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Autorouter issues and questions (merged)

Vladimir, you have mail!

I won’t share the Mooney Profile in the forum for the moment as it is not yet quite there where I would like it to be as well as that I have not had the chance to actually use it. Once that is done, I’ll put it up here as well.

LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland

Yes, if you create an aircraft based on a share code, you take a copy of that profile with all the data. Afterwards, you can edit it. Subsequent edits to the shared profile will not be applied to your copy, you would have to create another aircraft using the share code.

The idea behind this approach was that typically the people flying the same aircraft know each other in some way and can therefore exchange the share code. At an FTO it could be made public on the billboard etc.

If somebody has a profile that is substantially different from what is currently offered in the public templates, we’d be grateful to add it.

I took a public profile for the DA40 and it had some speeds which were different from the ones we use, e.g. Vy/Vcruise climb I think. But I created it some time ago, so I am not sure if that is still current.

LSZH, LSZF, Switzerland

I had to fly from Thruxton to Newcastle yesterday and decided to do so using airways; mainly because I’d never done so before and because I now have a shiny new IR with privileges just itching to be used. I also thought that it would be a good opportunity to try out Autorouter to plan the flight and to file the FPL.

In general I was quite pleased with the result. Autorouter generated a variety of routes from which I selected one that best suited my needs on the day. There were one or two odd ones which I’ve raised with the team, since one appeared to want to route me through Class A whilst VFR and another gave me a STAR that doesn’t exist. But aside from these I found it fairly easy to use and very efficient. The briefing material that it spat out was very comprehensive and delivered within seconds to my inbox. My squawk code was texted to me around an hour before EOBT.

Since I’d never flown a ‘proper’ airways route before I was curious as to how the whole process of FPL activation and IFR clearances work from a GA field. Thruxton’s staff were very helpful as usual but told me that they can no longer activate FPLs nor pass clearances because AFPEX won’t let them(!). So it was left to London Info to do both once I was airborne. It may just be me, but it does seem frankly pretty astounding that in this digital age it isn’t possible to activate an FPL or get a clearance until nicely preoccupied with flying. Maybe there is a better way? If so, please tell.

Anyway, the rest of the flight was simplicity itself once I’d laboured up to FL100 in my little Arrow. In the final analysis I’m not sure that the journey was any quicker or easier than just routing VFR/IFR outside controlled airspace at the relatively low levels that I’ve been accustomed to, but I can see that it might well be useful in some circumstances. And it’s always good to try something new.

Old Sarum

Congratulations, and welcome to the club. Keep it up and next thing you know you will be flying a Citation Mustang!

It is very rewarding to be able to use the flight rules appropriate for the mission.

LFPT, LFPN

There were one or two odd ones which I’ve raised with the team, since one appeared to want to route me through Class A whilst VFR and another gave me a STAR that doesn’t exist.

Of course that can happen and is the expected behavior. A flight rule change can only happen at a waypoint and then you have to be on the airway to continue so the plan will take you there.

A lot of pilots mix up flight plans and clearances. They are not the same! Only in the lost comm situation your flight plan becomes your clearance (once you’ve received the first clearance, never before, on a Z plan you never become IFR in CAS if you lose comm before pickup).

Regarding the STAR – there are a few that are not universally published but do exist. We can’t distinguish them.

@achimha, can you elaborate on that? If the flight plan enters airspace A VFR and changes to IFR at the pickup point which is inside A, how would you fly that? Call ATC in advance and hope they will pick you up IFR before you enter the airspace? Or is there another trick?

LSZH, LSZF, Switzerland

Yes, CAS requires a clearance. The flight plan alone entitles you to exactly nothing. You can get the clearance on the ground (e.g. US via RCO) or in the air.

Last Edited by achimha at 13 Oct 19:18

Congratulations, Mothman

This thread is probably the most recent one dealing with departures outside CAS.

Also I have some trip writeups here which show how European IFR is done.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Thank you, Peter and others. That is interesting and useful. So much to learn.

Old Sarum
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