EASA Flight Plan Form Equipment Codes

[rapidshot]

i am a bit confused,

neither i nor my airplane is IFR rated,but my airplane has got a GNS430W installed on it ,everytime i fill out a flight plan i stop and think for a while because the explanation in EASA guide says relevant to Equipment,

.Presence of relevant serviceable equipment on board the aircraft
.Equipment and capabilities commensurate with flight crew qualifications,

so simply my question is should i type V for Vhf radio or any other designation letter showing that i have some other "advanced" avionics even though we both, me and AC are not authorized to fly IFR,

Thank you

[BackPacker]

I have found that as long as you supply the minimum that's required for your flight, you're generally OK. ATC is not going to come on board to check whether the stuff you failed to mention is really U/S or anything.

For a 430W it's probably VOGY, but it depends on what's actually enabled.

V=VHF radio
Y=8.33 kHz spacing capable (but check that that's enabled in the AUX setup menu)
O=VOR - but it may also be ILS
G=GPS. Obviously

[rapidshot]

Thanks Backpacker for your response, what i want to draw attention is the explanation of the guide , to me there is a confusing contradiction between 2 items i have copied, at least for me,

To my understanding

"Presence of relevant serviceable equipment on board the aircraft" says "regardless of your and the ACs certification list any items available in the cockpit"

while the following says, again to my understanding

"Equipment and capabilities commensurate with flight crew qualifications" says "dont list any items unless you are officially authorized to use them "

I really want to learn which interpretation is the correct one,

Thank you

[BackPacker]

Legally there's no such thing as an official authorization to use certain equipment. There is no separate VOR, ILS or PRNAV endorsement/exam or anything like it.

So if you feel confident enough to use a certain bit of kit and it's available, list it. If it's not there, if it's U/S or you have no clue how to work it, don't list it. Simple really.

All this doesn't really matter in a VFR environment. It is supposed to be more relevant in an IFR environment. For instance, if your equipment list does show a VOR+DME but no ILS, ATC is supposed to give you the VOR/DME approach instead of the ILS. If you don't have GPS or any other form of RNAV capability, ATC is not supposed to let you cut corners and navigate DCT to a far-away waypoint which can realistically only be reached with RNAV capability. And so forth.

In practice however ATC ignores the equipment field completely and will give you DCTs to faraway RNAV waypoints, and vectors to the ILS. It's up to you to tell them "unable" if you're not equipped to handle that.

(The only real exception to all this is the VHF radio. Without it you won't get access to controlled airspace, obviously. But as 8.33 frequencies will get more common, you'll find that your flight plan may be rejected if your flight takes you through 8.33 airspace, but you have not indicated the "Y" in the equipment list.)

[rapidshot]

Appreciates , thank you

[bookworm]

,everytime i fill out a flight plan i stop and think for a while because the explanation in EASA guide says relevant to Equipment,

.Presence of relevant serviceable equipment on board the aircraft
.Equipment and capabilities commensurate with flight crew qualifications,

What's the source document ("EASA guide") please?

[rapidshot]

it can be found in related AIP of any member country, thats why i called it EASA,

[bookworm]

OK, well if we take UK CAP 694 "The UK Flight Planning Guide" as an exemplar, it says under item 10:

Capabilities comprise the following elements:
a) presence of relevant serviceable equipment on board the aircraft;
b) equipment and capabilities commensurate with flight crew qualifications; and
c) where applicable, authorisation from the appropriate authority.

In other words the equipment must meet all those criteria for it to be listed in item 10.

Legally there's no such thing as an official authorization to use certain equipment. There is no separate VOR, ILS or PRNAV endorsement/exam or anything like it.

That's not true in its broadest sense. There is an operational approval requirement (an authorisation) for the use of PRNAV on routes where PRNAV is required. You shouldn't show PBN/D2 unless you are authorised to perform PRNAV (RNAV 1). Similarly, some states require authorisation, in particular crew training, for RNP APCH (PBN/S1 and S2).

Hopefully, the silliness disappears in August 2016 when Parts-NCO/NCC are applied, amended by EASA Opinion 03/2015.

[rapidshot]

thanks bookworm, to be more clear let me ask this way with reference to CAPS 694

a AND b
a OR b



Thank you

[BackPacker]

Okay, I know that for the most advanced stuff like PRNAV, ILS CAT IIIC landings and such, there are indeed specific approvals required, both for equipment and aircrew. But as this is Private Flying I left those out. And by the time you get into that kind of stuff, you have an operations department to sort that out for you anyway.

[bookworm]

The "a; b; and c." structure is interpreted as "a and b and c".

"a; b; or c." structure would be interpreted as "a or b or c".

[rapidshot]

really aprreciate this, thanks a lot