Lesson 1 

Flight Plans (Viewing and Amending)

Flight Plans are our way of viewing an aircraft's desired parameters of an IFR and VFR flight. Let's dive into the VRC flight plan viewer and see what each section means to us!

Callsign: This is the callsign of the aircraft. Callsigns are entirely the pilot's choice, although obscene or offensive callsigns are not allowed in VATSIM. 

Aircraft Type / Equipment Suffix: It is important that there is a correct aircraft type and equipment suffix located in this portion of the flight plan. In the flight plan below, "A320" is the aircraft code and "/Q" (commonly referred to as "slant [letter]") is the equipment suffix. The equipment suffix indicates the type of navigational equipment the aircraft has on board and should be included. If it is not you will need to ask the pilot what navigation equipment they are using and update the flight plan accordingly

Flight Rules: This drop down box indicates the type of flight rules that the pilot will be flying under

• VFR (Visual Flight Rules): A set of regulations which allow a pilot to operate in weather conditions generally clear enough to see where the pilot is going. For VFR aircraft a clearance is only required if entering Class B airspace.

• IFR (Instrument Flight Rules): A set of regulations and procedures for flying aircraft based solely on the instrument panel

• SVFR (Special Visual Flight Rules): A set of regulations that allow a pilot to operate an aircraft in weather conditions that are less than that of VFR. It is an alternative to IFR

• DVFR (Defense Visual Flight Rules): Refers to a flight plan that must be filed for a VFR aircraft flying in an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone)

Departure and Arrival Field: This is the field that the aircraft is departing from. You will want to make sure that has a correct 4 Letter ICAO identifier (KDFW is correct while DFW is not)

Alternate Field: This is the alternate airfield for the aircraft operating under an IFR flight plan. If an aircraft is unable to get into their destination for reasons such as weather, closures, or long holding times. These are required when certain low weather condition are forecasted to exist during a aircrafts time of arrival. It is up to the pilot to pick their alternate if desired, but an alternate airport is not required to receive a clearance. 

Cruise Altitude: This is the cruising altitude of the aircraft. It is critical that the aircraft follow the NEODD/SWEVEN and RVSM cruising altitude selection rules to prevent mid-air collisions!

Scratchpad: This is an area where a controller adds a pre-coordinated remark into the a/c data tag. Typically we insert the aircraft's departure gate, first fix, or airway etc.

Squawk Code: This is the squawk code that you will issue to the pilot.

Route: This is the route that the aircraft is going to fly to get to their Clearance Limit. This can be done via SIDs, STARs, VOR to VOR navigation, GPS navigation, airways, fixes and more!  It is important that this route corresponds with any local ARTCC Standards Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Letters of Agreement (LOAs). 

If pilots are unable to accept a SID (Covered in part 2), they should be routed through a departure gate via radar vectors in the Oklahoma and Dallas Metroplex airspaces. 

You may sometimes find a pilot that is new and files "GPS DIRECT". No worries! You can suggest and ask if they are able to accept a full new flight plan that is found on any site like Flight Aware. It is important to remember that this is a learning environment where different pilots have different abilities. 

Note: Remember that any full re-route amendments should have the "+" in the beginning of the route

Remarks: This is where you'll have any additional remarks that the pilot has filed. This is where you may find such information as callsign, weather client, and other miscellaneous information. Pilots typically put helpful remarks in here to help give us clues in regards to their abilities, like if they are a beginner pilot, English is a second language, or can't accept SIDs and STARs. We encourage you to review these remarks prior to making any amendments to the flight plan as it may provide clues or answers to any questions you may have.

VATSIM allows pilots to utilize full voice, voice receive, or text only communications. While text only drastically increases controller workload, using the .allias file commands can streamline command typing time. We should do our best to accommodate all pilots.

• /V/ A pilot is both voice receive and transmit

• /R/ A pilot can receive voice, but will transmit via text

• /T/ A pilot will both receive and transmit using text

All changes must by entered into the flight plan window and the "Amend Plan" button must be clicked to save these changes. 

End of Lesson 1