The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
The FAA came into being from the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, replacing the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) in America. The Act gave the FAA the power to oversee and regulate the safety of the airline industry and the use of military aircraft and civilian aircraft in American airspace. Their stated mission is to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world.
An FAA Flight Plan
An FAA Flight Plan is a document filed by pilots or a Dispatcher with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) before departure. Completing the FAA Flight Plan before departure ensures the Pilot's safety is monitored closely by the FAA. If a pilot does not arrive at his or her destination within half an hour of their expected time, as stated on their filed flight plan, flight service will then do everything in their power to find them.
Description of Flight Plan Blocks (FAA)
There are 17 categories that need to be completed when logging a flight plan with the FAA, as seen below:
The categories seen in the FAA Flight Plan above are as detailed below:
1. Type - the type of flight plan, either VFR, IFR, DVFR, or a combination of types.
2. Aircraft Identification - The registration of the aircraft, usually the flight or tail number.
3. Aircraft Type/Special Equipment - The type of aircraft and how it’s equipped.
4. True Airspeed in Knots - The planned cruise true airspeed of the aircraft in knots.
5. Departure Point - Departure Airport
6. Departure Time - in Universal Time (UTC or Zulu)
7. Cruising Altitude - If you plan on multiple cruising altitudes only list the initial one.
8. Route - Use NAVID codes, airport codes, and airways. Start with the first checkpoint.
9. Destination - Ensure to enter the identifier for the airport.
10. Estimated Time Enroute
11. Remarks
12. Fuel on Board - In hours and minutes
13. Alternate Airports
14. Pilot’s Information
15. Number Onboard - including passengers and crew.
16. Color of Aircraft - the predominant colors
17. Contact Information at Destination
Special Use Airspace
In general, when planning flights the pilot or dispatcher is expected to avoid certain areas, these are known as Special Use Airspace (SUA). When filing their flight plan with the FAA if they have planned to traverse through any SUAs the FAA will reject the flight plan and let the pilot or dispatcher know that these areas are restricted and therefore they will need to alter their planned route.
There are several types of SUA in the United States that the FAA ensures are avoided within the flights they log, these include Restricted, Warning, Prohibited, Alert, and Military Operations Area (MOA). Government and Military aircraft are not as restricted in their access to some of these areas, having clearance for certain SUA areas or being able to acquire special clearances to fly through these areas. Therefore the FAA must be aware of whether the flight planner is a civilian or military personnel.
Flight Levels
Air traffic controllers, in this case, the FAA, use flight levels (FL) to simplify the vertical separation of aircraft to ensure safety in the airways. Every 1000 feet relative to an agreed pressure level exists a flight level,
There are standardized flight levels that must be used by pilots when they are on the airway, furthering the FAA and other air traffic controllers' desire to maintain safety and efficiency in the airways. On a bi-directional airway, for example, the NAT Tracks between America and Europe, there are a set of flight levels for each direction. A valid flight plan submitted to the FAA must include a legal flight level at which the aircraft will travel the airway, sometimes requiring a change in flight level alongside a change in the airway.
For eastbound IFR flights regulated by the FAA in America, the flight level must be listed as odd in 2000-foot increments starting at FL190, for example, FL210, FL230. For IFR flights that are westbound, the listed flight level must be even in 2000-foot increments starting at FL180. The FAA, however, similar to other Air Traffic Controllers, may at any time assign any flight level if they believe that traffic situations merit an altitude change.
Organized Tracks
Organized tracks, for example, the North Atlantic Tracks (NAT), are a series of pathways similar to airways that cross ocean areas. Whereas some organized tracks are fixed and can be found on navigational charts, for example, the NOPAC tracks which go over the Northern Pacific Ocean, NAT change daily depending on weather and other factors, therefore they do not appear on printed charts. As NAT are unfixed FAA Flight Plans help the FAA to keep track of those flying along these tracks and ensure that they are flying the correct paths therefore continuing to maintain the safety and efficiency of American aerospace.
RocketRoute and FAA Flight Plans
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- Generate route.
- Add details - passengers, fuel, mass & balance.
- File.
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