Opening and Closing a VFR Flight Plan Opening a VFR Flight Plan with Flight Service: Transmitting and Receiving Same Frequency: You: (FSS Radio), Mule Flight. May 19, 2017. A flight plan is not required for VFR flight, but it adds an extra layer of safety by ensuring someone will come looking for you if you don't show up at your. When you activate your flight plan, Leidos moves the plan from the departure sector's “Proposed” list to another sector's “Inbound,” or active, list.
How to fill in VFR flight plans 1 introduction With the removal of barriers in the European Community, it is now convenient for General Aviation pilots to fly both from their local airfield/airport, as well as their farm strip, direct to the Continent. However, although British Customs & Excise and Immigration have simplified their systems, the French Authorities have not and it is still necessary to land at a French airport with Customs and Immigration facilities in order to enter France. It is not this leaflet’s intention to describe the relaxed procedures operating for Customs here in the UK – readers are advised to contact their local Customs and Excise Office to discuss their own individual arrangements.
One of my favorite features is the option to open your VFR flight plan with a button. You don't need to call the FSS! It's brilliantif you also remember to close your flight plan. You must file the flight plan through Foreflight and then it gives you the option to “Activate” your flight plan. Check it out: First, you. SafetySense Leaflet 11). VFR flight plans filed through. ATSU by radio to activate the flight plan.
2 legislation a VFR FPLs must be filed for the following flights: • A flight to or from the United Kingdom which will cross the United Kingdom FIR boundary. • A flight within Class D control zones/control areas.
However, this requirement may be satisfied by passing flight details by Radio Telephony (RT). • A flight within the Scottish and London Upper Flight Information Regions, (but since this will be above Flight Level 245, it seems unlikely that many GA pilots will be concerned with this situation). B Other requirements exist for flights where an aircraft’s maximum take-off weight exceeds 5700 kg (12 500 lbs). C In addition, it is advisable to file a VFR FPL if the flight involves flying over the sea, more than 10 nm from the UK coastline or flying over sparsely populated areas where Search and Rescue operations might be difficult.
In addition, a VFR FPL may be filed for any flight at the pilot’s discretion. D The Prevention of Terrorism Order applies to flights between the mainland UK and the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. E Some European Countries do not accept aircraft which only have a Permit to Fly, (homebuilt aircraft/microlights etc). It is the responsibility of the pilot/ operator to obtain permission beforehand from the State concerned. F In addition, some – if not all of the following documents may be required to be carried in the aircraft: Tech.
Log; Certificates of Registration, Airworthiness, Maintenance Release; Radio Licence; Interception Procedures; Load Sheet; Pilot’s Licence; Insurance Certificates and your passport. 3 departures from airports a Assuming that the departure and destination aerodromes are both major airports, then the operation of the FPL is as follows.
You complete the FPL at the Air Traffic Service Unit (ATSU) of your departure aerodrome and they will file it into the system on your behalf. The effect of this filing will be to inform your destination airfield, together with any of your alternates, that the flight is going to take place. B Once you get airborne, the ATSU will then file a ‘departure’ message and this will activate the FPL. Thus the destination airfield, knowing your estimated time en-route from the filed FPL, and now knowing your departure time, will have an estimated time of arrival (ETA) at their airport. C Once you arrive, they will ‘close’ the FPL on your behalf, and that marks the end of the operation.
If, however, you do not arrive within 30 minutes of your ETA, then they will institute overdue action and subsequently, Search and Rescue operations may commence. It is therefore essential that if you land at any airfield other than your destination, you MUST inform your original destination of this fact, otherwise they will institute overdue and Search and Rescue action, the cost of which may be passed onto you.
D This has covered the ideal situation where others handle it for you. 4 departures from strips ETC a What if the aerodrome that you operate from is: • an airfield or airport which does have an ATSU, but your operations are outside their normal hours, or • an airfield without an ATSU, or • a private strip. The responsibility for filing, activating and closing a FPL now rests with the pilot. B At this state, it is important to understand the concept of the ‘parent ATSUs’. The UK is divided into a total of four areas, each of which has a parent ATSU and the map overleaf shows their areas of responsibility and the table beneath shows the telephone and fax numbers of the Flight Briefing Unit that you should telephone or fax when flight planning. C To file a FPL, telephone or fax the Flight Briefing Unit at least 60 minutes before the intended flight.
A fax is cheaper than a telephone call. Prior to departure, arrange for some responsible person on the ground to telephone the Flight Briefing Unit as soon as you are airborne in order to pass a departure time. This has now activated the FPL. This is a very simple procedure and a suitable responsible person could be your spouse, relative, friend, fellow pilot or secretary. Passing an airborne time over the RT could lead to a delay if the controller is busy. If it is not possible to file a FPL on the ground, it can be filed while airborne with any ATSU, but normally with the FIR controller responsible for the area in which the aircraft is flying. In such cases the message should begin with the words ‘I wish to file an airborne flight plan’.
Once again, when this method of filing is used, delays can occur due to controller workload. Areas of responsibility of associated AFTN & ATSUS Flight Briefing Unit Telephone Number Fax Number Scottish ATCC – EGPXYFYX 79 48 Manchester – EGCCZQZX 0161 499 5502/5500 0161 499 5504 London/Heathrow – EGLLZPZX 020 8750 2615 or 2616 020 8750 2617 or 2618 5 returning to the UK a Prior to departure for the return flight to an airfield without an ATSU (when closed for instance) or to a private strip, pilots are responsible for informing a responsible person at their destination of the estimated time of arrival. The responsible person is required to notify the parent ATSU if the aircraft fails to arrive within 30 minutes of the ETA. This action will then trigger the parent ATSU into alerting, overdue and Search and Rescue action.
Thus it becomes clear that this person MUST have the telephone numbers of the appropriate parent ATSU. If the parent ATSU fails to hear anything, it will assume that the flight landed safely i.e.
NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS and no further action is required. If the responsible person does inform the parent ATSU of your non-arrival, then the parent ATSU will go back to the filed FPL to check departure times, routings and so on as part of the Search and Rescue procedures. B It can be seen that the responsible person is crucial to this operation, after all, if no one is expecting you, no one will be looking for you if you do not arrive. If, in an extreme case, the pilot fails to find a responsible person at his destination, then he may contact his parent ATSU prior to departure and request then to act in the capacity of the responsible person. Should the pilot follow this course of action, he will be required to contact the parent ATSU within 30 minutes of landing at his destination or diversion airfield, to confirm his arrival.
Failure to do this, will automatically result in the parent ATSU initiating alerting action. 6 completion of the flight plan (Note that this is an abbreviated explanation intending to cover simple VFR flights. Full details are obtainable from CAP 694 (The UK Flight Plan Guide).
An ICAO poster on completing Flight Plans is available from Westward documedia at Cheltenham. Enter all details in block capitals. Leave the top part of the form blank, ie start at item 7.
Assuming that you've submitted a Delay Message in order to prevent your flightplan from being deleted you have to do nothing at all. In your flightplan you only state your ETD (Expected Time of Departure) and ETE (Estimated Time Enroute). Your ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) will be calculated and relayed to all stations in need of the ETA by AIS (Aeronautical Information Service). To pick up your example: Filed ETD: 1500 Filed ETE: 0200 AIS will relay ETA 1500+0200=1700 to your aerodrome of destination. Let's say you've departed at 1554. Your aerodrome of departure will pass a departure message to AIS (so they know you are on your way) together with your ATD (actual time of departure) which would be 1554 in the example.
AIS will then calculate ATD+ETE => 1554+0200=1754 and relay the corrected ETA to your aerodrome of destination where the data in your flightstrip gets corrected.