ICAO flight plan filers.....

[bobmrg]

Do you file I or Z (composite flight plan in the old days)? There is a note in
http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/fss/AppendixA.htm which is not a pub we look at very often saying that "U. S. Domestic automation systems cannot accept a flight plan that begins under VFR and subsequently changes to one or more flight rules (that is, Z). For this purpose, file separate flight plans."

The 7110 is addressed to flight service station personnel, not pilots, so I'm guessing that if one files a Y (VFR to IFR) with a change of flight rules at a designated point, the friendly LockMart folks separate the VFR from the IFR and file the separate flight plans.

Any experience out there?

Bob Gardner

 

[John Collins]

Just file separate flightplans. For all practical purposes YFR and ZFR are not supported in the US. What a FSS specialist may or may not do is not predictable.

 

[bobmrg]

Just file separate flightplans. For all practical purposes YFR and ZFR are not supported in the US. What a FSS specialist may or may not do is not predictable.

Yes, John. But how many times in these forums have pilots posted that they always take off VFR and pick up their IFR clearance in the air? They are fine under the current system, but come 10-15.....?

Bob

 

[kgruber]

Most, okay, all of the pilots I've seen do this don't file a VFR flight plan at all. It's just VMC to IFR. Out of Sun Valley comes to mind.

 

[NoHeat]

Most, okay, all of the pilots I've seen do this don't file a VFR flight plan at all. It's just VMC to IFR. Out of Sun Valley comes to mind.

If you can get flight following, I don't see much point in the VFR portion of a flight plan. OTOH, if flight following is not available, I'd want the plan so that search and rescue might eventually look for me.

 

[Brad Z]

Yes, John. But how many times in these forums have pilots posted that they always take off VFR and pick up their IFR clearance in the air? They are fine under the current system, but come 10-15.....?

Bob

Those folks generally aren't covered under any flight plan until the pick up their clearance in the air. One unusual exception to this is inside the Washington SFRA, where one can file IFR, but advise the controller via telephone that he will be departing VFR and picking up the ifr clearance airborne. The controller will give him a squawk and a routing, but the IFR flight plan will cover VFR portion from takeoff until IFR clearance, as it meets the security requirement for a sfra flight plan.