ATC Flight PlanWhat do the boxes mean and How to fill them up?

Definition of Flight Plan: Specified information provided to air traffic services units, relative to an intended flight or portion of a flight of an aircraft.

Sample ATC Flight Plan:

What do the boxes mean and How to fill them up?

The above box is for the use of ATC and Communication Personnel.

The above box is for the use of ATC and Communication Personnel. However, for the efficiency of workflow of the ATC personnel at Chittagong Tower, we fill it up in accordance with the intended flight that we are planning to fly.

Usually for Local Flights that we carry out mostly, we fill up the above box in the following manner:

Note that the addressee(s) start with VGHSZQZX (Dhaka Control), VGHSFICX (Dhaka FIR) and VGCBZTZX (Cox’s Bazar Tower) [Cox’s Bazar being the Alternate Airport]. For training flights these are the long followed addresses. However, while VGHSZQZX and VGHSFICX remain the same for all flights that take place over Bangladeshi Airspace, VGCBZTZX may not be there all the time, as mentioned before it was there being an Alternate Airport. It could be VGHSZTZX (Dhaka Tower) if you were to fly to Dhaka [VGHS] from Chittagong [VGEG].

Then you have to fill up the Originator box, which shall read the Tower to which the flight plan has been submitted to:

Item number 7: Aircraft Identification

This is where you shall write the Registration Mark of the intended aircraft that you want to fly; i.e. S2AEX, S2AEY or S2AEN. Note that there is no hyphen (—) in between ‘S2’ and ‘AEY’.

Item number 8: Flight Rules and Type of Flight

Here you shall write either ‘V’ for a VFR flight or ‘I’ if an IFR flight is intended; and always write ‘G’ in the ‘Type of Flight’ box.

Here’s a quick reminder the VFR limits:

VMC visibility and distance from cloud minima are contained in the table below:

Altitude BandAirspace Class

Flight Visibility

Distance from Cloud

At and above 3050 m (10000 ft) AMSL

A**BCDEFG 8 km1500 m horizontally, 300 m (1000ft) vertically

Below 3050 m (10000 ft) AMSL or above 300 m (1000 ft) above terrain, whichever is the higher.

A**BCDEFG 5 km1500 m horizontally, 300 m (1000ft) vertically

At and below 900 m (3000 ft) AMSL, or 300m (1000ft) above terrain, whichever is the higher.

A**BCDE 5 km1,500m horizontally, 300 m (1000 ft) vertically

FG 5km*Clear of cloud and with the surface insight

Table : Visual Meteorological Conditions for VFR

**Note: The VMC minima in class A airspace are included for guidance to pilots and do not imply acceptance of VFR flights in class A airspace.

*Note: When so prescribed by the appropriate ATS authority:

a. Flight visibilities reduced to not less than 1500 m may be permitted for flight operating:

(1) At speeds that, in the prevailing visibility, will get adequate opportunity to observe other traffic or other obstacles in time to avoid collision; or,

(2) In circumstances in which the probability to encounters with other traffic would normally be low, e.g. in areas of low volume traffic and for aerial work at low levels.

b. HELICOPTERS may be permitted to operate in less than 1500 m flight visibility, if maneuvered at a speed that will give adequate opportunity to observe other traffic or any obstacles in time to avoid collision.

Fig Classes: A, B, C, D and E AirspaceVMC Minimum Flight Visibility and Distance from Cloud

Fig Classes: F& G AirspaceVMC Minimum Flight Visibility and Distance from CloudItem Number 9: Type of Aircraft and Wake Turbulence Category

In the ‘Type of Aircraft’ box you shall write down the type of aircraft you intend to fly. For Cessna 152 write down ‘C-152’ and for Cirrus SR – 20 G3 write down ‘SR-20’. Note that there is a hyphen (—) in between ‘C’ and ‘152’. The ‘Wake Turbulence Cat’ is always ‘L’ for our training flights.

Item Number 10 (a,b): Equipment

Consult the following table for the meaning of the letters you shall write in the ‘Equipment’ box.

Item Number 13: Departure Aerodrome and Time

The Departure Aerodrome is the one you are commencing your flight from and the the time shall always be in UTC.

Item Number 15: Cruising Speed, Level and Route

The cruising speed shall start with ‘N’ followed by 4 (Four) digits, like here for C-152 aircraft the cruising speed is N0090. The altitude that you intend to maintain for the flight shall be written in 3 (Three) digits following the letter ‘A’. Those who will be flying routes in the Cirrus SR -20 aircraft shall write down the desired Flight Level in 3 (Three) digits following the letter ‘F’ like F060.

The route for local flights shall be ‘VGEG-Local’. When you shall fly Cross-country mission under VFR conditions at low levels you shall write down the different legs and names of place with intended track. For example, if you plan a cross-country mission starting from Chittagong to Chiringa, then to Kutubdia, Bashkhali then back to Chittagong, you shall fill up the ‘Route’ box as shown in the

following diagram:

When you shall file a flight plan for route flying it should be as follows. For a flight from VGEG to VGHS at Flight Level 080 following the route ‘G463’:

Item number 16: Destination Aerodrome, Total EET, 1st/2nd ALTN Aerodrome

Item number 18: Other Information

Please consult the New ICAO flight plan format publication (Pg. 19-22). You can download a copy of the said document at http://goo.gl/d5GFA.