ICAO Flight Plans and Air Filing

vontresc

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vonSegelGoober
With the change to ICAO flight plans will it be that much more difficult to pick up a pop up clearance? Eventually I will probably know the alphabet soup required for my AC, but /A or /G was lots simpler.

Any advice from the ATC folks out there?
 
Hey, controllers. What actually gets sent to you as an equipment code anyhow?

Frankly, most controllers don't seem to care what my equipment code is on air files.
 
Pop-up IFR services will still be available. It is still preferable for you to file with FSS/DUATS/etc. because, just like under the old flight plan format, a lot of information often filed in those user-submitted flight plans cannot be gathered due to frequency congestion.

As to the question on equipment suffixes, they are still showing up under their traditional FAA equipment suffixes in the system. I'm not sure how that will be affected by the change, if at all.
 
My favorite pop-up was this one time when we were trying to fly from Addison to Tallahassee, and had to divert to Montgomery, Alabama to wait out storms. After sitting for a couple of hours, I saw my opportunity in a well-placed gap between storm systems, and my determination that hood ceilings existed along the relatively short route.

Well, reported weather's one thing, reality's another. As I scooted along, the 2500' ceilings became 2000' and were nudging downward, while the sectional showed me that there be towers ahead. Still smooth air.

I was on FF with Cairns Approach (Army), and asked if I could get a pop-up IFR. He asked "what altitude you want?" I told him "7500," and he said, "November miner zero three victor is cleared to Tallahassee via direct. Climb and maintain seven thousand five hundred." It was a great relief. Nice guy, wish I'd sent him a bottle of scotch.

In the entire time I was in his airspace, no one else talked to him.
 
What changes? Are you just talking filing in the IACO format? That's been the default choice for folks using fltplan for years.
 
A controller on the Red board tells me that the ICAO flight plan codes are mapped into the old style codes for printing on the strip. They are retained somewhere in the system with the ICAO codes unless the controller sets them to something (he only apparently has access to the old style codes) which obliterates them. Popups obviously use only the old style codes.
 
What changes? Are you just talking filing in the IACO format? That's been the default choice for folks using fltplan for years.

You do realize not everyone uses fltplan, right? Some people don't even use any online flight planners. You are not Sagittarius A*
 
I wouldn't say it's the "default". You have a choice unless you are filing an RNAV or international flight plan.

Screen Shot 2016-03-17 at 09.23.10.png

And here is what the FAA has to say about it.

International (ICAO) Flight Plan Filing
Criteria for use

The FAA prefers users to file ICAO format flight plans for all flights. An ICAO format flight plan MUST be used when:
  • The flight will enter international airspace, including oceanic airspace controlled by FAA facilities.
  • The flight expects routing or separation based on Performance Based Navigation (PBN), e.g. RNAV 1.
  • The flight will enter RVSM airspace.
  • The flight expects services based on ADS-B.
 
My favorite pop-up was this one time when we were trying to fly from Addison to Tallahassee, and had to divert to Montgomery, Alabama to wait out storms. After sitting for a couple of hours, I saw my opportunity in a well-placed gap between storm systems, and my determination that hood ceilings existed along the relatively short route.

Well, reported weather's one thing, reality's another. As I scooted along, the 2500' ceilings became 2000' and were nudging downward, while the sectional showed me that there be towers ahead. Still smooth air.

I was on FF with Cairns Approach (Army), and asked if I could get a pop-up IFR. He asked "what altitude you want?" I told him "7500," and he said, "November miner zero three victor is cleared to Tallahassee via direct. Climb and maintain seven thousand five hundred." It was a great relief. Nice guy, wish I'd sent him a bottle of scotch.

In the entire time I was in his airspace, no one else talked to him.

Must have been a weekend. During the week Cairns is extremely busy. Busiest ARAC and one of the busiest DOD facilities in the country.
 
With the change to ICAO flight plans will it be that much more difficult to pick up a pop up clearance? Eventually I will probably know the alphabet soup required for my AC, but /A or /G was lots simpler.

Any advice from the ATC folks out there?
I'll be interested to hear what they say too.

My 2¢ - pop-ups have always been abbreviated and there really is not that much different from an operational standpoint using the ICAO format. The "required" alphabet soup is actually pretty limited. And just like now, if ATC offers you a service you can't accept, you decline it (how many of us have received "direct..." when filing /U?).
 
There's still only one equipment suffix on the strip, so if you're air filling, I'd say stick to the 7233-1 format and not the -4.

As far as affecting a clearance in the air, I wouldn't say ICAO format would change that at all. If it's a pop up going inter facility and they have time, they can type you into the flight data computer. If not, contact FSS. A local pop up just wanting to recover IFR or do practice approaches, most likely they're hand writing your strip anyway so the suffix wouldn't matter.
 
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But the tick mark is in ICAO when you first open the page right?
I don't know. It might be where you previously had it. Mine is in the first box because we file RNAV SIDs and STARs, plus we fly in RVSM airspace. I haven't changed that in a number of years.
 
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