which, chances are, YOU will have to provide when abroad (or in a local internet cafe). That's the whole idea behind it - YOU do the accessing.

If you can't do the above, then you use whatever system the locals have.
User avatar
By jollyrog
#762466
Consider landing at Lydd on the way out. If you fill up there, you'll have a full tank for drawback purposes, which is about £63 on a PA28. Best value obtained if the last leg of your journey starts on a full tank.

If you're doing it all in one hit from the North, ignore my advice.
User avatar
By Chilli Monster
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#762468
jollyrog wrote:Consider landing at Lydd on the way out. If you fill up there, you'll have a full tank for drawback purposes, which is about £63 on a PA28. Best value obtained if the last leg of your journey starts on a full tank.


NOT a good idea

1) If you fill up at Lydd when you don't need to, you end up getting re-fuelled duty free, and are therefore unable to claim for the rest of the fuel in the tank. You lose out.

2) on top of the above - you end up paying a landing fee

3) on top of the above, you pay more for the flight due to the time in the circuit at Lydd and climbing out of Lydd.

Fine if you need to refuel - but in a PA28 from Sandtoft, not necessary.
User avatar
By jollyrog
#762469
£1.29 litre at Lydd - seems to be one of the cheapest. Landing fee £12.

€1.76 litre at Le Touquet, including tax = £1.49
€1.47 duty free on production of AOC (so they say) = £1.24
(using today's XE.com exchange rate)

1) If you fill up at Lydd when you don't need to, you end up getting re-fuelled duty free, and are therefore unable to claim for the rest of the fuel in the tank. You lose out.


Pay the tax on the uplift and you can claim for it all.


But, now I see where Sandtoft is, I suppose if you can stand 2.5 hours in a PA28 without a wee, you can do it all in one hit :-)

Never bought fuel at Le Touquet, so I don't know if they're really fussy about this AOC thing.

I think I'd land at Lydd and get another aerodrome in the log book. Always nice.
#762470
L'escale (the restaurant aty the airport) is currently closed for renovations - dunno how long this will be but last week it looked like a bomb site
User avatar
By Morley
#762471
The drawback rule is for exported fuel so theoretically you can claim duty back on every drop you export irrespective of where you bought it.

In practice most pilots simply submit their last invoice and hope its for a lot. I am not sure how you can claim for a full tank. Maybe submit the last two invoices together with the relevant bit of the POH showing tank capacity with a supplementary affidavit from the ground crew saying it was sloshing out the top of the tanks?
By bookworm
#762472
The drawback rule is for exported fuel so theoretically you can claim duty back on every drop you export irrespective of where you bought it.


Just in case it ever comes to a debate with customs, let me be pedantic about the terminology.

Drawback is not available on exported fuel. If you move a barrel of fuel from one EU country to another, you cannot claim drawback. (It used to be claimable on exported fuel, but the legislation was changed many years ago).

Drawback is available on fuel shipped as stores,i.e. in the fuel tanks of an aircraft and intended for the use of that aircraft.

In practice most pilots simply submit their last invoice and hope its for a lot. I am not sure how you can claim for a full tank. Maybe submit the last two invoices together with the relevant bit of the POH showing tank capacity with a supplementary affidavit from the ground crew saying it was sloshing out the top of the tanks?


You don't need an affidavit, just make the claim with the invoices to support and fill in the "amount in tanks" box on the form.
By bookworm
#762473
Chilli Monster wrote:1) If you fill up at Lydd when you don't need to, you end up getting re-fuelled duty free, and are therefore unable to claim for the rest of the fuel in the tank.


Why not? (I've never tried it, but I can't see what stops you making the claim.)

I do agree that for drawback purposes there's no point in filling up in a particular place. Take-off from anywhere on a foreign flight with a full tank and you can claim drawback on a full tank. The only advantage of making that stop closer to the Channel is if it allows you to buy less of the more expensive fuel at your foreign destination.
By ROG
#762474
Don"t forget to take all documentation--just in case the customs guys appear.

The walk in and back-different route is possible -is the part of the trip most of my passengers have enjoyed--beautifull houses . You can usually pick up a map of the town at the airport.
User avatar
By Courtman
#762475
Morley wrote:The drawback rule is for exported fuel so theoretically you can claim duty back on every drop you export irrespective of where you bought it.

In practice most pilots simply submit their last invoice and hope its for a lot. I am not sure how you can claim for a full tank. Maybe submit the last two invoices together with the relevant bit of the POH showing tank capacity with a supplementary affidavit from the ground crew saying it was sloshing out the top of the tanks?


Our club puts in an annual claim, and so long as we can prove uplifts equalling 189 litres uplifted before the trip we can claim the full amount. If the aircraft went to Le Touq, then only uplifted 120 litres before its next trip we can only claim 120 litres. Its all in a spreadsheet which I just print off each January and mail it off with the receipts for the fuel. I guess you could do this on an individual basis as well, just send the receipts off with the HOxx form.
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By Chilli Monster
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#762477
Morley wrote:In practice most pilots simply submit their last invoice and hope its for a lot. I am not sure how you can claim for a full tank. Maybe submit the last two invoices together with the relevant bit of the POH showing tank capacity with a supplementary affidavit from the ground crew saying it was sloshing out the top of the tanks?


Courtman beat me to it, but as the group accountant (3 person group) I get all the receipts, plus I also know when the aircraft last went abroad.

So - with those items to hand I complete the HO60 form for the person concerned (in our group the individual, not the group gets the drawback), attach the relevant receipts and that person fills out their name and address for the cheque to be sent to them.

We've ALWAYS managed to claim for full tanks, which at 336 litres is not a bad figure to claim back :)
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By Fright Level
#762478
I am not sure how you can claim for a full tank. Maybe submit the last two invoices together with the relevant bit of the POH showing tank capacity with a supplementary affidavit from the ground crew saying it was sloshing out the top of the tanks?

Supplementary affidavit? No need, just produce a list (on the drawback form) of last fuel purchases that equal or exceed the tank quantities then show a figure for the fuel used prior to the flight abroad so you actually claim the fuel in tanks (including unusable fuel) when you departed for parts foreign.

No need for affidavits, nothing, just submit the claim. Of course one of the worst situations to get yourself into would be an investigation for tax fraud, so just make sure your numbers are correct before posting the form off.
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By Morley
#762479
My point was how do they know the capacity of the tanks? What if I have long range ones? Do they check?
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By Chilli Monster
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#762480
Morley wrote:My point was how do they know the capacity of the tanks? What if I have long range ones? Do they check?


I've never heard of it, but the fact that you put the type of aircraft on the form, and then sign to say all statements on the form are true, puts you liable for a fraud prosecution should you start telling porkies.

If you've got long range tanks (which I don't think you do as I don't recall ever seeing it as a Warrior option - unlike Senecas and Aztecs) then that's the figure you put on the form.