Flight plan phone numbers!

[Grob Driver]

Hello all….

Can someone please ‘remind’ me of the telephone number to activate a flight plans, and fax number where flight plans should be sent... All I can remember is that they go to Manchester!

Many thanks

Grob Driver

PS – Lets hope for good Wx, this weekend…! – Anyone else planning a trip to Le Touquet???

[Flyin'Dutch']

GD,


In haste:

AIS (http://195.217.206.162/aes/login.jsp)

It is on there, have in my AFE guide as well and will post if you cant find it but have to go out for a bit.

HTH

FD

[Holdposition]

G D.

Flight briefing @

Manchester T 0161 499 5502 Fax 0161 499 5504 .

London T 0208 745 3111 Fax 0208 745 3491
0208 745 3163 Fax 0208 745 3492


hope this helps and have a super trip, cheers

[Grob Driver]

Holdposition and flying dutch... Thanks very much for your help...

If only the guy at Manchester was as helpfull!

Filed my flightplan at 16:00 today... Departure time is for 14:30 (tomorrow). At about 16:10, some guy from Manchester phones me up to give me a bo***cking for not putting the date of departure. I pointed out that there is no space for a departure date, and that flightplans are to be filed 24 hours BEFORE departure. I also pointed out that i couldn't be departing today (as he suggested) as the departure time is 14:30, and it wasn't faxed untill 16:00.

Anyway, I phone manchester myself tonight at 21:00 to make sure that i put the time in Z rather than local. Turns out that the guy who phoned me put my details on the system wrong... They had no recory of my callsign departing tomorrow from Le Touquet.... So, little Mr flight plan man.... Stop wasting time bo***cking me for a mistake I didn't make, and start doing your job! It's sime reproduction... All you have to do is get 5 letters in the right order.... you didn't even manage that! :mad: :mad: :mad:

Sorry chaps and chapesses... end of rant!

[Keef]

As I recall you are supposed to put "EOBD" if the day isn't today, or the FPL falls off the system at midnight.

I've only ever faxed one in once, and that worked fine (but was to Heathrow). I usually phone my local friendly airfield (Sahfen') who put it in for me and add the clever stuff like EOBD and such.

[Fujiflyer]

Grob Driver, like yourself I thought exactly the same - that FPL's by the fact they are filed within 24hrs of the intended flight do not require a date. A couple of years back Shoreham ATC politely pointed out that I should put the date of the flight on the FPL if filing the day before (I had the same conversation with them about the logic of the timing - I thought the 24hr "rule" was so the flight time was not open to misinterpretation). Since then I have entered it in the remarks field of the CA48. I always fax them direct to Heathrow NATS (0208 745 3492).

Hope you have a good trip to LFAT. If its any help for weather info' you should phone the ATIS recording on 0033 3 21 05 51 26 as LFAT does not appear on the TAFs / METARs :( Be aware that the airfield is particularly prone to fog which can come in very quickly.

Let me know if you want any other info,'

Best Rgds

Rich

[Flyin'Dutch']

I have on these occasions put 'date of flight' on the bottom. Seems to work OK.

Have a good one. Weather here in the Midlands is A1OK.

FD

[david viewing]

This flight plan business in UK really is a shambles.

For instance, last week I departed a small but helpful airport in SW England for the Irish Republic having filed a flight plan with them. After departure, they called to say they were having problems with their telephone and could not open my plan. They suggested I asked nearby military controller (my next contact anyway) and ask them to open it for me.

After a while, military called back to say they could not find the 'frequency' for flight plans and could not help. Since I was approaching foreign airspace and by now far out to sea, I requested they contact my destination and ask them to open the plan.

The reponse was (I wish I could convey the incredulity in the controllers' voice) " You want us to TELEPHONE your destination in Ireland?" Me: yes please, if possible, so grateful etc.. Further miles flown, then "unable to comply .. telephone problems .. suggest you try London information." (In fairness perhaps the military are not allowed to make phone calls abroad and were trying to use a cellphone or something).

London information (limit of range by now) "No problem. flight plan activated by Heathrow at.. Phew!"

So here's a suggestion. Why not give London Information (and Scottish) an extra bod (which they desperately need at times) and make them reponsible for VFR flight plans? No more arguments about amending plans in flight, cancelling while airborne, etc.. and one contact for filing, activating and terminating.

Strangely, that's exactly how it works in the US (but then what do they know about aviation?)

[Cahlibahn]

A perusal of Safety sense leaflet 20 (http://www.caa.co.uk/srg/general_aviation/default.asp?page=605) might be beneficial.

If your FPL is for a future date, make sure that the date is entered clearly in the remarks section, item 18 (eg RMK/DATE OF FLIGHT 27 Sept

that flightplans are to be filed 24 hours BEFORE departure

Where does it say that? I thought flight plans could be filed up to 1 hour before departure?

[Pete O'Tewbe]

In Item 18 write DOF/YYMMDD e.g for a flight departing on 30 Sep 2003 it will appear as DOF/030930

[SwanFIS]

david viewing

As far as London Info taking over VFR plans - it is a case of watch this space.

It all comes down to automation and cutting back staff at airports (and centres).

Another bod to help deal with this when and if it comes - holding my breath could be fatal there.

[david viewing]

Swanfis

Holding your breath could be fatal for us as well! Please don't.

It was bad enough on Saturday with numerous traffic wanting to pass details to one controller. Sincere thanks for all your help.

Question: is there any point in passing revised VFR flight plan details to London Info (route changes, estimates, etc) at present? I don't know if you are in the loop with flight plan?


David

[SwanFIS]

david viewing

VFR flight plans are recieved at Swanwick (and Prestwick) but at Swanwick we work only on the flight details provided on frequency by each a/c. In the event of an incident we can retrieve the relevant flight plan and extract the required details.

A call to one of our three frequencies will quickly get a flight plan activated if your airfield ATC was still in bed.

To correct one point in your post, all FISOs at Swanwick and Scottish are assistants. The controllers were released a number of years ago to man the revenue earning sectors.

Happy flying

[KitKatPacificuk]

I never have a problem in the UK, it's closing them in France which is a nightmare.

Last week I took off from a field with no tower and opened my flight plan with London after filing it the day before with London by fax on 020 8745 3491. I put as the date DOF YYMMDD in the Other Info box. No problem.

After speaking to Plymouth Mil to cross towards Cherbourg I tried Deauville. No Answer. So I tried Brest Info. Recorded Message. Conditions were good so I continued VFR. As I approached Laval tried to contact them. Noone in the Tower (lunchtime!) so before I landed I tried to contact Brest again. Recorded message. Then Brest Control who deal with IFR traffic. Wouldn't help or close plan because I was VFR. Landed at Laval and tried to find someone to close plan. Noone (lunchtime). So I had to phone the Tower at my home airfield and get them to speak to London to Close my plan. They passed on a French phone number for me to ring to close plans. Answer Machine! Typical. In the End it was closed thro The Tower in the UK and London.

When we returned to Laval 2 hours later the ATC were there and said they had a call from Brest looking for me. If they had bothered to help in the first place then they wouldn't of been looking.

Why is it so difficult for ATC in France to help once and a while. I Fly alot in Europe and am so glad to get back to the UK with helpful controllers.

Must say it does only tend to be the French that are the worst. German, Dutch and Belgium controllers. No Problems.

[BEXIL160]

On the other hand.....

Flew to Dieppe yesterday. Lunchtime, so TWR closed... BUT very helpful lady on PARIS INFO offered to close our FPL when we got overhead DPE.

rgds BEX

[skydriller]

Apparently the French DGAC are getting a little miffed at the number of times SAR action is initiated due to the problems outlined above.

Therefore there is now a single phone number to call to close a flight plan in France, it is 08 10 43 78 37, a local rate number from anywhere in France.
You can obviously still use ATC as before etc, with the knowledge that the French really enjoy their lunches as always….:}

Regards, SD..:ok:

[KitKatPacificuk]

Skydriller

That's the exact number I tried! Shame there was a recorded message on it in French!

[skydriller]

KKP,

Why did I have a feeling you were going to say that!!:hmm: :{

I guess they still have some work to do on the system......

Regards, SD..:\