Originally Posted by
Capn Bloggs
I would very much doubt short-haul pilots load STARs into the acitve plan prior to takeoff: that would be bad airmanship and courting trouble, if not forbidden by SOPs.
'Bad airmanship'? I did it for about 800 sectors of domsetic flying over nine years and not once did I ever stuff it up in terms of not complying with a cleared route. I also always ensured that I briefed pre flight that a STAR was loaded and for us to confirm it. I always made sure that when the STAR was issued that it was cross checked. Realistically flying MEL-SYD you're going to get the RIVET 8 nineteen times out of twenty and the ODALE in RTE 2 would solve all ills.
It also meant that I had more time to concentrate on flying the aircraft at a busy time (like at top of descent in an aircraft that had a nasty habit of charging the barbers pole) and more time to just confirm the (probably) briefed clearance. It also enabled me to give the company a highly accurate ETA based on the most recent knowledge which was often important when the company was juggling bays, aircraft and other associated delays. So is it bad airmanship to enable yourself more time in a busy phase of flight by doing something earlier and ensuring that you have a plan in place to not stuff it up?
