ATC Flight Plan — Page 215, Lesson 218

I want to walk you through two exercises from the ATC Flight Plan chapter. These are practical examples that show you how to interpret and complete flight plan data for non-scheduled flights. Let's start with Exercise 2. --- Exercise 2 gives us a non-scheduled flight from Venice to Toulouse Blagnac. The departure aerodrome is VENICE, with coordinates N4530 E01221, ICAO code LIPZ. The destination is TOULOUSE BLAGNAC, coordinates N4337 E00123, ICAO code LFBO. The route begins by joining the upper airways system at VICENZA, coordinates N4538 E01141. From there, the route is: UB4 to ST PREX, then UB28 to PASSIERY, then UB16 to LA TOUR, then UG5 to GAILLAC, and finally to TOULOUSE BLAGNAC. Flight details: off blocks time is 0630 UTC, airborne at 0645 UTC. Allow 10 minutes from airborne to join airways at VICENZA, and 10 minutes from GAILLAC to TOULOUSE. For the VICENZA to SPR segment: TAS is 450 knots, wind component is minus 40 — that's a headwind of 40 knots. Flight level 310. For SPR to GAI: TAS is 470 knots, wind component is minus 15 — again a headwind. Flight level 310. Aircraft type is Airbus 310, type code EA31. Aircraft weight is above 136,000 kilograms. Registration is G-BUSB. Operator is British Airways. Identification is BAW 780. Selcal code is HBSJ. Radio and navigation equipment: standard plus inertial navigation and RNP equipment. RNP stands for Required Navigation Performance — it means the aircraft can navigate with a specific level of accuracy. SSR equipment: Transponder Mode A with 4096 codes, plus Mode C. Flight rules are IFR — Instrument Flight Rules. Type of flight is non-scheduled air transport. Alternate aerodrome is MARSEILLE, ICAO LFML. ATC requires times to AOSTA and PASSIERY — these are waypoints along the route where air traffic control wants position reports. Supplementary information: enough fuel for 6½ hours flying. Passengers TBN — that means "to be notified" later. Crew of 12. ELBA — Emergency Locator Beacon — is carried. Life jackets are available, equipped with emergency lights and VHF/UHF radio. Life rafts: 15 rafts with yellow covers, each raft capacity 20 people. Aircraft colour is blue and grey. No supplementary survival equipment is carried. Now let's move to Exercise 3. --- This is a non-scheduled flight from London Stansted to Biarritz. Departure aerodrome is STANSTED, ICAO EGSS, coordinates N5153 E00014. Destination is BIARRITZ, ICAO LFBZ, coordinates N4328 W00132. Route: Direct to LAM — that's DCT LAM — then airways to BTZ, and then as directed to land at Biarritz. Important: Airway UA34 is not available for this flight. Flight details: off blocks 1515 UTC on a Tuesday. Take-off at 1525 UTC. Allow 15 minutes flight time Stansted to LAM, and 20 minutes from ENSAC for descent and approach to Biarritz. Lowest flight levels above FL250 are to be used. TAS is 310 knots. Forecast wind is 200 degrees magnetic at 45 knots. Aircraft type is Boeing 737, type code B737. Aircraft weight is 42,000 kilograms. Registration is G-WIZZ. Operator is EASYJET. Identification is BAW 780. Selcal code is HBSJ. Radio and navigation equipment: standard Mode C transponder. SSR equipment: Transponder Mode A with 4096 codes plus Mode C. Flight rules are IFR. Type of flight is non-scheduled. Alternate aerodrome is LIMOGES, ICAO LFBL. The exercise asks you: using the above data, identify the route and complete Items 7 and 18 of the flight plan. Item 7 is the aircraft identification — that's BAW 780. Item 18 is the "Other Information" field, which includes supplementary data like the SELCAL code, fuel endurance, survival equipment, and so on. --- Finally, Exercise 4, Question 1 asks: Under what circumstances may an Aircraft Operator submit Repetitive Flight Plans (RPLs) rather than individual flight plans? That's a question for you to think about — RPLs are used for flights that operate regularly on the same route, at the same times, with the same aircraft type and registration, so that a single standing plan covers multiple days or weeks instead of filing a new plan each time. These are the book's practice questions — let's try them one at a time.