Filing for multiple approaches

[benyflyguy]

Planning on getting up in the junk a bit to get some approaches in. Planning on heading out of home base and hitting a couple different local fields and end up back home.
So departure is same as destination. I put the IAF in for first Approach then the subsequent airport then the next IAF next airport and so on in that fashion. In the comments/notes section of flight plan I put “practice approaches”.
what’s the best way to file this and not cause a headache for controllers???
the couple times I’ve done this it always seems to be a hassle or they need to change everything

I think tomorrow I’ll call the local control tower that gives me my clearance after my flight as ask perhaps.

 

[luvflyin]

Planning on getting up in the junk a bit to get some approaches in. Planning on heading out of home base and hitting a couple different local fields and end up back home.
So departure is same as destination. I put the IAF in for first Approach then the subsequent airport then the next IAF next airport and so on in that fashion. In the comments/notes section of flight plan I put “practice approaches”.
what’s the best way to file this and not cause a headache for controllers???
the couple times I’ve done this it always seems to be a hassle or they need to change everything

I think tomorrow I’ll call the local control tower that gives me my clearance after my flight as ask perhaps.

There's about as many answers to this as there are Controllers. Well, not quite, but... Let us know what you find out when you call to ask. Where is this? Are you likely to stay within one Approach Control's/Center's airspace?

 

[benyflyguy]

There's about as many answers to this as there are Controllers. Well, not quite, but... Let us know what you find out when you call to ask. Where is this?

makes sense because I’ve tried different things. Trips are a lot easier and more defined. Sometimes I’ll practice approaches in VFR under hood but even if visual conditions exist better to practice in the IFR system
In North east Pennsylvania area.

 

[luvflyin]

makes sense because I’ve tried different things. Trips are a lot easier and more defined. Sometimes I’ll practice approaches in VFR under hood but even if visual conditions exist better to practice in the IFR system
In North east Pennsylvania area.

Where are you departing from and which Airports do you want to shoot Approaches at.

 

[benyflyguy]

KHZL N13 KHZL KAVP KMPO KHZL
Cute little round robin
Try to plan missed to head to next IAF. With the exception of going up to AVP but plan on with one ILS.

 

[sarangan]

Planning on getting up in the junk a bit to get some approaches in. Planning on heading out of home base and hitting a couple different local fields and end up back home.
So departure is same as destination. I put the IAF in for first Approach then the subsequent airport then the next IAF next airport and so on in that fashion. In the comments/notes section of flight plan I put “practice approaches”.
what’s the best way to file this and not cause a headache for controllers???
the couple times I’ve done this it always seems to be a hassle or they need to change everything

I think tomorrow I’ll call the local control tower that gives me my clearance after my flight as ask perhaps.

What I typically do is file round robin, like ABC-ABC. This is just so that they will know where I will go if the radio quits (ie I will fly an approach back to home field). Then I tell the controller what approach I want first. Just before I get cleared for the approach, I will tell him what I want to do next. Based on that he will give me headings to fly on the go-around. You can make this up as you go. There is no need to have this set in stone in the flight plan.

 

[wilkersk]

The way I've done it in the past is file IFR to the airport I want to go to for practice approaches and a separate IFR back home with an estimated time. There's one about 15 miles from my home airport that is towered and underlying class B. It has every type approach I need to practice.

On the first approach, when the controller asks, "...how will this approach terminate?" I say I'd like to go missed, after the missed, contact approach and ask for the next one on the list. Its a good idea to put in the "comments" of the flight plan "multiple approaches".

To go home, I just ask approach for the clearance for the return flight.

If going to different airports with an approach to each one, file a flight plan to each one, and ask for clearance to the next one when contacting approach on the missed.

Haven't had any problems doing it this way. Occasionally, I'll get some whacky vectors for one reason or another. But, most of the time it goes like clockwork.

 

[luvflyin]

KHZL N13 KHZL KAVP KMPO KHZL
Cute little round robin
Try to plan missed to head to next IAF. With the exception of going up to AVP but plan on with one ILS.

That stays entirely with Wilkes-Barre Approach Control’s airspace. You shouldn’t even need to prefile. The A/FD says Clearance Delivery is 121.7 which appears to be at KAVP Tower. Does that work there? Can you get them on the ground from HZL? They may balk at you not prefiling something. I can see no reason why what @wilkersk and @sarangan describe above shouldn’t work just fine.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Agreed about many ways. Not only facilities but individual controllers.

@wilkersk's method of filing separate flight plans will definitely work and I've heard controllers mention it (including the guys on the Opposing Bases podcast). Much easier to do these days with EFB filing and you don't have the problem of a single route being messed up. Just mention in the way in to one that you have an outbound on file and they'll pull it up.

But I've been just as successful - even in their airspace and across facilities - with a round robin flight plan and "IFR TRNG" in the comments. Controller: "What would you like first?"

Whether a shortcut works really depends on where you are.

 

[luvflyin]

Agreed about many ways. Not only facilities but individual controllers.

@wilkersk's method of filing separate flight plans will definitely work and I've heard controllers mention it (including the guys on the Opposing Bases podcast). Much easier to do these days with EFB filing and you don't have the problem of a single route being messed up. Just mention in the way in to one that you have an outbound on file and they'll pull it up.

But I've been just as successful - even in their airspace and across facilities - with a round robin flight plan and "IFR TRNG" in the comments. Controller: "What would you like first?"

Whether a shortcut works really depends on where you are.

You fly out of Raleigh, is that right? Have you ever planned on bouncing around for Approaches at a bunch of airports all within Raleigh’s airspace and just call Clearance with what you wanna do without prefiling?

 

[midlifeflyer]

You fly out of Raleigh, is that right? Have you ever planned on bouncing around for Approaches at a bunch of airports all within Raleigh’s airspace and just call Clearance with what you wanna do without prefiling?

I fly out of Raleigh Exec which is on the cusp of Raleigh and Fayetteville. So much so that the approaches to runway 3 are handled by FAY and the approach to 21 is handled by RDU. Plus, it's less than 20 NM from GSO's control, so a typical practice run for me involves at least 2 separate TRACONs. Plus, RDU TRACON is somewhat infamous in the area for not knowing how to do practice approaches

I don't know anyone who has tried. And it didn't happen the 20 years I flew out of APA in Denver's TRACON.

I've heard for years about simple calling CD without filing but have never experienced it. I suspect it's a regional thing.

 

[benyflyguy]

That stays entirely with Wilkes-Barre Approach Control’s airspace. You shouldn’t even need to prefile. The A/FD says Clearance Delivery is 121.7 which appears to be at KAVP Tower. Does that work there? Can you get them on the ground from HZL? They may balk at you not prefiling something. I can see no reason why what @wilkersk and @sarangan describe above shouldn’t work just fine.

That what I did. They were very accommodating. I have done the filing individual flight plans before and found to to be tedious. I called tower and asked them they said the way I filed was fine and in future for read back of clearance be sure to say through the airports. Thanked them as I had a problem with toe box on the ILS. I was under impression the 550 would preload the frequency but it didn’t. (It still might but I missed something ) Was on Milton VOr and they are a decimal point off and I didn’t pick it up. Learned need to always confirm those frequencies. Plus the 550 doesn’t seem to like vectors to final. Much easier to activate the leg from IAF and FAF. Then just fly the vectors given. New box for us going from a 430 so it was good to give

 

[flyingron]

MULTIPLE PLAS in the remarks is the standard thing.