Flight Plan not recieved?

[stray10level]

I whent to Beuvais yesterday, on arrival we were accosted by the French Customs:eek: Our flight plan hadnt been recieved by them and so the ensuing mess.....well you can imagine:confused: After an hour of questions and telephone calls it was resolved in our favour. So i was thinking, do any of you have a fool proof method of confirming your flight plan has been logged? Is there a way to check on the net before you leave?
Any thoughts chaps?
Cheers S10L.

[Squawk 2650]

Hi There,

With the flight plan a quick phone call a few hours after u have submitted it should do the trick. The number is either 0208 745 3111 or 0208 745 3491 one is the fax one is the phone, they are always really helpful. Failing that u can always print off a delivery report when u fax it most machines u can do it just have to work out how.....!!!

Have fun

S
:cool:

[S-Works]

whenever I file a flight plan I get an ACK back from Heathrow via fax. I have an internet fax service and so it comes back to my blackberry.

[Three Yellows]

Squawk 2650 (and others)

The Heathrow Flight Briefing Unit numbers have changed recently. I'm sure you would have picked it up from the Notams.

Tel: 0208 750 2615/6
Fax: 0208 750 2617/8

Personally, I always try to telephone LHR to check that they have received my flight plan. I also double check that my departure aerodrome have it.

If I am doing a day trip to France for example, then I fax LHR and do the return leg with the French Internet service OLIVIA http://www.sia.aviation-civile.gouv.fr/asp/frameset_uk.asp?m=14

which is excellent. Usually, OPS/ATC at home have both inbound and outbound flight plans before we set off for lunch.

The nice man from NATS told me at Booker last weekend that we should be able to file UK FPLs on the web by the end of the year.

[Three Yellows]

Bose-X,

I think that you only get an ACK for IFR FPLS, I've never had one for a VFR FPL.

3Y

[Squawk 2650]

... I havent filed a flight plan for ages.
S
:cool:

[Jodelman]

The nice man from NATS told me at Booker last weekend that we should be able to file UK FPLs on the web by the end of the year.
That's not all good news!


You will be filing direct onto the system without the human intervention you get at the moment. It will probably result in most VFR flight plans being rejected.

[IO540]

You will be filing direct onto the system without the human intervention you get at the moment. It will probably result in most VFR flight plans being rejected.

Fat chance of that happening, and an even slimmer chance of anybody checking anything in a wholly-UK VFR FP.

You can already file flight plans via www; have been to for years. There are several national websites; Homebriefing (http://www.homebriefing.com)is the best one which handles flight plans to and from anywhere, for Euro 36/year.

IFR (airways) flight plans should never actually get lost, provided you depart within the time slot. They are distributed to the airways sectors within seconds of acceptance by the above website. Homebriefing also sends you a confirmation of acceptance (note: this is not a confirmation of correct distribution; there is no such thing) by SMS and/or email. I find their SMS usually arrives far too late, but the email is instant.

VFR FPs sometimes get mis-addressed especially if one or the other end is a field which is not on the AFTN in which case the FP goes to the nearest "proper" one. Sometimes it is sent by fax to the airfield; I don't know how this is done.

The answer to lost flight plans is to phone the dep+dest airfields before going. VFR FPs are often lost; it's the nature of the system.

A good way to get them lost is to put a DOF/ on it a few days in advance...

[stray10level]

What i was hoping for really, was a web addy i could put on fave's and do it with the weather check! But we still have to use the good old fashioned phone:confused: Still, if we will be able to log them on the net soon, then i suppose we will be able to check them same too! Well here's hoping.

If we phone these numbers, are they the press one, press two type? They really do test my patients.:{

[Jodelman]

If we phone these numbers, are they the press one, press two type?
You get through immediately to a real, live & intellegent person!!

As I understand it, when we are able to file electronically we will have to do the addressing ourselves which is a recipe for disaster.

[S-Works]

Bose-X,

I think that you only get an ACK for IFR FPLS, I've never had one for a VFR FPL.

3Y

Doh! yes of course you are correct. Shows how often I file a VFR flight plan......

[beerdrinker]

When en route and talking to London Information, ask them to confirm that your Flight Plan has been opened. Or indeed ask them to open your VFR flight plan if you departed from an airfield that does not do that function.

[Three Yellows]

The french Olivia system works really well. It prompts you to input the correct information and won't let you type in anything 'illeagal'.

Can you use Homebriefing for a VFR FPL UK to France or within UK... I say again VFR FPL?

[BackPacker]

The Dutch AIS website allows you to file VFR flight plans as well and doesn't allow submission until everything is correct. It understands routes like COA DCT KOK DCT DVR etc, and will handle DOF/, EET/ and everything. It is sent to the amsterdam flight briefing center (I suppose), EHAMZPZW, and the acknowledgement is sent back via e-mail. EHAMZPZW, I suppose, forwards the plan to all parties involved. At least when I did put in that route and an EET/EBBU0030, Ostende knew I was coming.

It also accepted my flight plan back from EGLK to EHRD, but I don't know about UK internal flights.

[IO540]

Can you use Homebriefing for a VFR FPL UK to France or within UK... I say again VFR FPL?

Yes, been doing it for a few years. Less so recently as I use IFR for abroad but Homebriefing will file a FP from anywhere to anywhere, and are AFAIK alone in all the web based services willing to confirm this in writing.

They charge Euro 36/year but recently have changed their scheme and have put a limit of I think 10 or 20 per year on the # of FPs that they will accept outside of their home country (Austria). They will probably be charging a few Euros per FP after this figure - still very cheap as it is hugely convenient.

[dublinpilot]

I used the Dutch one for internal Irish VFR flight plans before. It always caused problems, with Dublin complaining they didn't have a copy of my flight plan, and I had to wait while they contacted Shannon to get a copy.

Shannon always had the details. I spoke to AIS in Shannon about it, and they were able to confirm that the flight plans were entered into the system, but after an explination of the problem they said "Humm.......it's addressed very strangely". Gave up using it.

Homebriefing....works great....had a couple of flight plans go missing at Dublin and only 1 ever go missing elsewhere. I don't know what it was about Dublin as they never lose flight plans filed with AIS in Shannon, but they would lose the odd one filed with Homebriefing.

dp

[LateFinals]

Learnt the hard way ....Had an embarassing "chat " with special branch at EGTR a couple of years ago, the fireman at a Channel Islands airport kindly offered to fax my flightplan and GAR to air traffic and promptly forgot. I departed without EGTR expecting me, even though I was flying through jersey zone on an IFR plan. It was completely my fault for not checking, but now I never depart without confirming my destination airport has received confirmation I'm coming and got GAR approval.

LF

Or as Oscar Wilde said "Experience is when you recognize a mistake you've made before !" :rolleyes:

[IO540]

After f*rting around with this stuff for a few years, I have come to the conclusion that independence is the only form of hassle-free (as far as anything in aviation can be hassle-free) existence, and I carry a lightweight laptop with internet (GPRS/3G), GSM fax, and file flight plans electronically (via homebriefing.com). And fax (GAR, PPR, etc) from it too, using Winfax. It also has wifi of course but despite the media hype there are very few places one can get that when it's really needed. And one can do route planning on it. On long trips I even chuck a little printer (Canon IP90) into the backpack, for printing off approach plates and enroute charts.

The lack of universal free wifi access at UK airfields is an absolute scandal. It undermines any effort by a modern-minded conscientious instructor to teach his students to get notams and proper weather data. Every airfield has a phone line, and the cost of getting wifi on that is around £20/month and that is for a premium-grade service. Appalling, IMHO. If the CAA wanted to do something constructive this is what they should mandate.

But hey, we won WW2 this way, beat the Germans thoroughly, so who is to question this.

[S-Works]

I am with IO on this, I take my Mac and 3G card wherever I go. On a trip I have a Deskjet battery powered printer and produce everything I need on the go including instrument plates etc.

[Fuji Abound]

Yes, I also agree with Bose and IO.

Take one of these ultra portables with you (I use a FS lifebook which is excellent) or even a PocketPc (which does much the same job and is even more compact).

I would only add that if all else fails the chaps at Heathrow FP are brilliant - they will accept a verbal VFR FP both outbound and inbound and they are 100% reliable.